Retro Tech: The Wire Recorder

The Wire Recorder was expected to take over the world but disappeared almost overnight. In this video I take a look at this now largely forgotten technology from the past..and piece together its history. PLEASE CLICK 'SHOW MORE' TO READ ALL THE TEXT
This channel can be supported through Patreon / techmoan
You can subscribe to this channel by clicking here - www.youtube.com...
If you want to know why I didn't record via the line-in....here's the answer
'Recording via line in requires connecting the input device to the 'mic socket' via a Jones connector. I imported some Cinch Jones connectors from the US, and wired them up to RCA sockets but the sound recorded on the wire was clearer when recorded through the mic. I didn't include this section in the video because it was as dull as this explanation about it'
...and if you wanted to know why I didn't record the audio out of the headphone output....well the levels were very low and the sound had an audible whistle.
So now you know, you can go back to having a lovely worry-free day.
There is a Wire Recorder section on eBay - here: goo.gl/LrPBYc
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When you click on links to various merchants posted here and make a purchase, this can result in me earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network & Amazon.
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[@slicey80]

an older lovely lady I worked with (she was a receptionist) until a few months ago brought in a very similar unit to this from her childhood once that she wanted to see if we could get going again, along with a few tapes ( we are/were IT technicians) and it ended up being our TV technician that replaced a few valves, spliced a new power supply to the old header and got it going, We got to hear a 15 to 17 year old Carmel messing around with her friends at the time, talking about boys they liked and girls they didn't etc etc, she cried and laughed at recordings she had not heard for about 40 ish years, was honestly amazing.

[@kujiko88]

The sheer idea of a moment in time being immortalized on a piece of wire the thickness of a human hair. Just sitting there for decades on end for someone to come across and discover. It's like looking through a window at the past and experiencing it almost like they're there.

[@WardenWolf]

My parents' wedding was recorded on reel-to-reel tape, but they never had a player to play it back. They'd bought a player at one point, but it was worn out and unusable. While doing IT work at a pawn shop around 2008, I saw a very nice-looking reel to reel recorder just sitting there. I asked them about it when I got done, and they told me I could just take it. So my parents got to hear their wedding tape for the first time in 50 years. They enjoyed that a lot, although they didn't enjoy their friend's awful singing which they'd totally forgotten about, lol.

[@Prizm44]

Fascinating!

[@higgydufrane]

Thanks for helping this happen for her. It is a wonderful story.

[@existenceisrelative]

That sounds like a very unique experience. Watching two moments in time half a century apart overlap in a single person.

[@DaniilHomyak]

It's breathtaking to hear the recording of a 1955 New year celebration. I really feel like a time traveler. Thank you for making this absolute fantastic video

[@andymorin9163]

you can find some really cool old recordings at thrift shops

[@Timeward76]

I really wish I could hear the entirety of it... These very human events that normal people chose to record and keep for the future are like small peeks into the past. There's something beautiful about it. Just a nice new years in 1955.

[@cupcakethesabertooth6802]

I would love to listen to the entire recording

[@fistpunder]

@@andymorin9163 That's a great idea! You can really become the proverbial fly on the wall.

[@cupcakethesabertooth6802]

@KelMaster Construction I'd say yes. in 80 years people will have 20k videos and will look back at 4k the same way as we look back at this recording.

[@oxymoron02]

In 1955, those people could never have known that their humble little home recording would be so widely accessible to all of us listening to it. Whether they're still alive or not, we had a glimpse into a their lives; which is incredible.

[@doubleT84]

Recently, my uncle discovered a video on KZbin. Someone had filmed an event that he attended in 1991 on a big old VHS camera and digitalized it just recently. He was surprised to see himself 30 years later.

[@oxymoron02]

@@doubleT84 That's absolutely amazing! I can't imagine how gobsmacked he must have been!

[@Wguy56]

@@doubleT84 I bought a 1948 trophy for a Sokol rally in Prague at a thrift store a few years ago. I was astounded to find a youtube video of a Pathe' newsreel of that exact event.

[@The8BitGuy]

Wow, I had no idea these even existed.

[@DogsRNice]

You need to record old software on this

[@ky-gp4sz]

Came from your videos

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

ky Same, I saw Techmoan was on the suggested videos while watching The 8-Bit Guy

[@trustyvault13canteen32]

It is used at the Series Eureka

[@cliz305]

Wow, it's the 8-bit guy.

[@pland]

When I was a child (born 1958) my dad had such a "Recordophone" which was built stationary into a piece of furniture. Mostly before I was born he had recorded family members that visited my parents' home and so when I grew up I knew the voices of some relatives that had passed away in the meantime. Around the end of the sixties or beginning of the seventies my dad copied all intact wires onto a compact cassette before getting away with the machine. I recently transferred the compact cassettes to MP3 and now I have family audio documents of about 70 years ago, which is great. In my teens I continued the recording passion of my dad but on compact cassettes and then also added a 78 rpm shellac record with songs of my great-grandmother who recorded them in a recording studio ("Jecklin" in Zurich) in 1948 at the age of 86 years!

[@demef758]

That's a fantastic bit of family history you and your father managed to preserve. I have a recording my mother made only about 30 years ago where she recounts her memories of growing up in the 1920s. Mom is gone now but that recording is priceless to me. That's the great thing about recording technology: the ability to record history. Imagine if we had audio recordings of, say, Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address. Or Washington giving his farewell address.

[@nuassul]

Is awesome!!!

[@knmonlinemedia]

That is so awesome! I sadly lost my recordings of my dad and grandma in a flood.

[@Enderrealmable]

Lo Fi Musicians: *Heavy Breathing*

[@apbrit2009]

Black metal recorded on wire, now that's kvlt

[@bradford4570]

I must find one

[@Bubbaaaaaaaa]

Is there any vst like this?

[@Enderrealmable]

@@Bubbaaaaaaaa izotope vinyl is pretty popular

[@Bubbaaaaaaaa]

@@Enderrealmable its tooooo common

[@vazhanatroshvili7523]

in late 80-s I served in Soviet Army, (1986-88) and wire recorder was still in use there , it was used in Air defense complex, to record conversation with other units, and it was working fine. year after year

[@Marcissus]

Comrade

[@drewgehringer7813]

Yeah, wire recorders found niche use in rough environments because steel wire is more durable than plastic tape. Aircraft flight recorders (the 'black box' they look for after crashes) used to use wire recording as well

[@jak3w]

In soviet russia, army serves you!

