You might have seen me mention that my Edison cylinder player failed while making the video featuring it. Today I had a go at fixing the problem.
At the very last moment I decided to turn on the camera and narrate the proceedings. Here’s the (very) simple video I shot.
I feel it’s likely that this video would be insufficient for the general YouTube audience. I’m also tired...
2022-05-01 22:17:20 +0000 UTC View Post
Today I’m looking at the M90 Mini & Micro retro replica bluetooth boomboxes.
A bit of backstory - I bought my classic (forty year old) Victor RC-M90 boombox a couple of years ago as a result of the launch of the miniature replicas Kickstarter.
I’d toyed with the idea of buying this classic boombox in order to demonstrate it in a video for a number of years but the prices were just way too high. It was extremely unlikely that a video could ever earn enough to pay for the co...
2022-04-24 19:20:06 +0000 UTC View Post
You may remember that Bob died. (Bob was a mini dishwasher). Whilst ultra-compact, he still took up valuable countertop space in a tiny kitchen. Since the task he performed wasn’t an absolute necessity, upon his rather premature demise we returned to washing up by hand.
However the lure of an even more compact dishwashing system proved to be irresistible. This one sounded like it might fill a very specific cleaning gap. It arrived a couple of days ago and in this video you can see whe...
2022-04-19 19:12:12 +0000 UTC View Post
Full disclosure up front - this is a bit of a throw-away video. I’ve had this trio of Spectrum Analysers on my outstanding list for a while and I needed to get them out of the way to clear some space and move on. I’d taken a day or so off work and thought they’d be an easy thing to shoot in the time that remained.
Whilst it is a subject that’s simple to shoot, it’s also one that (quite understandably) has received diminishing levels of viewer interest video after video. So you...
2022-04-13 14:28:58 +0000 UTC View Post
New music on dead formats taken to its brilliantly illogical conclusion
Today I will mostly be messing about with cylinder records.
I went off on quite a few tangents in this video - because I felt like it. A video about antique cylinder record players is never going to appeal to the tiktok generation - so sod-em, this one is for people who have a bit more time to kill.
2022-04-05 11:45:32 +0000 UTC View Post
In many ways it's a charming little thing...so what has me so concerned?
If there's enough interest in this subject there are other similar competing devices that I can take a look at in the future.
Once I de-register this one from my account I'll pass it on to a friend as their child should love it.
I'm still dealing with plenty of off-screen ...
2022-03-27 10:30:03 +0000 UTC View Post
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve had time to make a Patreon exclusive video.
On reflection, you could easily skip this one and still not miss out on anything. But hey I didn't want you to think I was taking you for granted...so here's a video just for Patrons about what has ...or hasn't been happening this month.
I’ll skip uploading an audio only ver...
2022-03-22 16:53:45 +0000 UTC View Post
This has been on my to-do list for years but thanks to the recent loan of an early model of player and discs from a Patreon (thanks Andrew) I’ve been able to finally nail this one down. There are a lot of elements that needed to come together for this video, perhaps more than might be immediately apparent, hopefully it was worth the effort.
Anyway that’s it - take...
2022-03-18 18:31:52 +0000 UTC View Post
This one starts off with a special update just for Patrons.
After that I look at a radio designed for a specific use case. This falls within the area of assistive tech, something I’ve featured on a few occasions.
The intro explains the disruption to my update/uploads - so if that’s of any concern, please make sure you watch this part to get fully up to date.
Anyway tha...
2022-03-12 15:07:27 +0000 UTC View Post
After a gap of something like twenty years (probably) - a company has started manufacturing new replacement cases for pre-recorded Minidiscs. More proof, if any were needed, that this 1990s format is currently enjoying a minor renaissance.
Given my previous MD content, I thought it’d be appropriate to spread the word about these, even though it’s perhaps not the most enthralling o...
2022-03-04 15:53:31 +0000 UTC View Post
From past experience I know that YouTube audiences aren’t drawn to my videos featuring gambling tech quite as enthusiastically as I am to the tech itself. So today while I’m featuring a device that sat on the fence between gambling and gaming, I’ve chosen to focus the thumb/title on the gaming aspect. It’s not strictly clickbait if it’s accurate…it’s more optimisation ;-)
Here’s the video - https://...
2022-03-02 13:21:18 +0000 UTC View Post
I tried fixing something. It didn’t go well. Here’s the video
In other news I’m working around family commitments at the moment. As a result Patreon/Youtube/Email/Comment uploads/updates/replies may be sporadic.
I hope to make a couple of short videos in an attempt to build up a buffer of content just in case these commitments get too onerous. However speaking from past ex...
2022-02-22 21:19:02 +0000 UTC View Post
A few weeks ago Sony got in touch to say that they could send me something over if I signed a non-disclosure agreement. I went along with it in the hope that they’d then tell me what the product was. However a couple of days later a parcel arrived containing their new LinkBuds in-ear bluetooth headphones.
If they’d told me what it was all about, I’d likely have turned them down as I’m just not a fan of earbud style headphones. However since I’d now got them I made a fu...
2022-02-15 17:00:54 +0000 UTC View Post
I started off making a different video this week, but unfortunately an expensive component failed (I broke it) and now I’m waiting on a suitable replacement from China.
So here’s something completely different.
This is a quick, simple, basic video that shows something you likely haven’t encountered before. However if you have, I’d be very interested to hear more.
This was a nice little project. An unusual piece of retro-tech, BNIB, working perfectly, simple to demonstrate and yet still interesting enough to be worth showing.
Here’s the video https://youtu.be/74C9h3KO7KQ
I'd be interested to know if anyone has any recollection of ever encountering one of these in the wild. I'd be very surprised if they have.
Hope everyone is good, take it easy and look after yourse...
