Episode 04

“The Monstersode”

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Show Notes

Segments:
Scrap Stereo System Project (Shinmaryuu)
Laserdisc Lives
Old School BBSing (Patt)

“Scrap Stereo System Project”
Questions go to @Shinmaryuu on twitter.
My scrap stereo system project and how to buy a old school stereo system components.
My stereo is made up of a MCS (JC Penny Store) brand all in one system which includes a AM/FM radio, receiver, dual tape deck, equalizer, and turn table. The system was purchased alongside the speakers and cabinet all for $40. The system is not recommended and is actually of pretty poor quality. I mostly bought the deal for the old school high, low, mid speakers and the cabinet. I use the Audio in RCA jack on the receiver to pipe in a Sony 5 CD Changer or my hacked 5th gen iPod which runs the rockbox software so i don’t have to use iTunes. This system is the basics and will evolve over time as i find better stuff.
How to get your own. Thrift stores are your friend. I bought the entire system you see in the video for under $50 not including the iPod which i had laying around. Most of the time if you shop wisely you won’t pay more that $10 for each component buying in this way. Brands to look out for in equipment are Sony, Marantz, and Pioneer with Marantz being the holy grail of thrift digging. When it comes to turn tables a good Audio Technica table will give you good quality for a decent price. Brands to avoid are any of the Sears and JC Penny brands such as MCS since they are all pretty poor cheaply made Chinese built crap. The years to look for are 1980s-1990s in order to get a high quality piece with modern hookups at a low price. Anything made in Japan during that era is going to be pretty good.
The idea of this project is both practical and creative in nature. Similar to the Ratfink style of hot rods the idea is to take a bunch of stuff and turn it into your own creation. Sure you can buy a $100 shelf system covered in blue LEDs and extra useless plastic from best buy but it will have none of the soul and creative freedom that comes from dusting off electronics from the past and showing them some love. It takes very little work, very little money, and you can create some pretty awesome results. Nothing really sounds as good when it comes to rock and roll than a old pair of 3’ 1970-1980s speakers. Go spends some time digging in thrift stores and see what you can find.

“Laserdisc Lives”
Provides a history and overview of LaserDisc technology with video and images, then covers my LaserDisc collection as well as my collection of LaserDisc players. During the overview discussion, there are a few asides with comparisons and further explanation. During the player collection overview, there is an aside for the operation of a player. The disc collection may be skipped as there is little to share other than what the discs look like and are packaged with.

“Old School BBSing”
Uses an old serial modem to connect to a BBS via telephone number. The computer runs Windows XP and runs HyperTerminal in this segment, a program that is included in XP installs. The link used in this segment to find Dial-up bulletin boards is, http://www.telnetbbsguide.com/dialbbs/dialbbs.htm

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