JUKEBOX!!

TC is truly my favourite thing on the internet. Thank You!

Since you like electromechanical things so much, you might consider doing a series on the old long distance phone network back in the day. The Bell System was full of amazing technological advancements which made possible automatic long distance call routing well before anything close to a modern computer.

Zack Schmiesing

Great video! I love electromechanical logic, it is a fascinating topic. Older EM pinball machines are also a fun hobby if you really want to cook your brain. Can't wait for part 2.

Chris Jeter

Of freaking course Tarzan boy is on the green record. Also... The missle knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't. And arriving where it wasn't it now is.

Garrett Rabenold

I was briefly hoping for the Terminator theme on T1, but the outro music was pretty good too.

A friend of mine has a saying I like, that computers are just rocks we tricked into thinking using domesticated lightning. Relays, tubes, transistors... if you can build a NOR or a NAND out of it, you can work your way up to a boring ol' turing-complete machine. Involving cams, arms, and other mechanical parts - the clockwork - definitely makes everything so much more satisfying and mesmerizing in a device, and relays are certainly much more visceral in their operation than either transistors or tubes. Thanks for saving and maintaining this bygone monstrosity to share with us!

Travis Snoozy

I have empirical evidence that 60 Hz is superior; There are 60 minutes in an hour. There are 60 seconds in a minute. And logically, there *should be* 60 cycles per second. 50 sounds like a rounder number, but 60 fits better into the natural order of things. I refuse to hear otherwise ;) I really need to research what new GoPros are like. The could very well still be fixed-focus, but I wonder if they have models that essentially have phone camera hardware in them now. That's what I could really use for this video - an ultrawide phone camera but in a tiny box

Technology Connections

This is one of my favorite videos you've made so far! I share the same admiration for electromechanical logic. I found the electrical lesson elementary as I already knew all of that, but it will help a lot of people. One thing I was expecting you to mention about the relay circuit is that it was actually a building block for some old computers, telephone exchanges, etc. in that it can store 1 bit of memory. But I know you'll get into the "memory" of this beast next with the "selection accumulator"! Sadly, videos by Joe's Classic Video Games have already beat you to explaining to me how the very similar Rock-Ola jukebox mechanisms work, so I don't expect many surprises. But I knew you would cover it in much greater detail and you haven't let me down!

toasterking

The typical 60 Hz hum you hear here in Europe only in videos and movies ;-) Nicely done, I'm looking forward to part 2, I think these mechanics are pretty awesome too :-). About the mike: I didn't notice a lot, well, maybe I should compare with another video... And about the GoPro: I'm not familiar with the newer ones, but the original one is definitely not for close-up recordings... They are made for easy filming without concentrating on the filming itself, so, ultra-wide angle lens, fix focus. But maybe they have vastly improved by now.

MrHammond

Fantastic video! 😃 I found the green/red buttons part vers useful, il helps a lot to understand the basic concepts. The only thing that could have made it clearer would have been ading electric schemas 😉 Still, great work, already waiting for part two ! 👍

joseph

One of your best! I've been a big fan of electromechanical automation ever since finding the remains of a pinball machine in a ditch. I never discovered how it got there, but I had endless fun playing with all the switches and relays that made up the beast. I guess I learned a few tricks, because it led to a career in automation that paid for raising three kids and keeping us fed and clothed for a lifetime. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the button mechanism works!

HarveyB

Very good simple explanation of cam driven ladder logic. ... will u come clean the cat hair out & fix my rock-ola... 😆

david c tayloe

Thanks for this great video, I also loved the way the outtro started. Can't wait for part 2!

Paul Schuur

I've always wondered how the table side 'remotes' worked....

James Jepsen

Great video, Alec. It sounds as though the 'selection accumulator' is a sort of EM 'memory' for storing selections...cliffhanger me wants to know how it works. Great stuff!

James Jepsen

I'm putting money on a similar system to typewriter tab stops. In typewriters it's a straight line array of little bits of metal (tabs) that spring into one of two positions. In one position it catches on something in the carriage, in the other, it misses. I've got no reason to think it's that way, it's just a guess.

Tedd

This is so well done! And the mix sounds way better than before. BUT A CLIFFHANGER???

Sean Hearrell

I found this video particularly fascinating. Loved how you went into detail. But that tease.... we want to know how it knows what record to play haha. Such a tease. ;-) Can't wait to see the deep dive into those magical buttons. P.S. Really creative ending playing your outro music as a record. Your editing is fantastic and fun. Keep up the great work!

Insider Chad

It hard to say. I'm definitely aware of the fact that I will use a mistake as a blooper, and I think it would be fair to say that they've become mildly performative as a result. Whether I'm self-censoring... I couldn't say. I think I am consciously trying to avoid dropping F-bombs which I totally do off-camera. Hadn't really thought about it until now...

Technology Connections

10/10 cliffhanger

Yaassss. This is why I became a patron. It's also why I'm shopping for a 50-year-old toaster.

housevil

I think the buttons demo was great by itself but the parts trying to relate the mechanism to the button colors were more confusing — it'd be better to use the demo just as illustrating the possibilities and then describe the switches in terms of their functions in the machine.

Kevin Reid

Here's an off-topic question: Do you find yourself sometimes being conscious of the audience when making your off-the-cuff responses to script-reading errors? If so, do you think that you censor yourself more than if you didn't intend those bloopers to be viewed?

Mark Hesse

It's a Sennheiser MKH 416. I was really hesitant to buy it but I'm very glad I did!

Technology Connections

I saw "new microphone" and came here in "record" time. :) I like it...it does sound better. (And also curious what you're using).

Great video. New mic sounds good.

Professor Kroog

What a tease ;) Ready for part 2!

Ian Cull

I don't typically have captions ready immediately... I get these videos up for you as soon as they're processed! I'll probably get the captions tidied up tomorrow

Technology Connections

Is YouTube having issues or are the captions missing?