Going Old School

[TJC]

Yep, the Samsung thumb drives that I use in my cars barely stick out any distance, just enough to be able to pull them out of the USB Port. And they contain a very large library of music... with plenty of room to grow. And they have proven to be very reliable.

I record the Miami Games when broadcast OTA in my area, and watch them commercial free. But not much else.

My 2 servers have 64TB each and are redundant. Those drives are currently spinners, but the day is coming ( sooner than we think) when it will all be chipsets only.

I lag the tech curve waiting for price / performance ratios to match my requirements before I migrate. The data is pretty static as it is a repository, so migration may take several days, but it is a simple process.

The raid server is hot swappable and can survive any 2 of the 8 drives failing. More than that and I lose everything, hence the second server!

Sponsored

 

[got3fords]

Not long ago I finally got out my old turn table/cassette player/radio alarm all-in-one system I had when I was a kid in the late '70's and '80's. It still works and plays records just fine. I hadn't used it in forever because I didn't think I would have the right speakers for it. Turns out I could pipe it through the surround sound for the TV, sounds great to hear the old crackling records again.

 

[TJC]

I honestly believe that old analog turntable sounds better than my digital music. Both are piped through my A/V 6.1 surround sound system. Looking at the specs this should not be the case. Not even close. But the stereo effect is quite stark and fuller when coming from the turntable.

I have the same Audio parameters set in the Onkyo A/V Receiver / Amp for the HDMI ports as the RCA jacks from the turntable. I have lossless digital recordings That i ripped from my CD on my server of the exact LP playing on the turntable.

I can not explain it.

I actually purchased an Ultrasonic cleaner that will clean the records in about 15 minutes. After sitting for 50 years there was a great deal of dirt buildup on them. They are going through their second bath today. They sounded very good after the first pass, and I hope to get then near perfect in the next few days.

BTW, take a listen to these guys.

 

[Fordup]

I actually purchased an Ultrasonic cleaner that will clean the records in about 15 minutes. After sitting for 50 years there was a great deal of dirt buildup on them. They are going through their second bath today.

Would you share which cleaner you bought and what fluid your using. I have been wondering what is the best way to clean mine
Thanks

 

[tgRanger]

There’s nothing better than listening to vintage audio. Receivers, turntables, cassette decks etc. I’m 60 but very old school. I love vintage. I still have my Marantz MR235 that I purchased in Macy’s 1978. I‘ve been collecting vintage audio for most my life.. Big Marantz and Sansui guy. My best and most favorite receiver is Marantz 2270, 2240 in wood case, Marantz 5020 cassette deck in wood case, Mararantz 6300 turntable. Favorite speaker are my ADS L710’s, Dahlquist M905’s, Dynaco A25’s and Sansui SP 1500’s. also have several other receivers like Sansui 5000A, 551, 221 and Sansui 2050C Turntable. Few other Marantz cassette deck like 5010, 5010B, 6100 turntable, KLH model 24 audio system and so many different sets of vintage speakers. In fact today i’m waiting on a Sansui RA-500 Reverberation Amp to go with my 5000A. Cant get enough of vintage Audio, I have them everywhere in the house and garage. They all have their own distinctive warm sound. Here’s a pic of just some of my equipment.

 

[TJC]

Would you share which cleaner you bought and what fluid your using. I have been wondering what is the best way to clean mine
Thanks

I purchased a Velvor ultrasonic cleaner with a record cleaning attachment. The motor that rotates the albums ran too fast for my liking so I swapped out the 24VDC 1 Amp wall wart down to a 6VDC 500 mAmp one that I had on hand. I would have gone to 3VDC if I had one close by (I keep old wall warts just for this occasion). The motor does not require a high amp wart. It runs on a 0.5 amp wall wart without the wart even warming up.

The unit takes a little over a gallon of distilled water, and I have found that I can clean about 30 albums before the water becomes contaminated enough to be replaced. But this really depends on just how dirty the albums are.

Keep water temp below 90F. Ambient temps are fine. There is no need to use the heater unless the water is very cold. LPs can warp if they get too hot. I fill the tank to within a 1/4" of the LP Label.

The package comes with a little drying stand that holds ~30 LPs ~1/3"-1/2" apart. It doesn't look like much but it works well.

You will be amazed at the amount of crud that comes off the albums.

One last thing, the machine is not loud, but the frequency is annoying. My cycles run from 5-10 minutes. 10 minutes if they LPs have never been cleaned, and 5 minutes when needed after that.

You can stack 8 LPs on the rail to be cleaned, but I only stack to 5 as I want at least 1/2" space between the LPs to allow the cleaner to do its thing. The dirt will coalesce over time at the bottom of the tank, turning into small muddy clumps. The funny thing is that you don't even see the dirt on the LP. I may drop to 3 just to determine the optimal cleaning number.

