The Longest Day; 1970s' Haul

Not at all, Chris, - Allow me to elucidate. . . . Pessimistic? Not really. The year is half done, and with nothing done to show for it. Funnily enough, I told a friend of mine only yesterday that "That's it, another year as good as over, and time to start laying in stores for the Winter months". I'm talking in terms of cat and dog food in the main, since I chose to have them, it's my job to make sure they aren't left without - I can always get by, though I am looking out for a another freezer!

We cross the line at around 21:00 this evening, and it's all downhill from there as the days grow ever shorter. Sadly, we will all retreat to our troglodyte worlds as we realise that Covid-19 is still with us, and Winter is the worst time of year (supposedly) for spreading diseases. I predict a second tier of lockdown will come, and whatever form it takes, some of us will be nailed down, if not all of us, for the duration.

Annie-Hoos!

I took delivery of an N1700, yesterday, and in my eager impetuosity, unboxed it and played around with it. I had a modestly successful afternoon, though I'm paying the price today. So, I quite agree, why wait until it's cold and wet, and miserable? I for one, work better in the warmth these days, and spend more time abed in the cold Winter months. So I say, Go for it! If the mood takes you, you go for it. I'm half tempted to invest in a '1500, if only to see much of this derelict machine I have can be revived.

I only recently bought a "New Old Stock" Kenwood mini-hi-fi (about 20 years old, as far as I am able to ascertain thus far). Only ever been out of its box to test, batteries  never installed in its remote control, and every bit a brand new item - very nice. It would be almost a sacrilege to put it into use now, but I'm planning to put it to good use.

For some of us, and for me at least, we have to learn to operate within certain new and artificially imposed limitations. During Covid, for example, I'm not getting my steroid injections to ease my back pain - That's a (expletive) bind, and really does make you realise just how much these things work to ease the pain, and as you know, I had an emergency with my heart in March - That's a tricky one if it happens again during Covid, so no pushing the boundaries and fiddling around with meds in an effort to pinch an hour or two of being able to function.  Oh no, meds on time every time until further notice!

With those 8-track cartridges, watch out for the aluminium sensing foil going duff. The tape will run, but if the foil is bad, the heads won't shift to the next track as they should, but the foils are available on eBay - it's the same stuff as used on Philips 'N' series VCRs. In the meantime, I reckon you should keep the cartridges in a warm, dry, well ventilated place, and let them give up any trapped moisture over a lengthy period, and avoid the "sticky tape" oxide shedding problem. Eight tracks were very popular for pubs and clubs etcetera, where the audience weren't listening too intently to the music programme, but there more for the ambience. I remember having a Marantz 8-track player, and really got "the 'ump" when the tracks tripped over in mid song! Damned annoying, that.

Anyway, have fun with that lot, and I'm planning on adopting another heap of Philips VCRs - I foresee yet more rubber being posted from Hungary! - I have an ulterior motive? I want to recover and digitise some important recordings (important to me that is) from the late '70s and very early '80s.

So.... HubNut's bought a Yugo Sana, and Chris has these toys to play with.

Fantastic!!

@cathovisor

Hub-Nut! I'm going to have to have a look at that!

@katie-bush

His channel's here.

I have a wreck of an N1500 Marion, shall I add it to your pile?

I couldn't resist having a looksie at the 8-Track. I cleaned the heads and the associated mechanics. Plugged it in and as Hamid surmised, the dial lights are out on the radio. Inserted a tape, up came the track light and it played without any noticeable (to me) wow or flutter, which is a result.

Two observations, both channels are working however one channel seems much louder than the other, noticeable when you play with the balance. The radio works on both MW and FM pulling in channels. Dial lights are a bit of a mystery, it has three grain-of-wheat types all seem to have their filament intact. They take 13V from the micros-switch that activates the tape motor, the volts are present. I found a 12V bulb, clipped it to the switch and the other to chassis, the bulb lit.

Anyway just a teaser, these faults will all be researched in the blog repair and when I've had time to study the circuit.

@cathovisor

Hi Mike,

I'll be there before the evening is out, but just now I'm trawling the bay, and keeping a close eye on the pile of '1700s that I'm after.

Speaking of which, N1500? The original silver fronted "cooker clock" model? - Yes please! Maybe two wrecks can beget one working offspring! My wreck is in need of a clock, cassette hatch and control button (not sure which one). There is a bent lever arm that would be better replaced.

Of course, the belts are goo, and the video heads are unknown, but that's the fun of the chase! So, yes please, stick it in the pile!

@katie-bush

It's pretty rough and I'll tell you now the cassette hatch is missing but yes, it's a 1500. I'll take a picture of it in the week for you.

Hi Mike,

It'll be well received, and whatever state it's in, I'm sure it will yield some useful parts.

As an aside, mine has the skeleton of the hatch, but it is distorted. I think too that the 'level' indicator is either missing, or smashed, in mine. (It was very much a derelict when VB gave it to me).

I'll just be happy if I can get even remotely close making one machine complete again.

I'm pleased to see the Ferguson 8 track player is working. It looks like you have a good selection of easy-listening tapes to go with it. Enjoy!