What's new Pussycat too?

Third Lanark are a lesson in how to drive a club into the ground and their story makes for a very interesting, albeit sad, story Andy.

Weather has been pretty good here today. Met up with my childhood best friend for some banter and a walk round Paisley Abbey which is a magnificent building dating back to the 1200's While my football team (Celtic) were celebrating back to back league titles the two of us took in a Juniors game from the 3rd tier of the Scottish amateur league. It was a great game with some very decent play and cost us less than £10 each including admission, a pie, and a cuppa tea

Tomorrow I'm off to visit the Forth Canal near Falkirk and then a nearby historic castle and the heritage village of Culross. I like to fill my days off work with stuff to save me sitting in the house and then it being too late to go anywhere by the time I decide what to do!

p.s. the record player has gone along with the accompanying vinyl. Meant the amp/cd/dab radio only cost me £15 in the end

 

Fair enough, mate.
Glad you've had a successful sunny day and met up with yer old pal and up on the trading plus back2back titles for Celtic - all in all, you can't grumble!
I will check out Third Lanark, Al, and see what the hell happened there - don't tell me Philip Schofield had anything to do with it ;-)

 

Bang on Andy. They should never have put him in charge of the boys team....

 

What do you call a field full of skeletons?

A Scho-field...

Not my joke..

 

All right guys, here are a few pics of my stereo & video players set-up, though the CED player, Lazerdisc player and turn table are out of view atm. And one of my finished re-rebuilt speakers. Through the last rebuild the 12" woofers remained original, as well as one 3" mid-range speaker, and the cabinets were repaired with wood putty and painted antique white except for the face which was the original black. And I ordered speaker cover material and made new speaker covers from scratch.

This rebuild included more wood putty, fixing chewed corners from the puppies, two new woofers and two new 4" mid-range (an inch bigger and twice the watts of the other 2. And the two 3" replacement tweeters from the first rebuild remain. The Antique white colour I used before turned out to show too much dust and grime needing constant cleaning to look good, so I decided to go with a Dark Walnut color for the outside of the cabinets this time. I repainted the black faces of the cabinets and added faux gold-leaf trim to the front perimeter this time too. Though I ran out of both the Dark Walnut paint and gold-trim, so my second speaker isn't completed yet, hence it's absence. But you may be able to guess what it will look like...

After the last rebuild the speakers remained the same 200 watts they were originally, but with better quality tweeters. This time I upped the power to 260 watts (exact power as my Pile Amplifier. My JVC amp is 400 watts, 200 per speaker for stereo and 100 watts per speaker in 4 speaker quad mode). Pictures of my finished subwoofer and rear speakers to come soon, I just didn't think about it this time since the focus was the rebuilt speaker and my stereo with LED lighting (the JVC receiver and second tape deck have not been given the LED treatment yet...

Sorry about the photo quality, but I have very poor natural and artificial lighting in this area of my room, at least for taking photos. I took several with and without flash and from different angles. There are "blemishes" on the top of the speaker cabinet, these are due to issues with lighting, glare and camera and the paint job looks unblemished in real life. I'm not sure why they are showing up in the photos and I don't see them on the camera screen when taking the photo. I'll take better pictures of both speakers when I finish the other and take photos of my sub and surround speakers.

 

Excellent, excellent, excellent rebuild job, Matt.

At last, they're returned to a great-looking appearance and I just lurve the glow there of the unit LEDs, displays and VU meters etc. Gives it a wonderful warm, quality, come and play feel and immerse yourself in a real HI-FI experience vibe.

You know, if Oklahoma wasn't 4.5k miles away, I'd be giving you a knock later with some of me vinyl and asking you to pop a couple of Rush albums on too... ne'er mind, one day, fella!

Excellent work, Matt - yer giving us all a warm glow inside with seeing your handiwork create such fantastic audio experiences.

 

I wonder if the puppies will like the new taste?

We at Maplin did all the speaker cover material, the material for the fronts as well as the speakers themselves.. All silly prices tho, I hated doing the material as it was in our storage cellar and the delivery people knocked seven hell out of anything down there, including the various cloths. Upshot, you would go to cut a few metres of cloth only to find there was a repeated hole in the cloth roll.

Also, it STANK of damp there...

