techmoan

Sony PS-FL99 - a record player with an unusual digital feature.

The PS-FL99 was Sony’s 1983 attempt to update the vinyl record player for the digital age. In this video I try to get one working properly so I can demonstrate its features, including one which might be unique on a record player with a stylus… unless of course you know differently.

https://youtu.be/RPsa9O1PFhY

This one took a while - so I hope it was worth it. Due to its length I’ve divided the video into chapters. This way if anyone needs to move things along a bit quicker they can always just jump to the next chapter by double-tapping two fingers on the right of the screen (on a touch interface). If you choose to skip all the chapters you’ll get a full 51 minutes back. Use this knowledge wisely, if you do it too often, time will fold back in on itself.

After spending a number of days troubleshooting this one I’d have welcomed a fast forward option at times. There were a few frustrating dead-ends that didn’t end up making their way into the final video.

In addition, at one point very near the end, it slipped and fell a foot or so to the floor (it's a bit front heavy with the drawer open and the lid and base removed). Then it just wouldn't work again, at all. This was the point where I decided it was time I should give up entirely on making videos and just go and live off grid in a cave instead.

Rightmove didn't have any caves listed so I returned to this cursed device and it took another day to get it back to a point where I was able to finish the video. It's been a long week...or two.

Given that I didn’t have a video out last week, I want to put this one out on Saturday so that YouTube doesn’t think I’m dead.

I’ll aim to do a really short, simple video next time. Famous last words.

Have a good random interval until the next one. Take care.

UPDATED: The record speed adjustment has been asked about so I reinstated a couple of seconds at 44:57 that I’d previously snipped out where I mention this. As usual this necessitated a complete video swap-out.

PATREON July/August 2025 Audio Oddcast

I’ve put together a short Patreon Exclusive audio oddcast.

It’s a bit late for July and a bit early for August.

A video only version of this is available in a separate post.

Have a good week.

PATREON July/August 2025 Video Oddcast

I’ve put together a short Patreon Exclusive video oddcast .

It’s a bit late for July and a bit early for August.

https://youtu.be/_NcUG7OAd5k

An Audio only version of this is available in a separate post.

Have a good week.

Shanling CD Player - Looks aren’t everything

Now that new CD Players only sell to a niche audience, companies are trying to grab a slice of that niche with unusual player designs. The Shanling EC Smart is supposed to be a step-up from the countless no-name Ali Express novelty CD players, while still benefitting from an eye catching appearance.

Here’s my review:

https://youtu.be/UIc95os2WWo

I’ve managed to get this video completed (I hope) just in time for it to jump the queue in front of the increasingly unpopular projector themed nonsense. I'll release this video on Youtube on Saturday but as I might be away from a computer at 10AM Saturday, I’ve uploaded it twice. One without the adverts just for Patrons and the other one scheduled for public auto-release.

I’m feeling a bit tired out, so I’ll take a few days break from recording/editing. As a result there will be a bit of a gap before anything new appears here. In the meantime have a good one and look after yourself.

The Wrong Projector Screen

It’s the final part of my unintended Home Cinema Projector Quadrilogy. So far we’ve had a review of a new 4K projector, a (Patreon exclusive) video about the rediscovery of an old forgotten screen and the review of a cheap(ish) out of focus projector.

Today it’s a video about my new automatic screen, which might have been an expensive mistake. It certainly made me feel that it's time I lock the credit card away for a while.

https://youtu.be/hdoCz1Fw9-M

I should mention that the thumbnail isn’t posed, it’s a freeze frame from an unused clip.

You’ll likely be very glad to know that I don’t have any more projector related videos planned. Just like my previous video on this same topic, I’ll try to delay it by an extra week and get another unrelated video completed first. We’ll see how that plan worked out later next week.

I hope you’re well, have a good weekend and take care.

UPDATE - I’ve made a couple of tiny edits of things that were annoying me - there’s no difference in content, just tidying up a few bits. The updated version is now the one linked and embedded above.

