Retro Thing

ToneMaster: Is It Live, Or Is It Killing Your Tape Deck?

As a lad, I was an avid taper. My friends were into taping music off of FM, or dubbing albums. Always the oddball, I was recording old time radio adventures. In Chicago, we're still lucky enough to have a radio show devoted to those old time classics like "Jack Benny" and "Suspense". My friends and I would argue the merits of various brands of recording tape, which had the best sound quality, which had the roomiest labels... I went through countless Maxell UR60's (since those old time radio shows tended to have low fidelity, I could get away with using normal formulation tape). Those tapes had a cleaning strip at the head of every tape, and if you watched the sale papers, you could catch them for a buck a piece (in 1980's money...).

If money was low, I'd sometimes cast my eye over the cheaper tape brands. ToneMaster was the house brand of national pharmacy chain Walgreens. They were quite cheap (sometimes you could get 10 for $3.00), looked cheap, were often packed in a plastic bag without protective cases, and most disappointingly sounded like death warmed over. A few times, I'd try to brave the odds, hoping that somehow ToneMaster tapes had improved. If the tape didn't snap or tangle, it was frequently significantly degraded within a few plays. The tape deck frequently needed cleaning after a ToneMaster playback. There was even an attempt to upgrade the image of ToneMaster by individually shrinkwrapping the cassettes each in a protective case, and upping the price. Still just awful.

If you mention ToneMaster tapes today, pretty much everyone is in on the joke. The name has been reduced to a punchline on cassette enthusiasts message boards. If the rotten audio weren't enough, there was always the fear that this inferior tape was actually harming your tape deck. Shoddy quality like this ToneMaster cassette is what made me welcome recordable optical media. Those times I had to use cheap audio cassettes or VHS tapes, I feared the irreparable damage I might be doing to my equipment. No matter how lousy a blank CD-R or a DVD-R might be, at least you're not wrecking your gear by using one.

I do still look for bargains, and I'm not afraid to test out an off brand product in search of a great deal. However ToneMaster has taught me that just because it fits into a cassette deck doesn't make it a particularly good thing to have in there. Sometimes a bargain can actually end up being quite costly.

related:
Pioneer's last cassette deck
No more 4 track cassette recorders
Early cassettes were pink?

Pantomation - Video Art The Way It Used To Be

I love old video performance gear. The real-time analog nature of the art form still holds exciting possibilities. Pantomation was a system from the 1970's that did some amazing stuff using what today would be considered a rather slow and low res video camera and a PDP computer. Pantomation was able to follow specific colored objects in the visual field using chromakey, then trigger audio and graphical events based on those movements. This is amazing stuff, especially when you see how the tracking system worked in concert with music and video synthesizers of the day.

Today's video game consoles are caught up in the "all new" area of gestural control, but look how capable the Pantomation system was at achieving this sort of effect decades ago. I would love to see more of this kind of kinetic art today using these breakthrough video game technologies. I miss the exuberance of video art pieces like these. Lots of computer based art these days just comes down to being elaborate computer animations. With all these great new real-time performance technologies, maybe we'll catch up with how cool the Pantomation was back in the late 70's!

related:

Wicked DIY analog video synth
Replicating the PDP-8

Commodore 64 Modern Replica Coming Soon

When I read a year ago that Asus, one of the big companies behind the netbook craze, was coming out with a keyboard PC, I couldn't help but think of the Commodore 64. A keyboard with a personal computer inside that you hook up to your TV? Everything that's old is new again.

But when I read recently that the company licensing the Commodore brand was planning a Commodore 64 replica with an Intel-powered PC inside, I had to check the calendar. I thought for sure it was some sort of April Fools' joke. (August Fools' Day, perhaps?)

Alas, it's apparently for real.

ZDNet UK reports that the new Commodore PC64 will have an Intel Atom processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 1 TB hard drive and an optical drive (CD/DVD or Blu-ray). It also will have modern video connections, six USB ports, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a media card reader.

