Retro Thing

The Airstream 75th Anniversary Trailer

Retro Thing readers are a talented bunch and I get excited when someone emails to ask if we're interested in running a piece about something they've "put together" in their shop. That said, I wasn't quite prepared for David Winick's latest project. You see, his hobby is restoring vintage Airstream trailers. Beautifully. The Airstream factory was pretty impressed with the job he'd done on his 1968 Caravel, and they commissioned him to create their limited-edition 75th Anniversary model.

Winick's design is an interesting combination of the richness of first-class railway cars combined with a distinct nautical flavor, thanks to the round porthole windows and vents. I find something incredibly alluring in the rich "metal and wood" look and this glistening camper evokes a powerful emotional response.

The Anniversary model is based on Airstream's 19-foot Bambi trailer and sports a list price of just over $60,000. Winick tells me that he spent many years designing sets and props for film and photography and is intrigued by mid-century modern design. His passion for classic design is obvious -- he managed to successfully combine beautiful aluminum curves, rich wood veneers, upholstery that's reminiscent of the 1940s, along with an ultra-modern flat screen television. The final result is almost enough to make me want to live in my driveway.

The Airstream 75th Anniversary Prototype [vintagetrailering.com]
More About the Bambi on the Official Airstream Site

Tivoli SongBook AM/FM Radio

Tivoli Audio offers a range of analog radios designed by Henry Kloss. This isn't one of those. The SongBook marks a new direction for Tivoli by incorporating a "highly sensitive" digital AM/FM tuner. Gone is the massive (and incredibly precise) analog tuning dial, replaced by five preset buttons.

The SongBook weighs about 3.5 lbs and comes in a variety of colors - some more attractive than others. The design is definitely more radio than clock, and I doubt it would find a home on my bedside table. Instead, it's a simple and relatively sturdy device that I'd take to the cottage or camping. My only gripe is the price: $159.99 is a lot for a bog-standard radio design, even if it does include a line-in for my iPod.

Tivoli Audio SongBook AM / FM / Clock Radio
The Tivoli Audio Site

Even Beanz Need Respect

Here's Giles Perkins with another taste of British Retrofood... Heinz Beans (or Beanz as they're now known) have bean(!) around since the nineteen fifties, a retro food if ever there was one!

The UK home of Heinz is a former mill and coal town called Wigan deep in the north of England, famed for it's Rugby League, Premiership football giant killers and the Pier (but that's another story). That said, you think Wiganers would know a thing or two about Beans, but sadly no!

Local lad Andrew Hesketh is so fed up that cafes in his home town aren't serving up the real McCoy that he's taken things into his own hands. Splashing out over £1000 on advertising in newspapers and on billboards he's started a one man crusade to get Wigan really believing that Beanz Meanz Heinz. To give your encouragement to Andrew's tomato sauce based campaign, email him at beanzfanatic@hotmail.co.uk

[Giles is the head boffin at OnSuper8, a fantastic film-making site. Beanz hold a special place in his heart 'cause his dad used to work at the plant.]

 £1,000 for a fan'z beanz feast [Manchester Evening News]
For more on beans see www.heinzbeanz.com

de Havilland Comet: The Dawn of the Jet Age

Most of us take massive jetliners for granted, but the ability to zorch from one continent to another is only about 50 years old.

The four engine de Havilland Comet (named after their 1930s racing aircraft) first flew on July 27, 1949, ushering in a new age of sleek and speedy transportation. The aircraft entered commercial service in January 1952 and quickly became a favorite of elite travelers, capable of cruising at over 400 mph (twice the speed of propeller driven aircraft).

The original design could seat a maximum of 44 passengers and carried a cockpit crew of four (pilot, co-pilot, navigator and engineer). Alas, the aircraft started to experience inexplicable in-flight failures in May of 1953. It took several more crashes before investigators were able to pin the blame on metal fatigue: the design required an extremely thin metal skin to compensate for the low thrust generated by the four Ghost 50 Mark I turbojet engines. The fuselage surrounding the Comet's large rectangular windows proved susceptible to cracking after many thousands of pressurized flights. The end result was explosive cabin decompression that led to rather nasty structural failure in mid-flight -- definitely not a good way to earn repeat business.