UPDATE 2 - Uploaded a re-edit with a clearer ALR comparison section

A new Nixie Tube Radio

You might have seen the lovely vintage Nixie Tube FM radio tuner in my HiFi. I also have a different one in storage that I hope to show at some point in the future.

It was almost inevitable therefore, that if someone decided to make a brand new radio featuring a Nixie Tube frequency display I’d have to take a look at it.

That device is called the Retio and here’s my video https://youtu.be/ZRXpH8TanXs

I plan to release this video this weekend and delay the public release of the budget projector video to the weekend after.

I hope your week is going well so far. Take care.

UPDATE - Re-edited to snip a couple of seconds to remove inadequate DAB poor tuning description related concerns.

UPDATE 2 - Snipped a few more seconds to reduce wood type pronunciation related issues.

UPDATE 3 - Snipped out another sticking point

Not flipping projectors AGAIN!

When I bought this budget projector to feature in a review I didn’t consider that it would result in too many projector themed videos in quick succession. Regardless I’ve ploughed on and made this video about something almost no one will care about. I suppose that’s the theme of my channel though.

https://youtu.be/vKYCZMSL8P4

I have a couple more unrelated things that I might be able to make shorter videos about. If I manage to get one of these completed during the week I could bump this projector video on by a week, to space them out a bit more. We’ll see, I can’t remember the last time anything worked out how I'd planned.

Another slight issue is that my new projector screen turned up this week and I’d really like to talk about that, but then I’d be straight back to square one on the lack of video topic variety.

Anyway, have a good week and take care.

UPDATED: There was a lumens calculation that was incorrect in the original video so I’ve re-uploaded a new version above.

Watch out for spam nonsense in the comments

I get an email every time someone posts a comment on Patreon.

I've just had dozens showing that a new Patreon user who called himself Techmoan CREATOR has replied to Patreon comments suggesting there's a giveaway and people should use Telegram to claim it.


I'm sure everyone here knows that I don't do giveaways and I don't use Telegram.

I've blocked the user but I think the comments remain. I'm going to try and delete them all, but it'll take me a few minutes.

Isn't spam great.

It’s the TRMNL e-ink display

In this video I’m taking a look at the TRMNL e-ink display.

It's a quick video about a simple device but one that took a surprisingly long time to assemble.

I’m glad I can finally move on to making the next video.

Hr's th trmnl ytb lnk : https://youtu.be/vXCWcOuTUng

Hope you have a good week, take care.

UPDATE - I didn't think about the title - after spending a week looking at this thing the word had blurred into having no meaning. I've changed the title now. Oh and as far as my potential health situation goes, still no news.

Oddcast June 2025

My next video for the channel is currently in the editing stage, I aim to get that finished this weekend.

In the meantime since you’re a Patron you do still get a new video on a Saturday, just one that’s not really fit for public consumption.

Here’s the link https://youtu.be/ZD39dmEEqyo

Have a good weekend.

(UPDATED) Nebula Cosmos 4K SE  - Projectors got smarter

Here’s the video about my new home cinema projector and how (or if) it’s worked out for me.

https://youtu.be/n3C3WSMhD3s

When I bought my refurb model it seemed like a good deal (relatively speaking) at £900 rather than the £1300 of a new one. However currently the new ones are being discounted to £1000, so now I'd probably pay the extra for an unused one. Affiliate links are on YouTube!

In other news...

It’s been quite the week. Unseen to all, a runaway unattended parked car rolled down the hill, crossed the road, proceeded diagonally across the neighbour’s lawn, only to be stopped when it hit a car, my car which was parked 'safely' on my drive. While my car only suffered light damage it's a load of unwanted admin and time to sort it out. This has convinced me that driverless cars are a bad idea.

As for the health stuff, Liver Biopsy 2 (electric boogaloo) unfortunately proved to be another bust. This one had been CT guided to be more accurate and as a result had taken a lot longer.