PS, nice work there Matt, I too, love the old illuminated displays, more the VU type ones and not the bands of LED's like the KIT car line. Thought the KIT type looked cheap..

 

Thanks Paul.

Of course my LED lighting I can change to any of 16 colors individually between components, or have color flash or fade cycling. I set the color and if light color matches between each component or not depending on my fancy of the moment. But I don't think my LED strip lighting cheap due to the fact that I installed it all internally behind the face plating and all the light emitted to the outside is reflected light that gives it a soft glow.

But yes, the windowed areas on the amplifier and tape deck for the old analog level needles are the original VU type of lighting. Though in those pictures you only see the amp windows lit with the LED back lighting atm as I didn't actually have the amplifier on, just the backlighting to it. Where as on the tape deck with the red LED glow emitting from the cassette door, it was turned on so you see the original VU lighting on the needle windows along with the LED lighting. The JVC receiver also has VU lighting, though only on the frequency needle atm as it's slightly dimmer (compared to needle's light) VU backlighting to see the entire station frequency range numbers is burned out. I will fix it when I add LED backlighting to the face buttons on it.

What you see in the pictures isn't the best representation because I "auto fixed" the photos to be seen better due to the bad lighting and photos too dark without the flash or with reflective flash glare with flash. But they were just quick pics, if I want good pics it is possible in my room, but I have to set up lighting like a make-shift studio to achieve it.

As to the speaker covers I had only purchased barely enough cloth to make covers for both speakers. And they chewed on the one and made some holes and such on one side that they pulled it off from before attacking the speakers underneath. I had enough extra material wrapped around to the back side of the frame that I was able to repair it by removing the staples and repositioning the cloth, cutting off the bad and just enough was left to wrap around and re-staple. However, I only made the covers because, though I had matching mid-range speakers in size and power, they did not match physically, so I wanted them hidden behind a covers. Now that all the speakers match (and the front face is repainted to look nice too) I think I prefer to leave off the covers anyway. Though now I am turning my speakers around to face the wall when I let the puppies in, so they can't destroy the speakers anymore. I am contemplating making protective grills for the speakers so I don't have to remember to do that.

 

I'd deffo say that the grills are the way to go, it's so easy to forget and you can bet the first night you forget there will be a vicious attack on the old speakers. Saying that, dogs especially big puppies in the house is a real risk as you know. Next door has 3 french bulldogs (I think that's their name). I'm not a dog person, some breeds I like but these pug faced little things are whinging horrors. They rarely get taken for walks and tear up the room they are in, constantly. When not doing that, they yelp for hours.

Pictures were fine Matt, I know you are a precision person, but there's no need to redo them, unless you want to.

With hifi I don't want minimalist stuff, I want it big, brassy and covered with lights. Things like the Quad amps just don't impress me lookwise, as an amp, yeah, but as a bit of eye candy, they aint

 

You definitely need to make time for dogs, especially if they have no real place like a fenced in yard, to run around and have a bit of freedom and space. Otherwise don't have them. I expect the worst and hope for the best with the puppies. Sometimes they are left alone in the room for hours and are well behaved. But there have been times I came back and found things torn and shredded and scattered about. Stuff I put up out of puppy reach, but forget that was a month ago and they've grown, etc.

But they are very near the end of days in a play pen (about a 3x3 meter affair) during the days and in my room at night and bad weather. I have dog houses and chains for them until I can get a larger fenced in yard done, and they will stay on chains and in the dog houses until that time, though I will take them for morning and evening walks daily, except during bad weather. I will rotate them, allowing one to stay in the room with me at night.

Of course time will also tell if any of them can be trusted to be a free roamer; two of my 3 grown dogs are free roamers that stay on the property and behave and are well behaved indoors too, and can come and go as the please. My brother 2 dogs are indoor and get walks, not trusted to stay on the property. And my hound dog who can't socialize with the other dogs is always on a chain and gets walks, and is my guard dog outside during the day and inside my shop trailer at night. Every dog we own earns freedoms or restrictions based on how well behaved they become, depending on how trainable they were.

 

They're good ol working dogs, Matt, and it's heart warming to hear how they've become such an integral part of your family, earning privileges when they're good - that's great reward training.

