This is a Cartrette
Added 2024-08-13 18:34:08 +0000 UTCThanks to the eagle eye of a patron I’m taking a look at an audio tape cartridge you’ve likely never seen before, I certainly hadn’t. It’s a neat little format…albeit one that now suffers from a few age related issues.
Thanks to Alucard for spotting this one and for taking the time to send it over.
The personal air-con I showed last week helped me to finish this one. Things got very hot in the studio for the last day of shooting so it was ten minutes of full blast neck-con, followed by five minutes of trying to get a section recorded to camera until my head eventually overheated and then back to the neck-con again. As an air cooler it's definitely not a patch on any of my car’s air-con systems but it did enable me to get this video finished, so it has its uses.
Hope you’re all well, take care and enjoy the rest of your week.
UPDATE
I’ve added a couple of on-screen annotations and as well as thirty seconds of additional information on the Cartrette at approx. five minutes into the video.
The updated video is the one now embedded above and linked to below.
https://youtu.be/OefACe8g-Sc
Comments
Enjoyed the video Mat. Two techmoans for me today with being away last week (this one and the Bose) Love the quicky and unusual tech videos like this. Nearly fell off the sofa laughing with the Drill section - fabulous.
Chris Palin
2024-08-26 18:32:09 +0000 UTCI was half way through the video and was thinking it was going to be a bit of a disaster; good on you for persevering on such a obscure bit of tech. Not only obscure but really rather fragile!
Philip King
2024-08-25 10:33:37 +0000 UTCI’m pretty sure by now that I could post a half hour video with a single word such as ‘Orange’ displayed on the screen and repeated over and over on the audio and someone would ask why I didn’t mention orange in the video.
Techmoan
2024-08-24 20:48:38 +0000 UTCBy now I shouldn't be surprised that YT commenters neglect to read annotations. It's enough to make the brain hurt. Also, ironically amusing.
Grace Robbins
2024-08-24 12:59:34 +0000 UTCI shamelessly pride myself on knowing what noshnetia was before you revealed it 🙈 That’s too much time playing with half track recorders for you
Kevin Lloyd
2024-08-22 10:51:14 +0000 UTCWhat a great start to the weekend that was! Thanks!! Surprisingly good quality on the tape, considering how it was intended to be used. My previous apartment building had that same guy, I’m sure, as the voice of fiery doom. I can still hear “…and move awaaaay from the building.”
Listener Bob
2024-08-18 16:17:39 +0000 UTCThe famous "Mind the Gap" announcements on the London Underground must get played more times than any other. Edit For people who haven't been to London here is an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QExoX4ls9OM
Duncan
2024-08-17 19:58:30 +0000 UTCAmazing if the sound on the tape was just screaming and people panicking.
Clem Biscuits
2024-08-17 15:18:57 +0000 UTCPositive is my middle name!! Well, no it’s not, it’s Darrel, but let’s keep it as Positive shall we 🤣 See, now I’ve had a notification saying you’ve just dropped a Patreon update… so now I gotta grab yet another cappuccino tomorrow morning to listen/watch somewhere, and relax!! Lee
Lee Coles
2024-08-17 11:16:10 +0000 UTCI hope you don’t mind calling you Al - I think your forename is probably quite searchable and for some reason whenever I mention a name there are inevitably some oddballs who try and look for them online. Same if I show an old advert from the 1960s - someone will ring the phone number on it. I thought it was best to try and avoid the attention. But regardless, thanks for sending over the devices as they managed to unveil a forgotten format. There will be a tiny bit more on this in the August Patreon update - released very soon.
Techmoan
2024-08-17 09:24:03 +0000 UTCI feel I can always count on a positive message from you Lee, it’s appreciated.
Techmoan
2024-08-17 09:19:27 +0000 UTCMatt!! Love it when you do these videos where ‘will it work out in the end or won’t it’ 😁 Thanks so much for working so hard on these videos. I honestly get excited every bloody time a Techmoan video drops 🎤 Cheers Lee
Lee Coles
2024-08-17 08:31:40 +0000 UTCThanks Alucard good to know
MJFJ
2024-08-17 07:35:27 +0000 UTCThank you for spotting it and sending it over. 😀
Grace Robbins
2024-08-17 07:16:26 +0000 UTCA beautiful upload and thank you for sharing this rare device
Alucard Taylor
2024-08-17 05:22:46 +0000 UTCThe building upgraded from a Simplex system to another company called notifire which indeed used a flash based voice evac system and the digital files had to be uploaded using a specific recording program to flash. You use a program called verififre by Honeywell buildings division to upload audio
Alucard Taylor
2024-08-17 04:53:30 +0000 UTCIt was the first thought that came to mind when I heard it and it made me chuckle. I’m glad it translated.