The health team must have assumed that after a few days of freedom I'd be pining for more hospital appointments and so they sent me (and my liver) to get another MRI on Wednesday. I’m getting so used to these that I briefly nodded off in the tunnel. Although every time they squeeze me into one of these devices I’m reminded of David Banner’s mishap. Nil by mouth made him particularly hangry.

I don’t know what’s next, but I’ve pretty much had it with biopsies now, if the doctors suggest that they'd like another try I’ll likely opt to just take my chances instead, like everyone else who doesn't get weekly medical checks has to.

In amongst all that nonsense, I’ve finally got this video finished. Unfortunately it turned out my wireless mic receiver managed to wobble a fraction loose from the Sony camera MI hot-shoe for some scenes. So if you think the audio isn’t great in places, that’s because the audio isn’t great in places. I must remember to set the mic to also record a local backup in future.

Take care and have a good weekend.

UPDATE: There are now two versions of this video.

The full verbose 38 minute one is embedded and linked above

Alternatively a more matter-of-fact 18-ish minute version can now be found here:

https://youtu.be/K0CxT7mYZo8

It’s your choice which one to watch (if any), however I’ll only be posting the short version to the Youtube subscriber feed with the long version linked in the video description.

Update 2 - shaved another 15 secs off the short version and made a few fixes to timings in places. Uploaded the new one and swapped the link out.

Lost & Found - a big upgrade?

An extra Patron only video.

Earlier today I found something I didn’t even know I’d lost and I thought I should share the story.

https://youtu.be/FwvbYn7KKq4

Projection Prattle

You know those videos I’ve made that started with a long section explaining the background to the topic before then moving on to show something related. The videos that people who struggle to get through a TikTok clip in one sitting like to complain about. Well this video is all set-up and no resolution. They’re going to love it.

The pay-off to this one will only come with future videos related to this topic. With all this exposition out of the way those videos will now be able to skip this part and just cut to the chase.

Don't misunderstand, I'm pretty happy with the way this video has turned out, but I just thought you should know that there’s no pot of gold at the end of this particular rainbow. Although you might just enjoy looking at the pretty colours instead.

https://youtu.be/05JFWiwTcck

As for other stuff, well there’s still a couple of small things I'd like to tweak in the new studio (yes the flickering Nixie clock is one) but overall I've now got things pretty much how I want them.

I’ll do a Patreon update video when the time seems right. At the moment I’m awaiting my latest biopsy results, so any long or even medium term plans are very much up in the air until these land.

Take care.

STAR TREK Tricorder Prop Replica

Good news, the video editing went smoothly so this one is now ready to share.

Here's the link: https://youtu.be/-iMAzdfu1Ms

I’m glad the Wand Company got in touch and offered to send a review sample of their Tricorder, as while I wanted to take a look at one it’s very unlikely I’d have spent $350 for the privilege. I’m sure they’ll sell as many as they can make - but it is a very niche subject for a video. Incidentally it’s no coincidence that I mentioned the Tricorder in the Singer Study Mate video the other week - I already knew this one was on its way.

Since this was a straightforward product demo, it seemed like the perfect subject for the first full video shoot in the new studio space.  I expected some behind the scenes technical issues would be inevitable, so it seemed wise to minimise complications by showing something that should just work out of the box. On reflection it turns out that shooting the screen on this was trickier than I'd anticipated.

I may put this video out on Monday as it’s a holiday here in the UK and if other people’s bank holidays are anything like mine it’ll be a day to stay in the house. So this might be the ideal time to share a new video.

I struggled to think of a catchy video title, so I kept it simple as I doubt it will make any difference to the view count.

With this one completed I’m looking forward to starting work on my new video on Monday. Next week should be my first week in quite a while that's totally free from appointments, let's hope this run lasts.

Take care.