Pricing has not yet been disclosed. Commodore's current keyboard computers start at $495 and rise to $1,295. The Asus Eee Keyboard PC is a somewhat comparable competitor, sporting some lesser specs and the aging Windows XP operating system but also a built-in 5-inch LED multi-touch display. It is going for $550 right now on Amazon. (The original C64 went for $600.)

I haven't seen any reports of what operating system the new machine will have. Ubuntu, with Windows 7 as an optional upgrade, seems likely, based on Commodore's current offerings.

The original C64 keyboard had a "Commodore" key and a control key. I don't know exactly how you cram in Windows, shift, control and "alt" keys onto the old layout. The original also had four function buttons on the right, far fewer than modern PCs.

I also wonder if they'll be able to match — of all things — the red power light. Blue LEDs are so fashionable these days, and the Commodore 64 wore that red little nubbin so nicely. I also have very strong memories of the C64's power switch, which had a very satisfying snap to it. Can the one on the PC64 be as good or will it be a squishy push button?

And then there's the beige-brown color combo. In a tiny photo from the Commodore USA website, the new machine looks 1990s PC beige, not 1980s Commodore beige. It's a small thing, but if you're going for nostalgia, you have to nail that sort of thing.

Ultimately, I wonder who the target buyer is. Considering the likely price, it better be more than a nostalgia experience: It should be a good computer.

related:
Commodore 64: The Best Selling Personal Computer of All Time
Is This The Ultimate Commodore 64 Mod?
Magnificent Commodore 64 Laptop

Landie Dying, Will Rise Again (Iconically)

The Land Rover Defender has been around in its current form for nearly 30 years, and the current model can draw a pretty straight line to the 1948 Series I. But time is short for the Landie. Stricter safety and emissions standards coming in 2015 are going to kill it.

Tata, the Indian carmaker that recently bought Land Rover from Ford, has undertaken "Project Icon," an effort to create a new Defender. Its challenge is immense: design a successor that has the same ability to swallow terrain like the current vehicle, build it for less money and sell many more of them. (It also might not hurt to appease those who have grown to love the vehicle over the past 60-plus years.)

There are various insights into how the company might accomplish this. Tata recently said it is shifting some Land Rover production to India, so it's possible the new vehicle could be built there, rather than in Solihull, England. The new model also could be a hybrid.

The current Defender definitely keeps the utility in sport utility vehicle. Ground clearance is 13 inches. Water up to 20 inches deep doesn't bother it. Neither do inclines up to about 45 degrees. Mileage? As they say, "If you have to ask …"

The Defender hasn't been sold in the U.S. since the late 1990s. I test drove one on a lark just before its U.S. demise. (In British Racing Green, of course.) The ride included the salesman navigating an on-the-dealership-lot obstacle course of various inclines and rough terrain. It was great fun.

That kind of fun might come back to the States, because the vehicle that comes out of the "Project Icon" initiative seems very likely to wind up in U.S. showrooms.

Miserable Model M View-Master From The 1980s

I've been a huge fan of View-Master 3D all my life. It wasn't until I was an adult that I discovered the older scenic reels. When View-Master started in 1939, it was originally intended for what we might today refer to as virtual sight seeing. It was decades later in the late 60s that the line morphed into being more of a childrens toy (admirable that the standard for the reels has stood throughout the product's entire lifetime. Any reel will mount into any viewer ever made).

The Model M viewer is from the late 80s and wasn't available for very long. I briefly thought that the Model M might have an advantage over more conventional viewers as the clear back would theoretically let in a lot of light. The transparent plastic is more to inspire the fascination of children as they watch the reel advancing mechanism work. As it turns out, the structure of the internals actually block out some of the image. Makes you wonder how this got off of the drawing board.

