EEVblog #749 - Mailbag

Another Mailbag, Dave opens his mail. What have people sent in this week?

SPOILERS:
Original Sony TPS-L2 Walkman from 1979
Sony DAT Walkman
Sony Video Walkman
Matrix SR4000 autochromatic tuner
SunStar 1:18 scale Delorean Time Machine
Soviet Union Elecktronika MK52 Calculator

Support the EEVblog through Patreon!

EEVblog Amazon Store (Dave gets a cut):
Donations:
Projects:
Electronics Info Wiki:

[spbnick]

Oh my, I had my heart jump when I saw that calculator. I had one. It was my first personal programmable device. It finally allowed me to program at home, without having to borrow computer time somewhere else. It was all mine! Yeah, we were poor. But gosh I can remember some happy moments. You had 104 bytes of RAM for code and 16 registers, IIRC. I wrote several games for it and experimentet endlessly. Remembered a few of the opcodes by heart. Stopped using it when the EEPROM started giving up. And then I got my first ZX Spectrum! BTW, "МК" meant "microcalculator".

[nihonam]

Hi, Dave! From Russia with 73! =)
Want to say a couple words on MK52 calc. Actual it reads "Am-Ka" (not Mark). It means 'Micro-Calculator'. An it is programmable, engineering. It is possible to run some special code on it for integration, statistics etc. Even kinda of logic or physic-based games. (Like space travel or ballistics) There were strong community of users in SU back then and some fans of vintage Sov-electronics still apreciate it.

[dhpbear]

The TEKBOX enclosure is a bit of 'yoo-hoo-I'm-in -the-breadbox' design :)

[CamFlyerCH]

1990 datecodes on the chips inside the russian calculator !

[smiechu]

Dave you laughed at that guy's collection of desoldered components but you will end up the same. In 30 years someone will make a video (presumably another Dave) about you and it will go like this: "look at this, who would ever need 20 parrot clips?!"

[tonyus]

"Thou shalt not lie" is the meaning of "Du sollst nicht lügen".

[nikomo]

The tuner had a center negative plug, people need to stop doing that.

[danielwgk]

If I'm not mistaken, that is THE Walkman that was in Guardians of the Galaxy.

[patim]

I have an almost antique set of AVO "easy clips". They also have the triangular  point usable for probing, that becomes a hook if pressed out.

[DoktorSativa]

That DAT is still worth a pretty penny if it is still working.  It may only need the heads cleaned.

[oreubens]

FYI, the TPS L2 walkman is the same one used in the film "guardians of the galaxy", and as a result, prices for them on e-bay etc have recently skyrocketed.  CosPlayers making a 'star lord' outfit will be needing one.  And actually working ones could fetch well over 800 US$.

So...  be careful taking it apart (if you do).

[bensonwr]

DAT was quite popular in broadcast radio for quite a while . The quality, duration as size of the tapes worked well till MP3 recorders took over.

[kuhrd]

One thing I will say about UL ratings is that they don't really mean much in regards to safety.  All UL really means is that they looked at representative examples of the product provided by the manufacturer and tested them to ensure they operate as intended and meet the minimum safety guidelines UL has listed.  Over the years of living in the US I have seen many UL rated products that could easily burn the house down in a faulted condition and not under supervision.

[gnagyusa]

Excellent explanation!
Thanks, Dave.

[michaelhawthorne]

think that 'Hot Line' button on the Sony Cassette player was for communication when you are on a Motorcycle together.

[douro]

The quality of construction of that calculator is with no doubt the product of perestroika.

[oreubens]

30:00 to 39:00  so... this is the analog solution by Tekbox DIGITAL solutions. :-)

[Coolkeys]

Thanks for powering up a some of the items.

[egbertgroot]

The self powered load ... i don't understand the in- or output connector labeled "ampere meter"

[kbhasi]

The screen problem with your video walkman is a thing a friend of mine calls "screen rot", not much info about it online but when it happens on TFT, the topmost layer is rough and has horizontal white lines on that layer itself. When it happens on DSTN LCDs, the topmost layer actually becomes rough and peels off, and you can see air bubbles. In most cases, the screen would still power on and display an image, but it's not clear.

I had an old Alpine car monitor that used to be in my cousin's van when he had it, but it was only the screen and a box thing on the back, and the screen also had screen rot. That same friend of mine also had an iBook G3 with screen rot but I think he replaced the screen since.

Also, I know YouTube user vwestlife has a video walkman but his uses Digital8 tape and is in more of a clamshell form factor without a TV tuner, as opposed to yours which looks like a watchman with a built in Video8 VCR.