Retro Thing

The world's first black & white 35mm film camera?

This is the only 35mm camera I've ever seen that won't accept color film. It's a 27 shot 'disposable' loaded with Kodak's Professional BW400CN B&W print film. The great thing about this film is that it can be processed using the C-41 process that's standard in mini labs throughout the known universe. This is a no-frills device: fast 400 ASA film and a built-in flash with a 12 foot range. It seems idal for capturing incriminating snapshots at weddings and other get-togethers, although I'm sure it it could be modified into a quirky pinhole or LOMO camera.

Alas, I can't find any mention of this little gizmo on the Kodak site, which has me worried that it's already discontinued. I've added it to the Retro Thing store just so you can find it if you're interested - I can't promise it will remain available for long. Luckily, Kodak Professional BW400CN B&W film is still listed on the Big K's site in 24 and 36 exposure rolls for 35mm and 120 medium format cameras.

Kodak B&W One Time Use Camera [Retro Thing Gadget Emporium]
Kodak Professional BW400CN B&W film (C-41 color processing) 

NES Paul - Hacked Guitar + Nintendo

When I say "hacked" I mean hacked!  If you visit the page linked below you'll see that while conventional  tools were employed to modify both a guitar and a classic NES console, the creator did have to press a giant machette into use as well.  Whoa.

You may recall that Music Thing featured a similar project guitar, except that axe was 16-bit since it was based on a Sega Genesis.  It's hard to think that either guitar sounds very good, but given the amount of digital jiggery-pokery that you can process your guitar's output through, I imagine that these plastic & pulpwood guitars have a chance of sounding okay.  A silk purse from a sow's DSP, if you will...

Link to NES Paul guitar pics

Aston Workshop: Restored automotive gems

In case you're living under a rock in Antarctica, this is the opening weekend for the latest Bond flick - Casino Royale. I'll admit that Daniel Craig is suitably menacing as 007, but I prefer Connery's style. I'm also partial to the Silver Birch DB5 that appeared the 1964 classic Goldfinger.

That particular car was a DB5 prototype lent to Eon Productions in 1963, complete with smoke screen, machine guns and a convenient ejector seat conjured up by John Sears on the Pinewood Studios lot. I even had a die-cast DB5 as a kid. Alas, the timeless beauty and rarity of these vehicles is enough to ensure that they'll never be affordable.

The Aston Workshop was founded by Bob Fountain in 1988 and specializes in the restoration of DB4, DB5 and DB6 models, although they dabble with other models and the occasional Jaguar as well. I haven't mentioned prices so far, so let's get that out of the way: the least expensive DB5 on their site is listed at £119,000.

A 1965 DB5 Silver Birch similar to the Bond car (sans gadgets) is listed at £210,000: "The car comes complete with a full body re-spray in Silver Birch, recent gearbox, rebuilt engine, new suspension, brakes and interior (Black).  Although the car will feature all of our latest upgrades, extra options will of course be available and final price will be dependent on the specification required." She sure is pretty.

The Aston Workshop

Tomy reissues Atomic Pinball

Bohus and I spent an afternoon visiting thrift stores in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. We stumbled across an old 1980s Tomy Atomic Arcade Pinball at one place, and I began to reminisce about playing it in my youth. Alas, I was too lazy to plunk down the pocket change needed to make it mine.

It looks like I'll get a second chance. Tomy has reissued the machine with an up to date color scheme and new playfield graphics. The new version requires 4 D cell batteries and features the same funky electromechanical scoring and sound effects as the  1982 original (pictured on the left). It's interesting to note that the name has been shortened to Atomic Pinball; I guess no one spends time in arcades anymore.

Tomy Atomic Pinball: available at the Retro Thing store

New eBook: Essential Retro gadget guide

My Essential Retro book is now available as a $9.95 electronic edition that includes everything from the paperback version. If you prefer the smell and feel of paper, the print version is available with free shipping in the USA and Canada until Christmas (discounted shipping is available for international orders, too).

Visit eSellerate to buy the eBook with instant electronic delivery
Or, drop by the official Essential Retro site for more info

Play:Right Arcade Museum... in Denmark?!

Let's pretend you're a lost retrogamer wandering through the Danish wilderness. With considerable luck, you might stumble across the Play:Right Arcade Museum on a farm near the city of Aarhus in Jutland. It advertises itself as the world's largest collection of old arcade games. Hidden inside a nondescript wooden outbuilding are more than 2,000 games and 50 arcade machines, including Galaga, Q*bert, Virtua Racing, 1942, Moon Patrol and many others.

