r.i.p. phil schaap who passed recently. wkcr is playing some of his old shows today which kevin sampled here. the man was an icon - a great proponent of jazz and a master historian. those records your hearing are most likely 78s from his personal collection.

@greatquux

2 жыл бұрын

Wow did not know he passed. I love listening to wkcr. He’s on a bird flight now.

The move with the battery rolling away to show it was actually a radio and then panning out to show just how small it was compared to a real table was so smooth.

"Now it's a direct drive radio!" Now there's a sentence I never expected to hear...

I remember my mom getting me one of these from Sears in the early 2000's. At that time the cashier was surprised to any kind of turntable at all, indicating she hadn't seen one in years. As you described, at that time vinyl records were considered a dead technology of the past.

@straightpipediesel

2 жыл бұрын

I imagined exactly that this would have been sold at Sears or Macy in some gift items display next to the umbrellas.

@dlarge6502

2 жыл бұрын

I find many people are still very surprised to see them (vinyl) back

“Kind of an odd product.” An early contender for understatement of the year! If it would have actually worked, it would have been strangely cool, though.

@c128stuff

2 жыл бұрын

lol

i love that you felt the need to point out it was an imitation counterweight

as gimmicky as that is, it's neat. I would totally put one on my desk as a decoration.

@blautens

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed - not sure why it strikes me as cool, but it kind of does.

@atakdragonfly1675

2 жыл бұрын

I like unnecessary miniature shit... I've got loads of that kind of stuff already. Knick knack, paddywhack, give the dog a bone.

@karenbyfield3702

2 жыл бұрын

It’s a plastic piece of garbage , I guess you like Garbage huh? Most likely matches your personality.

Not gonna lie this is actually kind of cool. I love novelty hardware like this, even if it was largely just a generator of eWaste. Also, does anyone else think that DraftKings ad came across like a GTA radio spot?

VWestlife may have found the most gimmicky gimmick radio ever made.😄

7:35 Now I wish we'd have a novely CD player looking like a tiny turntable. That would've been neat.

@Knaeckebrotsaege

2 жыл бұрын

Wouldn't even be hard to do if you based it on portable CD player hardware. though it probably wouldn't pass safety stuff to be officially sold because the laser would be exposed with no disc on it and there wouldn't really be a way to cover it and not look like crap in the process

@langam7017

2 жыл бұрын

@@Knaeckebrotsaege Ah, right. The whole laser thing ._. Well, at least I have a project if I ever get my hands on a 3D printer! Disregard eye safety, embrace useless but neat novelty!

@Knaeckebrotsaege

2 жыл бұрын

@@langam7017 Now that i think of it, one could even link the "tonearm" to the laser sled... though it wouldn't make much sense cause the movement would be backwards. Unless you could reverse the movement mechanically somehow 🤔... damn now i'm overthinking a novelty cd record player that doesn't even exist

1:03 - "HYD RAUL ICAL LY" The whole box's text looks so bizarre! Cute novelty though.

Totes making a turntable shaped radio is like LL Bean slapping their name on a Subaru Forester hahah

@oldmaine4314

2 жыл бұрын

A thumbs up for the Maine reference!👍

@Evan420

2 жыл бұрын

this radio was made for Totes by Eton which made radios for LL Bean, funny coincidence

@dashcamandy2242

2 жыл бұрын

And Eddie Bauer on Fords...

Regarding the styling of the turntable and the motor/belt/platter arrangement: they might have been inspired by the Revolver turntable, which was introduced in 1984 and had that exact arrangement. ProJect also had some turntables with that arrangement that predated the U-Turn Orbit by several years.

Hi Kevin it looks very cute. You could put a mini CD on the plater.

Most radios with an analogue dial had this loop of fishing line to move the dial and the tuning caps - wouldn't they qualify for "belt drive award" too?

@vwestlife

2 жыл бұрын

That would be string drive.

@Knaeckebrotsaege

2 жыл бұрын

G-String drive when?

Yeah, "High Fidelity" is a phrase that doesn't belong on this thing.

The product I remember Totes for the most is their "Toasties" socks that had anti-slip stuff on the soles, so you could wear them like slippers, and not slip on smooth floors, they were comfy socks... :P

@kaitlyn__L

2 жыл бұрын

Me too!