Slight video delay

Apologies for the delay between uploads. I had a few days away with the Mrs last week and this week hasn’t been as productive as I’d have liked due to various interruptions culminating in today’s Liver Biopsy Redux, which was an all-day event.

The good news is that I’m well underway with the edit on the next video and it’s the first one I’ve recorded in my new studio space. This took longer than usual as a lot of the things I use were set up in, or geared for using in my other space. I’d still like to use both studios for a while, so this one is a whole new space rather than a transplant of the old one

I used this shoot as an opportunity to see what improvements were needed before I start on the next video. I suppose I could call this a ‘shakedown’ if I were more hip.

It turns out that there were quite a few issues, which gave me the excuse to shop for even more kit. I’ll also definitely be adjusting some lighting, camera and mic settings before making another video, things in this one are a bit odd in places, but also show promise

I’ll be editing all day tomorrow and possibly into Sunday, but as soon as the video is ready, whenever that is, you’ll get to see it first here.

Take care.

Old Tosh

I’ve been putting off tacking this tricky repair for a couple of years. In hindsight perhaps it could have waited a bit longer.

https://youtu.be/JlfNDQOgtfE

Due to an editing error the Patreon credits at the end are missing the names overlay. I'll upload a corrected version before the video goes live next Saturday.

Boring health stuff: A quick update on my never ending health saga. Unfortunately the liver biopsy needs to be repeated in a couple of weeks as the sample taken turned out to be useless for doing any diagnosis with.  I was really hoping I was done with the unpleasant poking and prodding. I guess I’ll now only get the diagnosis in early June, so it’s still Schrödinger's Liver until then.

Anyway I hope you’re all doing well, have a good week, I’ll be offline for most of it due to various commitments. Until next time, take care.

UPDATED - End credits have been reinstated.

Patreon Oddcast for May 2025

As promised/threatened/pre-warned, I’ve made an update video just for Patrons. Here it is. As usual, most of it makes very little sense.

https://youtu.be/siwM31m1rSI

Take care.

Singer’s 1970s multimedia brief-case

It’s been a week plagued by interruptions and unpleasant procedures - however in-between all this I’ve managed to assemble a simple video.  I’ll likely need to sort out the thumbnail and perhaps the title, but the remainder should be ready to show.

https://youtu.be/d38vzTbevAg

If you happen to notice any issues with this video, e.g. the audio is a bit odd at times -  that’s how it’s going to have to stay as I really need to move on to making my next video ASAP. This one doesn’t have to be perfect…it was intended to be a quickie 'show n tell'.

I might also try and make a short Patreon video over the next few days, showing the updates to the new studio and for anyone who is interested I’ll explain how I’ve been getting on with the unpleasant medical stuff.  

Take care. 

UPDATE: I’ve re-uploaded the video to snip out a few bits of nonsense as well as add a couple of explanatory overlays and fix the cut off audio at the end. 

New(eer) Lights

I haven’t been able to finish another YT video this week - but I’ve got an extra one just for Patrons about studio lights.  

https://youtu.be/NIDoZ90_Uf8

Oh and my merch chap on Etsy has created a new TM mug design if anyone is interested. Although if you’re anything like me you’ll probably have way more than enough mugs already https://tinyurl.com/5n9adm9p

The triumphant return of the NT-2

I’m so glad to be able to share this with you - it’s been quite the month and at times I was unsure I’d ever get be able to back in front of the computer. But I have and I made a video and here it is…

https://youtu.be/sjaWQaUS52Y

There’s a bit of a story behind why I’m showing you this now. All these things have been sitting in a storage box in a corner of this room for countless years since I first found them.

Recent events have made me think a great deal about the future and mortality. As a direct result I decided to show you one of the Crown Jewels of the collection while I’m able, as who knows what’s around the corner. 

Boring medical update

The blood infection appears to have been resolved - fingers crossed that’s the end of that. I’ve finished my course of antibiotics. I’m off the home monitoring equipment (collected by the postman and returned to base). 

