Retro Thing

Thodio: Exquisite Wooden iPod Docks

There are countless iPod docks on the market, but few are as carefully crafted as the Thodio iBox lineup from Amsterdam. Thomas Spaans tells me that he created his first classically styled iBox in the summer of 2005. Each case is handcrafted from 15 mm beech, oak, teak, zebrano or mahogany. They contain a 2 x 25 Watt solid state amplifier and a pair of Focal Polyglass 100CV1 full range speakers.

One thing that bothers me about many docking systems is that they tether you to the wall with an awkward AC adapter. Thankfully, the iBox does away with wires by incorporating a built-in rechargeable 15 hour battery pack that enables you to take the unit beyond the four walls of your home. You'll be the life of the party during power outages, too. There's even a 149 euro Bluetooth option for completely wireless operation.

Prices start at 359 euros for a painted MDF version and range up to 549 euros for a deluxe finish with 7 layers of scratch-proof gloss finish and UV protection.

Visit thodio for more iBox information

Sonic Impact T-Amp: The Next Generation

Sonic Impact have released their third budget amplifier based on a Tripath T-Amp digital amplifier chip (the TA2024C, it seems), priced at $69.99. Some sites are reporting that it's twice as powerful as the original, but the specs indicate the same maximum power output. In other words, it looks like you're paying twice as much for a sleeker case and perhaps some improved internal circuitry.

The Retro Thing guys had a chance to put a Tripath-based amp through its paces a few weeks ago, and we were pleasantly surprised. The Tripath chip produces respectable, uncolored audio at moderate volumes. If you're looking for a cheap amplifier with only a single input and no tone controls, this thing is a bargain.

That said, ignore the hype from the various audiophile review sites who treat T-Amp chips as if they're the second coming of Christ. After all, these little power-efficient (low heat) chips are intended for televisions and set-top boxes, and I haven't (yet) seen any online reviews blathering about how certain televisions exhibit "brilliantly effervescent and poignant soundstages," and all sorts of other unquantifiable nonsense.

My guess is that the reviewers are being fooled by the way these chips handle distortion, interpreting it as exceptional sound. To be blunt, many golden-eared audiophiles are in their late 30s to 50s and are probably unaware of their rapidly deteriorating hearing. It's always worth checking out photos of their audio setups, which often feature impressive stacks of exotic components in a massive and sparsely furnished listening room -- a cavernous space that echoes and colors the sound in a myriad of strange and unpleasant ways.

My living room is one of those awkward listening spaces with a 12 foot vaulted ceiling, lots of hardwood and a 12 foot wide bank of windows. I would never dream of conducting a serious listening test there, but it appears many others would.

In conclusion, don't expect a miracle but do expect to get your money's worth from Sonic Impact's latest little digital stereo amplifier. It's in stock now at Think Geek for $69.99, or through Amazon.com at just over $50.

Related:
Sonic Impact T-Amp - The Truth
The official Sonic Impact site

Visions Of A Soviet Retro Future In Outer Space

The folks over at darkroastedblend.com have collected a number of Eastern Bloc paintings of life in space.   Reminiscent of outlandish American pulp covers from the 50's, these paintings are full of faith in the technological future that never really happened quite that way.  Let's not forget how close the Cold War space race could get at times - the overwhelming fear in the U.S. was that the flag that flew over the moon could be a red one.

Many of the fictitious designs feature cavernous all-glass rooms (imagine the heating costs, let alone paying the oxygen bill!), vehicles with robot pincer arms, and of course the hazards of winged space beasts - all meant to fire landlubber's imaginations.

The interesting thing to bear in mind is that all of these spaceships and living quarters would have to exist in the harsh realities of space.  You'd think that would limit some design choices when creating these fantastic vehicles and dwellings.  Even with those sorts of design parameters, you can still sense elements of the arts' iron curtain origins. 

One thing that they definitely got right in many of these paintings... cosmo-ladies.

Thank you, comrades.

