The Night Mail

[Oldddudders]

29 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Nice!  I have a Thorens

I bought a Thorens TD150AB in 1968. Served me well, but I always longed for a better tone-arm. The SME3009 was the choice for those who could afford it, with a Shure V15/2 cartridge. I offer no evidence I would have noticed the difference in output!

[Northmoor]

32 minutes ago, AndyID said:

For our hi-fi aficionados:

 

Who made this circuit up for you, anyway? Bought it in a shop? Oooh, what a horrible shoddy job they fobbed you off with with.

 Surprised they let you have it in this room anyway, the acoustics are all wrong. If you raise the ceiling four feet... put the fireplace from that wall to that wall... you'll still only get the stereophonic effect if you sit in the bottom of that cupboard.

 I see... I see you've got your negative feedback coupled in with your push-pull-input-output. Take that across through your redded pickup to your tweeter, if you're modding more than eight, you're going to get wow on your top. Try to bring that down through your pre-amp rumble filter to your woofer, what'll you get? Flutter on your bottom!

 

(Borrowed from Flanders and Swann  "A Song Of Reproduction")

Do you remember how the people keenest to give you that sort of advice, were always partially deaf?

[jamie92208]

58 minutes ago, SM42 said:

 

I've got my old GEC set up (which I inherited from my parents in the late 80s) which I hoping to resurrect at some point. 

 

3 speed turntable, 33, 45 and 78. 

I last used it around 1991. 

 

 

Andy

I still have a turntable and a good collection of vinyl.  I listen to it when ironing as an aural anaesthetic.  This week it was Sticky Fingers by the Stones turned up load with the ironing board positioned so that I was standing in the sweet spot between the speakers. 

 

Jamie

[Happy Hippo]

3 hours ago, Willie Whizz said:

 and really enjoy the taste and smell of a beautiful pint o’ Shippo’s

Reads like you've already has a few .

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

ancient Technics record deck

I bought a new Technics record deck a couple of years ago. It was to replace a Pioneer deck I bought in 1975, that finally failed. The Technics is better, even I with my dodgy hearing can tell. It isn’t the hideously expensive Technics deck or the DJ model. It came supplied with an Ortofon cartridge and I am very happy.  

[Tony_S]

46 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Reads like you've already has a few .

I had never really heard of Shipstones until the “Gatwick incident” in the 1980s.

Aditi’s parents had flown out for a fortnights holiday in Spain. Aditi was working in an FE college and her summer break started before the school holidays so I couldn’t fly out with Aditi to join the holiday. However her younger brother was a medical student then and also had a week off. I drove Aditi to Gatwick where we met her brother. He was wearing a slightly tatty Shipstones t-shirt. Aditi really was cross about having to travel with someone who looked like a lager lout and was likely to get them banned from the plane or stopped at the Spanish Airport.  I did suggest she was over-reacting. She must have been tense about whether it had been wise to join her parents for a holiday, and launched into the tirade against her brother who she loved dearly and was normally above criticism. Her family lived in Nottingham so I don’t know if that was responsible for her outburst. 

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

My sons think that I should embrace new tech and get an Alexa or something rather than persist with vinyl records

Vinyl sales are increasing and I think it is younger people buying them. Perhaps you are “trendier” than your sons. All my vinyl is old, I haven’t bought any new stuff on vinyl though, still cd or digital. 

[SM42]

Turns our we ate off toast friends 50th birthday celebrations tomorrow. 

 

This will involve a BBQ at the church after the service, so an early start. 

 

I suspect the person cooking might be under an umbrella while the rest of us hide inside. 

 

Regardless there will be cake. 

 

Yay!

 

Andy

[Dave John]

I no longer have any vinyl, but I have just refurbished my ancient technics M02 cassette deck. Strip, deep clean the lot. New rubber parts obtained. In the case of the idler wheel I spent a massive £2.38 to buy 5 O rings and then ground them to the correct section on the lathe. First two were scrap, but the third is perfect. I'll add that to the vaguely pointless skills list. Put back together and since the original tech specs are available I waded in with the oscilloscope and set the whole thing up. Ah, 70s nostalgia. 

 

While I was at it I built a new preamp, lets me switch in main and railway room amps. Also a very linear headphone amp, bought new pads for my old Beyer dynamic cans . I think I'll leave my original Tannoy Eaton speakers alone. 

 

I also managed to score a decent CD player off the bay of fleas for nothing. But thats a private funny story. A very old mac stripped of all else acts as an internet radio tuner . 

