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$14 MP3 Player With Built In NES Emulator, But...

# 2013-05-21 07:27:07, Retro Thing
I still don't have an expensive mp3 player. I listen to music & podcasts all the time, so an MP3 player in my employ is likely to get crammed into a pocket and get knocked around a bit. Since there is such a wealth of perfectly serviceable sub $25 models around, it really doesn't pay for me to splas...

Pee Wee Harmonica: A Mini Mouth Harp For Big Wheezes

# 2013-05-19 20:47:41, Retro Thing
I love miniatures, especially when they still have all the functions of their big brothers (within reason, of course). We've written articles about the tiny film camera that was the top lure of my local grocer's gumball machine, and also an impossibly small AM radio from the 60s. Here's a mini gadge...

Tiny 1979 Article About "The Empire Strikes Back"

# 2013-05-14 21:14:26, Retro Thing
One great thing about looking through old magazines is reading about something we now know to be a big deal, before anyone knew it was going to be a big deal. I was thumbing through the spring 1979 issue of Cinefantastique - one of the most consistently outstanding sci fi film and tv magazines until...

Amiga Forever Brings Classic Computing Power To Android

# 2013-05-06 06:52:21, Retro Thing
I've got an iPad, and it's a lovely device. Elegant and otherworldly (I can push icons around with my finger!) it's a great way to do a lot of things... as long as what you want to do is exactly what Apple wants you to do. I must have been naive, but when I got the thing, I was surprised at how limi...

Classic Buck Rogers Rocket Sculptures

# 2013-04-15 07:10:58, Retro Thing
In the early days of Retro Thing, we wrote about Cool Rockets, model maker Jeff Brewer's series of superlative rocket powered sculptures. Originally inspired by the 50s, Jeff has gone back further in the past to bring us farther into the future. His newest models are from the world of Buck Rogers, t...

1960s Calrad DM-12 Microphone Got Back

# 2013-04-14 19:54:10, Retro Thing
In my line of work, I end up using a lot of microphones. Overwhelmingly these days, a mic is a fairly utilitarian cylinder (with occasional exceptions, of course). However when you cast an ear over microphones of the past, not only do you experience microphones with many different aural characterist...

Rare Commodore 65 Hits eBay, Bidding Mayhem Ensues. Again.

# 2013-04-10 06:53:39, Retro Thing
Selling to a good (and wealthy) home: One fairly rare working prototype Commodore home computer. It's not even fully functional because the company never finished the software, deeming the machine too expensive to sell well in the early 1990s. The price? Already an astounding € 5,686 with five day...

Roland SH-101: A Keytar Ready To Hit The Slopes

# 2013-04-01 20:03:24, Retro Thing
I got my first keytar a while back, and pretty much everyone thought (thinks) I was (am) the biggest dork. Even other keyboard guys. I'm not saying that I haven't earned that title many times over (this existence of Retro Thing is testimony of that!), but over a keytar? When I got mine, it was a dec...

Your Future Wife #2

# 2013-03-21 05:46:39, Retro Thing
We're all looking for love, that mysterious and vexing connection between two people. When you don't know what you're looking for, maybe your best bet is to follow the guidance of a 1935 Exhibit Card vending machine. If the wife we predicted for you last time didn't pan out, how about this one?"Your future wife will be an heiress, one of ...

Cee Lo Green + Rock-afire Explosion Live In Las Vegas

# 2013-02-22 13:51:10, Retro Thing
Two retro-fueled YouTube phenomena take the stage in a series of live shows in Las Vegas on February 27th. A couple years back, Cee Lo Green's Motown inspired grooves hit the net with a song who's name we're reluctant to say on a family website. You can hear a bowdlerized version on the radio called...

A Shockingly Decent $50 Stereo System

# 2013-02-21 09:25:11, Retro Thing
I've used a pair of Logitech computer speakers with a powered subwoofer in my office for years. I've never been particularly happy with the quality; yes, they can make the floor joists vibrate and sever the auditory hair cells from my cochlear nerve. Just not in a nice way.So I set out to find a rep...

A First Look At KORG's MS-20 Synthesizer Reissue

# 2013-02-20 08:32:02, Retro Thing
We first mentioned KORG's new mini version of the classic MS-20 synthesizer last month. Here's a hands-on look by Peter Kirn at Create Digital Music. Peter comes away impressed; KORG has managed to cram the essence of the 1978 original into a somewhat modernized package. It still only plays one note...

Free High Rez Vintage Poster Downloads

# 2013-02-20 07:51:44, Retro Thing
Mamie Young writes, "I recently launched a new poster website. The goal of this project is to create one of the web's largest collection of free, high quality, downloadable vintage posters."While this isn't the first site to offer decent scans of classic advertising posters, the images are larger th...

The Smallest Analog Computer Ever Made?!

# 2013-02-19 07:28:09, Retro Thing
From the early 1960s brochure: "Donner's Model 3500 is a full-fledged analog computer weighing just 28 lbs. Designed for engineers, educators and scientists, it can be used to study almost any physical system that can be described by differential equations. It can be operated on desk tops and benche...

1984: Finally, An East German Home Computer

# 2013-02-18 11:50:42, Retro Thing
In most of the world, the era of 8-bit computing was winding down in 1984, even though computers like the Commodore 64, Radio Shack CoCo and Apple IIe still dominated the home market. Things would change dramatically in the next year, with the introduction of machines such as the Atari ST and Commod...