[@AlexMGM]

@Diego Alfonso Soviet cassettes were different, some contained bad tape, some contained rather good tape, the same with cassette mechanism. The main problem with "floating" quality. There were lots of non-Soviet cassettes with much the worst quality.

[@barryholt9564]

Who here, in the British Isles at least, remembers the dreaded ‘ Strand’ blank tapes from the late eighties/early 90s? Five for a quid from the pound shop... usually purchased by people who hated music, or by elderly relatives who innocently thought they were getting a bargain. A bit like the wire spools mentioned in the video, playing these felt a bit like Russian roulette, just waiting for the moment when they would, inevitably, snarl up.With these, it really was a case of you get what you pay for! In terms of sound quality they were roughly comparable with that achieved with the ambient sounds accidentally recorded in the spiral scratches engraved into ancient pots for decorative finish--only with somewhat less fidelity. I reckon the Soviets couldn’t have made anything that was worse than these (even if they were trying)! Many is the poor bloke had their equipment wrecked by inadvertently letting some berk put one on their system...

[@LGR]

Another piece of retro tech I've never heard of. Absolutely love this stuff :)

[@ajtstvandmusicarchivechann1585]

LGR its cool to see you here clint. I didnt know you are a fan of techmoan.

[@rimple1158]

LGR lgr is here !!!!! So was I from the year 2018

[@WeirdWonderful]

Tis not exactly the stuff you'd find in Goodwil is it now XD

[@ThatTransMuffinOfficial]

@@WeirdWonderful I dunno. I mean, he did get a CoCo at a thrift store, so anything is possible.

[@morganrussman]

@@ajtstvandmusicarchivechann1585 I suspect that LGR, the 8 big guy, and techmoan are subscribed to each other. I honestly wonder if that is as true as I've said it is.

[@RavenJCain]

Insane how nice that machine looks for it's age. Not even 80 and 90 stereo equipment looks this good that old.

[@alcorcas]

Yeah, if I don't see it, don't believe it.

[@Sleelan]

There's something eerie about listening to random people's voices from 60 years ago, captured and stored on a metal wire.

[@Spottedleaf-yf4lk]

Tony Jaksn more so it’s a fucking wire

[@kd5nrh]

And what could be the earliest surviving mixtape...er...mixwire.

[@bogdanbacanu605]

The most eerie thing i've ever heard was magnetic band found near a stalingrad bunker minutes before a tank was heading for their position as the recording stops, could find id if you're interested :) it had the voices of german soldiers on it.

[@plainlake]

Then getting a copyright strike from a youtube bot.

[@bogdanbacanu605]

​@legolas1601 here we go, i have the link to the forum also kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2WkZKaam6iGZ7s

[@lukischwab9235]

Those people that recorded themselves were never expecting 29700 people listen to them allmost 80 jears in the future :o

[@kierenmoore3236]

If most of them even knew they were being recorded ... ?? Crystal piezo mics were good at picking up room sounds ... Another good reason/lesson in being very careful/thoughtful about the THINGS YOU SAY ....

[@dead99ish]

*60 years

[@stradlemonkey444]

this is crazy!

[@Vector_Ze]

When I was about 16-years old, I recorded my family's Christmas morning gift opening activities. That was almost 50-years ago. I've still got the recording and have digitized it to preserve and share it with those who were present all those years ago...those of us who are still breathing air that is. I have no plans to post it to KZbin though, heh. Still, with multiple digital copies floating around, it is entirely conceivable that it may be heard again another decade down the road, when it will be as old as the wire recording you're talking about. Recordings of that nature get better with time. And most of the participants will be dead and gone, including me probably.

[@MrHellfinger]

If more of the analog world can be digitized, it will be easier for future generations to access glimpses of the past. I felt a little privileged to hear a private party from so long ago. Those voices may even ring out into the future for 80 more years.

[@1Stormrider1]

This makes me wanna play Bioshock all over again

[@commandertaco1762]

RIGHT??? GOD THST WAS SUCH A GOOD GAME

[@Orion_138]

Nah mate this stuff gave me some massive fallout vibes

[@goldprime118]

@@Orion_138 i don't want to set the world on fire.....i just want to make rapture rise

[@xarch7208]

@@Orion_138 some new vegas type shit

[@insolentstickleback3266]

I played the first one, it was a great game, need to wrangle it up again!

[@FoulOwl2112]

Ive got an old wire recorder and some reels with my grandparents abd my Dads voice on it when he was only two or three years old. Kinda one of my most valuable, worthless possessions.

[@loganiushere]

I hope you’ve recorded those wires to high quality digital files: I wouldn’t count on those wires lasting forever, or that player, but as long as those files are stored somewhere and not corrupted, they will be exactly the same for the rest of time.

[@lilezur543]

Priceless* you mean (I’d hope lol)

[@gfx2943]

@@lilezur543 haha I didn't want to correct either, but yea I was like woah don't say worthless! lol

[@Addixxtion]

@@loganiushere excellent advice, I hope the OP has or plans on doing this soon. I wish I had something like this of my grandparents, all of which passed away by the time I was a teenager, sadly.

[@Coalrollinfurry]

The main disadvantage of a wire recorder: the wire.

[@WardenWolf]

Wire recorders were considered superior to early tape because they didn't have the hiss that anyone who's familiar with tape knows. Good quality units were able to produce incredible quality sound that can no longer be appreciated because they've all degraded. But they were still mono and more fragile than later tapes.

[@logangraham2956]

@@WardenWolf perhaps they could have combined wire recorder with tape . take a large strip of plastic and embed several wires into it.

[@InsideOfMyOwnMind]

@@logangraham2956 Imagine what the two inch format would be like with 24 tracks. 🤣

[@oliwier000b]

It should be wireless hah

[@InsideOfMyOwnMind]

@@oliwier000b May you be the first adopter of the new high power laser tv when it comes out.🤣

[@davidfl4]

Man I love those thick switches on older machines “click” so satisfying

[@kennethcohagen9037]

My father in law was an electronic engineer who helped the US and British Navy develop surface contact radar during WWII. After the war he worked on many projects and had a lot of hobbies as well. In the late 60's early 70's when reel to reel tape took off he would transcribe wire recordings to tape for people. Most of them were things like a baby's first words and other family recording. Later he got into refurbishing Philips radios. They had a tube that burned out regularly, the 51A which was basically a pair of ballast resistors. He made a solid state replacement using wire from these recorders to wind his own resistors which he then encapsulated in an epoxy like material. These were cheap to make and lasted longer than the 51A tubes. Unfortunately the process was lost when he died and the last of his stock was sold off.