 

So thats me set up for music in my retirement. Keeps me happy while I go back to the serious business of building wagons ........ 

[J. S. Bach]

20 hours ago, AndyID said:

Ah! Looks pretty convincing 😃

You should see it spinning at 78!

Edited April 28 by J. S. Bach
To edit the post

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Dave John said:

I no longer have any vinyl, but I have just refurbished my ancient technics M02 cassette deck. Strip, deep clean the lot. New rubber parts obtained. In the case of the idler wheel I spent a massive £2.38 to buy 5 O rings and then ground them to the correct section on the lathe. First two were scrap, but the third is perfect. I'll add that to the vaguely pointless skills list. Put back together and since the original tech specs are available I waded in with the oscilloscope and set the whole thing up. Ah, 70s nostalgia. 

 

While I was at it I built a new preamp, lets me switch in main and railway room amps. Also a very linear headphone amp, bought new pads for my old Beyer dynamic cans . I think I'll leave my original Tannoy Eaton speakers alone. 

 

I also managed to score a decent CD player off the bay of fleas for nothing. But thats a private funny story. A very old mac stripped of all else acts as an internet radio tuner . 

 

So thats me set up for music in my retirement. Keeps me happy while I go back to the serious business of building wagons ........ 

 

Dad bought a Grundig TK 830 two track tape-recorder (with AUTO-REVERSE!) in the late 50's. Allegedly portable but it was a heavy brute. I figured out how to connect it to the pre-amp of his Bush radiogram so I could record the Top Twenty from FM.

 

I was the the DJ for the DEN Disco in the scout hall run by my scout group. IIRC we had an amplifier that put out 15 watts of raw power. Happy days 😄

[skipepsi]

13 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Well, the weather did indeed put paid to my hoped-for trip to Attingham Park this afternoon. Instead I tried to fix our ancient Technics record deck of at least 25 years of age which refuses to do anything remotely connected with playing a record. Sadly I was unable to find what is wrong so transferred my efforts to looking for someone who can fix it. I think I may have found one in Nantwich, which is only about 15 miles away so I've sent an email asking whether they can, in fact, help and hope to hear from them on Monday. My sons think that I should embrace new tech and get an Alexa or something rather than persist with vinyl records and such but although I have gone as far as CDs and even iTunes I still like playing my old discs.

 

Dinosaur, me? I've even got an electric soldering iron!

 

Dave 

With my turntable I lifted it up and the belt drive fell to pieces I obtained a replacement for about a fiver but round tuit wasn't included and three years later it still doesn't work.

Edited April 28 by skipepsi
AI? predictive text

[BR60103]

I have 2 turntables in the basement. A few years ago our Dual decided not to put the arm on the records so I found a local shop that sells turntables. I now have a Pioneer that only has 2 speeds.

The other unit is a PA outfit (25 watt with speaker) that i used to use for teaching dancing.  It has a Lenco TT with fully variable speeds from below 16 to above 78 with detents at the 4 popular spots.  When teaching dancing it is useful to slow the record down a touch until they get the steps.

 

At school, I used to end the dances with Stranger on the Shore slowed down from 45 to 33.

 

I have 6 x 32" shelves of LPs, another of 78s and 45s that I haven't put out because the shelves are too big.  These are all under the railway.

 

[TheQ]

A friend at my last school took me to the doorway of a room in their house... 

To get there you went down a corridor something like 15ft long, each side was totally shelved floor to ceiling, each shelf was stacked with LPs thousands of them , all classical. The doorway led to a specially built room , a hifi in the middle of one wall, several very large speakers and an armchair in the middle of the room. His dad's music room no one else was "officially" allowed in.

The room was hugely expensive, not only was it specially acoustically designed, when digging the foundations historically important ruins were found beneath, so the whole room was built on a bridge over the ruins.

 

Me still got my 1980 jvc deck, no idea if it still works, I haven't attempted to run it in years.

[Happy Hippo]

All this talk of turntables makes me grateful that Pantmawr North is populated with tank engines.

 

I now need to create a decent bacon breakfast prior to my excursion to the NEC for Model World Live.

 

The new rifle was delivered yesterday evening.  I've mounted the sight onto it, but the barrel now needs cleaning, prior to my attempts at zeroing the scope.

[Hroth]

I've a decent "audio" system, currently composed of an AT turntable*, a Denon amp and column speakers**.  There's also a DAB+/FM tuner, a CD player and a cassette deck.