The building is unheated and therefore closed during the winter, but it'll be open again (with free admission) in Spring 2007. Until then, you'll have to make do with an online tour of the building. [thanks, John!]

Play:Right Arcade Museum [via Zoned.dk]

Effectrode Tube-Vibe handcrafted guitar pedal

I get weak at the knees around limited edition handmade analog electronics, especially devices that use tubes (valves for any Brits in the audience). Phil Taylor's Effectrode guitar effects pedals all feature vacuum tube technology. In fact, one rather gets the idea that he'd prefer to drink molten lead than market a transistorized device:

"To my ear, transistorized effects pedals have two major shortcomings. Firstly, they invariably sound dull and lack presence. As a result, you're constantly fiddling with tone controls in a futile quest to find that elusive sound. Secondly, trannie based gear has a limited dynamic range and will 'hard' clip' the signal all too easily. The result is a sonically abrasive sputtering or gritty sound which fatigues the ear."

If you happen to be a guitar player on the lookout for some tubeish warmth, check out Cary Miller's in-depth look at Effectrode's $495 Tube-Vibe, which Miller described to me as "a lovingly hand-crafted homage to the classic Shiftee Uni-Vibe vibrato pedal made famous by the likes of Hendrix, Stevie Ray, and others. It's got a 100% tube signal path, three vacuum tubes sticking right out of the top, a funky purple metal fleck finish, and produces gorgeous, liquid-like vibrato and chorus tones."

Review: Effectrode's Tube-Vibe guitar effects pedal

Wicked DIY analog video synth

Brian McKenna has hacked up a very cool 'signal bending' analog video synthesizer. It's kinda like circuit bending, except it works by overlaying audio waveforms onto the VGA output of a computer. The result is an unpredictable and quirky video glitch machine.

"Video synthesis tends to be dominated by digital technology these days. However, analogue video synthesis techniques can still offer a great many advantages in terms of aesthetics, performance, simplicity, and adaptability. Not to mention the non-linear surprises which can come from working in the analogue domain. This "VGA Expropriator" will be the first in a series of proprietary analogue hardware devices which seek to explore the possibilities of digital/analogue hybrid technology in video/audio performance and studio production contexts. The first offering here is essentially a new design with it's creative process making ample use of circuit-bending methodologies."

VGA Expropriator - analogue video synthesizer [via Hack A Day]

REVIEW: Messiah Wireless Nintendo NES controllers

[You're about to read our first ever product review. Rest assured that these hands-on tests are completely unpaid and independent - the views expressed are entirely our own. Enjoy! -James]

Lots of today's avid video game players began their careers with the groundbreaking Nintendo NES.  Not only was it a quantum leap in home video game technology, but it helped rescucitate video games after the industry crashed in 1983. The NES was long-lived, lasting into the 90's, but who would think that there would still be a company developing new products for the classic 8 bit system twenty years later?  Messiah is an American company that has probably gone the farthest to bring NES classics back in a big way.

NES had wireless controllers back in the 80's, but their range was rather limited, and you needed to maintain line of sight during your game - difficult during an intense session of Rad Racer.  Messiah's wireless controllers have no such limitations; they use the same 2.4 GHz RF tech as a good cordless phone. 

The Messiah controllers had me beaming with a new hope - could these controllers empower even a sucky player like me?  Would I wage a wireless war on all those classic 8 bit games that kicked my butt so many years ago?  Here's our hands-on review.

Affordable homebrew gaming: XGameStation Pico Edition 2.0

We first looked at the XGameStation in September 2005. The system was created to introduce a new generation to the fun of coding and playing classic console video games. The original unit was priced at $199, which put it out of reach of many casual hobbyists. To reach a wider audience, the company offered the Pico Edition, a tiny (and fiddly) $59.95 DIY breadboard unit.

They now offer the $79.95 XGS Pico Edition 2.0, which includes the original breadboard system along with a sexy all-new compact PC board that looks extremely easy to assemble. The unit is designed around the 80 MHz Ubicom SX28 microcontroller and features a Harvard Architecture core based upon the popular Microchip family of MCUs. Video is generated using a software-based raster graphics technique similar to the old Atari 2600 and Apple II systems. The compact PC board features a simple 7-segment LED display and built-in gamepad buttons. It absolutely screams "Hack up a cool case for me!"

XGameStation Pico Edition 2.0 [via Make!]

