An update on what's going on and what's not going on. No major developments, just a chat.
Update: Apparently the original upload of this came across as being negative. This was not my intention - I just wanted to report back on everything that had been going on with me since the last update, the pros and the cons.
In the late 1970s, just when you thought you'd finally added every possible component to your towering Hi-Fi stack - along came the Component TV.
Hope you enjoy the video. I feel it came together better than most. Alt...
2019-01-31 11:16:58 +0000 UTC View Post
Occasionally when I buy something to help me make videos - I'll then make a video about that thing. This is one of those occasions. Over the last few weeks I've been trying to improve a couple of behind the scenes tec...
2019-01-24 19:02:21 +0000 UTC View Post
EDIT - Link added - (apologies for the double notification).
If you liked the first episode of this series looking at the tape recorders used in the 1960s/'70s TV Series then you might also enjoy thi...
2019-01-17 13:04:41 +0000 UTC View Post
You may remember me mentioning a while back that I'd acquired one of these late '70s/early '80s oddities. As it connects thematically to the Aftershokz bone conducting headphone review, this seems like an opportune time to ...
2019-01-10 18:28:54 +0000 UTC View Post
This was intended to be the first video of the year, but I ended up putting out the mini arcade machine video (which in hindsight may have been unwise).
Anyway here's a review that follows on from the neck phone...
2019-01-02 10:41:09 +0000 UTC View Post
I have this video that I'm really not sure what to do with.
I shot this in November and originally edited together a version of it in early December when I had that bad cold. As a result the voiceover sounded horrible and the structure and edit was compete nonsense. Even in my semi-feverish state I could tell that...
2018-12-31 10:18:13 +0000 UTC View Post
In my former life as an company employee I used to dread this time of year. Chrimbetween, (the days between Christmas and the New Year) was the time for the end of year appraisals.
Yet here I am voluntarily doing my own end-of-year review, although this time I found it interesting to look back on any successes or ...
2018-12-29 12:20:03 +0000 UTC View Post
A four part video. I'll be releasing one episode per day on youtube starting from Thursday. However VIPs (you) can view all episodes now. The main video above will take you to part one, the links to the other videos are below.
Part 2: https://y...
2018-12-18 12:01:35 +0000 UTC View Post
At the moment I'm suffering from a really rotten cold that the Mrs kindly brought home from work. Luckily I just got this simple video finished a couple of days before it hit.
This cold has scuppered my plans to release a four-parter video in the days running up to Christmas. That's now currently in limbo while I wait fo...
2018-12-13 10:56:40 +0000 UTC View Post
No prizes for guessing both functions of the Calcupen. A highly desirable, if rather compromised piece of 1970s tech.
2018-12-07 18:51:33 +0000 UTC View Post
As any technology matures it inevitably becomes less fascinating. This also happened with the dashcam. When I started reviewing them the term 'dash-cam' didn't even exist - they were known as 'Car DVRs'. But nowadays it feels to me like anyone who wants one should already have bought one.
After feeling like the moment ha...
2018-12-05 21:55:47 +0000 UTC View Post
This is a video that in hindsight is just a bit too simple. I've had it in my pending queue for a couple of weeks and I'm still not sure whether to release it. Of course everyone here gets an opportunity to see it.
UPDATE It seems like its better than I remembered. As a result of your positive feedback I’ll be making it publ...
2018-12-01 13:32:23 +0000 UTC View Post
'Painting myself into a corner with a cheese sandwich' and other mixed metaphors feature in this Patrons-only monologue regarding little of genuine consequence. It's like a one-man show with a low-rent Spalding Gray...so more like a Greying Bald monologue.
*'Pat-ex' is my new lazy abbreviation for 'Patreon Exclusive' tha...
2018-11-27 21:22:08 +0000 UTC View Post
I've had the idea for this rattling around inside my head for a couple of years now, during which time I've been assembling the various machines needed to cover the most common devices seen in the show. So if this video is well received there may be more episodes.
Initially I envisioned this as something much simpler - but aft...
2018-11-24 16:15:04 +0000 UTC View Post
A simple video...
I spotted some linesman telephones on ebay and couldn't resist picking up a couple. An unusual object to display on a shelf - but also not entirely useless either.
UPDATE: Please disregard this post. I wanted to put out a quick simple video about a basic topic - but I can see that it's not really ...