The design problems were eventually resolved and the Comet 4 entered service in 1958 with round windows, a strengthened fuselage, and high output Rolls-Royce Avon engines that dramatically increased cargo capacity and speed. Sadly, the damage to the Comet's reputation was irreparable and the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 went on to dominate the airline industry throughout the 1960s.

Chasing the Sun: The de Havilland Comet [PBS]
Photos are from the British Airways Museum Collection

Squirl: Online Collector's Gallery

Squirl is a site that encourages people to post flickr-like photo catalogs of their "collections." I'm not really sure why millions of otherwise normal webaholics would meticulously catalog a comic book / Lego / dead bug collection and place it online, but it's a concept with potential. I'd give it a B+ as a business school project... if they make a few tweaks.

Superscope Bob Barker Style Microphone

The hosts of American gameshows The Price is Right and The Match Game both used rather unusual microphones on screen.  Pencil thin and very long and elegant.  Perhaps the goal behind the slender mic was to block less of the host's fabulous Botany 500 wardrobe.  The length of the microphone's body meant the host could hold the bulk of the mic outside the shot while still getting very good sound.

I have since learned that these mics used on these game shows were quite good microphones, and today are rather scarce.  In many years of searching, I've only ever seen one on Ebay and it went for nearly $400 US.  What's a career cheapass like myself to do?

Superscope was a division of Marantz that made tape recorders.  They also made a lot of related gear for amateur and professionals alike.  So let's check out their EC-12B lavalier microphone kit.  As a "lav" (tie clip) mic, it's a bit huge.  But when you attach the electret condenser mic capsule to the telescoping handle, you get a cheapie copy of the classic Bob Barker mic.

My intent was simply to use this mic as a prop, but popping in a button cell reveals that it's a good sounding microphone.  There is even a fitted case!  All in all this is an impressivley complete kit - the instructions go so far as to explain how to solder on an XLR jack to use the mic with a pro mixer!

It's great to think back to when manufacturers actually empowered their users to make and share their own recordings.  No crazy rules on what format plays nice with which device, no bizarre custom connectors to make sure that your mic only worked with your brand.  Unfortunately, just finding any kind of mic input jack on a consumer digital recorder or video camera today is next to impossible.

Atomic Space Tone Guitar Amp

It's time to have some fun with tweed-covered vacuum tubes! The Atomic Space Tone is a $1775 tube-based handmade guitar amp from the Swart Amplifier Company. Cary Miller just posted an enjoyable review of this beautiful device on Electric Guitar Review:

"This amp was absolutely incredible (I'm trying to work out a deal on one before I have to send the thing back!) and the man who makes them, Michael Swart, is a one man show, building these beauties right in his house as far as I can tell.

When I first stumbled onto Michael Swart’s handsome tweed Atomic Space Tone tube amp, via the Swart Amplifier Co’s website, I may have been instantly struck by the retro-cool look of his handiwork, but I had no inclination that I was gazing upon one of the best sounding tube amplifiers I was ever likely to play.

In fact, as a dyed in the wool “tube freak” it’s almost embarrassing to admit it, but until I got the Atomic Space Tone in for review I apparently had no real idea of just how good a tube amp could sound..."

REVIEW: Swart’s Immaculate Atomic Space Tone

TeleQuest Fiero Plus Phone

The 80's brought phone deregulation to the US, allowing anybody to manufacture telephones.  The look of phones quickly departed from the staid look of the old Ma Bell stalwarts, and evolved into anything that designers could fashion out of plastic.  The market was flooded with cheapie phones that didn't look like much of anything, while others took the opportunity to create something interesting.