[@kennethcohagen9037]

+bingola45 yes, but making the 51A1 vacuum tube replacement that he made for tubes and more was. Sorry if I confused the issue.

[@Jeffrey314159]

Kenneth Cohagen Nicola Tesla invented, and the Germans were the first ones to patent a Radar system prior to 1920.

[@loganinkosovo]

The U.S. Army in WWII used these wire recorders installed in Jeeps with loudspeakers mounted to make the sounds of an armored or infantry unit moving up into position across from the enemy. The psy-ops units were called Ghost Battalions.

[@joejeweller7614]

loganinkosovo they were also used in airplanes to record cockpit conversations kinda like the black box

[@notgray88]

So I guess you could call them... GHOST DIVISIONS

[@ahums16]

@@notgray88 Living or dead, always ahead, fed by your dread!

[@DMS_Knighted_Drifter]

@@electrictroy2010 by that logic, why did you post?

[@RayBrach]

My parents were married in 1948. Their wedding was recorded on wire. We had the wire through the 60's and 70's. I had hopes to listen to it but never found a device to play it on. Thanks for the video to bring back some memories.

[@CoolAsFreya]

The fact that the "record" and "playback" are labeled as "dictate" and "transcribe" is really interesting! Fascinating how the user's language and conventions evolve over time

[@carlwinslow5905]

That's because most of these units were marketed towards offices, businesses etc to make recordings and share them with others about whatever business needed to be recorded. I assure you that professional recording equipment of the time (mostly tape machines) didn't use that terminology

[@southwestnsproductions7413]

When that old "Let's Pray" song came on, I got chills. That recording, made in the mid 1950s, is stuck in that period in history, and something about it is just really, really cool to me.

[@Selrisitai]

I got the same feeling. . . during the Christmas party. I'd love to hear the rest of that. It's like eavesdropping through time.

[@TheZoorsk]

"Mac Odell - Let‘s Pray“

[@ruslannabioullin3664]

It's not like atheists didn't exist back then... In fact, decades prior to that, religion was officially banned by some nations.

[@ethan1970]

@@TheZoorsk thank you.

[@Coqui-Media]

Having signed long form recording contracts with both minor and major record companies, I was shocked to find that this mode of reproduction was still being referred to when outlining copyrights. Part of one of the clauses also mentioned WAX cylinders!!! They really wanted to make sure that they owned you and your music on anything that could record and playback!!!

[@JeffHendrie]

After reading your comment, I have to ask: did the contracts mention tinfoil recordings at all? (precursor to wax cylinders; and only 8 of the original machines exist still, if I remember correctly.) Also, did they mention glass records or wax records? (thanks to WWI and WWII for those.) Somewhere, I actually have a glass record of my grandpa playing piano as a child. You can see the thin metal disc in the center.

[@gloomyblackfur399]

Law grad here. It's probably not that (at least not entirely). Due to the value of precedent in the law, contracts tend to only expand, not contract. If a contract has found success before judges in the past, that's (partly) binding on future judges. If you re-write it, you lose that certainty. So, if you want to update a contract, just add to it, never delete. The form-contract the record company uses is likely many decades old, expanding over the years as tech changed.

[@starlight4649]

Imagine finding a loophole out of a contract, but required that you work with extremely archaic music hardware to subvert your contract. Like, you can make music outside of your contract, but you have to have to etch the music into stone with a chisel

[@Coqui-Media]

@@dot2562 LOL!!!!!!!!

[@KowboyUSA]

Well, now I finally know what that spool of stainless steel wire that's been in my junk box since the 1950s was originally used for.

[@kris_0520]

I hope you didn't use it in anyway other than playing it.

[@notgray88]

I probably would have mistaken it for soldering wire lol

[@zanerkindardis8978]

Lol he probably used some of it for odd jobs xD

[@3rdalbum]

Did you think you had a murderer in your family?

[@veronicapedemonte2934]

Nice... but stainless steel isn't magnetic...

[@kirishima638]

Absolutely love this. This is classic 1940s technology; well designed but solidly built. It's a piece of art. And built to last! No design obsolescence BS! Also as was common with that era, the manual contains complete diagrams and disassembly guides. The end user was not treated like an idiot back then.

[@Dogy0909]

The manual containing a complete diagram needs to come back. No reason to abstain from printing it besides scummy business practices and cheapness.

[@moldyorangepeel]

For 1500 dollars you could buy a hundred modern cassette players that are functionally better in every was

[@cupcakethesabertooth6802]

There's something just so amazing listening to a new years party from 1955, it's an audio time capsule! Amazing. I'd love to listen to the entire recording.

[@chrisinnes2128]

I have a very similar recording on a reel to reel tape that my grandparents recorded in 1965 new years

[@Randomheart0]

You should upload all the old recordings. I'd like to hear the New Years 1955 in full.

[@Austinjamesmagic]

Me too, what were they talking about!?

[@axipixel5811]

Yes please!

[@honkhonkler7732]

Using the headphone out port for better audio quality.

[@blew1t]

probably can't on youtube because, as he mentioned, there's copyrighted music in there.

[@Randomninja47]

If he could upload it somewhere else, I'd also love to hear it to be honest. Maybe an audio file on his website? (Does he have one? I only found the channel 2 weeks ago)

[@this_is_patrick]

Ah yes, the 1950s, the age where I chose to smoke *_e v e n m o r e_* even after I inevitably cough up blood from my lung cancer to ease off that sore throat and chest pain!

[@thedevilsadvocate5210]

The only reason I smoke is because my doctor said I needed more tar

[@VBshredder]

Hey, gotta follow doctor's orders!

[@AriCircuit]

M A X I M U M L U N G C A N C E R

[@jd9119]

You could use the wire recorder to record yourself coughing after you smoke a pack of menthol smokes.