I use distilled water with 1/2 cap of Kodak Photo-Flo 200 Solution, 16oz. A little goes a long way! This bottle will last a very very long time. I do not use any soap. Soaps do the same thing but it may leave a film unless you rinse and you don't want mineral deposits from hard water settling into your LP groves as the water dries.

• It decreases water surface tension minimizing water marks and drying streaks on film; speed dries
• Reduces Streaking and Water Spots
• Promotes Faster Drying
• Wetting Agent for Film Processing

To protect and keep the LPs clean I use these antistatic slip covers. I tried several others and these are the best that I have found for a reasonable price. Once the LP is dry in the stand I simply place the slip cover over the LP, then pick it up by the slip cover, flip it and let the LP settle the reset of the way into place. I try no to touch th ealbum except on the edges and label. I place the open end up in the original album jacket.

Static is your enemy. It attracts dust, be sure to wipe each album before and after playing it. LPs are dust magnets! Use either an antistatic carbon brush or terry cloth cleaning pad.

If you wish to see more details I still have my unit set up and running as I go through all my LPs.

 

[TJC]

There’s nothing better than listening to vintage audio. Receivers, turntables, cassette decks etc. I’m 60 but very old school. I love vintage. I still have my Marantz MR235 that I purchased in Macy’s 1978. I‘ve been collecting vintage audio for most my life.. Big Marantz and Sansui guy. My best and most favorite receiver is Marantz 2270, 2240 in wood case, Marantz 5020 cassette deck in wood case, Mararantz 6300 turntable. Favorite speaker are my ADS L710’s, Dahlquist M905’s, Dynaco A25’s and Sansui SP 1500’s. also have several other receivers like Sansui 5000A, 551, 221 and Sansui 2050C Turntable. Few other Marantz cassette deck like 5010, 5010B, 6100 turntable, KLH model 24 audio system and so many different sets of vintage speakers. In fact today i’m waiting on a Sansui RA-500 Reverberation Amp to go with my 5000A. Cant get enough of vintage Audio, I have them everywhere in the house and garage. They all have their own distinctive warm sound. Here’s a pic of just some of my equipment.

WOW! Just WOW!

Things of engineering beauty.

 

[tgRanger]

WOW! Just WOW!

Just received my Reverberation amp! Cant wait to go through it and hook it up. Ty FedEx for not smashing it!

 

[TJC]

My first Ultra Sonic cleaner came damaged

Here's the LP cleaner at work

And here is the result after ~60 LPs. I won't go this long as the more dirt suspended in the water the less effective the unit becomes. Mind you, the LPs didn't look all that dirty, but you could hear it when playing them. I limited the second bath to 30 LPs this last time around and the tank was just beginning to show debris in the bottom. Distilled water is cheap, old LPs not so much.

 

[Fordup]

I purchased a Velvor ultrasonic cleaner with a record cleaning attachment. The motor that rotates the albums ran too fast for my liking so I swapped out the 24VDC 1 Amp wall wart down to a 6VDC 500 mAmp one that I had on hand. I would have gone to 3VDC if I had one close by (I keep old wall warts just for this occasion). The motor does not require a high amp wart. It runs on a 0.5 amp wall wart without the wart even warming up.

The unit takes a little over a gallon of distilled water, and I have found that I can clean about 30 albums before the water becomes contaminated enough to be replaced. But this really depends on just how dirty the albums are.

Keep water temp below 90F. Ambient temps are fine. There is no need to use the heater unless the water is very cold. LPs can warp if they get too hot. I fill the tank to within a 1/4" of the LP Label.

The package comes with a little drying stand that holds ~30 LPs ~1/3"-1/2" apart. It doesn't look like much but it works well.

You will be amazed at the amount of crud that comes off the albums.

One last thing, the machine is not loud, but the frequency is annoying. My cycles run from 5-10 minutes. 10 minutes if they LPs have never been cleaned, and 5 minutes when needed after that.

You can stack 8 LPs on the rail to be cleaned, but I only stack to 5 as I want at least 1/2" space between the LPs to allow the cleaner to do its thing. The dirt will coalesce over time at the bottom of the tank, turning into small muddy clumps. The funny thing is that you don't even see the dirt on the LP. I may drop to 3 just to determine the optimal cleaning number.

I use distilled water with 1/2 cap of Kodak Photo-Flo 200 Solution, 16oz. A little goes a long way! This bottle will last a very very long time. I do not use any soap. Soaps do the same thing but it may leave a film unless you rinse and you don't want mineral deposits from hard water settling into your LP groves as the water dries.

