I always wondered what was inside these neat 1980s radios. time to take one apart! 🧵
batteries go in here. looks like remnants of corrosion, hope it's not too damaged.
on the back there's a switch to select between local and distant (DX) stations. also a few screws.
wow it's really tightly packed! through-hole components and even some point to point wiring
it's strange seeing surface mount chips and point to point wiring on the same circuit board
the buttons on the front are taped in place 😂
this copper foil shield got corroded.
I cleaned up the corrosion and amazingly it works fine! you have to use it with headphones because the radio circuit uses them as the antenna.
despite all the point to point wiring, tape, and stuff like that, the build quality isn't bad for a consumer product. the screws go into these brass inserts instead of into fragile but cheap plastic bosses.
if you're curious about my cleaning method, corroded parts go into a vinegar bath for a few minutes, and then get cleaned with isopropyl alcohol or soapy water.
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i've been thinking about the Surfside condo collapse. 🧵
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.