2022-02-02 17:35:29 +0000 UTC View Post
A few behind the scenes tidbits just for Patrons.
A random selection of topics is covered this time.
The video version is available in a separate post.
LINKS to things mentioned in this one.
Roman numeral clock article https://monochrome-watches.com/why-do-clocks-and-watches-use-roman-numeral-iiii-instead-of-iv/
N...
2022-01-28 12:19:20 +0000 UTC View Post
A few behind the scenes tidbits just for Patrons.
A random selection of topics is covered this time.
An audio only version is available in a separate post.
LINKS to things mentioned in the video.
Roman numeral clock article 2022-01-28 12:19:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Almost everything that would have made this video worthwhile, evaporated as soon as I started making it.
The main raison d'être *'did one' at four minutes and thirty eight seconds in. Yet for some bizarre reason the video continues on for another twenty odd minutes.
Here’s the video https://youtu.be/GxHzkizAOVc
I’d recommend only watching this one once you’ve got absolutely nothing else left to...
2022-01-26 15:59:19 +0000 UTC View Post
and why the Technics SL-P1200 is one of the exceptions.
This one took me a long time to make inspite of its modest length. I’ve put this down to the fact that it’s really two different videos in one.
In the first half I take a look at the rapid early evolution of CD player design - up to the point where that evolution pretty much stopped just as soon as it had started.
I felt this backstory was needed before I could go on to explain why I find the ...
2022-01-20 22:14:16 +0000 UTC View Post
This week I’ve been testing out more music visualiser devices.
Definitely not my finest work but I think I’ve managed to mostly salvage it in editing.
Still, as far as sequels go, this is less ‘The Godfather Part II’ and more ‘Superman IV The Quest for Peace’.
Anyway, here’s the video. It should provide twenty-odd minutes of undemanding and non-confrontational time filling. https:...
2022-01-10 18:56:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Starting the year with an oddity. I’m taking a look at (and a listen to) the CHORDMACHINE from Sony - a strange hybrid device that defies conventional categorisation. Unless that category is ‘What the heck were they thinking?’
In a recent update I mentioned how I’d avoided featuring boombox/synth combo units due to being unable to play keyboards. There’s no ...
2022-01-03 10:53:06 +0000 UTC View Post
I’m putting this out now so I can take the rest of Christmas Day off. Feel free to ignore it for a couple of days, it’ll still be here. Christmas probably shouldn’t be spent on YouTube.
I wanted to find out if personal CDs were still alive. My results were mixed.
That’s it for a few days.
Have a good one.
2021-12-25 10:03:05 +0000 UTC View Post
In acknowledgment of a calendar based confluence here’s a little Christmas themed extra video just for Patrons.
Merry Christmas
P.S. If you look in the video description on YouTube you’ll also find a link to another even less impressive exclusive new video. It’s like a Christmas easter-egg hunt where the only way to win is...
2021-12-24 16:29:35 +0000 UTC View Post
I am very happy to be able to bring this video to you today featuring the Scope Clock from Cathode Corner.
There’s likely only a handful of these being offered for sale in an assembled state, so I’d suggest if you’re interested you’d be best putting in an order sooner rather than later. Certainly before this video goes live on YouTube at the weekend.
That said, do not feel pressured to spend so much money on something you definitely don’t need. No one needs an osci...
2021-12-15 18:39:14 +0000 UTC View Post
I’ve recorded a Patreon update. Unfortunately I didn’t have any extra clips to add in this month to break it up a bit so I’d recommend either watching it in small instalments or putting in on in the background while you do something else. That’s of course if you want to watch/hear it at all.
This has been one of those months where little has happened off screen. However if anyone was interested in hearing about the results of not enabling the comments for a new video for the fir...
2021-12-11 11:30:37 +0000 UTC View Post
I’ve recorded a Patreon update. Unfortunately I didn’t have any extra clips to add in this month to break it up a bit so I’d recommend either watching it in small instalments or putting in on in the background while you do something else. That’s of course if you want to watch/hear it at all.
This has been one of those months where little has happened off screen. However if anyone was interested in hearing about the results of not enabling the comments for a new video for the fir...
2021-12-11 11:29:43 +0000 UTC View Post
You may have seen the one-sided ‘Co-Star acting game’ record I used the other week to demonstrate the ultrasonic record cleaner.
The ‘open-end interview’ record featured in today’s video seems to be a very close relative, albeit one that wasn’t available to the public. In fact unless you were ‘in the business’ you weren’t supposed to know these things even existed. This was the DJ’s little secret, a record used for the purpose of deceiving their listeners.
A video where I examine a couple of old cassette decks as I try and find a suitable one to send on to someone as a favour.
If you’ve been here a while you’ll know that I like to play around with things, experiment a bit, just to see what happens. It what keeps me interested. It’s the thing that’s always encouraged me to take stuff apart just to see how it works. It's the reaso...
2021-12-01 13:14:56 +0000 UTC View Post
I’ve often wondered about the effectiveness of ultrasonic record cleaning. Since it’s possible to buy systems for thousands of units of currency there must be something in it. Finally I got to find out for myself by testing the HumminGuru ultrasonic vinyl record cleaner. This one is best listened to through headphones.
I hope you’re doing well. I’ll aim to record an update aga...
2021-11-26 12:44:06 +0000 UTC View Post
A look at the ‘RCA’ Reel Media Center. This was an early 2000s retro inspired music system which blurred the line between nostalgic novelty and fully functional device.
I enjoyed exploring this one - it’s really quite ingenious how they made it work.
My aim is to fast-track this one for a public release on Saturday and I’ll bump the boring bluetooth speaker video y...
2021-11-18 12:23:06 +0000 UTC View Post