Walkman Archaeology

Discussion in 'Chat Area' started by Mister X, Aug 12, 2017.

  1. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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  2. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    A press release from Technidyne, I think they had a model called the "Hip Pocket"? This is from 1981, Leisure Time Electronics Magazine, written at the 81 CES Show.


    Screenshot_2021-01-09 1981-06-01 Leisure Time Electronics Reports.png
     
  3. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    Checking out the price £69 and date (1994) when I bought my Citizen Pocket TV I discovered there was a sales flyer attached to the receipt
    Elektropro.jpg
    Elektropro were one of those "we are the absolute cheapest" companies as they were operating from the gatehouse of a closed factory rather than a fancy shop. Looking at the list of TVs the JVC 6" TV monitor (CRT) had been popular with video enthusiasts for years.

    The Canon ION (centre top) was a real oddity. An analogue camera that recorded still images to a magnetic disc but which could only be played back on a TV. Time to watch LGRs review
     
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  4. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Panasonic CD SL-CT790 from 2002, Radioelectronika Magazine



    Radioelectronika 2002.png
     
  5. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    From amigaforum Magazine 1993, Technices SL-PG420A Portable CD Player
    CD  amigaforum_2_1993.png
     
  6. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Sony D-VM1 from 2002, muzik Magazine, this looks like a pretty interesting model, does anybody have one? 1000 pounds, big money back then!

    Sony D-VM1 muzik085 june 2002.png
     
    Last edited: Jan 18, 2021
  7. Longman

    Longman Well-Known Member S2G Supporter

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    That DR box looks interesting although they continue to propagate the myth that if something is digital it must be CD Quality.
     
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  8. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    I posted that whole page because of the cool stuff on it, we have digital radio in the USA but I only have one reciever in one of the cars. Check out the Transcriptors, the world of Alex Burgess is finally here.
     
  9. quaz30

    quaz30 Active Member

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    Kenwood CP-C7 - a magnificent and very unknown cassette player model. I'm fortunate enough to own a working one in black.
    The entire CP-x7 series of walkmans made by Kenwood is criminally underrated, they offer superb sound quality, come with logic controls, DSL-equivalent bass boost and even Dolby C.
    In my opinion, they are superior to Sony's EX series Walkmans, while being the same size.

    Their frequency response is 40-18000Hz. All of the models in this series are based around a Sharp mechanism and modified Sharp circuit board. They use Sharp's X-Bass system, which to my ears sounds much better than Sony's Mega Bass. It has an identical feel to Aiwa's DSL.
    The Dolby C implementation is superior to all Aiwa units I've owned. It's actually compatible with Sony and works excellently, cutting off virtually all noise with no loss in treble. All of that without having to touch the azimuth at all. Azimuth adjustment is yet another great feature these models have over Sony EX-series.
    Even better - if you find any of these working, they require no maintenance at all! No scratchy volume, no bad belts, excellent wow and flutter after all these years and no bad capacitors.

    However, it is not all dandy - this and every other Kenwood model from the CP-x7 series have two major problems:

    - The Sharp mechanism they use has a very short-sighted design: it employs 2 gears that consist of a large metal circle with a plastic ring of teeth. As you might've guessed, they have all cracked by now. And not in one place, they both crack in 4 different spots, giving you a total of 8 clacks per every rotation of the takeup spool! It doesn't result in any excessive wow and flutter, in fact, it doesn't affect the operation at all, but it makes these Kenwoods louder than they should be. Still, they are more quiet with those broken gears than Sony EX-Walkmans with their buzzing motors!

    - They use a specialized Sharp microprocessor that contains the preamp, power amp and logic control circuits. Unfortunately, it is very common for this chip to be bad. I have bought a Kenwood CP-D7 that had this chip damaged, as well as a Sharp JC-K50 "Being". Using improper polarization on the power supply plug or a 3V power supply (these units only accept 1.5V) will damage those microprocessors. If you're wondering how my units were damaged, the Kenwood had a bad power amplifier and the logic control circuit, while the Sharp had a damaged preamp section.



    [​IMG]
     
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  10. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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  11. Mister X

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    From January 1982, a Dr. Pepper Contest with "The Works" Panasonic RX-1950 as a prise, I wonder if it was a special edition and if anyone owns one.


    Lambda Vol 20 No 17 Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming Internet Archive.png
     
  12. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Hearing loss was a huge issue with Walkmans, from The Michigan Daily 1986

    MI Daily 1986.jpg
     
  13. quaz30

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    One of my recent finds, a silver Aiwa HS-P202 Mk III. I had no idea these existed, I couldn't find a single picture of it online.
    [​IMG]
     
  14. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    A neat video from Sony Electronics Asia Pacific with engineers that worked on the Sony TPS-L2


     
  16. Mister X

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  17. Mister X

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    Some neat units from 1990, another wireless headphone unit the Sony WM-805. I posted the full Hitachi Blurb in the Boombox Thread. The Sony Data Discman are pretty neat, the disc looks like MD but it's bigger.

    Popular Mechanics Dec 1990.png
     
  18. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Technics SL-XP470 Portable CD Player from 1995

    Technics SL-XP470  Electronics Australia 1995.png
     
  19. Mister X

    Mister X Moderator Staff Member

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    Sony D-5 Press Release from Billboard Magazine 1984

    Sony Portable CD Billboard1.png
    Sony Portable CD Billboard2.png
     
  20. Mister X

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    The Walkman Effect, full paper. I might have posted this but I can't remember. Back in the 80's, the solitary nature of listening to your Walkman was a big concern.
     

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