 

If you sit in the centre of the sofa, you are in the stereo image sweet spot...

 

I daren't turn the volume up too much, though I should try to see how much 18th century organ music next door can tolerate!

 

*  Still got my Ortofon FF15E cartridge from the late 70s, still going strong, on its umpteenth "needle".

** Can't remember what they are.

 

Edited April 28 by Hroth
A little bit more, and forgot an *

[jamie92208]

The sun is shining but it may rain later.  I must get my turntable sorted on LGA. 

 

Jamie

[polybear]

11 hours ago, Northmoor said:

During the pandemic, as many London Underground stations as possible had a sterilising hand gel dispenser installed near the ticket barrier.  A disturbing number used to get emptied by the local, well, desperate.  I remember a work colleague asking who would ever be so desperate as to do that.  I suggested they've underestimated (a) just how desperate homeless alcoholics can be and (b) how expensive an equivalent percentage alcoholic drink would be.

 

Not sure if it still is but this was a common problem in Hospitals - apparently the fussy ones mix it with orange juice to improve the taste.

 

11 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

One of mine:

 

One of Bear's (from 1986 until I banged out of the Great Empire):

 

 

- An Enertec ME4115 Airborne Tape Recorder; £100K in 1985 (and we had two).  The fastest speed was 120 inches per second and the 1" Magnetic Tapes cost £200 for a box of five; I'd get thru' a tape every 30 minutes.

I had to get a new set of tape heads installed around 2005(?); I tried not to larf as I told the Project Manager it was gonna cost him £50K out of his budget, and no, there really was no other option.

It went in the skip in 2016.

 

11 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Well, you did get awfully hot and sticky round the nether regions in the cockpit of a Hunter 😉

 

Dave

 

Bear did Lynx Flight Trials during a really hot July/Aug in 1997 (or was it in the 2000's?); the Test Pilot declared that even though it was well over 30C the Sea Temp in the Bristol Channel was "rather cold" and we were all to wear immersion suits (I would've anyway).

Whilst Bear was left hanging around in the Pilot's Office for what seemed like hours, waiting for the Driver to "do what he does" before going for the flight, the Crew Chief took one look at me and asked:

 

"Sweaty B0llox?"

 

Silly question, really.

[SM42]

It's a wet start here. 

 

I'm told the priest has set up the BBQ underneath some sort of  temporary cover arrangement. 

 

Probably just as well. 

 

Andy

[Dave Hunt]

Shortly off to church then providing that the rain holds off a walk may be walked. I announced yesterday that I intend this afternoon to spend some time in the shed working on the layout as I feel that my back may now be up to sitting at the workbench for a while providing I don’t lean forward too much. To that  Jill said, “Good, it’s about time you started doing that again.” She also said that she may come down with me and do some of her artwork, which is nice. 
 

Dave

[jamie92208]

16 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Shortly off to church then providing that the rain holds off a walk may be walked. I announced yesterday that I intend this afternoon to spend some time in the shed working on the layout as I feel that my back may now be up to sitting at the workbench for a while providing I don’t lean forward too much. To that  Jill said, “Good, it’s about time you started doing that again.” She also said that she may come down with me and do some of her artwork, which is nice. 
 

Dave

Are you sure that this isn't the start of a land grab for possession of more of the shed. 

 

Jamie

[Winslow Boy]

26 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Are you sure that this isn't the start of a land grab for possession of more of the shed. 

 

Jamie

That would be very underhand. Taking advantage while the poor squadron leader is still  not back up to fighting strength. I like it. Perhaps I should employ such tactics in my campaign to obtain a shed. Have I mentioned I don't have a shed. I do have a full set of finger nails though. Unlike some.

[Hroth]

55 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

That would be very underhand. Taking advantage while the poor squadron leader is still  not back up to fighting strength. I like it. Perhaps I should employ such tactics in my campaign to obtain a shed. Have I mentioned I don't have a shed. I do have a full set of finger nails though. Unlike some.

 

Would you like to be directed towards a suitable shed supplier? 🤔

🤪

 

Edited April 28 by Hroth
Deleted an unwanted emoticon...

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

I announced yesterday that I intend this afternoon to spend some time in the shed working on the layout as I feel that my back may now be up to sitting at the workbench for a while providing I don’t lean forward too much. To that  Jill said, “Good, it’s about time you started doing that again.”

 

Careful - that's getting dangerously close to be able to do the washing up again.