[@allysloper1882]

There is a wire recording you can find on KZbin of the Emperor of Austria on a Poulsen Telegraphone which was recorded at the 1900 Paris exposition

[@TheNightquaker]

Amazing piece of history. I love the 1955 party recording. Preserve, protect.

[@Arthurk346]

14:20 that "Winter wonderland" song in background gave me goosebumps and bringed me some new year memories in summer

[@rorrt]

That reel from 1955 i pictured everyone recorded like they're in an episode of Mad Men. But as well as that, i found it strangely scary. Those are like the ghosts of radio. All of those people must be long dead...... BUT there again, i'm quite melancholic. Every weekday on Challenge i watch Bullseye and think "yep, all of that audience are dead..."

[@rorrt]

bingola45 To be fair, have you watched an episode of Bullseye, the audience has an average age of about 75. And as it happens, i do happen to believe those conspiracy theories... Another conspiracy that the doctors don't want you to know.. If you hold a magnifying glass at arms length, focused on your eye, its basically laser eye surgery. But the ophthalmologists have such a racket going on, they don't want you to know the secret.

[@rorrt]

bingola45 If not now, he will be in at least 30 years time.. You'll never make it out alive.

[@TheLuizSouza]

Glad to know I'm not the only one lol Every time I listen to or watch something that was made in the past, the first thought that crosses my mind is: "these people are probably dead now..."

[@blindlemon9]

Among the most important and brilliant jazz music (Bird’s live bootlegs) ever would not exist without the wire recorder.

[@MedicMain9]

Man, I'm wondering about those people, their lives etc.. Did you ever fell a bit of nostalgia, even if you never lived in that era?

[@JaesadaSrisuk]

Jonathan Mello Absolutely. They say that there are three types of people: those who focus on the present, those who dream of the future, and those who study and imagine themselves in the past. Online, there are ephemera blogs all about advertisements, magazines, video clips, fashion, home decor and other miscellanea from the distant and near-past that reveals how people lived their daily lives fifty, a-hundred-fifty, or fifteen-hundred years ago. A great resource is old catalogs, like vintage Sears catalogs where one can see what an average person looked like and how they lived long ago.

[@RobertSmith-le8wp]

Jonathan Mello I think I'm one those people who find the past interesting

[@LeNomEstYves]

Jonathan Mello Dude I want to listen to that whole new years eve recording so bad. Just to hear regular conversation from back then.

[@CWINDOWSsystem32]

+Justice J. Srisuk Can I be 2 of those things? I love learning about the past and seeing artifacts from past decades, and I also dream of the future and what's to come. But never the present...

[@nintendy]

The Past is much better than the Present or Future -- it's much safer!

[@WHatchitW]

"Check him to see if he's got a wire. " "He's clean, boss."

[@louf7178]

LOL.

[@Dracopol]

Could it be that when gangsters were saying, "He's wearing a wire!" they were not referring to the lead from a microphone to a recorder, but to the wire-recorder itself?

[@WHatchitW]

You caught the joke. lol

[@ryandevan2793]

Do you think that's where the term came from?

[@kelhard5632]

A previously unheard live performance of Elvis at the Louisiana Hayride (recorded off air) was discovered on a wire reel a few years ago, and has since been released by BMG. You never know what could be lurking on long-forgotten reels. Fascinating stuff as always.

[@calculatorman-mq7zd]

Just imagine; someone in 1955 created that recording likely for their ears only. Now, 61 years later in 2016, it has been played on KZbin to well over one-million people. Really breathtaking to listen to.

[@seanwilkinson3975]

I absolutely love the Art Deco look and odd technology behind this interesting machine (I mean, recording on wire? Quelle neato!). Thank you for bringing it back to life for us.

[@seanwilkinson3975]

Same with the print advert for Spud cigarettes. I love how the solution for all the throat and lung troubles brought on ostensibly by smoke and cigarettes is...more cigarette smoke! As long as it's Spud mentholated, of course.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

When I get smoker's cough, I go for SPUD-BOYS!

[@plenus7392]

Truly sad how fragile the wire is, those old old recordings of some unknown people in the 50`s is a gem, keep it well mate.

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

When I'm dying of cancer, of course I smoke smooth, soothing, SPUD cigarettes.

[@JohnLeaf]

lol.. when i thirsty and dont have water?? i dont think twice SPUD

[@arifakyuz7673]

When I am out in the desert, dehydrating, the first stop i go to is the nearest shop to buy SPUD cigarettes! Oh, and saltines, just in case...

[@LegoWormNoah101]

The weird thing is, I don't smoke at all.

[@oscarmuffin4322]

@@LegoWormNoah101 Most people don't. Especially at your age.

[@LegoWormNoah101]

@@oscarmuffin4322 That's good to know.

[@DeliveryMcGee]

Another big use of wire recorders: early airplane black boxes, because it was more robust than the tape available at the time. Eventually the cases got better armour and insulation and tape got better, so they switched to tape in the '60s, and now ofc they're all solid-state.

[@okktok]

Delivery McGee What you said is totally non sense bro. Don’t do misinformation please

[@adrinathegreat3095]

Black box flight recorders using wire were still in use in commercial planes in the early 1990s

[@ricochofsky8293]

"now ofc they're all solid-state." I think you mean "digital." The phrase "solid-state" initially referred to the use of semiconductors as opposed to tubes (valves) in electronic circuits. In tubes electrons move through a vacuum, whereas in semiconductors they move through a solid medium. Nowadays "solid-state" can mean lacking moving parts, as in solid-state drives for storing digital data.

[@milantrcka121]

@@okktok It is you, Sir, who is misinformed. Plastic tape melts in a fire rather quickly.. Steel does not. Magnetic recording survives until Curie temperature is reached - which is quite a bit higher than temperature beyond which polyester tape is destroyed. Still not good enough Until the 70's, flight recorders used inconel disc onto which data were scribed . Metal tape was also used.

[@ghost-jesus]

@@ricochofsky8293 actually the use of the term solid state is correct here, as modern SSDs use floating gate transistors, which are just MOSFETS with 2 gates instead of 1 for data storage, which is actually the reason why the SSD is called solid state drive.

[@jetlag1488]

AudioThing has made a VST effects plugin that emulates the sound of a wire recorder. Pretty accurate emulation. Makes any sound all warbly, crackly and nostalgic sounding.