Check out the collection at Dark Roasted Blend

Related:
Space race launched 50 years ago with Soviet Sputnik
Pulp cover art documentary on DVD
Soviet designed computer mice

Max Headroom Video Hijacking - 20th Anniversary

Last weekend was Thanksgiving in the U.S.  Besides marking the launch of the holiday shopping season, there were several other important anniversaries.  It was the 44th anniversary of the JFK assassination, the 44th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who, and of course the 20th anniversary of the Max Headroom broadcast hijacking in Chicago.  That last one not familiar?

Though the incident happened in Chicago, it made news far beyond this city.  Let me paint you a picture of what I remember first-hand.  I was in high school in 1987, and was a huge fan of both Doctor Who & the Max Headroom sci-fi TV series.  It was probably close to midnight on Sunday night, and the Doctor's adventure ("Horror of Fang Rock" for those of you playing along at home) was suddenly interrupted by another of my heroes - Max Headroom.  I was freaked out.  FREAKED OUT.

I checked my VCR & other video gear - it wasn't crossed wires on my end.  Max (or someone dressed like Max) had hijacked the transmission and was broadcasting his own signal.  The hijacking featured a guy in a Max mask, rotating corrugated metal cleverly stood in for Max's abstract graphical background, and for about a minute all of Doctor Who's audience was at Max's mercy.  My fear was that I'd be in the rubber room after telling people that Max Headroom had spoken to me through my TV the night before.

KENBAK-1 - Recreating the original personal computer

Few people have heard of it, yet many people consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercially available personal computer. Incredibly, the machine has been re-released as a $999  KENBAK-1 Series 2 reproduction. More on that in a moment...

The sleek Star Trek-inspired machine was announced in the September 1971 issue of Scientific American, carrying a price tag of only $750. It was designed before the microprocessor revolution, so the system logic was built around small and medium scale ICs. MOS shift registers provided a mere 256 bytes of memory. The 1 MHz clock signal was provided by a multivibrator, but the system was only capable of executing a few hundred instructions per second because of the serial architecture. And - just like Star Trek - the front panel featured a row of incandescent blinky lights instead of LEDs, because they were brighter.

Around 40 units were sold to schools and colleges, since the system was a bit too early and technically limited to appeal to hobbyists. I suspect many of the machines had a hard life before being rendered obsolete by the far more capable microprocessor-based personal computers of the late 1970s. As a result, less than a dozen original KENBAK-1 computers still exist.

Grant Stockly's modern KENBAK-1 Series 2 reproduction is faithful to the original. He borrowed an old Revision B Kenbak-1 circuit board from John Blankenbaker and had exact copies manufactured. The system is built around either new or 'new old stock' parts, and the reproduction case is based on careful measurement of an original. The final result is amazing - like stepping back in time.

A small number of reproductions are available in kit form. Stockly offers a very reasonable build guarantee - if a customer cannot get the machine functioning, he is willing to repair it for only the cost of shipping and replacement parts. There are less than ten kits still available, so act now if you fancy one. [via a Silent Q post about building a Micro-KIM replica]

More about the KENBAK-1 Series 2 Reproduction [KenbakKit.com]
John Blankenbaker's official KENBAK-1 History site

Related:
The Retro Thing 'Top Ten Retrocomputers List'

Meccano Special Edition Retro Set

This $55 vintage-styled 166 piece set includes everything you need to build a variety of freestyle models. It includes old fashioned red and green metal strips with 1/2" spaced perforations, along with plates and girders, wieels, pulleys, axels and nuts & bolts.

Meccano mechanical toys first appeared in Liverpool in the late 19th Century. Inventor Frank Hornby patented his metal nut & bolt assembly kits and started marketing Meccano in 1907. His toy construction sets became extremely popular and additional factories were opened in Germany and France.

Ownership of the company changed hands a few times over the decades – it was even owned by cereal maker General Mills for a few short years in the early 1980s. These days, Meccano is part of the Japanese Nikko group. And, almost 100 years after their humble beginning in Liverpool, they still manufacture metal construction sets, along with modernized plastic versions.

Meccano Special Edition Set [leevalley.com]

Our First Annual 'Buy Retro Day'

Today is Black Friday in the USA. It's the busiest shopping day of the year, with millions of gadget fiends are out bargain hunting. To speak out against runaway consumerism, protesters have declared today Buy Nothing Day. It's a nice gesture, but there is a better way to tackle the problem...

