here's a very special microcassette recorder. π§΅
in case you haven't seen these before, the cassettes are a lot smaller than a standard audio cassette.
let's have a look inside.
umm π¬
since these are alkaline batteries, you can neutralize the leakage with vinegar.
wow these batteries really leaked a lot
how cute. now to check for battery damage
not looking good
it's spread throughout the flex circuit π¬
soaking the battery contacts
oh no, these electrolytic capacitors have also leaked π€¦ββοΈ
to neutralize that we have to use a base, such as sodium bicarbonate
I'm gonna have to remove the whole flex circuit
removed, and I've started scraping away at the corrosion in the lower left. the copper is pretty thick so it all seems to be intact
the mechanism is quite compact. there's a drive belt in there but it seems to be intact
so why is this very special? it's a rather ordinary microcassette recorder from probably around the late 1970s.
except this was the first gadget i ever laid my hands on--this particular one. apparently i was a baby and my dad thought it would be funny to hand it to me to play with, and he said i got so excited i started shaking π
anyway the corrosion comes right off with a fiberglass pen
new caps soldered in. I had to add some wire to jumper a broken via.
whew, finally got it all recapped.
so it actually works fine now (mostly, there's some motor rumble coming out of the speakers i need to figure out)
and the tape has recordings of family members on it, stuff from 25 years ago. amazing.
β’ β’ β’
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i've been thinking about the Surfside condo collapse. π§΅
i'm a bit hesitant to write about it, mostly because i keep thinking about the folks trapped in the rubble. it makes an engineering discussion seem a bit cold-hearted.
but engineering affects all of our lives -- which, on a daily basis, literally depend on engineers doing a good job. most people take this for granted. it's probably why a catastrophic failure like this can affect us so deeply.
a while ago i picked up this old DAT drive for a very good price. let's see if i can get it working!
it is the Mitsumi DK4-SS4001, a SCSI DAT drive.
took out a bunch of screws and now we're in! DAT drives use a helical scanning system just like an old VCR, but in miniature. the round thing in the middle is the rotating head.