1950s Wondergram ‘Pocket Phonograph’ Repair & Demo
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 22 июл 2024
- Today I'm taking a look at a beautiful piece of late 1950's miniaturisation. A record player you could fit in a (big) pocket, The Wondergram.
--------------SUBSCRIBE-----------------
ruclips.net/user/Techmoan?...
------------Merchandise----------------
teespring.com/stores/techmoan...
------------SUPPORT--------------
This channel can be supported through Patreon
/ techmoan
Patrons usually have early access to videos
------THANKS TO ------
Jerobeam Fenderson for the intro animation: oscilloscopemusic.com/
---------Outro Music----------
Over Time - Vibe Tracks • Over Time - Vibe Track...
-----Outro Sound Effect-----
ThatSFXGuy - • Six Million Dollar man... 
Наука
10:27 _Made in England_
That's a genuine English speaker!
ELAC, LOL
Oi!
Rose gold?
Slightly too big for your pocket?
No headphone jack?
I think it might be an iPhone
We've come full circle
😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
It's an early prototype!
You forgot to mention the mono speakers....
It's better than any shitty iPhone
It actually sounded like music at the end. Not quality playback by any means, but it was recognizeable as being music rather than noise.
Right. I recognized The Third Man Theme, The Happening and Spanish Flea. (I hope the copyright police don't read this!)
I laughed out loud when that stylus went exploring and it brought a smile to my face when it worked okay in the end :) what a great hobby this is
The black housing on the rear of the motor, held on by clips, contains the centrifugal governor that regulates the speed of the motor. The contacts always develop a buildup of oxide, causing erratic motor speed. Clean the contacts well, but please don't use sandpaper ;)
"digital" Tech, it either works or it doesn't
beautiful 50s electronics
More like electrics. 😉
11:50 oh that just made me so happy
What's the name of that song?
@@CountryBoy4ever I don't know, but at least 3 commenters said it was by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Possible songs include: Going Places, 3rd Man Theme, and Spanish Flea.
Torcs - Thanks for this!
@@torcs10 Thank you! What a neat little song!
The Track is called "The Happening" by "The Torero Band" off an album called "Tijuana: Sound of Brass"
They were a British band led by Alan Moorhouse, and very much influenced by Herb Alpert's band.
I didn't know this myself until I watched this video and spent the next few hours soaking up everything on the internet to do with them.
I adored rediscovering this Album, There's six tracks that I remember so well from being a kid in the 1970's, and I would hear them all over the TV on programs and adverts. I found my favourite six on RUclips, here they are;
A1 Walk in the Black Forest
ruclips.net/video/0lh7HcIqpiA/видео.html
A4 Spanish Flea
ruclips.net/video/Xv9wdoxCPyg/видео.html
A5 A Taste of Honey
ruclips.net/video/GJ-xjoKdT9s/видео.html
A6 Tijuana Taxi
ruclips.net/video/eN-ckkVZN4k/видео.html
B3 The Happening
ruclips.net/video/u0AOL1zRj5g/видео.html
B4 The Third Man Theme
ruclips.net/video/yGUjUZkOKbE/видео.html
I love old stuff like this, reminds me of my childhood. We never had something this small, the record player us “kids” had looked like a small suitcase. We had to put a penny on the stylus for those records that skipped!
Brilliant Matt.
People had much bigger coat pockets in the 1950's
It would have worked well with those 90s style pants with those giant cargo pockets. I had a few pairs that I could fit a discman in, or one of those smaller 24 capacity cd wallets.
I still have a pair of Cargo pants and wish I could find some who still makes them. I'm to old for skinny fit pants .@@KayleeCee
@@jeremytravis360 I like cargo pants. I would be very happy if they came back into fashion. They're hard to find nowadays.
Open up a web browser, search for what you want and *BAM*
_Baggy fucking cargo pants._
Quit living under a rock you two.
@@KayleeCee lucky you kaylee! they are :D
Its always nice to see, the love you put in restoring those old machines, back to a working state.