Great episode! Dad was a professional musician, accordion. My brother and I played with his Webster Chicago wire recorder in late 1950s. It was smaller I recall, slightly narrower and longer with a detachable lid and covered with red leatherette. Great time playing radio show until we were spending more time mending and untangling the wire! Fun to remember, thanks! I got a small toy reel to reel tape recorder for Christmas in 1959/60 that was made in Japan.

[@MRCAB]

When that thing unspooled... uhg, what a nightmare.

[@steadfastcoward]

OUCH

[@emilyadams5586]

And I thought picking cassette tape out of my machines in 1977 was bad.

[@jonnyboi9026]

I've ran wire for electric fences, this made me wanna cry.

[@100vg]

Saw this in the sidebar and was intrigued. It's amazing this recorder/player still works! Even with all the apparent rust inside, everything still moves freely and the rubber drive wheels still work perfectly. Just goes to show you how much better products were manufactured back then. Thanks for this blast from the past nostalgia. It was cool and enjoyable.

[@MilesPrower1992]

One of my substitute teachers' dad recorded him as a baby in 1949 with one of these

[@WeirdWonderful]

Whenever I hear the dude say "our first order of business is unfinished business, do any of the members have unfinished business" I always expect a comedy routine to start.

[@MrGoatfarmer]

Your right!When I first heard of that track,I thought that this was from a old Television show or something to.

[@firstgoinpostal]

In the early 70's my folks had a landline answering machine that was a wire recorder.

[@danxepha4535]

Looks like its from Fallout. Or possibly Bioshock. Awesome.

[@mbvgkjhgvkugvouklgb]

Sounds like it too!

[@Dragoslav_MD]

Reminded me of Bioshock as well!

[@22222Sandman22222]

The sound reminds me of robots from Fallout New Vegas!

[@ratodebanhado1]

from Rapture. sure

[@adenowirus]

Look for a video titled "wire recording of atomic bomb test".

[@AtrumNoxProductions]

After watching this video I wanted one I just found one at an estate sale today. It came with three reels.

[@teh_supar_hackr]

how well does it work?

[@teh_supar_hackr]

@Chuck Taylor So he does'int have one?

[@ektofre]

Any interesting audio? Or any audio at all? would love to hear something

[@grizzlygamer8891]

I wanted a Cigarette 😂

[@reyprotskiful]

Good for you;-)

[@SMccrate01]

A friend of mine who prowls flea markets and auctions got an Edison wax cylinder player/victrola with a fair number of cylinders. There is no volume control, the needle (almost a decent size nail really) rides in the grooves which are big enough to clearly see the wiggles. That is mounted on the diaphram box which in turn has the enormous tin horn attached to it. Listening to voices etched in wax well over 100 years ago was moving but almost chilling. It has a ghostly character and it feels like you can hear the distance of time itself. It is also impressively loud! Truly an amazing thing if you get the chance to hear one.

[@TheKingOfBeans]

Now I really want a spud cigarette...

[@isiahfriedlander5559]

Come to where the flavor is, come to Marlboro country

[@hermannpaschulke1583]

+Feier Fuchs (ehemals Laurin Laki) ICH GLAUB SS-KALIERT GLEICH! WEHRMACHT DENN SOWAS?

[@eatmyskids]

LoL Sean, I get a kick out of the old radio shows, like Gunsmoke, and the cigarette ads they ran also

[@jquest43]

it was made from potato leaves.( true fact)

[@mosesberkowitz3298]

"Come to Spud Country"....

[@djorgen104]

Before wire recorders, studios were recording on wax and vinyl discs. I have numerous old radio programs that were recorded in such a fashion before World War II.

[@nilswegner2881]

Dana Jorgensen it rather is shellac than vinyl that they recorded on back in the day, vinyl still uses the same principle but is much less prone to shattering.

[@RedVynil]

I know what you mean about that old recording from 60-some years ago. I've got "field" recordings from Woodstock (the concert in `69. Someone had a tape recorder in one of the medical tents up on the hill and, although you can't pick out too much of what's being said, and there's a dog doing a lot of barking very close to the mic, it's very interesting that I'm getting to hear recordings of something that took place, now, ALMOST 60 years ago!! That long-dead dog was making that noise 53 years ago in that exact point in time!! It's like actually being in the room with those people or being a "fly on the wall" and hearing this actual piece of history being made and recorded! I'd be like having a tape recorder set up at the last supper and getting to hear that tape a few thousand years later. But, essentially, that's what EVERY recording is!

[@meinnase]

This is the coolest thing, how that machine looks, the heavy duty switches, the sound it makes while working actually adds to the "atmosphere" instead of being annoying (which audible devices usually are) and the sound of it while bad just perfectly captures that "steampunk" feel. Also i dont know if its because of the audio quality but that party somehow sounded really "stuck up" lol.

[@johannesc.schmidt2054]

Thank you so much for 24 entertaining, funny and instructive minutes :D Such a pleasure to watch your Videos!

[@Techmoan]

Thanks for the kind words.

[@nitrate92]

+Techmoan Please do more videos on vintage tech!

[@eIucidate]

Absolutely. I'm so glad I discovered this channel. I didn't realise how much I'm interested in old tech.

[@DavidChatenay]

22:27 is that the origin of the expression "wearing a wire"? (in this case, a wire recorder)

[@ratataran]

No, I believe that came from the fact that they had a wire running up their shirt or down their pants.

[@Thegonagle]

I had the same thought. It seems it might be easier to miniaturize a wire recorder than a tape recorder in the early transistor days. Of course, it might just refer to a wired microphone concealed in a watchband or cuff link. But if miniature wire recorders were in fact common investigative/spy/espionage equipment, the etymology sure makes a lot of sense. "Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, acquire a vintage body-worn wire recorder, and see it safely delivered to Mr. Moan for analysis."

[@hedgehog3180]

I hope you in some way save those recordings digitally they could be a gold mine for some historian at a later date.

[@schuriken]

When you have a cough smoke cigarettes ? it's like saying when you're in Ireland jump off a cliff yeah ? Vintage advertisment was much more hardcore than nowadays.

[@joebananas37]

+Jason Zakrajsek - That's exactly what a surgeon would do when trying to fix the damage.

[@joebananas37]

+Jason Zakrajsek - But what about a surgeon in a post-apocalypse situation where there was only kitchen knives available? (Sorry - couldn't resist!)