Everybody Needs A Passenger Train In The Basement

# 2013-02-18 10:09:29, Retro Thing
Jason Shron is a train fanatic who built a replica VIA Rail train car in his Toronto basement. His crazy scheme involved purchasing a retired VIA coach and stripping the seats, groovy Seventies carpeting, luggage racks, coat hooks, garbage receptacles, signs and everything else he could get his hand...

Wall To Wall Retro Video Games From Ikea For $10

# 2013-02-12 14:56:24, Retro Thing
Originally I was going to write about an ongoing retro video game Ebay auction that had already reached more than a half million dollars, but the listing has been pulled. We were wondering whether those bids could have been real, but it's "game over" on the auction. Sadly, the point is moot.That sai...

R.I.P. André Cassagnes, Inventor Of The Etch-A-Sktch

# 2013-02-04 19:13:32, Retro Thing
On January 16th, 2013 we lost André Cassagnes, 86 year old inventor of the Etch-A-Sketch. The Etch-A-Sketch is one of those rare enduring classic toys that has changed little in the decades since its birth, and is just as beloved today as ever.Cassagnes was a French electrical technician. In the la...

Retro-8: Sleek New 8mm Film Digitizing System

# 2013-02-01 09:05:57, Retro Thing
Movie film can last for many decades if stored in a cool, dark and dry environment. The problem is that few of us still own projection equipment, so the film shot by our parents and grandparents goes unwatched. Moviestuff in Utopia, Texas provides an impressive lineup of film digitization gear that ...

Stylophone S2 - Worthy To Inherit The Throne Of The Original Plastic Classic?

# 2013-02-01 09:05:12, Retro Thing
[photo by Pea Hicks]We're fans of the Stylophone, an oddball British instrument from the 60s. it strikes a dear bleepy chord within many hearts since for many it was their first ever electronic instrument, or even their first musical instrument! Monophonic, buzzy, and played with a little plastic st...

Radio Shack APM-200 Power Meter Lets You See The Music

# 2013-01-22 20:40:33, Retro Thing
 For those of us who worship at the temple of the Most Holy Bouncing Light In Time To Music Phenomenon, it’s a good time. Every software music player has some sort of swirly visualization that morphs in time to the music. It used to be more of a trick to pull off. The Atari Jaguar video game cons...

Michael's Shortwave Holy Grail: Hallicrafters SX-100

# 2012-09-05 06:39:48, Retro Thing
[Here's a guest post from Michael Nyberg - Ed.]I have been listening to shortwave stations since I was probably 9, give or take a year. Spent many a night in front of my Dad's Realistic DX-150A shortwave receiver. Later on, I would come to find a Realistic DX-160 and brag to my Dad I got a newer mod...

"Drive Ya Nuts" Puzzle Does Just That

# 2012-09-04 10:27:53, Retro Thing
The Rubik's Cube quickly spun beyond being merely a puzzle. It was a huge fad, a phenomenon, and has since grown to become an icon symbolizing the entire 80s. Not too bad for a frustrating little plastic puzzle. Of course other purveyors of plastic puzzles of the time weren't going to be caught twid...

Kickstart a Stop Motion Remake of Jonny Quest

# 2012-09-04 08:31:57, Retro Thing
About a year ago, we featured a stop-motion remake of the opening title sequence from the classic Jonny Quest (1964) cartoon series. It generated a significant buzz on the Intertubes and Roger Evans has decided to kick things up a notch by remaking a full 20 minute episode of the show in stop motion...

Rocking Out On A 1926 Fotoplayer

# 2012-08-24 09:44:47, Retro Thing
Stop reading this post. Watch the video first. You'll feel giddy, glowy, and laugh out loud happy. I guarantee it. Watched it? Good. It's a fake.The 1926 Fotoplayer is a real instrument, and Joe Rinaudo really plays it with the vim you see. YouTube user "adnmusic" added the very credible sounding ca...

RIP: Hans Camenzind, Inventor Of The 555 Timer

# 2012-08-17 17:39:21, Retro Thing
You may not know his name, but you've encountered Hans Camenzind's designs countless times. Hans was one of the rock stars of the integrated design world, with 20 US patents to his name and over 140 integrated circuits under his belt. He passed away on August 8th, 2012 at the age of 78, leaving the ...

A Retro Kitsch Look At The Olympics

# 2012-08-14 19:12:26, Retro Thing
I'm not much of a sports fan (which you can probably tell by my soft-serve ice cream muscle tone), but I've always had an admiration for the Olympics. The opening and closing ceremonies of the UK Olympics were lavish, though occasionally confusing - and it didn't help at all that U.S. TV corresponde...

Ancient Bakelite Three Prong A.C. Adapter

# 2012-08-08 19:50:09, Retro Thing
Some years ago, I started a project to convert all the power taps in my mother's house from 2 prong to grounded 3 prong outlets. I got halfway through before stopping. I had the sudden realization that the moment I finished installing 3 prong outlets, the U.S. would introduce a 4 prong outlet.Tha...

Cat Flash Fever! Flashbulbs + Sad Cat = Internet Gold?

# 2012-08-03 07:49:09, Retro Thing
We love it when people share something they've found on Retro Thing. We've been lucky enough to have some of our work go viral, but we'd love it if something went super viral... like in the multi-millions. I finally figured out what it is that we've been doing wrong. I don't know when the internet t...

Convergence X: Fake Camcorder Does It All - Except Shoot Video

# 2012-08-03 06:49:02, Retro Thing
Flea markets aren't jst a lot of second had stuff. You'll also find lots of strange new products that come from far off lands (I'm trying to be nice here...). I've seen this Nokina camera countless times, usually priced at $30-50. It looks like just another castoff 90s camcorder, but why so cheap?Lo...