Here’s my review of a Bang & Olufsen Bluetooth speaker.
I feel a bit of behind the scenes info is needed to frame this one. For the last few weeks I’ve lost pretty much all hearing in my right ear. I’m waiting to see a specialist next month.
As a result of the situation I’ve found using any type of headphones to be unpleasant. I decided that a blueto...
2022-09-29 09:45:31 +0000 UTC View Post
Another nonsense CD audio accessory…or is it?
This is a very similar video to the one about the CD shaving tool but I’m certain it won’t get a fifth of the views due to the vagaries and whims of YouTube. See herding cats & platting fog to learn more.
Here’s the video - https://youtu.be/mH4v8b1tGSQ
The CD shaver video really wasn’t very good. It contained too much unstruc...
2022-09-25 09:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
I like Karaoke tech. But on the flip side I don’t really enjoy anything else to do with Karaoke, I don't like listening to other people do it, I can’t sing, and I don’t gain pleasure from attempting to sing.
To put the final nail in this Karaoke coffin, the YT audience doesn’t even find the tech aspect behind it as interesting as I do. So with all these things taken into account - here’s another descent into madness that might well please no-one.
This time I’m finally getting around to a task I’ve put off tackling for a couple of years. I’m taking a look at a Sharp VZ-2000. It's a sort-of-portable, record playing music system. It could be fun, but first I had to face my disassembly fears and open it up in order to get the vital record player component functional.
You can see how I get on in the video - https://youtu.be/tIxc7MpgOzU 2022-09-09 17:16:33 +0000 UTC View Post
A bit last minute for August, but early for September - here’s a new Patreon exclusive update.
As usual I chat around random topics - but this time some of it really is made up on the go. You’ll see what I mean…
Here are the links to the items I mentioned this time.
Youtube Channels I enjoy;
You’ll have noticed that I never get hung up on the Hi in Hi-Fi. I can get enjoyment out of pretty much any kind of Fi - it doesn’t need to be the highest of Hi.
However today I’m briefly visiting the other side of Hi-Fi - a place where the oxygen content of a cable might make or break your enjoyment of a piece of music.
I’ll be carving into my CDs with a £350 lathe because apparently this will make them sound better. We'll see.
... 2022-08-28 15:45:22 +0000 UTC View Post
I made a video all about erasing other people’s tapes - and why this might be a good idea. I feel that it’s too long, but ironically(?) I didn’t want to delete any more out of it.
Here it is.
Hope you’re all keeping well. Take care and have a good week.
Oh and I'll probably change the title as I'm likely the only one who thinks it's witty.
UPDAT...
2022-08-21 18:36:03 +0000 UTC View PostApologies about the earlier post, I forgot it was scheduled to go live. I intended to delete it.
After editing the video I‘d made, I realised it wasn’t in the slightest bit interesting, so I deleted it and planned to have another attempt when I felt a bit less tired.
Unfortunately the Patreon post was still published on schedule…with the dead video link.
I’ll repost the links I’d included last time as extras. I’ve added some context this time....
2022-08-17 19:20:17 +0000 UTC View Post
I quite like this one - it’s simple and fun with a nice colourful thumbnail. A bit of chat, a bit of a demo. Overall it’s thirty odd minutes of innocuousness.
Here it is - https://youtu.be/pkmbnkp3JUE
I don’t really have much to add this week - it’s been quite warm here which has made shooting indoor scenes with all the studio lights a bit uncomfortable.
It might be...
2022-08-14 08:30:00 +0000 UTC View Post
This week I’ve been moving the contents of my old locker into my new locker. It cost me three days, a rented van and a bad back.
With that thought in mind, I recently bought two new ‘boomboxes’ just so I could make this video. That goes a long way towards explaining my Indiana Jones-esque warehouse full of stuff.
Anyway here’s the video - not the most enthralling or polished thing I’ve ever assembled, but it has been a bit of a crazy week. I suppose if this career path d...
2022-08-07 17:34:23 +0000 UTC View Post
Due to various life commitments I might not be able to make a proper video this week - but here’s a quickie.
I’m not convinced that this video is worth putting out - but Patrons get a chance to see everything - even the ropey stuff.
Have fun.
VIDEO UPDATED: For your entertainment I've pulled this apart and now I think there's now enough here to issue this as a short video.
Based on your feedback, I’ve added on a ‘teardown’ start...
2022-07-26 14:31:46 +0000 UTC View Post
I’m not in the audio video transfer business, but when someone got in touch who possessed a unique set of DJ jingle carts recorded by one of my childhood favourites I made an exception. Thanks to the help of Mike, the nice chap who saved the cartridges, I could see there was enough here to turn a few seconds of audio into what I feel is an interesting video. I enjoyed putting this one together, it brought back some happy memories.
I’ve played about with quite a few cassette changers over the years, but now it’s time to take a look at a five-cart 8-track changer.
Quite a few 8-track changers were released - I’ve got another more elaborate one in storage that I need to take a look one day too. As you’ll see in this video though, the simple nature of the 8-track play mechanism lent the for...
2022-07-17 10:16:11 +0000 UTC View Post
I’ve put together a monthly video just for Patrons, but it’s a slightly truncated effort this time.
This could end up being my only video this week as I need to recharge a little before starting on the next project.
