This week, we covered the AM Stereo novelty that swept through
the radio industry for a bit way back when. Sony provided
consumers with plenty of AM stereo capable receivers, including
this little Radio Walkman, the SRF-A1. It offered FM stereo and
AM stereo. The two-position switch on the front is to accomodate
reception of several popular flavors of AM stereo: Harris,
Magnavox, Motorola Systems on the top setting, and the
Kahn-Hazeltine System on the bottom. This model is indeed a
rarity, and is sought after walkman and AM stereo enthusiasts
alike.
Whoever this Lloyd is, someone give him a pat on the back for
innovative products. Pictured above is the box for the Accumatic
613. This is a very early LCD calculator, the tell-tale sign
being that beige color on the display. This calculator is very
sleak in its brushed steel chassis. A six function calculator is
not so unusual we know, but take a look at the second LCD display
underneath! That's for the clock! There's a plastic module that
snaps into the back containing an alarm mechanism, which doubles
as a tilting pedestal.
What was the ultimate convenience in telephony back in the
early '80s? Touch-tone dialing, of course. In this period, many
of us were still stuck on the rotary-dial telephones rented by
the phone company. Sure, we made do, but what a luxury it
would've been to have touch-tone dialing. Buscom made this
ingenious little device called the Soft Touch AutoDialer. It
replaced the phone's plastic microphone screen by screwing into
the talking end of the telephone receiver. Once it's on, touch
tone away! This gadget was powered by the current of the phone
line and the model pictured above actually had the ability to
store phone numbers! Program long numbers for those exotic new
phone services like tele-banking and toll-free numbers. We
grabbed the one pictured in an urban electronics shop. The
original price tag said $179.95, we talked them down to five
bucks.
We must thank Thomas Fears of Rochester, NY for this week's
Magical Gadget. Thomas picked this Micro-Walkman up in Japan. Its
silver finished and raised lettering indicate this was made
during the hey-day of the quality-built portables. The
micro-cassette is probably nearing extinction, becoming replaced
with digital recording CD-Rs and the mini disc. But back in the
late '70s and well into the '80s, the micro-cassette was a
godsend for travelling businessmen, press people and
size-conscious audio folks. Micro-cassette recorders offered all
sorts of features, including stereo-recording, auto-reverse and
in the case of Thomas' Micro-Walkman, FM tuning. This incredible
little gadget had an FM tuner in a micro-cassette shaped case, so
you could listen to the radio, or remove it and record. This
little module appears to be all-metal also and even has a little
LED indicator for stereo reception! This idea was well executed
in standard size audio-cassette walkmans in the early '80s, but
the M-50 is the only micro-cassette with such a tuner. Thanks
Thomas!
I want my MTV...in stereo! This week, Jay and Paul discuss the rise of
cable television in the '70s and through the '80s. We recall the early days
of Home Box Office, WOR, WTBS and WSBK...dial & push button cable boxes,
and the infamous descrambler boxes. We're fortunate enough to have a commercial
from 1983 that aired on local tv stations for MTV, broadcasting in stereo.
Click here to listen to the audio from this
vintage commercial featuring cameos from David Bowie, Pat Benatar and the Police!
Thanks again, Tom for another magical gadget. This is the Sony KV-4000, a
color tv that sold around 1981 for US$550. Sony's products are known for incredible
performance in a small package and this is no exception. The screen measures
3.7" diagonally, and the chassis measures 4 3/4" x 4 3/4" x 11"! The pedestal
also serves as a tuner and could by powered by AC, DC or battery power. Tom
stole this on eBay for $60. Of course it wasn't working, but it took him all of 10
minutes to fix it. Thanks Tom!