Related:
XGameStation: A Modern Vintage Game System

Mikael Carlson Flying Machines

Swedish 737 pilot Mikael Carlson grew up building aircraft. He started by crafting model planes and moved on to build his first full-sized machine - a replica of a Swedish 1919 Tummelisa military biplane - at the age of 23. It took seven years. Instead of taking advantage of advances in technology, he used the original engine and authentic materials.

His most remarkable machines are his two genuine Bleriot XI monoplanes. Louis Bleriot made the XI famous by flying it across the English channel. Carlson reminds us that is was also the first airplane to cross the Alps and fly a loop. The little Bleriot was quite popular and was used as a flight trainer in Sweden between 1913 and 1919. Carlson found his first Bleriot in the late 1980s - disassembled in a barn. He restored it to original flying condition and it flew again in 1991. Both aircraft are equipped with original 1908 Gnôme-Omega 50 hp rotary engines, which develop a then-massive 50 HP. They cruise at a sedate 42 knots (78 kph).

Mikael Carlson Flying Machines

TerraTec's bizarrely named vinyl ripper

TerraTec has introduced another turntable to vinyl interface, and they've obviously run out of good names. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce the £70 PhonoPreAmp iVinyl. It just slides off the tongue, doesn't it? They obviously realized that sticking the letter 'i' on the front of a word was becoming cliche and decided to go OneStepFurther.

Ignoring the name, it's a nifty little USB-powered box. The design is vaguely reminiscent of the Mac Mini (hence the 'i' in the name, methinks). The iVinyl takes the output from your decrepit old turntable and immortalizes it into shimmering 24bit/96 kHz mp3 format - until your next hard drive crash, anyway. The bundled SoundRescue and CD Spin Doctor software allows you to filter out the hum, crackles and pops that make vinyl charming.

TerraTec PhonoPreAmp iVinyl AudioConverterThing [via Red Ferret]

Related posts:
ART USB preamplifier/computer audio interface
TerraTec Phono PreAmp Studio USB (hmm...)

JBL Spot Speakers

Okay - finally someone is starting to get it.  If we're going to look all cool listening to music on our slick laptops & MP3 players, we need speakers that look at least as cool.  You're not still listening to music using those lousy slits next to your laptop's screen are you?  Isn't it time that you start living large by getting yourself an amplified set of external speakers?

Lots of external speakers take the easy way out, copying the boxy look of their speaker cabinet brethren.  Other designs capitalize on flat speaker technology - which is great if you don't actually intend on listening to music on them (no bass = no music for me).  More and more manufacturers are getting creative with speaker design, giving listeners a chance to show off their individuality just as much as their choice in music does.

Shake hands with the swank looking JBL Spot Speakers.  Equally at home in the movie "2001" or the city aquarium, these speakers look slick.  You can swap faceplates between black and white (with more to come!), it's all neatly self-contained, and the cables are even cloth covered - like in the old days!

Details from a German website

The most beautiful libraries in the world

I love libraries, especially if they contain musty and almost-forgotten texts. I went to university shortly before the arrival of the Internet and the modern onslaught of searchable electronic journals. As a result, I spent many hours lurking in various reading rooms and thumbing through stacks of books. Lest I get overly sentimental, I wasted a lot of time searching for needles in those bibliographic haystacks.

Many libraries - especially ancient ones - share a mystical beauty. Internationally renowned architechtural photographer Guillaume de Laubier's 248 page hardcover captures the elegance of more than 20 of these architectural treasures: "From the dramatic, baroque Library of the Institut de France in Paris, to the splendid Vatican Library in Rome; from the majestic Royal Library in El Escorial, Spain, to the famed New York Public Library, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece-here are some of the most exquisite libraries of the Western world."

The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World

Gimp my ride: Hot Wheels manufacturing errors

One side-effect of mass production is that sometimes things go amusingly wrong. David Elliott's collection of slightly strange Hot Wheels cars is a case in point. These tiny wonders were delivered to store shelves with artwork missing or incorrect, wheels mounted backwards, absent windshields and engines, or incorrect packaging.

As Elliott remarks, "Anything that can be produced can be produced wrong, and in most collecting hobbies involving manufacturing on a large scale, production errors are a specialty. Hot Wheels collecting is no exception. Collectors looking for something to make their collection unique seek out errors." Don't get too excited if you stumble across one of these little accidents in your local toy store because they're probably not worth much - maybe a $1 or so more than the standard version. In part, this is because many mistakes are quite common and easily faked by unscrupulous "dealers."

David Elliott's Guide to Hot Wheels Errors