Thanks for all your support and hopefully I’ll have something interesting to show you soon.
2022-07-12 22:00:20 +0000 UTC View Post
I’ve finally got hold of the RS5 Atmos rear speakers for my HT-A7000 soundbar. If this means nothing to you, I’m not surprised. While I was really excited to try these out, in hindsight it’s probably way too niche to share.
However this is what I’ve been getting up to this week and that’s the video I‘ve made.
I do lik...
2022-07-10 09:15:09 +0000 UTC View Post
The 2-XL ‘Robot’ has been on my to-do pile for years but now its finally worked its way to the top.
Some of my videos about quirky tech toys from the past have done quite well on YouTube. This one is likely to buck that trend.
Toys like HitClips and VideoNow are nostalgic for a large proportion of the YouTube audience. The original 2-XL on the other hand is likely only remembered vaguely by people my age or older…and we only make up a small proportion of YouTubes viewership....
2022-07-02 09:32:47 +0000 UTC View Post
Yes you’ve seen this video before - well the first five minutes of it anyway, the last ten minutes have been re-shot and updated. It started as a simple experiment so much like a short story expanded into a movie, it might overstay its welcome.
Anyway enough about that - I’ve got more emails from people who fell for the scammers on YouTube. One showed me how far d...
2022-06-23 17:45:18 +0000 UTC View Post
A quick video about listening to my HiFi's components via my TV’s surround system. I really don’t know if this will be of interest or relevance to anyone other than myself, but I’ve already made it now, it’s too late to go back.
NOTE - The updated version of the video is the one now posted above.
2022-06-20 18:01:45 +0000 UTC View Post
UPDATED:
A tidied-up version of the video is now the one embedded above. I also took the opportunity to add on a a public service announcement starting at 17:27 in response to a spate of lunacy.
I’ve been using this camera on and off over the last few weeks. It was a way to make a video without having enough time to make a video. I grabbed cli...
2022-06-19 10:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post
A simple video wherein I try and retrieve the audio from a broken cart. That’s it.
I started work on this while waiting for the delivery of the Walkman belt. It’s the kind of activity I’d have been getting up to anyway, however this time I recorded the process so I had something to show.
I’m posting this now on Patreon as I’ve got a fu...
2022-06-12 08:28:41 +0000 UTC View Post
This video might benefit from being tightened up in some areas, so this might well not be the final edit, however I was so just glad to finally get a video close to completion that I wanted to present this version to you now.
Here it is https://youtu.be/L4w00pgazVM
Now onto other things - I’m overwhelmed by the heartwarming response to my last update. I hadn’t intended it to come across as a request for help,...
2022-06-09 09:29:49 +0000 UTC View Post
It's not been the best month and I really want to explain why...
This is the audio only version - a video version is available in a separate post.
Here’s the link to the latest BGM cart upload on YouTube - https://youtu.be/gV_fpuj5bzI (I ended up posting the full four hours).
2022-06-05 20:13:33 +0000 UTC View Post
It's not been the best month and I really want to explain why…
This is the video version - an audio version is available in a separate post.
Here’s the link to the latest BGM cart upload on YouTube - https://youtu.be/gV_fpuj5bzI (I ended up posting the full four hours).
2022-06-05 20:12:27 +0000 UTC View Post
A look at Teac’s last budget reel to reel tape recorder range. Initially I envisioned this as a simple demonstration, however the history side of things took an unexpected amount of unravelling.
I trust your week is going well. Take care and be nice to one another.
UPDATE: Fixed a couple of things…new version embedded above.
2022-05-26 18:21:41 +0000 UTC View Post
I just managed to get this video in the bag before the weekend. It took longer than I anticipated because I ended up reshooting my first day’s work after I discovered that what I had assumed was retrotech, was in fact still a current product - seemingly in the face of all logic.
This revelation ended up making this into a far better and (for me) a more interesting video. Hope you like it. Have a great weekend.
A few people asked for this - so here it is, the full four hour tape just for Patrons.
It’s rather muffled at times and there’s a touch of background hum (although I’ve reduced that down)
I’ve got a lot of things on this week so if I do manage to make a video it’ll have to be a short one. Hopefully this extra makes up for it.
UPDATE - Now also on youtube https://youtu.be/gwijA...
2022-05-17 10:30:57 +0000 UTC View Post
A proper video this week featuring a device from one of my favourite categories - background music systems.
https://youtu.be/PJakX_-HBqY
You might be aware how much I like exploring these systems. Since there are only a few interesting BGM devices left to show, I like to take my time to document them for future generations (whether they want me to or...
2022-05-10 20:05:46 +0000 UTC View Post
I’ve been trying to pin down the age of the BGM machine I’m working on. To me the design feels 1988-1992, but that’s just a hunch.
This task is not made any easer with this being a commercial device as the dates for these are harder to pin down based on fashion. The internet is of no help and I can’t get to the motor to see if that has a date sticker.
My last hope for finding a date was the chips as sometimes these have date codes on them, however on this occasion I’m no...
2022-05-07 17:28:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Here’s another stab at the Patreon update for May 2022.
This is the Audio version, the video version can be found in a separate post.
2022-05-05 19:35:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Here’s another stab at the Patreon update for May 2022.
This is the video version, the audio version can be found in a separate post.
2022-05-05 19:34:01 +0000 UTC View Post