But I’m now on to the next big hurdle. Tomorrow morning I’m having an MRI on my liver. This will tell me whether I need any treatment, whether I’m just too far gone for that, or whether everything is fine and there’s nothing at all to worry about. 

I believe a team of people will look at the results and will inform me of the outcome within a short amount of time. Perhaps a week.

This really is one of those flip a coin moments that’s totally out of my control. I’ll just have to wait and see. This is a very weird position to be in - I’m just getting on with life as normal, but I may also be a dead man walking - I’m living in limbo and it’s all a bit too much to take in. 

In lighter news, went out for a really nice posh Sunday lunch today with the Mrs while my smell and taste are working. I’m ticking off meals that I’ve wanted to taste again. Had an Indian meal the other night…so at the moment I’ve got fish and chips at the top of the to-do list and then a kebab. 

Anyway that’s more than enough about me, take care and have a good one. 

I'm back

Thank the heavens - I'm back home.

Here’s what’s been going on with the hospital.

This is a long block of text, but there’s not a great deal else for me to do right now. Typed into an iPad Mini.

A bit of history…

I went to the GP because I was really going downhill. You know when you’re ill. I thought I might have a bladder infection…just a guess. It is extremely rare for me to go to the Dr because my surgery is notoriously hopeless. They’d struggle to diagnose what was wrong with a patient with a missing head. I’m sure the whole place is a front for something, I don’t know what, but it definitely doesn’t require any medical training.

As predicted they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me other than ‘there was no obvious infection’. They suggested I might want to go to hospital as they ‘might’ be able to do more tests. No one wants to go to hospital in England - at best you’ll be waiting six hours to see anyone, at worse it could literally be days sitting in a chair. Hospitals also really don’t need random people wandering into Accident & Emergency who just feel a bit ropey so I went home.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon the results of an earlier blood test came in. The GP rang me at home and said after seeing them that I definitely needed to go to the hospital, so reluctantly I gathered a few essentials and the Mrs took me to A&E.

Last Wednesday (day two in the Hospital) they took blood to put in a culture to see if it grew anything when put in a Petri dish. By the way imagine having a type of dish named after you, although I suppose Dave Pyrex was another.

Anyway in the meantime they gave me two blood transfusions and more than a few broad spectrum intravenous antibiotic drips while they figured what was going on. Apparently I was running a bit of a temperature, not that I’d noticed. By the way ‘running’ is a weird verb, you can run a temperature, the bath and the gauntlet.

Then there was an endoscope down the throat because an earlier X-ray had revealed potential swelling in the throat. It wasn’t there. All clear.

By this point I’d been in three days and was feeling a heck of lot better. The weakness had gone, as had the hot and cold temperature swings. Clearly the treatment was working.

So by Friday it seemed things were all set for me going home by the end of the day with a bag full of strong antibiotic pills.

But then the culture results came back and showed there had been something in the blood. As a result they wanted me to keep taking a more targeted antibiotic drip every eight hours. So no going home for me.

Long story short it seems my symptoms were the results of a blood infection, which I’m sure had itself been caused by my mega infection from February/March. After all, for me one thing just lead into another without ever fully recovering from the first.

So now I’m just waiting until Monday when a Consultant can make a decision on my future, thumbs up or down Roman Emperor style as to being set free. It seems a bit silly for me to be taking up a bed based on the state my blood was in back when I arrived. I’m sure it’s much better now.

They also plan to send a dietician to see me due to the rapid weight loss. Even though I look fuller in my face, apparently I’ve lost a few more kg. I’m now 82kg instead of the 95-100kg before this started. However I looked up the ideal BMI range for my age and I’m now in the zone. So every dark cloud…

Oh and the liver stuff is not really relevant to this. That’s going to be investigated separately, an MRI is the first step. There’s a looming colonoscopy too, which is a pain in the a*se.