Techmoan
2024-08-15 21:28:59 +0000 UTCLiteral LOL for the "drill" "bit." And I swear that same voice was used during fire drill/shelter in place announcements in the previous building I worked in, which was just 3 years ago...
MM
2024-08-15 20:34:56 +0000 UTCNicely done updates - informational and educational. I can't help but wonder how different things would have been if this format took off with upgrades and improvements.
Grace Robbins
2024-08-15 20:17:57 +0000 UTCNOITNETTA NOITNETTA NOITNETTA
antzpantz
2024-08-15 18:34:51 +0000 UTCThis is the stuff right here. Nice video. The drill puppets were a really nice touch too. Made my day.
J Ruonti
2024-08-15 09:29:00 +0000 UTCThis was an absolutely lovely video!
Raul Ramos
2024-08-15 09:08:20 +0000 UTCI’m always worrying about the next video - i need to figure out what it is going to be about rather sharpish. Before that though I have to make a couple of additions to this one.
Techmoan
2024-08-14 23:32:56 +0000 UTCWe had an additional announcement for 'shelter in place' in severe weather conditions. It meant going to an internal room away from the windows. You must be relieved to have two videos in the bag and back on your schedule. 🙂
Grace Robbins
2024-08-14 23:14:04 +0000 UTCJust Another Excellent Video, sir. Another tape format to be examined. Never saw a cartridge like that before here in the US, had to wait until it crossed the Pond to see it....
Stephen Hamme
2024-08-14 22:37:24 +0000 UTCGoof idea. That would definetly be the case.
Holger P Kleinert
2024-08-14 22:00:20 +0000 UTCI just checked: A tape head amplifier needs to have an imput impedance of 100K Ohms to not load the signal down too much. A tape head has about 200 Ohm of impedance. A tape head also has a lot of inductance but then this also means that signals of higher frequencies are also high impedance when they are generated. So yes, connecting both heads in parallel was the error, I am 95% sure.
Holger P Kleinert
2024-08-14 21:58:49 +0000 UTCYes a few people have pointed this out - it looks like I’ll have to add an annotation to the video to avoid an avalanche of similar comments.
Techmoan
2024-08-14 21:57:13 +0000 UTCWhen you used the crappy cassette player you connected both heads together. You did not unsolder the head of the crappy cassette player itself. I think the head in the crappy cassette player is basically a short circuit to any other head that is connected there so it could not work. It would just be extremely quiet.
Holger P Kleinert
2024-08-14 21:50:34 +0000 UTCYes.
Techmoan
2024-08-14 20:26:04 +0000 UTCHooray! Everyone loves a muppet. And the puppet wasn't bad either ! Enjoyed that video, thanks Matt!
Dan Lacey
2024-08-14 19:55:37 +0000 UTCA new format! Enjoyed that. Also, nice subtle joke using the word ‘incompetance’. Made me smile :)
Arjan Kooij
2024-08-14 19:13:06 +0000 UTCSo the tape speed is 1,7/8?
Jørn Rosengren
2024-08-14 19:00:48 +0000 UTCAgain an odd cartridge format, you keep finding them, cool! And of course thanks to the chap who sent it all the way from the States!
MrHammond
2024-08-14 18:07:07 +0000 UTCAh, something comforting on a hot summer's night. Love it, I would have done the same as you Mat, so therefore your method must be perfect!
Robsa
2024-08-14 18:06:04 +0000 UTCI was also thinking that, probably the head from the cassette player has a much lower impedance and is a too heavy load for the cartridge player's head... But cool at least that you tried it Mat!
MrHammond
2024-08-14 18:06:04 +0000 UTCWhat a fantastic video! It's one of my all time faves from your channel now
Longplay Games
2024-08-14 15:11:06 +0000 UTCI thought it said 'walk, don't run'. 😁
Grace Robbins
2024-08-14 11:51:02 +0000 UTCNot to mention, his subscribers will instantly increase to 2M.
Grace Robbins
2024-08-14 11:47:05 +0000 UTCYes my apologies, I intended to say that I should try connecting it though a phono stage if this unlikely situation arises again.
Techmoan
2024-08-14 09:52:17 +0000 UTCI appreciate and admire your confidence. I’ll put down a deposit on a yacht, the YouTube money is as good as in the bank.