The curious shape is actually somewhat reminiscent of the first spindly View-Master Model A, so I guess it might be somewhat interesting for that reason. Though if using it occludes part of the dazzling 3D imagery within every View-Master reel, it's probably better to just put it back in the toy box.

related:
Ultimate View-Master
View-Master reels that talk!
View-Master 3D Trivia Quiz board game

Fly Your Own Spitfire For $239

The AirField RC Spitfire is about as close as I'm ever going to get to flying a classic warbird. It features a respectable 55 inch wingspan, with a 2.4 GHz 5-channel digital proportional radio control system and a brushless electric motor.

The pachage includes everything you need to get flying except a LiPo battery charger, which costs an extra $35 to $99.

The EPO foam kit includes the motor, 14.8V 2200 mAh battery, five servos and an electric retractable landing gear system. You can save $20 by opting for fixed landing gear, but the aircraft won't look nearly as sleek in the air.

The only problem I can see is that it won't be long before someone shows up at the airfield with a matching Messerschmitt Bf-109, eventually leading to a horrific mid-air crash.

5-Channel RC Spitfire Kit

The Museum of Soviet Synthesizers

Ask someone from the west about Soviet technology, and they'll probably mention Sputnik, Poljot watches and MiG fighter jets. However, the USSR produced a surprisingly broad range of consumer goods - radios, calculators, timepieces, games and even musical synthesizers.

The Museum of Soviet Synthesizers is an attempt to catalog the various electronic musical instruments that made it into production in the final decades of the Soviet era. Most of them appear to have been ten years behind western designs, but undoubtedly there was some clever engineering under the austere front panels.

The Ritm-2 was manufactured by the Kirovsky musical instrument factory in 1984. The little machine is a surprisingly attractive analog monosynth with a basic front panel. It was intended to be played live - there were no MIDI jacks or computer ports on this simple beast. The Museum is filled with instruments like this that could only have survived behind the Iron Curtain, where slyly imported Japanese and American instruments were few and far between.

Visit The Museum of Soviet Synths

Kirovsky musical instrument

Incredible Lucite Wersi Organ Isn't From the Seventies

I'm always amazed how quickly cool gadgets are passed around the Net. Of course, silly things like fact-checking get tossed out of the window when there's a pretty picture to share. A case in point: this rather stunning clear Wersi Delta DX 500 organ that's currently listed for sale at Modern One as "made in 1970 by Wersi."

In reality, this digital instrument dates from the late 1980s (note the LCD display on the top left side of the panel). It features MIDI, 24 digital rhythm sounds and microprocessor control that was the stuff of science fiction back in 1970. Of course, none of this changes the fact that I'd love to have this cheesy transparent beast as the centerpiece of my secret mountaintop castle/studio/spaceport.

Phantasmagoric Lucite Organ and Speakers by Wersi

DIY Vacuum Tube Preamplifier

Gio writes, "I'm sending over the latest diy audio project from our website. This one is a vacuum tube preamplifer. While the circuit is rather simple it does use high voltage so it is geared towards more advanced builders.

The preamplifier project is a hybrid in that is uses tubes for the amplifier circuit and a solid state power supply. The gain of the preamp can be set at either 7 or 11. 12AU7 and ECC82 tubes can also be used with the preamp. The tube preamplifier has very good measured performance and Bruce has reported very clean and detailed sound with that typical warm lush tube sound."

Visit DIY Audio Projects for more.

New Solution For Cleaning Records

As much as I love records, they do require some TLC to get the best sound out of them. You may remember our video review of the Nitty Gritty record cleaner, showcasing a specially built machine for getting the gunk out of your records. Here's a new non-mechanical way to clean records that promises to take them back in time to the very day they were pressed.

If you skitter ahead to about 42 seconds into this video, you'll see the answer. Cary Stoddard offers a tub of goo that you smear onto everything but the label of your record. Eight hours later, the solution dries and you can peel it away, taking with it all the grime and mold that had been trapped in the grooves. Stoddard refers to this process as "revirginization". Seems great, except for the part about the eight hour wait. It's also rather expensive, ringing in at something like $3 US per record. Obviously terrific for some super rare recordings you're trying to restore, but not so great for day to day use. Terrific that this sort of technology is available outside the closely guarded audio restoration community. If it's ever available outside Australia, we'll give it a spin.