We're declaring Saturday the first annual Buy Retro Day.

We challenge you to discover the charms of an old gadget. Your newfound device is guaranteed to attract more attention than a boring "me too" flat panel TV or cell phone. Yes, it will take a bit more effort than joining the hopeful hoards at the local Best Buy, but you'll be well rewarded for your effort. Besides, you'll probably save hundreds of dollars and help the environment in the process.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Get your hands on a Super 8 movie camera. Good models are often available for well under $50 on eBay or from thrift stores, pawn shops and sites such as Craigslist. It's always best to buy locally because you can inspect the device before buying - remember to take along a pocketful of AA batteries. You could even go wind-up and purchase an old Soviet model.

2. Try your hand at circuit bending a toy musical instrument. It can be really fun glitching a Kermit the Frog Casio keyboard, toy robots and whatever else you can get your hands on.

3. Experience the mystique of analog audio. There are a surprising number of turntables available new for under $100 (or even less used), or get your hands on a reel-to-reel tape deck. Vintage speakers can be amazing, too; classic Magneplanars look and sound great.

4. Vintage computing can be really fun, although many classic computers aren't nearly as useful as they once were. One exception is the Sharp/Radio Shack pocket computer line. These tiny little computers are surprisingly versatile and fully programmable in BASIC. They're also shockingly affordable.

5. Try you hands at medium format photography. It is a fantastic way to shoot awe-inspiring portraits and landscapes on a negative almost four times the size of regular 35mm film. You can purchase new Diana+ cameras for less than $50 and Chinese Seagull TLR models can be had for just over $100.

Let us know in the comments if you end up buying anything irresistibly old fashioned this weekend.

Book Your Flight On A Zeppelin NT

The 75 meter long Zeppelin NT (New Technology) made her maiden voyage on September 18, 1997.

The modern Zeppelin NT is filled with helium, and the airframe is constructed from aluminum and carbon fiber. The entire lifting structure weighs approximately 1000 kg (2200 lbs). It requires only a 3 person ground crew for normal operation and the enormous vehicle can carry a total payload of 1900 kg (4180 lbs). The cabin comfortably seats 2 flight crew and 12 passengers, and the three Textron Lycoming IO-360 engines can propel the craft at up to 125 km/h (77 mph). The Zeppelin NT has a maximum endurance of approximately 24 hours with a range of up to 900 km (559 miles).

The Zeppelin name is synonymous with rigid airships, and a total of 119 of these beautiful craft were built between 1900 and 1938. The most successful was the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, which managed an astounding around-the-world journey in October 1929. LZ 127 went on to cover a total distance of about 1.7 million miles over the course of 590 flights, including regular transatlantic service.

The Zeppelin name is also synonymous with the fateful crash of the Hindenburg at Lakehurst, New Jersey in May 1937. The aircraft was engulfed with flames in a mere 34 seconds, a disaster that may have been caused by leaking hydrogen from a torn gas bag combined with an inflammable outer coating.

Ironically, the Hindenburg disaster was caused by politics, rather than technology. The original design called for the craft to be filled with nonflammable helium, but a US export embargo prevented the Germans from obtaining the gas. Politics also led to the end of the original Zeppelin line. The Nazi regime regarded airships as having limited military capabilities, and the Luftwaffe grounded the remaining fleet at the outbreak of WWII. The aircraft were destroyed for parts in 1940.

The company founded by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin still exists today, having diversified into a multinational automotive supplier that employees more than 53,000 people in 25 countries.

I've saved the best news for last, of course. The 2008 flying season starts on March 15th, and a 30 minute flight over Friedrichshafen is priced at 200 euros ($300). Longer trips are also available, including an unforgettable loop over Lake Constance in southern Germany.

Visit the official Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH site
My First Zeppelin Flight [with great photos]

Rebirth of the Local CD Store

Traditional brick & mortar CD stores are a dumb idea in the 21st century. They house hundreds of thousands of dollars of physical inventory in an enormous space, just to market digital content. Still, CDs remain an excellent idea for several reasons: They offer high-quality uncompressed versions of an artist's music, the package includes physical media which serves as a backup in case your hard drive crashes or your iPod goes missing, and disc packages often include clever artwork and liner notes that give artists the chance to make a lasting visual impression on their audience.