Techmoan
2024-08-14 09:50:18 +0000 UTCI think it's a lot lower than line level. It needs to go trough a preamp first. Similarly to how vinyl cartridges need a phono preamp. Actually phono and tape head preamps have similar amounts of gain though different equalization curves.
silviu
2024-08-14 09:46:50 +0000 UTCThat was great Mat - a Techmoan video that has everything: A novel tape format, disassembly of an old machine, belt replacement, soldering, tape splicing, cannibalising other devices AND puppets. I am sure you'll get millions of views for this one!
Roland Bogush
2024-08-14 09:45:07 +0000 UTCI actually WAS a pharmacist, and in my (former) professional opinion, it says 'Take one tablet, three times a day'
Roland Bogush
2024-08-14 09:41:13 +0000 UTCMaybe from archive research, deciphering handwritten documents. Anyway, sorry to be a pedant.
Matthew Hunt
2024-08-14 09:34:17 +0000 UTCIf I ever get into this situation again I’ll try that.
Techmoan
2024-08-14 09:16:14 +0000 UTCAutomatic devices talking to the public over loudspeakers seem more common in the US. Possibly because that’s where the Cartrette salesman worked. I’m reminded of “The red zone is for the loading and unloading of passengers only” as lampooned in Airplane! It does seem quite possible that those systems used this same cart format.
Techmoan
2024-08-14 09:13:33 +0000 UTCI suspect you might be a pharmacist - you have a skill for deciphering sloppy handwriting.
Techmoan
2024-08-14 09:07:53 +0000 UTCThat’s one thing I never thought of…perhaps it would work.
Techmoan
2024-08-14 09:06:23 +0000 UTCDidn't know that buildings had recorded evacuation alerts like that. I worked in a tall office building from 2006-2014 and all we got were random fire alarms with a horrible buzzer & near-seizure inducing flashing lights. Does the tape head produce line-level signals or does it require additional processing to get line-level output? I wondered why you didn't just put some RCA connectors on the head and patch it into an amplifier that way.
Jason Wellband
2024-08-14 07:33:29 +0000 UTC• Thanks Alucard! • Very nice efforts on your part to get the original item operating as intended. I thought your hack through the portable tape player was clever despite it not working. • No weird-ass speeds for this format, interesting. I imagine they didn't use old-fashioned compact cassettes to avoid security employees stealing the extras and using them deviously? • It's great to see the 'life cycle' of this device - from the OP's message in the community chat to the finished video. • Is that puppet Uncle Moan, the degenerate raincoat-wearing black sheep of the Moan family? Funny as hell, loved it. Thank you personal aircon. • When the announcer said 'walk...walk...walk' I kept thinking 'run like hell' because of these signs: https://ibb.co/CmxzP3s • The company I used to work for had announcements worded almost exactly the same as on these tapes, and the voice was very similar... • Let's hope the company wasn't still using these just shortly before renovations 😅 Have a wonderful day and take care. 🤍
Grace Robbins
2024-08-14 07:21:16 +0000 UTCA never before seen member of The Moans. :-)
Don Eitner
2024-08-14 05:14:40 +0000 UTCThat would be so nice. I need to move to a more northerly latitude.
Don Eitner
2024-08-14 05:14:07 +0000 UTCLooks like it was last checked in ’80 not ’82? (I know, it doesn’t matter.)
Matthew Hunt
2024-08-14 00:36:10 +0000 UTCI read somewhere about "discovering and learning each of God's names" as one of the keys to true Enlightenment. I'm convinced that your path to Enlightenment is discovering every conceivable recording format. It's possible that the only great universal truth you've discovered thus far is "first, replace the belts."
Andy Ihnatko
2024-08-14 00:18:40 +0000 UTCHear hear, the drill made my day.
Grosporina
2024-08-13 22:41:44 +0000 UTCWe genuinely only get about half a dozen days a year when it would be needed!
Brad Jones
2024-08-13 22:27:23 +0000 UTC"In the highly unlikely event of the lift having to make a crash-landing, death is certain."
Brad Jones
2024-08-13 22:25:42 +0000 UTCIt does make for a slim cart, but of course all that’s irrelevant when it’s used in a rack-mount tower.
Techmoan
2024-08-13 22:06:56 +0000 UTCI’m happy to hear that.
Techmoan
2024-08-13 22:05:56 +0000 UTCA classic Techmoan: odd tape formats. I enjoyed it and I loved the drill joke! BTW, I had ordered the Nikon monocular after you reviewed it and it arrived recently. Thank you for the pointer! I have a squint and binoculars are useless to me. This thing, on the other hand, is perfect. I'm really happy with it!
ENP
2024-08-13 21:51:27 +0000 UTCYes, thanks Alucard for sharing this. There doesn't seem to be a big advantage to turning the tape 90°. Odd choice. I did a quick search, and the Seattle company mentioned seems to have disappeared.
