[78-L] Record collecting

[Malcolm Rockwell]

On 12/30/2012 4:42 AM, Mike Harkin wrote:
>
> --- On Sun, 12/30/12, Don Cox <doncox at enterprise.net> wrote:
>
> From: Don Cox <doncox at enterprise.net>
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Record collecting
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Date: Sunday, December 30, 2012, 1:37 PM
>
> On 30/12/2012, Mike Harkin wrote:
>
>>
>> --- On Sun, 12/30/12, Kristjan Saag <saag at telia.com> wrote:
>>
>> From: Kristjan Saag <saag at telia.com>
>> Subject: Re: [78-L] Record collecting
>> To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
>> Date: Sunday, December 30, 2012, 9:38 AM
>>
>> The Roman Musician's Union knew all about that, but managed to keep it
>> secret for another two thousand years. Caesar Petrillus (A.D. 42):
>> "Wax is doing a job against us". Kristjan
>>
>>
>> On 2012-12-30 10:28, Don Cox wrote:
>>> It is surprising that acoustic recording was not invented much
>>> earlier. The Romans or Greeks could have recorded through a horn onto
>>> a wax disc, and used lost-wax casting to make a replica in bronze.
>>> The tricky bit, for them, would be getting a constant speed. A
>>> falling-weight drive, with the weight falling through oil or honey,
>>> might work.
>> They certainly had the technology and the engineering skill, if only
>> some Cleverus Diccus had got the bright idea to put it all together as
>> you do. only problems I see would be standardising the weight of the
>> rocks for rec and playback, and the size the thing would have to be.
>> Would you want - could you even fit - one in your living room?
>>
> I think the falling weight would be lead.
>
> The playback machine wouldn't be much larger than a 20C acoustic disc
> player. Maybe not larger at all.
>
> Winding the weight back up again is a pain, but so is winding up a
> spring.
>
> Wouldn't you need a fairly long fall first to reach the right speed and then to have any kind of actual recording time before the weight bottomed out?
>
> BTW did you see that somebody has made a record with a 3D printer ?
>
> Don't recall that specifically, but have seen several stories of getting sound out of
> old sources by various means; the Frenchman using lampblack on glass comes to mind.  Actually, getting sound ou of a wavy line at all boggles my techno-
> challenged mind!
>
> m in p
>
> Regards
*******

Don't any of you recollect a special done on the teevee a few years ago 
when someone decided that it might be possible to record, and possibly 
play back, a groove on a rotating piece of pottery? I think they were 
trying to hear the sound of Pompeii being blown up on an existing piece 
of crockery. The producers actually attempted the recording & playback 
process but, if I remember correctly, it didn't work.
The pot is now stored in Al Capone's vault. They didn't find that, either.
Malcolm