[@brentfisher902]

Tell that to Caesar. When you are having a seizure, stab Caesar.

[@asmrjunkie6613]

Ironically, some of the chemicals in cigarette smoke are a cough suppressant.

[@AdhamOhm]

When you have a bee sting, roll around in a bee hive. You'll feel better.

[@r1w3d]

Who needs to encrypt anything you're trying to keep secret when you can just record it on a spool of wire????? If you spool it on a craft wire spool not anyone would ever assume that wire had actual information locked into it. This tech is freaking amazing

[@kurtbarlow9402]

He said that there's 1.4 miles of wire on the spools, but I didn't hear him say how long it plays for, did you??

[@r1w3d]

@@kurtbarlow9402 I did not hear that either 🤔

[@kurtbarlow9402]

@@r1w3d Well, some quick research says that there's 467 yards of groove on the standard LP. (per side, approximately 20 - 22 minutes) Now there's 2,464 yards in 1.4 miles, assuming that the speed is similar, that works out to approximately 110 minutes of playback time.

[@r1w3d]

@@kurtbarlow9402 That is a very interesting observation 👌 I'm sure the speed has to be relatively similar.

[@davidmarquardt2445]

@@kurtbarlow9402 The unopened reel said 15 minuets, but their were other lengths made too.

[@Jerbod2]

Oh my, this thing is awesome. Puts a smile on my face every time you show us something like this, I had no idea this existed. I'm not a Fallout player, but it'd fit right in. You recorded the audio from the KZbin library via the microphone with the machine running right beside it, why not line in or did I miss something besides it clearly being an example and not a real best scenario test. Great stuff Mat, cheers!

[@Techmoan]

Line in required input via a Jones connector. I imported some Cinch Jones connectors from the US, wired them up....but the sound still sounded better when recorded through the mic. I didn't include this section in the video because it was as dull as this explanation about it.

[@Jerbod2]

Alright, I have no idea what I'm talking about but couldn't it have to do with a component in that line-segment being a bit iffy, thus sounding worse than the mic? Perhaps worth looking into. I bet this video is going to go quite "viral" since the device looks so cool. Might be worth a part 2 if the questions do heap up like they tend to do when new viewers arrive.

[@an2qzavok]

No wire for direct line in probably.

[@dvepps6780]

+failing@commenting if there's a mic, there's a line in

[@stuartwilson4960]

Distorted, analogue, valves, fluttery, noisy, incorrect speed.. I LOVE IT!

[@dg-hughes]

The average home in the USA in 1950 was $8,500 today it's around $230,000 imagine spending $23,000 on a tape recorder today. I'm not sure that works out but hey it was dramatic.

[@codygranrud6212]

Pretty wild to realize we've gone from this... to mp3 players too small to keep from losing.

[@PANTA-Music]

We are already even further. Mp3 players are obsolete for a few years. Now we have portable computers that connect to the internet, providing all music via stream.

[@Vector_Ze]

Some of us old folks would choose the mp3 player over streaming. Besides, internet isn't (yet) available everywhere I go. To say mp3 players are "obsolete" is premature.

[@PANTA-Music]

I am not talking about the (still frequent) use of it. I am talking about the market. When we first were used to see Mp3 players being sold everywhere, they are practically gone from the stores now. All major brands dropped that format. And that's just because of the smart phone. They can handle Mp3 as well, but you know that is not the standard anymore. Cassette is also obsolete, but plenty still finds a perfect use to it. And don't know where you live, but internet is literally everywhere I go. Phone coverage was never so great as now. And will only improve even more... There's an article on google to be found about the inventors of MP3. Even they declare the format 'dead' now. Doesn't mean you are not allowed to use it... I am just the other part of the 'old folk' tribe that decided to go with the flow.

[@amihartz]

+PANTA Streaming music is inferior to an MP3 player lol, stream quality is compressed and very lossy and only works in certain places/conditions, not to mention you have a limited amount of actual streaming time before the cellphone company charges you a butt ton. It's not hard to just download all your music as WAV files (or rip them from CDs if you're a pleb like me who still prefers physical media) which have no compression at all and barely take up any space.

[@PANTA-Music]

I would love to have a discussion with you about it, and yes, you are right. But i wasn't having a discussion about the practical use. I also have never said that mp3s are not practical in comparison with streaming. It's fine that you explain your personal view on it. But that is not how the world generally thinks about it. I wish it was my opinion, but the number are not lying man. You can't ignore stats. And limited amount of streaming is an issue with your service provider. There are service providers who have unlimited download caps, or have a exclusive spotify / deezer etc deals with unlimited music streaming. And what about in-home? Everyone is on wifi, streaming their music to their wireless speakers . What I believe is that streaming is not aiming at 'audiophiles' like most of us, that watches this channel. The majority likes to listen 'on demand'. No more time consuming transferring, no more 'digitalising'. Just go outside, hit play and done. Make your own playlist, or listen to someone elses. It's that simple. And that is why streaming is bigger now then mp3 players. Artists are now dropping their physical medias and go online only. Sure you can download them. But they actually make more money of single streaming than downloads. So their 'future' attention will only be towards streaming. And you already see it happening. So with that in mind, and the fact that the inventor of mp3 declared it dead, I think it's safe to say that, generally, mp3 players became obsolete over streaming. That does NOT mean, mp3 (or even wav / flac ) is not being used anymore, as the comments here shows. Oh just to add: CD do have compression. They are in no way lossless unlike the wav format you are mentioning. There are in fact streams with higher bitrate quality than CD. The only format that battles streaming are lossless formats, but good luck on saving losless wav / flacs on your mp3 player, as one file is around 150-300 mb.

[@gdogg3710]

I have Aspergers and when I’m on the verge of flipping out, this channel calms me down...

[@watchman56able]

back in 1970ish I was a paper boy. I used to find great stuff on trash days. Found one on these. Never got it going but we did figure out what it was and that was something to know.

[@ryantexada9269]

This is so cool it gives off a videogame old intercom system tutorial vibe

[@brianwalendy3735]

Hey spudfire.... Those old videogame intercoms were modeled after older, real world intercoms...

[@agentv1240]

Every once in a while, I come back to this one video. I want one of these so bad, because as an aspiring mechanical engineer, the mechanisms in here are pretty fascinating, but also because it sounds so undoubtedly early 50's. If you had this playing in a dark room, almost anyone would guess that the machine or recording was from the 50s.