Amazing new intro. Reminds me of the "Money For Nothing" video.
Techmoan never disappoints
I want my techmoan TV!!
Loving it... mmmm tasty retro
The _Money for Nothing_ video was "cutting edge" CGI for '86. The new intro is higher quality than that. Checked what the price would be today; try $559.36
right! we got to install some microwave ovens!
Thank you for producing such relaxing and intriguing content.
As usual, you never cease to amaze us. Great video, very informative. You have hit that perfect balance of content, humor, length, etc. Keep up the good work man!
The design of the device itself is beautiful. Neat and compact from the 1950s, yet retains that chrome aesthetic.
I have always loved and admired design Aesthetics of the 1950's and 1960's...this is eccentric!!!By the way your channel is the best!!!! my therapy channel!!THANK YOU
That's a beautiful-looking device. It definitely is more of a collection piece than a functional item, but you did a wonderful job at giving it a new lease of life.
It's nice to see someone care enough to fix up the little player!
I really appreciate all the time and effort that goes into these videos.
Thank you for all you do to educate me on many levels of electronics... If ever I would like very much to meet you and shake your hand and possibly get your autograph ...as a child I always managed to take things apart and explore the possibilities ...never had a proper education on repair but have always been fascinated by the genius of those who constructed these devices ...that miniature record player got my attention maybe someday I'll come across one ...thank you ...being retired has given me alittle time but less finances but at times I do come across something that nobody wants ... Please continue to bless us with your channel and your super patient way of helping me to learn ...i am your biggest fan and at times I share with my wife and daughter ...much respect and love to you and your family ...thank you
WOW! And flutter!! 😂🤣😂 Love your vids, so great to see the old retro electronics of yesteryear 😊 Keep up the amazing work 😀😉🤗❤️
What incredible styling. Very pretty design. I want one!
the 'Walkman' or Ipod of its day. Thanks.
Techmoan is still the best RUclips channel ever. Entertaining, high quality, funny, and interesting
Back in the late 1980s I found a portable record player with an AM radio in a pawn shop, I think I paid 7 bucks for it. It was square and made of white plastic and had a black metal lid with a large thumbscrew in the center that held the lid down for transport. I think it used 2 C or D batteries and played records using the drive roller method and to change speeds you moved the roller back and forth (it only had one). I never could get records to play correctly on it, mainly due to the tiny plastic turntable it had not being level which caused the records to wobble so much they scraped on the unit. But the AM radio...was AMAZING! I took it apart to see if I could fix it and discovered that the ferrite bar antenna was in the handle and was around 5 inches long, which explained the performance. I can't remember what became of it and haven't been able to locate another one since, but I did see a picture of a rectangular version that may have been from the same manufacturer that lacked the AM radio, so it would have been a lot like yours but newer (I'm guessing it was made around 1970 or so).
Essentially a 1950s Sound Burger/Flamingo
It looks like a massive Ronson lighter
It totally does. My father used to smoke and had a Ronson lighter and it looked decidedly like this except not the 1950s equivalent of rose gold).
I was going to say Zippo lighter.
I think that's what they were going for
Lights the first time, every time!
Well, for me, it looks like a Zippo, as that's what my parents both used back in the day. Just go like 10x plus size on it.
I do love it when RUclips points out a Techmoan video I haven’t watched!! (There aren’t many 😀😀)
So much style in a little box. A nice bit of fun on a Sunday afternoon. Thanks.
@ 6:22 it malfunctions. As it’s old technology he immediately starts banging it to make it work! I loved the olden days when this was all the tech support you needed 🤔😜
"Fixing" stuff back in the day was a matter of "Bang it, shake it, turn it upside down."
I remember taking faulty buccaneer radars on a trailer for a spin round the runway perimeter track, all the shaking and banging usually fixed them.
Good old percussive maintenance
Neat new intro.
What a beaut! I'm totally in love with that art deco-ish design and full metal construction.
What a beautiful design! And the clever two speed drive, simply amazing. Thank you for reviewing this device.