 

Finally got round to setting up my latest purchase last night, the Atari STe that I mentioned previously. Picked it up through a Gumtree advert and the seller delivered it to me in person. Condition is very good, not a lot of yellowing and the floppy drive works fine as well. It also came boxed and with a 4meg upgrade.

Spent last night loading up some games like Kick Off 2 and Vroom and a lot of ST Format coverdisks. Had a fun time playing some old titles like Revenge of the Mutant Camels and a few shareware releases. The plan is to keep the machine as is but eventually add an sd card hard drive interface. Also perhaps a dot matrix printer if I find a reasonable deal, thinking something like a Star LC-10 which I owned back in the late 80's/early 90's.

Just having a play around with the ST made me realise how much memory (our own, not the computers) can play a part in this hobby. The ST was my first 16 bit computer, the first machine I used seriously for desktop publishing (Timeworks). I sold them for a good few years as well and had my own hardware and shareware business based around them. Wish I still had one of the catalogue discs for the shareware side, PD Force. Also got involved in the demo and hacking scenes and in general had a great time.

Of course I also ended up purchasing various Amiga systems but the ST was and always will be my first proper 'big' computer. And controversial as it may seem, I still prefer the cleanness of GEM to the Commodore Workbench!

So, big success so far and now I need to try and remember some of the software I want to track down as it would be nice to get boxed versions of a few more games and utilities.

 

So glad your acquisition brings back so many fond and treasured memories, Al.
Think that's what we all get a kick out of - the huge nostalgia buzz when a dear old "first lurve" comes back to daddy ;-)
As you know, that ST book's yours and I too owned an ST for about a year or so but just didn;t ever win me over as I was still in lurve with me 800XL and didn't find any big quantum leap with its 16bit big bro but did get into the DTP on the Amiga so your memories bring back some others for me via Page Setter, I think it was called, on the A500. Plus, I too bought a Star printer - the LC24-10 which was very similar.
I definitely did enjoy some fine releases on the ST incl Kick Off 2, Buggy Boy, Carrier Command and I bet there were some shareware disks I also enjoyed... I'll wrack me braincell and have a wee think over the weekend and get back to you, mate.
DO post some pics of your new joy.

 

Hey, Al - boxed as well.... you might make him an offer and try and knock him down a bit, fella:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235034096978?hash=item36b91fb552:g:EjUAAOSwiWNkeOhc

 

I had an Epson FX80 with the graf trax chips update, to this day I don't know why I owned a printer, I didn't need one, rarely used it. I guess it was because all the folks around me had one. These days I do use a printer on the PC, in fact I just purchased a new one via Paypals 3 split payments. I already had 2 printers but the nozzles went bad and no cleaning fixed it. I wasn't going to buy new ink only to see it wasted.

Cheaper to buy a new printer with 6 months free ink than to buy new ink..

As for dogs, well done Matt, some people see animals as pets, I see them as family and treat accordingly, nice to see others do the same. Mind you, we as a family go out and look after the local cats as well, we feed the odd treat and play with them even though their owners take good care of them. When we leave the block you see cat's coming out from nooks and crannies to come over to us, the puss fights then start

 

I still have my Panasonic NLQ dot-matrix I custom painted to match my XL system...and still haven't actually used since college! I even have 3 ribbon cartridges, two used and one NOS, all I rejuvenated from drying out...and I'm sure all will need rejuvenation again before I use it!

Before college I only had a 1020 printer/plotter which I did use for many years for printing out on-disk manuals and printing/plotting graphics. Again, repaired it and rejuvenated two or three sets of pens for it, even made some pens new colors, and again, have yet to use it since then. Both printers made ready to go within the last 10 years and still haven't used them.

Mainly due to my computers being down with repairs or upgrades more than up and being used in the last 10 years too! Though I still have great plans for both, if I can ever find the time.

Even my 3D printer I've had for about 3 years now hasn't been used in about a year, since I added lots of new upgrades to it including an updated motherboard to handle new upgrades like auto-leveling and laser etching. I just recently got around to installing the firmware for it and hope to get around to it again soon too.

But as you all know, this year, so far, has been about my audio/video systems and getting them repaired and upgraded. But the 8-bit bug is coming around again and I'm getting the urge to return to all my 8-bit systems and finish what I started and left unfinished since last year due to work and life. I am of course constantly doing projects, that never stops, but the last year or so has been mostly projects to do with my business machinery and keeping it all running. Even the last bits of my home rebuilding/remodeling has been on hold. Which isn't much in comparison to what is completed, but for example there is still no interior trim in my house, around the windows, doors, floors and ceilings. The rest is exterior improvements like a porch and deck and proper landscaping.