Big Car
2024-08-13 21:48:55 +0000 UTCFascinating time capsule recording. It would be more helpful if a fire alarm would actually tell you what to do, however, it would get annoying real quick. The normal fire alarm sound isn't so bad after all.
Christopher Grandlienard
2024-08-13 21:45:57 +0000 UTCThis was great! At the company I work with they have a fire alarm test once a week with an announcement along the lines of "the fire alarm is about to be tested, no action is required" - for the past few years I swear it is Bill Patterson who voices it which I like as he's a great actor with an excellent voice!
Gareth P
2024-08-13 21:35:48 +0000 UTCAh, Arthur Smith's rant - I felt so proud of myself when I managed to reverse that! I have a recollection along the lines of "I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to the one sad git in the country that has managed to turn this around and work out what I'm saying!"
Gareth P
2024-08-13 21:33:06 +0000 UTCThank you for this entertaining video. Of course I was intrigued by the link with Belgium and I went looking for that company ‘STAAR’ and it turns out this mister Staar was quite an inventor of things that seem to earn a place on your show, Mat: https://www.radiocollection.be/fr/staar_fr.html
Kurt Hansen
2024-08-13 20:54:44 +0000 UTCYes that make sense
MJFJ
2024-08-13 20:53:50 +0000 UTCThanks, another interesting tape format, how many do exist out there ? At least another one, I used to play around 1974 with something named "magneto kid", the cartridge was around the same size, with the tape at the usual position, around 3 minute duration.
CheeseParis
2024-08-13 20:51:37 +0000 UTCI suspect that any building that had these systems only considerd replacing them when a solid state digital alternative was available.
Techmoan
2024-08-13 20:50:46 +0000 UTCVery enjoyable video Mat It was good to see these devices and how they work and that you joined all the bits of tape together to hear what was on them. I wonder how long these systems would have survived may be 90s ?
MJFJ
2024-08-13 20:46:26 +0000 UTCLove it. A laugh out loud moment with the puppet. Love that you don't take the simple route. The announcer's voice, and the backwards section reminded me of Red Dwarf.
CBits Tech
2024-08-13 20:31:36 +0000 UTCThe “This is a drill” part made me proper laugh.
Philip Boardman
2024-08-13 20:29:46 +0000 UTCFascinating stuff, really enjoyed that. Genuinely laughed out loud too. Love the idea that there's more like this just waiting to be discovered/saved
Pete Hepple
2024-08-13 19:43:40 +0000 UTCIt’s the same as a regular cassette.
Techmoan
2024-08-13 19:34:29 +0000 UTCI remember seeing this on the community page. Thanks Al for allowing Mat to make an excellent video.
David Peaker
2024-08-13 19:29:15 +0000 UTCVery interesting, Matt. Do you happen to know what the playback speed is? The quality seemed very good.
Christopher Seal
2024-08-13 19:27:52 +0000 UTCI am a fire protection sprinkler engineer, and I can tell you that Simplex (now merged with Grinnell as SimplexGrinnell), is still in business today, making fire protection equipment. And there's a Grinnell fire sprinkler bell on the outside of the building in an earlier video you did: https://youtu.be/etl_bSIy-p0?feature=shared&t=183 That's why I watch this show. For the deep-cut fire protection industry references.
Jeremiah Jackson
2024-08-13 19:22:43 +0000 UTCUnfortunately for reasons way too boring to go into here, fitting aircon in the house just isn’t feasible.
Techmoan
2024-08-13 19:18:20 +0000 UTCI really enjoyed this "kitbash kit" video. Watching you build a bodge device to revive a literal piece of trash was quite entertaining.
Tim Applegate
2024-08-13 19:18:08 +0000 UTCThis is a drill. Hillarious! Was so good to see the puppets again!!! What a great video. Thank you!!!
Dan Barrett
2024-08-13 19:16:36 +0000 UTCHave to say I loved the puppet drill, that did make me smile. Great video.
andreas wheeler
2024-08-13 19:13:56 +0000 UTCI'm just a tinkerer, no proper electronics knowledge but I feel that detaching the wires from the walkman's head would have done the trick. As it was setup the signal from the cartridge head would be atenuated by the coils in the walkman head. Other than that cool video. Each time you show a new format I wonder if the list will ever be complete :)
silviu
2024-08-13 19:10:53 +0000 UTCAnother interesting and rare audio device. Always like these videos where you try to resurrect failed old audio systems, especially when you can at least hear the audio on the tape. From your description of how hot it's been in your house, is it finally time to get some sort of air conditioning system installed, even if only in the bedroom or the lounge?
Mark Hesse
2024-08-13 19:09:49 +0000 UTC