That's a really beautiful design. I love 50s technology designs, I saw an 8mm projector from around that time in a shop once, it was so bloody awesome looking.
It's obviously really impractical, but so much charm.
That new intro is amazing!
I learn so much about problem solving from your videos. Thank you!
Favorite tech channel on RUclips, hands down.
Wondergram, from a range of devices commonly known as record scratchers...
AliveC4T say what?!? And I think it’s still cool! Thank you
@@dannyostby2925 It's impossible to be cool since if you use it often it will wear out your records. There has been a battle for a least invasive record player since the begging of vinyl records. Players that aren't competitive are just not interesting at all, you can't play them, unless you don't care about damaging your records, so there is no point in owning one.
AliveC4T Well depends if they're collected records, or just forgettable pop hits that become unpopular faster than a truly awful player could scratch them up. Buy when new at the local HMV, play with your friends at a picnic or two, throw away.
@@bluef1sh926 You must be fun at parties.
I got one recently that I want to repair. This video is quite usefull !
First heard "the wonderbra" :-) Love your videos, as always, greetz from Germany.
Love the new intro! It's semi-Tron, semi-80s educational TV math & science show.
What a fun device, I suggest you search for a Gramdeck, also from the same era turns a record player into an open reel tape recorder!
Hours of fun to get one working.
THAT INTRO!
What do you mean "not a pocket phonograph"? Are you saying my pocket toaster is just a regular toaster?!
I can think of times a pocket toaster would come in handy.
how many AA batteries does it requires?
@@amnottabs AA? No, I have it hooked up to a car battery which is also portable... It has a belt clip...
I love the look of 1950s electronics. They really stand out in a crowd.
I really enjoy this channel, and I really enjoy restoration/repair videos. Having both together is awesome! I hope you have more of these kinds of videos in the future.
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass never sounded better than they do on this old gear .... sort of ;-)
It was playing slower than normal. Among the tracks from "Going Places" that I recognized were "3rd Man Theme" and "Spanish Flea."
Haha, I'm pretty sure it's The Torero Band.
Just HAD to whip out my copy of Herb Alpert's "Going Places" and play that track!
I also have a copy of the original Mikis Theodorakis version on 78. Somewhere.
Here's an ancient tale: One day in high school Spanish class, "El Profesor" spoke of "The Marijuana Brass," when referring to Mexican Mariachi music. Everyone did a quick double take, and a storm of laughter enlivened the Serious Study of Language.;)
@11:53 is The Happening. I love The Supremes and recognized the melody to that song immediately. I had no idea there was a Tijuana Brass version of it
When he said “Emerson” I heard “Amazon”
same!
Same lol
It is really interesting feeling when I have to turn the volume up while viewing the video, made by someone who knows about sound much better than I do.
The whole process was very satisfying to watch.
$68.00 in 1960 is the equivalent of almost $600 in 2019... that's crazy expensive.
How much your phone cost?
@@JTLowry i spent $160 on my Samsung J337A a year ago. But I do get your point... i know the new Samsung is a grand and I'd like to see how well one of those functions in 60 years. Haha.
@Lassi Kinnunen I'd imagine a home player in 1960 had to be close to that same price.
@@donhalley5622 I just used an online inflation calculator... I dont know why but I love looking up how much things from the past would currently cost.
@@JTLowry Dunno about your device, but my phone can store and play every single album I have in my collection (and room for tons more), make video and voice calls to anyone on the planet, can translate most any human language via text/sound/photo, can access all of the archived human knowledge that is currently extant on this planet, can provide geographical maps and guidance instructions via satellite, and can keep in instantaneous contact with most everyone on Earth (as well as many other things i'm too lazy to mention) ... VS: a record player with barely audible monaural output. So yeah, moral of the story: $600 in order to listen to a scratchy single of 'Dancing Queen' whilst out on the beach... methinks is a wee bit too excessive!!!!
As Mr. Spock would say , "Fascinating." 😄 Thanks for all of these Wonderful videos !