Whoever thought of this as a novelty product? Genius!

Turntables we’re still popular with the retro community in the early 2000s, they were just as popular like B&W CRT TVs! There were non-electronic companies that licensed their name for retro tech products like travel size disposable cameras!

L ove th e we i rd kern ing on that box.

@TheDiveO

2 жыл бұрын

what do you dislike about RAUL, erm, HYD RAUL?

@REXXSEVEN

2 жыл бұрын

I have literally seen comments with paragraphs typed like this. I can't stand it when people do that.

1:28 a combination of the camera angle and the box graphics makes it look like you must be 25 feet tall and opening a real turntable box. Reminds me of the old "Land of the Giants" TV show 😃

A total lovely radio which now I need it 😂👏🎶

Consistently entertaining and fun videos, one after the other. Great job as always Kevin.

The "direct drive" conversion was definitely rather amusing.

Hearing those '30s songs reminds me of our own local institution out here on the upper left coast: "The Art of Jazz", hosted by the inimitable Ken Wiley on 88.5 KNKX-FM (formerly known as KPLU-FM), every Sunday afternoon. It's quite possibly the single best program on their entire schedule, with an emphasis on the early years of recorded works.

Thanks for the upload! :)

I would say that looks like a pretty essential item to have on a desk. Certainly more entertaining than most executive toys. Fun fact: here in Sofia, Bulgaria we have a station on almost the same frequency (90 MHz) playing the same kind of music - Radio Nostalgie.

When you showed this working, it becomes way cooler than it first appears.

Hey, at least it has a pure analogue tuning chip!

That's neat! I'd love that as a gimmicky toy

I suppose that the best thing about this radio is it works. Unfortunately the worst thing about this radio is it works. It's far better as a decoration.

This looks like a novelty item like something seen in a department store at Christmas

I think there is a possibility the reason the AM radio dial on this novelty radio doesn't include the expanded AM frequencies above 1600 MHz and has unusual spacing of the frequency number is that it's may not be a radio originally intended for the U.S. Market. There are other countries that have stations on their AM dial who's frequencies match the markings on this radio's AM dial.

I love the design of it. Great radio station, we don't have any like that here in the U.K.

@sophist1cated

2 жыл бұрын

The same in germany, nothing comes close to it. And no AM stations anymore only FM.

@frankowalker4662

2 жыл бұрын

@@sophist1cated AM is just crappy talk stations and FM music stations play the same 15 songs over and over. Apart from BBC Radio 4 comedies, I don't listen to radio anymore. :)

@ConsumerDV

2 жыл бұрын

@@frankowalker4662 "AM is just crappy talk stations and FM music stations play the same 15 songs over and over." - Commercial stations in the U.S. are pretty much the same. College/public station is the only respite.

@BilisNegra

2 жыл бұрын

@@sophist1cated AM still makes sense in the US because of the huge geographical size of the nation. With shorter distances around here, it's only natural that it's pretty dead in Europe. Even nationwide stations just need a not that large amount of relays to cover a whole country in FM. That's also why stereo AM was never a thing here, FM being the obvious best choice for music.

I kind of like this idea, mostly the light up pointer to simulate the cueing and speed light which would have been in an actual turntable. Like the jazz music its nice.

“Absurd Pop Song Romance” is one of my favorite Pansy Division albums.

I think I saw one of these at a chain of stores we have here in PA called: '5 Below'. I am now going to convert my dust cover on my Audio Technica to a push button opener..

0:20 Novelty and boomer nostalgia. There you go. Easy answer.

The one thing I do like about the belt drive dial tuning is that it makes for nice fine tuning. It is a novelty but an interesting one.

This would pair nicely with my radio styled as a 90s desktop PC 🎶

It actually sounded better playing 1930's music. Interesting.

@brentfisher902

2 жыл бұрын

Play the sound of a 1980s wristwatch doing the alarm clock beeping...that signal is very easy to reproduce even on a speeding-ticket speaker.

I think it looks really cool. Would go well with that valve style radio.