 

Keep up the great work, guys and I'm lurving the printer memories - good n bad!

 

All I have been doing is housework, we have an inspection and a new inspection's manager who comes across like an idiot. Want the place to look OK, just in case. The worst part of the flat is their own fault for just letting the sewage run down the walls. I am NOT doing the slightest bit of work on that, they knew about it and refused to do anything, so me no gonna break my back for them. Also, can't use a ladder as I fall off them because my balance goes, I start shaking in the legs and crash, I fall down.

Finally going to apply for PIP (it's a higher tier of benefit to cover for the hardship, i'm sure the US has their own version, or it is just still insurance?). The DWP people actually urged me to apply for it, that was kind of odd as they never usually assist in a benefit claim in a positive manner.

Still not using my 8 bits (at all), never thought I'd see that boat sail away, actually can't wait for some of it to go. I keep leaving it to see if I will change my mind but that isn't happening. I'm barely playing anything. Had to give up on the new Zelda game, nothing wrong with the game, it's amazing, I just can't sit playing before the pain really kicks in, even watching Serena play hurts..

Still, life rolls on, I'm sure I'll find a new hobby..

 

That sucks about losing your mojo for the 8bits Paul. Are there any machines you absolutely won't let go of, like your C64 for instance? Can't see me ever letting go of the 800 or 800XL, likewise the ST. Consoles I'm not so fussed about as they can easily be emulated on the pc and a USB saturn or megadrive joypad used. Looking around I've now 'trimmed' down to around 10 machines and 4 handhelds and will probably stay at that as the consoles wouldn't be worth much to sell on (PS2, Megadrive, PS4).

 

Shiny new to me 520STe upgraded to 4meg ram and in original condition with working floppy

 

Also had to do a little big of rejigging in the mancave so it now looks neater than before....

 

Incredible. Never seen the Al mancave from that view before - it looks amazingly well-organised, pristine and presented, Al. So so sorry to hear that Paul's so low when it comes to health and positive vibes for the Atari 8bits, mate. Wish to hell we could do something to make you feel better about the situation, fella.
Shame we're not all closer and we can't get us together etc.
Sincerely, hoping something comes along to get you your mojo back as Al, mentions...

 

Actually I'm ok with it all, I've been carrying all these items around, move after move, but yet all they do is go on display. I've always been one to pass on gear that I no longer use, I just hate seeing it doing nothing. Most of the doom and gloom is down to health, it's so hard to sit and play stuff now, the act of trying is simply putting me off more.

Will all my machines go?

Possibly, while there's emulation out there I'm never without, but if it’s so hard to use them then I don't see much point in having them. Again, the positive for me is to see the machines move on to new homes where someone WILL play them (I hope!)

My health is what it is, I have good and bad days, sadly more bad than good, BUT, I can see, hear and move around and all importantly, drive. I did all the fitness and running as a younger man, I had the six pack and the fitness, now it's time to relax a little bit. So it's not all bad, as I sit looking out of my window it's a big old blue sky with glorious sun and a nice breeze, what's not to like

 

Keep smiling through, Paul. I'm certain there's life in the old dog yet, mate.

 

Ok fellas, here is an all-in-one picture of all my speakers for my JVC/Pyle 5.1 surround system. Pretty much all are DIY rebuilds at this point except for the two bookshelf speakers I use for the rear L/R. Yes, I did switch from gold to silver trim on my two front loudspeakers. They go better with my silver component system and the silver screen for my projector directly behind it.

My center channel speaker is attached to the top of the subwoofer with a swivel (U/D) base. Of course they are together for the family picture and not in the normal listening positions. I'll take another picture of the front speakers once they are set-up correctly.

I finished off my DIY subwoofer with black vinyl. The bookshelf speakers have a grey-silver cloth for their covers (magnetically attached) and the front loudspeakers have black cloth covers for them (Velcro attached). The front center channel speakers originally only had the center mid-range speaker you see, the "tweeter" holes on either side were fake. But I installed tweeters in it.