Official Record Revirginizer site

related:
Nitty Gritty record cleaner video review
Vintage record cutter
Modern machine for cutting records

1950's Proto-LOLcats

Even if you don't hang around on chat boards or other dark corners of the internet, you've probably seen a "LOLcat" or two. The "LOL" is parlance for "laugh out loud", of course, and "cat" is for... um... "cat". Over the past few years, it's been terribly popular to take pictures of kittens, walruses, or other animals and caption their thoughts ignoring all manner of grammar and syntax. Like other classic one-panel comics, LOLcats can be hysterical or deeply obscure. They are also insanely popular. It is with a somewhat envious finger I point you toward the traffic that sites like icanhazcheeseburger.com get these days, but LOLcats aren't really a new phenomenon at all.

I found a postcard from the 1950's that also puts words in kittens' mouths. In this case, there are no odd misspellings, nor does the viewer need to have any foreknowledge of World of Warcraft or sea lion buckets. We can travel back in time even further that that. How about an old sepia toned postcard from 1905 featuring a dressed up (also hungry) kitten? When you think about it, this whole LOLcat thing is just a new name for an idea that's been around for a long time. Before someone brings it up in the comments section, I think that it's debatable whether the "Hang in there!" suspended kitty poster would count as a LOLcat since the caption isn't an internal dialog.

It's safe to say that a lot of us speak to our pets, and they may sometimes "talk" back to us... c'mon, don't be ashamed - we all do it! My ferret speaks to me in a Russian accent about wanting more pizza sauce, and I know I'm not the only one. With the ubiquity of digital cameras, the ease of uploading modified pictures onto the internet, and the irresistible urge to try to figure out what our pets are thinking, it's easy to see why this LOLcat thing is so popular. After all, they've been around for more than a century.

related:

Tomy robotic pets
Classic Pet Rock

Digitizing 70-Year-Old Jazz Recordings

As a kid, I used my boombox to record songs off the radio. It was a lot cheaper than buying 45-rpm singles or the burgeoning "Cassingle" offerings in record stores. A couple 90-minute tapes would last me months. If I still had them, the tapes would be worthless.

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem recently took possession of a similar set of recordings that are somewhat more sophisticated — and far, far more valuable. They were made by a sound engineer named William Savory, who in the late 1930s recorded New York radio broadcasts onto 12- and 16-inch aluminum and acetate discs.

The collection includes live performances by a slew of big-name artists, including Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. The cache has sent jazz fans' hearts aflutter, according to The New York Times, in part because of the recordings' unique characteristics. The discs run much longer than the 3-minute 78-rpm records that were issued commercially at the time, meaning they offer new insights into famous musicians, session men and even disc jockeys. Savory died in 2004 and his son, knowing the recordings' value, made sure to save them. He gave them to the museum earlier this year.

An audio engineer is now working on trying to digitize the discs, some of which have succumbed to the ravages of time and less-than-ideal storage. Some of the discs cannot be salvaged. For others, playing the disc even once destroys it. The newspaper documented that process on video.

(It's a little more complicated than slipping a CD into your computer and pressing the "Import" button or listening to the radio with your fingers poised over the "Record" and "Play" buttons.)

The museum plans to make the collection available
 to audiences by appointment and through public events.

The Big Bulky Dawn Of Ancient Cell Phones

I'm still sort of a reluctant mobile phone user. I still get disoriented talking on them, just like the first time I used one in the early 90's. Giving directions while my own location was constantly changing was a bit too much for my little landline mind. My friend had a bag phone a lot like this Ameritech AC-250 in her comically diminutive Ford Festiva. I remember teasing her saying that she spent all that money on a fancy pants mobile phone, then used whatever pocket change was left to buy the car.