[@thecowwarrior3]

That machine is a piece of art.

[@peteacher52]

Now THAT answers a question I've had in the back of my mind since 1964 - a teen-aged friend and myself were playing with my new reel to reel tape recorder. Friend was highly tech-savvy but I, not. Me: David, what was used to record sound before tape? David: Wire. Wire was used from reel to reel. I had visions of copper wire being somehow involved but never pursued the matter because it seemed so improbable! :-) Col, NZ

[@Dracopol]

Copper wire would not work because it is actually diamagnetic (i.e. anti-magnetic). It has to be stainless steel wire.

[@CoolKoon]

"I had visions of copper wire being somehow involved but never pursued the matter because it seemed so improbable! :-)" - I read about this technology as a child too, but I just couldn't fathom how could they record sounds on a continuous piece of wire. But apparently it works.

[@kiwigaming09]

Aha! An another kiwi! Hi

[@dorian1104]

I want to record a black metal album with this

[@MetalTrabant]

And also release it on a wire cartridge. That'd be trve kvlt as fvck! \m/

[@jeffhoyle5785]

Antonio T That's the very first thing I thought of. I have a feeling Fenriz would have purchased this I'd he had the opportunity instead of the little tape recorder he used to use.

[@Selrisitai]

@@MetalTrabant As a metal-head who is unfortunately on the "power metal" side of things, I've been hearing _kvlt_ for years, but still don't know what it means or how to pronounce it.

[@MetalTrabant]

@@Selrisitai It's just an alternative version of 'cult', it looks cooler I think :) In this context it basically means that something is very much in accordance with the true spirit of black metal, according to black metal purists (among my friends we also use the word 'krieg', originating from Nargaroth's 'Black Metal ist Krieg' album). So in terms of sound quality, if it sounds like a chainsaw in a tin can, or worse, it's kvlt as fuck! :)

[@jacobthompson1682]

Very necro

[@mac5565]

Suddenly the word "rewind" makes sense…

[@icecreamforcrowhurst]

mac5565 I guess can see how for the Millennial generation the idea of rewinding might be an abstraction.

[@Zyphera]

it should be "jump" back now

[@CWINDOWSsystem32]

But it didn't make sense before with cassette tapes and the like?

[@MysteriousAsteria]

the millennial generation stretches back as far as the 80s actually. No, kids born after the year 2000 onwards are not millennials. And I am pretty sure most millennials are aware of rewinding, since most of us still had cassette tape and VHS players throughout the 90s. These things were used even until the mid 00s and in my country you were able to buy the last DVD-VHS hybrids between 2009 and 2012. True though that later generations will no longer understand it. Especially those kids that are born now in the late 10s.

[@JustinKoenigSilica]

icecreamforcrowhurst millenial, no. Think gen z. I'm freaking 20 years old, and know what rewinding is, and I am rather sure people up to 10 years old also still know what rewinding is.

[@SpiritmanProductions]

I'm quite the tech geek, but I never knew these existed! Thanks for a fascinating video.

[@hieee1234567]

Did anyone else get a Fallout vibe from this?

[@thesh1ttygamer960]

I might get my boilermaker mate to make one and put a VaultTec logo on it

[@PACKERMAN2077]

Captain Russia well I'm playing Fallout while watching this so well you know I think yeah

[@LonelyAssassin96]

I was honestly thinking Bioshock!

[@coyotearmory]

Captain Russia it's extremely similar to holotapes, this is probably what those were based on, visually at least.

[@cessna688]

Definetly got a Voxaphone vibe !Bioshock

[@MeatPopsycle]

Wow. You have some of the coolest stuff on this website.

[@MeatPopsycle]

I hear ya. It's great to dream, though.

[@Cory_]

Listening to those old recordings are my favorite parts of videos like these, incredible time capsules.

[@465marko]

I was hoping Marty Mcfly was going to be on the 1955 recording!!!! You know that new sound you been lookin for? Well listen to THIS!!!

[@Perririri]

#RickAstley **rickrolls 1955 :P** Family Guy Brian

[@nthgth]

Unfortunately Marty didn't get there until the following November 😉

[@Whatsthegeek]

You should realy digitalize these recordings, it's a part of history !

[@maxxsteele9396]

What's the geek bitch you're watching a digital presentation.

[@maxxsteele9396]

pisswizard your hostility is a sign of sexual frustration.

[@maxxsteele9396]

pisswizard I find it very strange that you've taken the meaning of, "animal husbandry" to a whole new level, ya freak!

[@pisswizard]

maxx steele More bestiality from your disturbed fuckhead mind.

[@pisswizard]

maxx steele so do you always alive bestiality into conversation or what? Do you believe that accusing everyone else of it that people won’t realise it’s your special interest?

[@AestheticCapybara]

It's quite morbid and bizarre yet oddly fascinating to think that those old recordings you played were made and handled by people that are most likely long gone by now.

[@Haffmatthew]

“Just a joke, please don’t write in” haha I love these videos from another fellow with the exceptional name of Matt.

[@floyd7820]

It pretty interesting how the microphone button is labeled MIKE and not MIC. You can see this at 6:17

[@IFHorus]

Yeah. Mike sued for copyright infringement, so they switched to MIC, and apparently Mick was OK with that.

[@jiminycricket5679]

Back then they called it Michael Phone.

[@gamingmusicandjokesandabit1240]

Are these plot twists?

[@themegaman91965]

What a close call there. Thank goodness it never made it past a few years! And here I was thinking that tapes were unreliable, when wire is much more likely to be destroyed in the rewinding process than tapes...

[@ThePainTrain765]

I recall once coming across a video of train sounds from the 1940's/50's recorded with one of these machines. Great video!

[@SpenserRoger]

give us the whole house party recording!

[@Wguy56]

Fascinating! This brought back a memory from my childhood. I was an avid comic book reader in the mid-late 1960s. There was an issue of a Superman or Batman comic that was a flashback to the post-war era, and someone had secretly recorded a conversation on a wire recorder. That was the first time I had ever heard of that technology and had no way to find out what that was at the time. I imagined it to be an earlier version of tape recording- which now I see that it was. I had imagined the wire to be much thicker...only the size of a human hair. Incredible. Thank you!