I literally exclaimed "That was awesome!" out loud, after your intro. Nice!!
That was a massive sound quality improvement from start to end!
The intro was pretty cool ! :)
This would have been mind-blowingly cool in 1958.
So wonderfully nerdy and chill. Thank you.
Can't adequately express how much I approve of the new intro!
What a musical toaster.
A toaster would be a good form factor for a record player, and this record player would be a good form factor for a portable toaster!
@@buddyclem7328 dang then that'll be a huge pocket toaster lol
@@kevindavis4709 A person would really have to love toast to invent a pocket toaster! Did I just invent that? Maybe.
Hipsters want to know your location
I hope they don't find it. They would rob his house.
"The Hipsters" would be a great name for a rock band!
@@buddyclem7328 Yes, it would.
Michał Wnęk yes YES WE DO
Crosley is actually making their own similar 'pocket turntable' version (unsurprisingly).
It actually doesn't sound too bad for what it is. You always show the coolest things and made me aware of many formats that I never knew existed. Thank you for posting.
I thought the sound quality at the end was kind of nostalgic - something from a bygone era. I could definitely imagine taking it on a picnic.
Wow that intro was surprising
Some music there that I recognise from 1970s ice-cream vans.
As a recent discoverer and owner of an ELAC Miracord turntable, I really liked that little ELAC speaker in that record player. By the size of the magnet on the back, one could think it was an electrodynamic (field coil) speaker from the 1930s! I'm going to pray to the swap meet gods for one now!
Flippin eck
What are you doing you need to change the caps.!!! Oh wait, never mind.
LOL
Surely he should have replaced the belts?
@@beetooex No belts in this drive mech
@@slaquers no shit Sherlock
@@beetooex You know my methods, Watson.
You speak the real authentic English. Thanks.
Weird retro gear, a satisfying restoration and a pleasing result - this is what got me hooked on these videos and also what keeps me coming back. This is one of the best! The only way it could possibly be better is with puppets.
+Techmoan Dire Straits wants their MTV back!
Nice new intro, Mat.
LOL
I want my...TMtv!
I Wondergram why anyone thought a record would fit in your pocket.
A few 45 RPMs might fit in a handbag, along with this device. Not really meant for actual pockets, just sounds better in ads.
Unfortunately, the disc hat for carrying your records never made it to production.
@@buddyclem7328 They were too early for the record shaped fanny packs.
Tom5tom Entertainment Side pocket of a suitcase perhaps? It's an actual pocket, nice and flat, doesn't bend your records.
Thus, the wonder gram, as in " I wonder how I'll carry these damn records"?
I love this channel. It's always interesting to watch the oddities covered from older tech, but even the new intro looks cool. Glad I subbed.
I love these videos where you try to fix the appliances!
Nice intro. Please don't change the end tune, like ever. It's pure bliss.
Agreed....reminds me of a sky planner tune I used to like.
*change
The end music reminds me of Buffalo Bill's dance scene from Silence of the Lambs.
ruclips.net/video/9W1IiitRVZo/видео.html
Looks like a giant Zippo. And was that the Harry Lime Theme?
Cool bit of vintage tech. I love all the detail you get into on how these devices work, or don't, as the case may be.
Fascinating. Your obvious passion for old tech is infectious. Always enjoy your videos!
Seems like there has been a long term obsession with the idea of miniaturizing the turntable... The interesting thing to consider is the change in what the these turntables emphasized over time. Back in the 50's/60's with Wondergram and car turntables it was about making the phonograph into a social experience: something every one could listen to. But in the 80's it turned into an emphasis on the personal side, most likely due to the introduction of the Walkman.
What was the name of the LP you were using, sounds like Herb Alpert at least? I recognize the music from Holiday on the Buses!
michaeldibb - It wasn’t ‘On the buses’ but it was indeed Herb Alpert.
When he lifts the vinyl off the machine, the label reads Sound of Brass The Torero Band
Techmoan, Your channel is pure gold.