My impressions of cell phones seem indelibly formed by the earliest days of the tech. I still think of cell phone calls as being really expensive, so I tend to talk fast to not go over a minute. I also tend to forget that modern phones do much more than just make phone calls. Last week when I was on location for a TV gig, I realized that everyone there relied very heavily on texting and I had to join in. I should have brought the ol' Ameritech bag phone along and said, "sure I have a cell phone - and it's even got one o' them fancy LCD readouts! By the way, what's a ringtone?"

I'm disappointed that my imagination was a bit stuck back in the bag phone days, I never conjectured that there would be a day when every kid could have their own pocket cell phone. I knew they'd get smaller than these bagged affairs, but I never thought they'd get tiny and cheap enough to be practically disposable (disgraceful as that may be). I don't think this phone would even work today as it might be an analog unit?

The bag has an amusing tag in it warning against leaving the setup unsecured in your car while driving, saying that you should run the seatbelt through the handle as "an unsecured telephone could cause serious injury or interfere with the safe operation of the vehicle" (never mind being distracted while driving). In our overly litigious society, why isn't there a law requiring every object to bear a tag warning of possibly becoming a missile in a moving car? Then again, a phone this size is blunt force trauma in a leatherette bag. I guess that the only thing the phone has going for it these days is that it's unlikely to be stolen.

The technology has of course moved so fast that that great big bag phones were left behind long ago, but his unit isn't going to the scrap heap quite yet. These days there are the beginnings of collector interest in old bulky phones. This particularly large one is likely in the $20-30 range. I suppose it might be interesting to someone who has only used ever used elegant and compact phones. It's sort of like the continued interest in the very large and loud boom boxes of the 80's even though there are many smaller ways to experience music (but few better, I daresay!). Do any of you remember the first cell phone you used?

related:

The affordable, transportable Radio Shack cellular telephone
10 year old Sony comic book phone already forgotten
Sparkfun rotary mobile phone

The Hippie Cutting Board Is Telling Me To Lose A Few

Okay, cutting board. I know that I could stand to drop a couple of pounds, but do you have to be so cute & smug about it? What's with taking on the look and feel of protest march posters? What was originally an emotional outpouring of objection to the Vietnam War becomes "protest flab"? Do you think you're funny, cutting board?

Actually it's hard to figure out what year you're from. I can't imagine that you're from the 60's. It wouldn't have been cute yet to take on the hallmark of those "filthy hippies", right? Perhaps you're from the early 70's. By then, it wasn't just activist types sending these kinds of messages. You saw these sorts of parody sentiments on "Laugh In" for crying out loud. Never laughed at "Laugh In" (mostly I just cried out loud), I should hasten to mention. Maybe because the show was about as funny as a cutting board with hippie protest phrases on it. Hey, cutting board... where are you going? I'm talking to you!

related:

Wonder Sauna Hot Pants
Big Mac Turns 40
Fun With Microwaves

Your Boat Is Better With A Nice Johnson

As a city boy, I don't get to make recreational boating much of a part of my life. One of my best friends in college came from a rural area that was relatively close by, so we'd drive up to his family's house and bomb around in his boat. It was the first time I'd ever been in a boat with a steering wheel. The only other boating I'd ever really done was canoeing while camping, so the high-tech addition of a 25 year old Johnson outboard motor was a totally new experience for me. It also introduced me to a whole culture of lakeside people who use their motorboats to run errands as often as I might use a car. There was even a bar that you could only access by water, and we spent many a summer evening meeting boat people, downing beers and smelling the rotting bracken.

This old commercial for Johnson motors reminds me of the fun we had in that old boat. It makes me wish that perhaps one of these days life will lead me down a path where I'll be able to get my hands on a little boat of my own, and of course at the same time grab my own Johnson.

related:

An inflatable flying boat
"Tug Boat" board game
German version of classic game "Battleship"