[@marcusdudley7235]

Can you save a program from a ZX Spectrum and load it back in using this?

[@Grafhun]

With a few adapters.... Yes

[@megamiazga]

Depends on the sound quality I think

[@marcusdudley7235]

It was more of a request than a question, I'd just like to see it attempted.

[@Muzer0]

I suspect it isn't nearly high enough fidelity for that.

[@Grafhun]

Just because it's interesting

[@YoStu242]

When my throat feels dry I certainly want to inhale some smoke instead of drinking water eh

[@nthgth]

I'm thinking vaping would actually make sense there since it's water vapor. Long as it's free of irritants. Since when drinking water, the water obviously doesn't go into the part of your body where coughing comes from.

[@youtubeistyrannical1787]

@@nthgth na smoke is super refreshing, it makes you feel less thirsty for sure

[@consoleconceptshd6371]

@@youtubeistyrannical1787 Until it pickles your lungs and makes you have to get a double lung transplant.

[@Cruiserfrank]

As a WWII geek, I'd heard of wire recorders, but I knew nothing about them. Thank you for the history and the tech!

[@anon556]

This is hands down one of the greatest KZbin channels.

[@Kori114]

Wait.... 22:26 Minifon spy recorder? Is this where the phrase "wearing a wire" comes from?

[@Nerdule]

I immediately looked this up the first time I watched the video, and apparently the etymology of the phrase is actually rather uncertain, but wire recorders are one of the primary proposed explanations. I don't remember what the other ones were, and don't seem to be able to find those sources again.

[@Jeffrey314159]

Kori114 No, I think that expression comes from 'Wearing a Wireless Microphone'

[@Mega88zero]

You and I think alike.

[@TheLuizSouza]

But the microphone is not wireless, so that doesn't make any sense. I'd bet money that that's where it comes from.

[@Selrisitai]

@@Jeffrey314159 I think you mean wearing a WIRED microphone.

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

As a kid in the 70s, I was gifted with a dictaphone band recorder. But that suitcase sized recorder got me more interested in audio than anything else. I did find a wire recorder, but the person who had it, wanted too much money for it. This wire recorder is in fantastic shape! Nice video!

[@imludwig]

That thing is totally haunted.

[@mrthewubbie]

I had one of these for a minute. Won it in a pallet of stuff at a college auction. Had a recording of a poetry reading, was crystal clear, sounded great.

[@PeyoteIguana]

This totally looks like it belongs in Fallout 4. They really nailed the era with the stuff in that game.

[@BlueBird-wb6kb]

PeyoteIguana Guess you Haven't played Bioshock 1&2 ..... That has a better and older vibe "40's vibe" instead of Fallouts "50's vibe"

[@gregistopal]

PeyoteIguana yeah but fallout had those stupid holotape things

[@xbox360e9]

Fallout had a combination of 50s culture with 60s tech. (I forgot to mention modern innovations and tech to an extent.)

[@xbox360e9]

Tbh my favorite part of fallout are the Data Terminals like the ones u had to hack just because they remind me a little bit of a TRS-80 all in one (model 3?), just only with 50's appearence and vibe.

[@lackedpuppet9022]

It's sad to think the people from that recording are more than likely dead.

[@CorkScrewDood]

LackedPuppet 902 Nah, just fokin creepy.

[@Antonio-he4oh]

LackedPuppet 902 especially that old guy

[@MrPaevo]

No sadder than to think the people writing these inane comments will all be dead eventually.

[@absalomdraconis]

100 years from now is gonna be creepy if 3d video goes the way of video phones and PanAm.

[@showguyer]

Why? Its cool to go back in time and hear their voices of them enjoying themselves.. especially the new year's one...

[@cowprez]

My father-in-law had a wire recorder. I have NO IDEA what happened to it but I know it worked, as I played with it. Thanks for bringing back the memories.

[@-dave3577]

A previously unknown 1955 live wire recording of Elvis Presley's first number one single "I Forgot To Remember To Forget" was inadvertently found on eBay back in 2012 and was first heard here on KZbin. The quality is surprisingly good - possibly recorded in-line via a radio broadcast of the "Louisiana Hayride". The original upload has long since gone but below is a link to that same clip. A direct in-line transfer of the wire sadly remains unissued though copies pulled from the KZbin broadcast are in circulation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p36kYmxtaJiSb8U

[@saltyhashes1781]

James May really knows how to explain this stuff!

[@jpsned]

I had heard of wire recorders but had never seen one. Even after watching this, the idea of recording onto a tiny piece of wire still amazes me. 🙂

[@danb9447]

4:15 imagine being so patriotic you purchase a portable recorder to capture the president's voice

[@germancarrasco2028]

I've always wanted to know what happened to these machines since I first heard about them a couple minutes ago...

[@lorensims4846]

My dad had a career in film making. When he was asked if he was worried that the increased use of videotape would make movie film obsolete he would reply that no type of media ever went completely out of use. A few years later he said he remembered the wire recorder which really had gone completely out of use. I first saw this in use on an episode of Mission: Impossible where Mr. Phelps pulled up the wire that was used as light fencing around a garden plot, and then wrapped it around a spool and put it on one of these machines to get his secret instructions at the beginning of the episode.

[@ZeroG84]

Ow shit! This needs to be in the NEW Jason Bourne movie! Absolute pearl of a find. No-one nowdays would think twice about a coil of wire in a toolbox or what ever... But think if in a movie or so, someone were to put 1 and 0 signal on to it and smuggle stuff past security or customs etc. Is this when lowtec goes so low it becomes hightec again!? :D

[@ZeroG84]

Metallic thread in a cloth? small enough to not be detected with a metal detector... hmm. But I'm glad I wasn't the only one with this idea. But when it comes to simple stuff like that, things are only really covert if people don't know they are even looking for them. :D

[@jonothanthrace1530]

That'd be a bit like a data cassette!

[@DelilahThePig]

Very poor density, though. You saw how fast it had to run just to get a few kHz of frequency response. An 8 bit character might take a couple inches.

[@stradlemonkey444]

Jonothan Thrace i want to use cassette tapes again for recording certain things. i was 4 when we got our Texas Instruments computer with a connection to a tape recorder. i'd love to figure out where to find one again, (ebay) i'd love it. just to bury the tapes for confusing the future!