So that’s my current status. I’m anxious to get back home, eat something with a bit of bite resistance, have a long shower, sleep in my own bed, watch my own TV, but more than anything else…use my own loo in peace. After that I want to make some progress on the next video, this will be as much for my own sanity as anything else.

The main thing I want to do now is to thank everyone for all the positive words, messages and encouragement. When I arrived in bed 15, the previous person who’d been in this location had left a ‘get well soon’ card behind, signed by their colleagues/family. I joked to the Mrs that I should keep it displayed to pretend those well wishes were for me.

As it was though I ended up getting hundreds of messages via Patreon which really meant a tremendous amount. It actually made me a bit emotional and I’m speaking as someone who usually is only capable of displaying Vulcan/Norther British Male levels of emotion.

If I do ever get out of here I’ll let you know. With any luck I should have returned to my pre February levels of energy, but with a way more unkempt beard.

Take care.

Photo was taken outside the front of the hospital yesterday evening. The ‘do not sit here’ sign carries on to read …’to smoke’.

Brief message

Currently staying in hospital. Had a blood transfusion and quite a few intravenous antibiotics from drips. Apparently my blood was ‘deranged’. Unbeknownst to me that’s an official medical term as a few different doctors have used it.

Since I’m very slow at typing on an iPhone and it’s also frustrating to do, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to respond to comments/questions for a while.

While all the staff are nice, being trapped in here on a ward of 8 (very mixed ability) people is a thoroughly miserable experience that apparently has quite a few more days to run.

Take care.

A bit of an update

Not quite the update video I was planning on making.

https://youtu.be/WDGKW0pZ0Qo

B&O Customised speaker - UPDATED

This was intended to be a quick and easy video to make, just a look at a speaker. 

It seems I still don’t have my head in the game given how long it’s been since my previous upload. Perhaps the most frustrating thing is that after watching the final edit, I got the strong impression that it probably wasn’t worth making this one after all.

I should have followed my own rule that ‘speakers don’t make good videos’. 

Nevertheless here’s the video, and it won’t take long out of your day. 

https://youtu.be/WqRPwVRd-l0

Take care. 

UPDATE - I added a minute in at the 7:35 mark where I talk about playback from a device that doesn’t distort.

I also snipped a few seconds out of the summary because I feel I may have been a bit too positive about the speakers’ sound quality. They’re just fine, but I do suspect modern bookshelf speakers might produce better results.

The updated version is the one embedded and linked to above.

Empty Office Tour

I thought a couple of people might be interested in seeing the completed office interior - so here it is: 

https://youtu.be/-r7ejCq4ehY

Warning - it’s a bit dull in places, specifically the beginning, middle and end.

The rest isn’t as good.

Card Radio Teardown

I probably would have thought to include a teardown in the original video if I’d been firing on all cylinders - but regardless here it is as a short separate video

 https://youtu.be/XX_wOOvByPs

I regularly forget to include a teardown until someone reminds me that it’s missing from a video. The reason for this is with most IC based devices, what’s inside isn’t of any interest to me - I tend to learn nothing other than 'well there it is - the circuit board'. I do appreciate however that many others do find this reveal to be fascinating, so I really need to try to remember to include it where possible.

Back on the horse

It might not be my best video ever, but it’s great to get any new video completed.

Hopefully from here on it’s onward and upward. 

https://youtu.be/AqMGMZjAKZw

UPDATE: Took off the rather boring intro and moved the information to the video description...also swapped out the Sony radio audio demo from a bingo advert to a bit of Smooth FM

Road to Recovery (the last vid like this)

As each day goes by I've been receiving more messages from people wondering how I've been getting on since my last video - so it seemed appropriate to release one final video on this topic.

Here it is https://youtu.be/lEyUG_QFj9g

Tales from the Cryptkeeper

An update on what’s been going on at this end.

https://youtu.be/EAToaqANt2w