[78-L] The Fading Sounds of Analog Technology

[David Lennick]

On 3/5/2011 11:44 AM, DAVID BURNHAM wrote:
> ..to which I added having the radio dial "off the station"..sometimes you'd do
> this on purpose, to favour the treble. dl
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> I certainly remember doing that and it was quite effective.  The trick was
> finding the point with the best high frequency response but without distortion.

And then you'd order everyone to turn on (or off) any lights they might need 
during the next two hours and to keep their hands off the television set so you 
could get a clean recording off AM radio (or FM..clicking the channels produced 
a loud click if you had your FM linked to the same antenna, a car with a faulty 
ignition driving by could produce an infuriating buzzing sound, and we even had 
interference from airplane pilots contacting Malton Airport in the late 50s).
>
> The hi-speed sound of tape winding which has been talked about here, of course,
> left many dead tweeters lying on the floor.

Speakers, shmeakers..don't forget your poor eardrums if you wound a tape while 
wearing earphones. Wait a minute, that still happens. What did he say?

>
> If we keep going back in time, there will be those, like me, who can remember
> the sound of coal being delivered to the house, and the metallic smell of the
> water left in the ice box after the block melted;  the sifting of ashes so you
> could find unburned lumps of coal to throw back in the furnace and the old
> rocker ash cans we used to put out with the garbage.

Or the smell of the oil that filled the tank.
>
> To bring this tenuously back to on topic, when I was about 4 years old, my dad,
> who was very religious Baptist, bought a record which offended his beliefs and
> he threw it into the coal furnace.  I remember being fascinated watching it's
> demise as the shiny brand new record developed hills and mountains on its
> surface as it perished.  I wish I could remember what record it was but I only
> remember it was a black labelled batwing Victor.  Maybe it was "Hallelujah, I'm
> a Bum".
>
> db

Sounds like a great closing shot, like in Citizen Kane or The Beast with Five 
Fingers.

dl