A tiny Bluetooth speaker built into a compact-cassette housing. Super cute, super retro.
Category Archives: music
“Electronic Sound” magazine cites 1981 as a pivotal year
How come we’re still feeling the musical & cultural aftershocks from the pivotal times of the early 1980s? “Electronic Sound” magazine’s latest two issues feature Steve Strange & Rusty Egan’s “Blitz Club” and the pop music highlights of 1981.
Breaking the Sound Barrier with Maxell Cassette Tapes
As a teenager in the 1980s I was obsessed with Maxell tapes, and the brand Maxell in general. Here’s my homage to Maxell Holdings, Ltd.
40 years later: reflections on 1981 – pop music’s greatest year?
Was 1981 pop music’s greatest ever year? There’s no doubt for me – it absolutely was! Débuts from several of the decade’s biggest names, Eurovision Winners and a novelty No.1, 1981 had it all.
Record Store Day 2021 – crooked queuing
Why vinyl is more than the sum of its parts. “Record Store Day” 2021 and queuing for 2 hours to buy a black plastic disc. Independent record shops and teenage memories…
“Electronics & Music Maker” – archiving a demo cassette from 1982
“Electronics & Music Maker” (E&MM) was a magazine aimed at home/hobby music makers that started in the early 1980s and was produced as an offshoot of the mighty Maplin electronic component distribution empire. The idea was that it would promote more sales and engagement with Maplin’s component business through projects & DIY features based aroundContinue reading ““Electronics & Music Maker” – archiving a demo cassette from 1982″
A Life-long Love Affair with “Compact Cassette”
I was saddened to learn of the passing of Lou Ottens, a Dutch Engineer credited with inventing the humble cassette tape format whilst working at Philips in the 1960s. Crucially Philips had the foresight to licence the format and it quickly became the de-facto standard for consumer audio recording. It made me reflect on justContinue reading “A Life-long Love Affair with “Compact Cassette””
Buying 2nd hand “vintage” Hi-Fi on eBay – buyer beware
Bought an old Hi-Fi from eBay – seller listed it as “used” (meaning it works OK but might have some cosmetic damage). Turns out it was faulty. D’oh.
Minidisc copybit stripper – the Elektor SCMS killer
Defeating SCMS copy-control restrictions in digital minidisc-to-minidisc copies using the infamous Elektor copybit killer from 1998
Technics RS-B665 Cassette Deck Remote Control
Creating a remote control for a 1990s tape-deck using raspberry pi, python, node-red and some relays. Features minimal hardware hacking of the tape deck itself… 😉
Replacing the white LED stylus target light on Audio-Technica AT-LP120X
Replacing the dreadful plastic-housed white LED stylus target light with a red one on the Audio-Technica AT-LP120X to match all the other LEDs on the turntable…
Streaming Vinyl Audio around the house (and beyond) with Raspberry Pi and Icecast + Darkice
Streaming audio from a turntable with Darkice and Icecast running on a Raspberry Pi 4B
Room 7609 