The Fiero Plus (I'm guessing that the phone earned a "plus" designation because of cutting edge features like redial and phone number storage) has the rather unmistakable lines of the 80's.  Don Johnson would look equally at home using this phone as Grace Jones. 

Check out the cool slanted number pad and how the phone receiver melds into the overall sports car look of the phone.  Hang up a Nagle print, bust out your little black book, and let all your girlfriends know that you're hungry like the wolf. 

3M Wollensak T-1500 Reel To Reel

This may not seem small to you, but for a quality reel to reel this is practically a Walkman!  I was in high school in the 80's, and we still had this exact same model of player in our language classrooms (it always struck me strange that the textbook was printed in '86, and the book publisher was still offering open reel tapes?).

Every part of this hefty recorder exudes quality.  The cabinet is cool to the touch because it is made entirely of that mysterious material called steel.  The functions are clearly labeled, and everything just plain works. The manual does stretch a point here and there - what they call "feather touch controls" I call "horse-tooth sized ka-chunkers".  Maybe that's what it takes to make a product that lasts.  All I know is that this deck is 50 years old and it still works and sounds great.

Talk about versatile!  There was a kit available to convert this recorder to stereo.  You can also put special foil tabs on the tape which tells the recorder to auto-rewind and replay.  One of my favorites add-ons is the cabled remote that attaches to your typewriter to start and stop playback while transcribing notes.

If my school had tons of these recorders, I imagine that they were popular - yet there is very little mention of them on the net that I could find.  Those that did talk about the deck praised its sound quality, durability, and good looks.  My favorite comment was from a musician taking advantage of the Wollensak's lovely tube sound to use it simply as a portable amp.  Great idea - and if your set is going really well you can just record your session to tape, and laugh at how much money you saved instead of buying those fakey "analog warmth" digital FX.

Get Programming With BBC Basic

BBC Basic was created as a turbocharged version of the Basic programming language for the famed Acorn BBC Micro. Some say it was the best early flavour of the language because it featured such useful constructs as REPEAT-UNTIL and a full-fledge IF-THEN-ELSE syntax. The original versions also featured an integrated in-line 6502 assembly language editor.

My elderly but much loved Cambridge Z88 notepad conveniently includes BBC Basic, and it has been ported to many modern platforms including Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and even Win CE. To make things even more tempting, Richard Russell (a member of the original BBC team) offers free downloadable versions that are limited to 8K of combined program/stack space.

Richard Russell's BBC Basic page

Luscious Lensbabies

Millions of dollars are spent each year improving the optical qualities of camera lenses. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that a company has made a name for itself with a line of lenses that strive for imperfection. Lensbabies ($96) are selective focus SLR camera lenses. They bring one area of the image into sharp focus, while blurring the rest. You can adjust the location of the "sweet spot" by bending the flexible lens tubing.

The result is reminiscent of a Holga or LOMO camera. Lest you strive for even more control, the company offers the $150 Lensbaby 2.0, which offers a sharper sweet spot and lower diffusion. Versions are available for a wide range of analog and digital SLRs. And -- for some reason -- the song "Beach Baby" is now playing on endless repeat between my ears. Oh, the horror! [image Copyright Craig Strong, from the lensbabies gallery.]

Lensbaby Selective Focus SLR Camera Lenses

Star Trek: Remastered

You probably have not have heard of a little series from the 1960's called Star Trek - think of it as "Wagon Train to the stars...".  Oh get the hook, if you're on the Internet you know Star Trek.  You know that its success came in the years of reruns since it's original network outing.  It's spawned numerous television and cinema sequels, and has become the 900 pound gorilla of science fiction.  All of this from an ambitious 40 year old TV program.

The new frontier today is HDTV, so the crew at CBS/Viacom have digitally scrubbed the old Trek to be ship-shape and bristol fashioned (I had to put in at least one actual military reference if we're going to sit here and pretend, okay?).  When I heard news of this project, I was concerned that it would suddenly bear little resemblance to the Trek I knew.  I could live with some sprucing, but if they were going to go crazy with the digital, I was gonna beam the hell out of Dodge.