In the early 2000's turntables and records were extremely popular in the dance music DJ scene, where most songs were released on vinyl only. For a few years there DJ turntables were outselling guitars.

Before making umbrella's they made rubber slip on boots that looked like men's dress shoes. This was back in the mid to late 1970's.

I like it , very good for a novelty radio 👍

Thanks for the video, Kevin.

6:00 a mechanical FM de-emphasis. That's a very unique design.

hahaha loved the part where you made it into a "direct drive" radio

I mean, that's actually pretty clever control scheme, with turning the turntable to tune, and moving the tone-arm to adjust volume.

I definitely would own one of these, I agree with the comments its quite neat !! thank you for sharing this lovely video

That lid worked way better than it has any right to.

I would've gladly received one as a gift lol.

Ahhh you found the Late Great Phil Schaap, the man who taught me everything I know about 20th Century Jazz!

By the way you could perhaps fit a 3 inch CD onto there quite well, especially if that was a record design; thus you'd have the full authentic look! Or you could make one from a 3 inch CD even by creating an artwork fit for the purpose?

@krzysztofczarnecki8238

2 жыл бұрын

Or maybe a UMD without a case. A PSP game would probably look stupid on it though.

I was surprised to see this. I think it’s cool!

I'm not sure what to make of that, other than its a great conversation piece. Great video only you could have made.

Pretty neat for a novelty item.

Bizarre is an understatement! :)

Just to be clear: vinyl records never really died completely. There were electronic music labels that would still release records in the 1990s and into the 2000s as they were still used by DJs in clubs. Even though records were "killed" by the major labels, they did allow for some of their premiere artists to have some current albums available on record. But yes, the "vinyl renaissance" started around 2008 or so with Record Store Day and it build from there. Until you had manufacturers making new turntables, you had to get them second-hand (and may there were some specialty places that could make them but it probably would have been at an audiophile price-point).

@Chickenpatty878

2 жыл бұрын

No one said they died completely, I think "out of fashion" was a perfect way to describe that as he did at the beginning

@DerekPower

2 жыл бұрын

@@Chickenpatty878 That's fair and a good point. Admittedly, it's a pet peeve whenever records are discussed at that time =]

Very tempted to make my dust cover hydraulic after watching this. How hard could it be?

@volvo09

2 жыл бұрын

In my collection of odd stuff I have a 3" gas strut. It's the tiniest one ever made I believe. It collapses to about 2". Wouldn't be strong enough to lift a turntable lid, but it looks like it would be used for that! It was actually used to open a pop up power port on a video conference desk.

Very cool radio!

That thing looks cute. I remember when I was a kid my grandpa had a AM radio that was totally fashioned to look like an old style car.

Really enjoyed this video. I’ve been ripping a couple volumes of the RCA Victor Encyclopedia of Recorded Jazz and took note of Chu Berry’s name, so I smiled when I heard the DJ mention him. Keep up the terrific videos, I always appreciate your humor and knowledge.

Perfect present for grandma , who really wants to be hip and get into that vinyl business that everybody seems to be into. Only she doesn't want to pay for a real turntable , doesn't have any records and only remembers what an 8 track is.

This might get me to try terrestrial radio again. At least for the novelty.

Nice already Thursday mean Kevin video day's! And it's a turntable video of course nice even if it's a Radio

Nice one!

Absolutely lovely ❤️

Pretty cool to hear that WKCR is still broadcasting! Nowadays they are probably most known for broadcasting the Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito show, which was a super legendary Hip-Hop show that ran from 1 to 5 in the morning. Started in 1990, ended in '98 but Bobbito stayed on the station until '02. Lot of legends came through there before they blew up. On some of the rips floating around the net it sometimes caught the end of the show and after them, a jazz band would come on.

Ill have to try that station out.

when i was a kid in NJ , if i was trying to find a good song on the radio, if you heard jazz that means you went too far. later it meant you almost had WSOU.

Cool! Love it.

Looks so cute would love one as a decoration on a desk.

Really good details

That's actually pretty cute

Can't wait for their release of turntables that look like radios, cassette decks and open reels !