Digital download services can't compete in terms of quality, looks or the ability to resell the media. That's why I still buy physical copies of my music, although it's getting harder and harder to find decently stocked CD and DVD stores.

Luckily, It looks like a CD and DVD distribution revolution is just around the corner.

Primera Technology, a leading manufacturer of disc duplication hardware, recently announced a partnership with Sonic Solutions to develop the Sonic Disc-on-Demand system. The new device allows retailers to offer an almost unlimited catalog of CDs and DVDs without requiring a huge in-store inventory. The software incorporates industry-standard CSS copy protection, which should keep major labels and studios happy.

The Sonic Disc-on-Demand system isn't perfect (It doesn't appear to provide a solution for printing tray cards or liner notes) but these capabilities could easily be added if it proves popular. Best of all, Disc-on-Demand might be the saviour of dying independent record stores, which could combine the enjoyment of browsing a large used disc collection with almost unlimited new material.

Read Primera's DVD On Demand press release

A New Super 8 Film Cartridge From GK-Film

The Super 8 film format is now 42 years old and Kodak's product lineup is stronger than ever. Young filmmakers are often enthusiastic adoptees of the vintage format because of its distinctive look and the low cost of equipment, and the format remains popular for TV commercials and music videos. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving; the Super 8 party might come to an end sooner than we expect.

No new cameras have been developed in the past twenty years, and Kodak's film division has seen a dramatic decrease in sales as consumers adopt digital technology. Fewer than 100,000 cartridges of Super 8 film are sold each year, down from over 17 million in the early 1980s.

There are several innovative little companies who could fill the void if Kodak stops production of Super 8 film, except for one awkward little problem: Kodak is the only company in the world that manufactures the little plastic Super 8 cartridge.

In an effort to reduce the industry's dependence on Kodak, GK-Film in Bielefeld, Germany decided to create a dramatically improved Super 8 cartridge. The new design is the brainchild of Gottfried Klose, the man who introduced Cinevia -- Fuji Velvia 50 daylight reversal film -- to Super 8 users throughout the world.

GK-Film used modern computer-based manufacturing techniques to create a cartridge that should outperform the ancient Kodapak design. It features a metal film pressure plate, replacing the low-quality plastic plate that pressed the film against the camera aperture in the Kodak design. This should offer noticeably better image stability and more consistent focus across the entire frame.

The new GK-Film Super 8 cartridge is currently undergoing testing and should hit the market in early 2008, loaded with amazingly sharp and vibrant Fuji Velvia 50D film. I can't wait!

Discover Cinevia Professional Super 8 Motion Picture Film
The official GK-Film Site
Kodak's current Super 8 film lineup

The Awesome Kodak Brownie Starflash

The Starflash is one of my favorite Eastman Kodak Brownies, thanks to the enormous flash mount that seems designed to terrify family and friends. The camera took 127 roll film which produces square images measuring 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 inches and carried a list price of $8.50 (that's $60.90 in 2006 dollars).

Most of the Starflashes I've come across have been white or black, but it was also produced in bright red with a Coca Cola decal. The M-2 flash bulbs had to be replaced after every shot, making indoor photography a real chore. This Starflash outfit includes the original box and manual and is available from Collectible Cameras for $49, along with dozens of other interesting vintage cameras and projectors.

Collectible Cameras Online Catalog [lots of product photos]

Quest For A Modern Tube Radio

The R601P is a modern tube amplified table radio, priced at a quite reasonable $369. It stands apart from most modern 'retro style' audio gear, which often provides little more than a cut-rate transistorized AM/FM/CD/Cassette mechanism stuffed into a tacky wooden case.

The R601P measure a mere 12 inches wide by about 9 inches deep, yet weighs a whopping 15 pounds thanks to its hefty power transformers and four tube design that includes two 6P14 triodes, a 6F2 rectifier and a 6E2 'magic eye' to show signal strength. The 4-inch driver is capable of a respectable 80 Hz to 15 kHz at 6 Watts, although the tube amplifier can drive a 1/8-inch headphone jack on the back panel in stereo with 30 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response.