2018-11-22 10:56:01 +0000 UTC View Post
A look at a few more unusual or interesting recordings that I've acquired over the last few months. This Patreon edition has different audio playing over the outro text scroll than the version youtube subscribers will get to see/hear. I thought it might be pushing my luck with copyright to make this public in this incarnation.&n...
2018-11-17 09:32:58 +0000 UTC View Post
Wow these weeks are really flying by now.
Anyone who's been here for a while will know that following one of the marathon efforts like the Dataplay demonstration last week, the subsequent videos usually end up being a bit simpler to give me a chance to get back on track.
So with that in mind - here's a look a...
2018-11-11 11:47:51 +0000 UTC View Post
In this video I'm finally looking at a format that I've been eager to cover for years. Despite Dataplay being on sale as recently as 2004 it has proved to be frustratingly elusive.
However after many years of searching, and with the assistance of others, I finally managed to track down everything needed to make a video. ...
2018-11-05 18:44:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Is it possible to make an entertaining video about tape winders?
I don't know - but I tried my best.
UPDATE: I've played with the volume a bit and deleted the end section that wasn't about a tape winder. Thanks for letting me know the true purpose of the device shown. The previously uploaded version will be availab...
2018-10-31 17:48:04 +0000 UTC View Post
While I started off on youtube reviewing action and dash cameras - I've hardly reviewed any this year. So belatedly here's one I shot a few weeks ago. It will be interesting to see how well this one works out. In the past these types of videos got lower viewing numbers, and therefore performed badly as far as advert revenue went...
2018-10-24 15:32:47 +0000 UTC View Post
In the October update video I mentioned that I rarely accept demonstration samples unless it’s something that I already know I’ll like. I also mentioned that something had just been delivered that fit this criteria, and well, here it is. It’s the new MOVA Globe Cube.
I anticipated that there was very little could go wron...
2018-10-21 08:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
It's time for an update video. Youtube gave me a choice of three thumbnails for this video - all of which made me look like a character from Wallace & Gromit. The auto thumbnail algorithm seems to be looking for an image with a smile, but since they'd find more smiles in a Buster Keaton feature, this appears to be the closes...
2018-10-18 22:38:14 +0000 UTC View Post
A chance find on ebay resulted in me picking up an interview recorder - a machine commonly used to record police interviews with criminal suspects. This one has an especially interesting history, but before I could find out about its unique way of recording, I first needed to get it working.
UPDATE - Thanks to the advic...
2018-10-17 08:34:00 +0000 UTC View Post
This is a review of the Anki Vector - a small internet-connected robot.
I had just started working on another video and then this was delivered. It turns out I received it a couple of days before it officially goes on sale. So as a result I decided to drop what I was doing and take the rare opportunity to get an early re...
2018-10-11 16:24:07 +0000 UTC View Post
In this video I'm trying out neck speakers. For reasons that escape me know - I've ended up buying all the models on the market. As I'm probably the only person who owns the lot - it made sense to do a comparison video.
If the thought of a long video about a niche product isn't the kind of thing you're looking to watch t...
2018-10-06 08:07:35 +0000 UTC View Post
I have a couple of proper videos almost ready to go, but something fun and unusual turned up in the post, so I've made a quick video about it.
There will be a new looooong video along at the weekend.
2018-10-04 17:25:45 +0000 UTC View Post
As promised yesterday, here is the second of this week's two videos.
In this one I'm opening up and testing a 'New Old Stock' Aiwa personal stereo from 1990. For me there is something magical about opening a long forgotten box. I can't help but think about the now middle-aged people who were teenagers back when this was ...
2018-09-28 05:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
I've got two videos ready to go - however as Patreon doesn't support embedding two in one post - I'll hold back the other one for a day so that it doesn't get lost in the mix.
As you may know, I have some extra family commitments happening behind the scenes, and as a result I've needed to rearrange things and make a couple of ...
2018-09-27 10:11:14 +0000 UTC View Post
One thing I get asked every now and then is "When are you going to do a video about Quad". Unfortunately as far as a proper retrospective of the various quad record formats goes, that's still quite some way off. I'm hampered by a severe lack of space in my house to properly set everything up. No doubt this issue was ...
2018-09-22 08:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