@atakdragonfly1675

2 жыл бұрын

A long time ago someone gave me a miniature of an entire HiFi system..in old school wood and silver... In that audio cabinet that had the glass top that lifted up for the turntable with a glass front. Tuner, amp, cassette and record player ..eq! --and speakers on either side. Somewhere over the years it has gotten lost. And I don't know what happened to it. It was really cool. It pisses me off!

@BilisNegra

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe something can be done with a dual turntable setup for the open reel thing?

@mikeprusky603

2 жыл бұрын

@@BilisNegra Now you're cookin' with gas ! don't see how Walmart could find shelfspace, what with these huge boxes. oo, oo, I got it ! Take all the components apart, throw them into a colorful box labelled in any language but English, put 'em on the aisle end caps with a big sign saying: MAKE YOUR OWN HIFI RIG !!! HOURS OF FUN FOR DIYERS. !! NO SKILLS NEEDED !!! MARKDOWN $30. trust me, they'll sell a million of 'em. (of course, there'll be no instructions in the box.....YEAH THAT'S IT !!! A STEREO JIGSAW PUZZLE !!!!!

Oddware is always fascinating.

this is so stupid yet i love it

The operation is still a cool design though.. The platter, tonearm volume... Neat. As if I didn't have enough knick knack paddywhack give the dog a bone already...

It's too bad you couldn't take advantage of the somewhat fine tuning with that belt driven mechanism with a more selective tuner. That thing is as wide as a Mack truck.

Best thing was the Hydraulic Lid 🤣 🇬🇧

What about a 8cm mini CD?

@vwestlife

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, that would fit.

It's nearly as cute as my Marlboro cigarette pack radio. I collect these types of radios, I'll be on the lookout for this. 👍

The most memorable part of the video is your mention of WKCR. Good to have an alternative Jazz web stream when I don’t feel like picking music and don’t like what’s on KCSM- I already forgot about the radio turntable thingie.

Cute idea. The surprise is that the digital tuning isn't as harsh or immediate.

@vwestlife

2 жыл бұрын

It doesn't have digital tuning. It's a completely analog design.

For a cheap little novelty they sure put a lot of work into it! If that were made today they'd be flying off the shelves, except it would have to be a bluetooth speaker or something lol, I'm surprised they made this in a time when LPs were just an outdated technology instead of something fun and retro.

I see 121 Plauche Street, New Orleans, Louisiana on the box. I wonder if Eton still exist in my hometown. When I researched the address, ETON was located in Elmwood, Louisiana. Which is not too far in the New Orleans area. As a result, it is not in New Orleans, it's in Jefferson parish, which is the next parish next to Orleans parish.

Man you find some cool stuff.

I don't know why but I'd like to find one of these and get inside and hook up an external audio out jack/speaker. I'm curious if it's just the crappy speaker making this radio sound bad. I think that tuning with the turntable itself is better than using the knob. you can use the turntable for coarse tuning and then use the knob for fine.

That sounds horrific. I would have put it on my desk at work with all my other nic nacks thought... Reminds me of when I got one of those "baby boombox" radios as a kid and couldn't believe how horrible and shrill the sound was. Ear splitting "s" tones. It lasted about a day before I took it apart.

"It's almost like the biggest companies make the worst crap."

Wow that’s amazing even as a gimmick toy or even a desk ornament

Did we ever get a cdplayer that was meant to look like a turntable?

A radio disguised as a turntable made by an umbrella manufacturer in the 2000s? Totes magotes! All jokes aside, this isn't too different from the other retro-themed electronics that were all over the market at the time. In fact, I was actually really into this sort of stuff as a kid. This radio would have looked nice sitting next to the '50s "payphone" I had hanging on my bedroom wall.

Love how vinyl made a resurgence

Actually that is kind of cool, I would buy one if I saw it at a thrift shop cheap $$$

Nice little have to have thing just for fun

If only this was released today especially with the vinyl resurgence

kool TT...would have been much cooler with a fake record that spins as the radio music plays. Eventually Totes had a "Toys & Novelties" line, I have their AIR GUITAR which was basically a toy air guitar neck where you played by pressing chord buttons & breaking an infrared beam with your hand. That was from 2012 & about the same low quality

I Had one of those when i was a kid