The unit includes a 1/8 audio line level audio input so you can use it with an external iPod or CD player, although it might make sense to splurge for the $489 R601SW stereo version if this is your aim.

If you're on the lookout for something a bit more substantial, the $848 R801 features a 7 tube stereo design that pumps  out 2 x 18W. It offers two RCA aux inputs and can drive two external speakers. Unlike their American and European ancestors, these units are produced in mainland China by the Shenzhen Jidian Technology Company. They're available in the USA through Stephen Monte's Quest For Sound in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.

R601P Classic AM/FM Radio
R801 Hi-Fi Stereo Classic AM/FM/SW Tube Radio

Visit The Retro Thing Gadget Emporium

The Retro Thing Gadget Emporium is back. Where else could you find the understated and affordable Medana Silvertone Railroad Dial Pocketwatch for a mere $19.95? It offers a reliable quartz mechanism with date counter and a 14 inch metal chain. Most importantly, it doesn't have an annoying flip cover to slow you down.

Highlights of this year's collection include Stern's brilliant $4,999 Spiderman multi-ball pinball machine, Blade Runner: The Five-Disc Collector's Edition (I always thought there was something fishy about Deckard) and an iTube Valve Amplifier to show your iPod just how much you really love her. Christmas is coming, so pretend you're shopping for someone else...

Visit The Retro Thing Gadget Emporium

Steam Trek: The Moving Picture

Join The Captain, Sooty and some wretched fellow with big ears on the maiden voyage of the NCC-1. No ladies in the away team, though. It wouldn't do to have a member of the fairer sex faint in the heat of action.

Dennis Sisterson directed this Super 8 steampunk send-up on a bank holiday weekend in 1994, based upon Ashley Levy's brilliant idea of remaking Star Trek as if it had been created by George Melies. The film made the rounds on the Sci-Fi circuit for years before being re-edited in 2007.

"The idea for what became Steam Trek was first pitched at a meeting at the National Film Theatre by Ashley Levy, who read out a story outline entitled 'Star Trek - The Silent Generation'. The group loved the idea - I liked it so much I asked to direct it - and I joined forces with Ashley to complete the script. After much discussion we agreed to shoot the film on Super-8 rather than video. Although this would be more expensive, we hoped there would be few out-takes, since there would be no lines to fluff!

We converged on the Quaker Meeting House at Billaricay Common on Friday July 2nd, and dragged ourselves out of our sleeping bags at 6am to begin filming. Filming went smoothly despite the sun taking its toll on one or two people, and we were finished by 3pm on Sunday. Only two shots needed a second take, and many of the visual gags were thought up by the cast and crew on the spot."

Visit Sisterson's site to view the film in its entirety

The making of Steam Trek

Briel KIM-1 8-bit Home Computer Clone

Briel Computers have followed up their popular Apple-I clone with the Micro-KIM, a copy of the MOS Technologies KIM-1, the computer that sparked a frenzy in the hobby community in the mid-1970s. The KIM-1 was created in 1975 as an engineering development board for the brand new low cost 6502 microprocessor that became the heart of the Apple II, Commodore VIC-20, Atari 800 and dozens (if not hundreds) of other popular home computers.

Although intended for engineering research, the $245 KIM-1 proved irresistible to hobbyists. The single board design offered 1K or RAM, a 1 MHz 6502 CPU, a user-hostile 23-button Hexadecimal keypad and a six-digit LED display. There were also interfaces for cassette storage and a serial teleprinter. It seems prehistoric by modern standards, but the machine offered unbeatable value in the mid-1970s and proved to be an excellent learning tool for an upcoming generation of influential programmers. The Comp Sci department of my university used a handful of these affordable machines until the mid 1980s because they offered easy expansion through a 30-pin edge connector.

The modern Briel Micro-KIM sells for a mere $99 in kit form ($149 fully assembled). It offers 5K of RAM and a built-in RS-232 serial port to simplify communication with a PC-based terminal package. All in all, it looks like an interesting board for learning assembly language, although students might be better off learning their way around a Microchip PIC or Atmel AVR microcontroller instead, especially since most modern single-chip microcontrollers sell for well under $10.

Discover more about the Briel Micro-KIM