probnot
probnot.bsky.social
probnot
@probnot.bsky.social
Mostly posting about old tech and whatever piques my interest.

youtube.com/@probnotstech
Forget the 12 days of Christmas, I want this.
December 7, 2025 at 2:33 AM
What's everyone's thoughts on this?

This wasn't the only corrosion, so the VCR must have been stored in a damp environment.

I used an extremely mild abrasive to remove any surface marks, and it's polished and working great now. Will corrosion like this continue once it's started?
December 3, 2025 at 12:29 AM
I love it when devices have secret remote codes that weren't used on the original remote.

This Sony SL-2710 responds to eject and the numberpad on the later Sony remotes just fine, despite the remote in came with not having those buttons!
November 26, 2025 at 1:03 AM
A TV Show from 1976, being played on VCR from late 1976, and shown on a TV from 1976.

Sorry for the vertical video, it was the best way to fit the extremely tall TV!
November 23, 2025 at 3:39 AM
I have never heard it called a "Phone Answerer" before.
November 15, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Reposted by probnot
October 10, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Huh, I just assumed Memorex was a fancy sounding name with no meaning.
October 6, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Decided to dip my toes into using an ultrasonic cleaner on knobs. This was just the cheapest one you can find I got for $10 at the thrift store, but it did a damn impressive job. I'm sold.
September 28, 2025 at 12:33 AM
I'm an adult, yes, but not a very mature one.
September 21, 2025 at 2:25 PM
I couldn't resist this for $1, even though I already have too many projects on the go. No info online for the model (BPC2009W) or chassis (CT1928UB), but I think it's early 1970s. Screws never removed, all RCA branded tubes, and it works reasonably well. Still needs some new caps for the linearity.
September 18, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Definitely needed a good cleaning. Unfortunately the paint is in rough shape, so it's not going to look much better, but at least the 30+ years of garage dirt is gone.
September 13, 2025 at 4:59 PM
I've wanted one of these for ages. Had to pounce when this came up locally.
September 12, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Anyone know what this information is stored on the sides of this TV signal? It's recorded from a PayTV channel (WSBK out of Boston) on our local cable in the 90s (present from at least 1993-1996). Not visible at all with overscan on a CRT, but my capture card shows it.
September 7, 2025 at 10:03 PM
VFD meters are always lovely.

Bonus points if anyone recognizes what model VCR this is.
August 29, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Great for listening to some classic rock, or getting called to the principal's office.
August 25, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Do you trust your VCR repairman?
August 24, 2025 at 11:33 PM
A perfectly accurate RDS time signal.
August 23, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Welp, my Google Pixel 7a experience went from annoying (countless software bugs, locked settings, lack of customization) to shit.

Battery died a few times and now it's starting to swell. Guess I need to buy a new phone sooner than planned.

This was the first and last Google phone I'll ever buy.
July 30, 2025 at 8:19 PM
For your perusal - almost an hour of me mucking about with a budget VHS VCR.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHBS...
Funai Hi-Fi VCR from 1991 (FHL-1150)
YouTube video by probnot's tech
www.youtube.com
July 27, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Printers are in season at the thrift store
July 22, 2025 at 2:19 AM
I finally figured out why the camera audio on my Pixel 7a is often so muffled. The 2 audio channels are slightly out of phase from each other and I've been converting to mono since the left channel is flaky. Setting the right channel as a mono source seems to fix this.

So many bugs with this phone
July 16, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Dragged home a broken RCA TV from 1976 that has these factory castors on the bottom. One capacitor and one fuse later and it works! Despite the CRT being tired, I really like this TV.

RCA FA465B 19" XL100 from 1976
June 20, 2025 at 11:14 PM
I picked a cheap little 19" LCD TV at a garage sale this weekend, and my expectations were low. But wow, it still surprised me. No deinterlacing on the analog inputs, the worst viewing angle, and it defaults to overscan ON for digital signals (Why do flat panel TVs do this??).
June 12, 2025 at 11:27 PM
"Is that a hair on the telecine?"
"Ah, who cares"
May 1, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Moistens
April 30, 2025 at 4:23 AM