The first pair of episodes were broadcast last weekend, and I have to admit that it was pretty thrilling.  The only places I saw CG in play was with the recreation of original model shots (they took a lot of care to mimic the original speed and feel of those shots - including film grain!), and a little smoothing over of some on-screen special effects.  They didn't change the story, dub in a lot of extra sound, nor did any of their tweaks change the heart of the show.  It still felt like honest-to-goodness Trek.

Kodak gives up the bottle, holds down a new job

I've been worried about my old friend Eastman Kodak recently. His products aren't selling as well as they used to, he tossed all the hard work he put into Kodachrome, and I was saddened to see that he recently bailed out of the cutthroat digital camera market. Rumor has it he developed a taste for single malt scotch to drown his sorrows. Thankfully, his German buddies at Leica banded together to offer a little work to help get him back on his feet.

The Leica M8 is a stunning meld of new and old world technology. It's a high-end digital rangefinder that's fully compatible with the classic Leica M lens system (according to Leica, even vintage lenses from the 1950s look stunning in digital). And -- get this -- its 10.3 Megafloople CCD sensor was developed by our old friend Kodak. The Kodak KAF10500 supports ISO 160 through ISO 2500 speed settings, offering what Leica terms "a greater wealth of detail than can be achieved with analog film."

Given the M8's stratospheric $4795 price tag, I suspect the product will do more for Kodak's reputation than their bottom line. Just don't be surprised to see Kodak sensors popping up in a broader range of cameras as time goes on. It's good to have you back, Eastman old fellow.

Leica M8 details (photokina-show.com)

Related posts:
Venerable Voigtlanders for under $100
Leica R8 - Beautifully Modern 35mm From The Originators Of The Format
Minox Subminiature Digital Cameras

Beautiful Horological Machines by MB&F

Max Büsser is a man with nothing left to prove. After all, his stellar career includes time at Jaeger-LeCoultre and the successful revitalization of Harry Winston's timepiece division. That wasn't enough, however. His new company, Maximilian Büsser and Friends, is set to turn the world of high watchmaking on its ear. MB&F's debut creation is the Horological Machine No. 1, which ought to bill itself as "The official timepiece of Victorian-era time machines." I've yet to stumble across a price, but don't worry... you can't afford it.

As timezone.com reports, "The dial on the right provides a reading for minutes with a massive speedometer needle-like hand. An indication for the watch’s massive four barreled fuel tank is also mounted on this same axis. On the left dial you have a reading for hours. Both dials feature transverse mounted floating sapphire subdials to provide time indication on the left, and on which the power reserve indication is engraved on the right.  The hour and minute hands have to communicate with each other across the massive divide between them. This was accomplished with an oversized, ultra-flat, mirror-polished wheel centrally located under the dial. Too thin to support from its axis, this wheel cleverly floats between two layers of precision-adjusted jewels. Because of the artisan minutia involved, only 100 watches will be made in the next three years.  Indeed the Horological Machine No.1 is the horological equivalent of a super car."

Max Büsser & Friends Horological Machine No.1

Build a Sound Lab mini synthesizer

Analog synthesizers have a reputation for being expensive and finicky. Ray Wilson's Sound Lab sets out to change this perception. It's a straightforward design that can be built for less than $100, if you're careful. You'll have to dream up your own case and front panel design, but that's half the fun.

Once finished, this little sound box will produce a variety of musical (and not so musical) squeaks and squawks from its twin analog oscillators, state-variable resonant filter, low frequency oscillator and amplitude envelope. Be warned that this project isn't a good choice for noobs and that you'll have to perform a few tweaks (such as a fine-tuning mod) to make it truly useful in a musical setting.

A bare circuit board is available for $30 (plus $5 shipping) and a full parts kit is available for $176 (AUS) from Elby Designs. By the way, if you're interested in MIDI-enabled analog kits, be sure to check out PAiA's fantastic Fatman synth.

Sound Lab Mini-Synthesizer