Thank you !
Thanks so much for showing that contact cleaner in the video! I ordered some and now have a fully functional 70's stereo phonograph cabinet again. I've been looking for that stuff for ages.
It's a "NineGramophone"...
Mat, I love you. But this time I have to be the capacitor Nazi. You swapped an electrolyte capacitor with a tantalum one. They don't have the same frequency characteristic. In future builds please consider using polymer foil (there are various kinds, use polystyrene over polyester) or electrolyte. If using electrolyte I would recommend solid ones (Al polymer).
@@thisisdeafening9933 We have no cats Kathleen!
AAAAARRRGGGGHHH!!! I've got Spanish Flea stuck in my head now, you bastard! : )
An elegant machine, I like how you switch it on by moving the arm. Thanks for another interesting video.
Was it designed by Steve Jobs dad..? iGramophone..
sounds like a haunted house
a little vapor wave going on there.
I saw one at a flea market a few weeks ago, the guy selling it was surprised I knew what it was thanks to this video. I'm 33 and he said How does someone as young as you knew exactly what it was.
I bought one of those in Buenos Aires Argentina back in 2010. It came with a high quality leather bag. Thanks techmoan. I had the same problem, now it's time to fix it!
Feel like I should comment since I couldn't on the dab video
Thumb this post up if you think Techmoan should bring out a 1950's music record :D
Everything I like about Techmoan.....informative, cool, historica, well produced and researched. Thanks as usual!
Cool new intro😎 still amazes me the sound quality we used to accept on old music tech. My first turntable sounded awful but I didn't know better
More than 60 years and the black plastic is perfect. China, watch and learn!
+David The big problem for me is that from the last 15-20 years is that even paying or buying "quality brands" you get the quality you pay. Not up close.
I have a sleeveless jacket of military service (1989) perfect: with dozens of washes and 30 years. Any wizard's jersey, Zara, H & M ... can last or not. To make holes in 2 washes, etc. I prefer to pay 50-80 euros in something that is good. This is the world that we have lived;)
Something like this (not for fragmentation, but same fashion style, just for cold protection) www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Vietnam-M-1955-1st-PATTERN-Flak-Vest-X-LG-Fragmented-Military-Jacket/163537996404?hash=item26139fca74:g:VvcAAOSw8uFcYbiO:rk:4:pf:0
+Jasper Janssen Good point!
+aserta 1 I have no problem with China, I have known it since the beginning of the 90s when anyone who had gone to the south of China, Singapore, HK, knew that the future of the world was there (six trips to Asia)
2 I speak of China as I could speak of Zimbabwe because it is the main producer of technology today, there is nothing you think you see in my words, unless you are a magician with powers to know what is in my brain neurons
3 Substitute the word stupid for wrong (or "you touch only cheap stuff ".., "with your local fatso that.. their shite".. "piece of shit".. Do we like in the IX century? )
It's not that difficult to be to be a little polite, is it? Moral superiority or what's that called in your country?
@@adrianredodo Same here. I have a Swedish army jacket from 74 that's still in perfect shape. I've put it through hell and back and it's still in great shape.
@@spacemissing Its the "Walmart effect"where "Cheaper is better" that along with the constant strive by companies to make as much profit on a product, quality be damned.
Then again, people put iPhone 7+ and subsequent large iPhones in their pockets, so ... =]
Funny how you guys used to bitch about iPhone having a screen that is too small, people wanted the option, now they have it. Also android phones are just as huge if not larger
Yet another old record player I now think I need to add to the collection...Very cool and good job on the repair.
What an innovative piece of design!
It's a video of a portable turntable and there's no reference to Sony Flamingo?! I'm disappointed
Yeah, I kept expecting for a reference to the Flamingo or the Sound Burger
Maybe he didn't mention them because this phonograph predates both of them.
Wonderful product and a wonderful video.
Thanks
Excellent restoration work!
As they said there's nothing new Under the Sun very nice thanks for posting.
I’m very impressed with that old speaker glue.