• It decreases water surface tension minimizing water marks and drying streaks on film; speed dries
• Reduces Streaking and Water Spots
• Promotes Faster Drying
• Wetting Agent for Film Processing

To protect and keep the LPs clean I use these antistatic slip covers. I tried several others and these are the best that I have found for a reasonable price. Once the LP is dry in the stand I simply place the slip cover over the LP, then pick it up by the slip cover, flip it and let the LP settle the reset of the way into place. I try no to touch th ealbum except on the edges and label. I place the open end up in the original album jacket.

Static is your enemy. It attracts dust, be sure to wipe each album before and after playing it. LPs are dust magnets! Use either an antistatic carbon brush or terry cloth cleaning pad.

If you wish to see more details I still have my unit set up and running as I go through all my LPs.

Thanks for that info. I'm going to see if Vevor will send me one to play with. They have some amazingly affordable oddball stuff that usually works great. Mine have been boxed up for about 30 years now and some were the editions with the special covers that I want to give to my grandson that has just started getting into vinyl. Will be a fun project with him cleaning everything and I will probably make a video about how it works if all goes well. I wear digital hearing aids and can't hear the quality anymore with all my frequencies shifted by the aids to frequencies I have left.

 

[TJC]

A great project and a bit of fun too. Some of those old LPs are quite valuable.

I've been cleaning up 78's as well.

My oldest is Bob Roberts singing "I'd rather be on the outside lookin' in, than on the inside lookin' out!" Pressed in 1906!

It is surprisingly quite clear too!

 

[tgRanger]

My first Ultra Sonic cleaner came damaged

Here's the LP cleaner at work

And here is the result after ~60 LPs. I won't go this long as the more dirt suspended in the water the less effective the unit becomes. Mind you, the LPs didn't look all that dirty, but you could hear it when playing them. I limited the second bath to 30 LPs this last time around and the tank was just beginning to show debris in the bottom. Distilled water is cheap, old LPs not so much.

There’s nothing worse than receiving damaged goods especially irreplaceable vintage equipment. Ups is the worst! Once I received a KLH System, after opening it I noticed a crack in the dust cover. Then I checked my by Blink camera and watched the FedEx guy slam the box on the ground. I contacted the seller with pictures of the damage and the video. He filed a claim with FedEx and I won the case. 2 weeks later I got a PayPal refund from the seller for the full purchased price. So I ended up getting the entire system for free. But it took me months to locate a replacement cover.

 

[TJC]

I built an automated quilter for my wife 20 years ago. Commercial units were selling from $18K to $40K. I built hers for under $3K using things like an obsolete CNC 5" computer MB that I picked up for $20. I bought 3 for repairs as I know once their gone, their gone! I run the OS on a compact flash card mounted on the MB. which drive stepper motors for X and Y coordinates. Found an old 8" touch screen ($15) and a very old ($6) USB 1.1 HP numeric keypad.

Anyway, I wanted an 18" throat industrial sewing machine for the heart of the project. I found a 9" that suited me new for $500, and had a farmer friend cut it in half and extend it. He did a pretty good job of it, and sent it back to me. UPS destroyed it on it way back to me.... and it was packed very well. I opened up the box with the UPS guys standing by. It was literally broken in half. I filed a claim and UPS paid for it. I sent it back in pieces and my buddy rebuilt it. Cast aluminum is tough to weld.

It's been running running fine for 10 years now. With millions and millions of stitches. A typical quilt uses 1- 1.5 miles of thread!

I did have to replace the DC motor last year. But it has been rock solid reliable.

 

[Fordup]

I have had trouble with UPS and FedEx totally destroying items also. I ordered 4 really nice 2 drawer steel file cabinets from Costco. Costco wound up shipping 10 to get me 4 good ones. Most had fork lift holes through the boxes with sever damage when opened. Costco told me don't worry, UPS buys the damaged ones and shipping plus pickup charges. We will keep shipping until you get your 4 undamaged ones. When I filled an official complaint, the local UPS manager said they were not packed good enough to survive a fall off the back of a truck trying to hide the fact they were damaged by forks on a 6000 pound machine through the sides.
Now a couple dollars worth of arduino could run that machine using grbl. I recently built a CNC router using a masso G3 controller that was the easiest CNC machine I have ever built. My first CNC design and build was a plasma table with rutex servo drives and digital torch height control using Mach 3. Took me a year to debug not knowing anything about software or ground loops.

 

[TJC]

Regarding Arduino... I KNOW! It is amazing how much power is packed into these devices. I've got 6 or so Rasp Pi's in my home.

Sponsored