You Called the Movie Theater and this THING Answered

Yet another endless loop tape format you've likely never laid eyes on!
The databits channel is pleased to provide you with the best in new tech, vintage and oddity gadgets, media formats, repair projects, electronic experiments and restorations of thrift store finds. There are also many "how to" and instructional titles. The goal is to search through garage sales, antique malls and resale shops for gadgets you didn't know existed, electronic toys you had as a kid, stereo or turntables your parents used or a film projector your school used to teach you valuable lessons. Typically we produce one video a week with several trips to a thrift store per month. Sometimes, through research, an item is searched for on ebay and purchased for review. A list of some of the most popular items watched here on the channel are: record cutting on various materials, DLP television repairs, VCR's, Camcorders, turntables, record players, records, car reviews and dictation equipment.
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[@raymondkitchen6137]

The display says "rAPE" because you didn't get the machine's consent before inserting the cartridge.

[@dannooo548]

ΓAPE please

[@phirrulesaido1649]

Or it could be Serbian for Gare

[@jonavene12]

It's saying tape but it has a limitation of characters so it said rape.

[@kittyfanatic1980]

Yes they could do all lines at once but if you called it would play a continious recording. Sometimes youd catch it in the middle and youd have to wait lol. Thanks for revealing what actually was behind it all in the day😀 And those little batteries are actually a capacitor that acts similar to a rechargable battery but without the corrosion. I have a similar capacitor in my 1989 magnavox tuner. It was in charge of keeping the station presets. Really neat but not easily found.

[@MegaMoto85]

"Hello! And welcome to Movie Phone" - Cosmo Kramer

[@38911bytefree]

If the motor is original, this gear is from late 80s early 90s. You can tell because its size also the cover has a tab that is soldered into the internal PCB. Matsushita keep doing motor in that "shape" till stopped in late 90s (because tape format died). Previous ones were bigger. But you can pull date code from the chips as well.

[@kpanic23]

If you look closely, the datecode on the motor clearly says NOV95. Also, the datecodes on the blue relays are 13th week 1996. So I suppose that actual machine was produced middle of '96.

[@jeepguy95]

Some theatres used an AT&T answering machine set to "Answer Only" mode, but I never knew that they used these... now everyone's using Fandango so it uses a voice-activated system controlled by a computer. Thanks for sharing!

[@databits]

Yup, thanks for watching!

[@KentuckyRanger]

@ 6:12 Now I just feel stupid... LOL!

[@FerintoshFarmsPhotography]

That was at least 15 million capacitors, get it right man geesh.

[@acedriver5380]

13:41 the red light is the HAL 9000

[@Sodoffshotgun]

Wait, Pepsi's not a soda? Who'da thunk it? :-)

[@fyphfoko]

how did it take three calls at once, and play the recording from the start on each line? O.o

[@databits]

It didn't play the recording from the start for each caller. Each additional caller popped in mid-play.

[@KC9UDX]

Take a common ouncer. Nice captions.

[@haxxy40]

"Return to Mars 2"? Did I understand it correctly? They should make that :)

[@PascalGienger]

Did you emulate a childrens' cinema? Last show time at 7:20p? :D

[@LiezerZero]

Why is the machine begging to be raped?

[@TheWASHINGMACHINEBOY]

it's actually saying "tape" but a 7-segment display can't display a capital t (but it can display a lower case t but they didn't program that for some reason)

[@Sneagator]

Did they honestly think displaying rAPE was better than tAPE?

[@cpufreak101]

Considering the expenses of LCD at the time, they didn't have much choice

[@RyanSchweitzer77]

They could've just programmed the machine to use a lower-case t (using the 2 left, 1 center, and 1 lower segments of the 7-segment LED) instead. Most systems I've seen in the past using 7-segment numerical LED arrays to display letters usually display the letter T as lower-case, to prevent confusion or an unintentional display like this. The past expense of LED displays have nothing to do with this, it's in the combination of segments lit. Whoever programmed the firmware that drives the display of this machine is at fault, no? Things like this is why 14-segment LEDs were developed.

[@mr.smash698]

But it doesn't look right.

[@Robjohn37]

I take it displaying 7ape wasn't much of an option. Total practical applications for leetspeak: 1

[@maozedong3952]

It's physically impossible to display T or t on a 7-segment display since there is no 'center' segment.

[@NatalieThress]

I like the part where you said that you'll over pay for popcorn

[@mr.smash698]

That was hilarious.

[@mikemoyercell]

You sir have the perfect voice for automated messages. That movie theatre recording sounds so legit! Nice technology. I myself love this stuff too!

[@databits]

Thanks Mike, I appreciate it.

[@martinkuliza]

@mike Moyer it wasn't his voice, IT'S A TAPE :P

[@dbozan99]

Why didn't they just use LOAd?

[@sammymorini9748]

do you honestly think LOAD is any better than rAPE?... giving the machine a LOAD without its consent is rAPE

[@greenaum]

tAPE would've been fine.

[@refraggedbean]

because load would have made too much sense

[@invaderlean]

Could have done tAPE by using the two left and the middle

[@udemo5695]

one load from a cinema worker + random awnsering machine thingy = baby tapes

[@SlinkyStoney]

rAPE

[@turntable1985]

LOL!!! That had me cracking up! rAPE rAPE rAPE

[@cpufreak101]

Rapists aren't the cause of rape, vintage automated answering machines are

[@theirisheditor]

My guess would be that the extra callers on lines #2 and #3 would hear from the current spot of the tape and in turn have to wait for it to loop to hear what they missed at the start, similar to a rolling news broadcast. This makes me wonder if this unit could also have been used for call waiting on a business telephone PBX where up to three people could hear that repeating "Please hold for the next available representative (plus some background music)".

[@RyanSchweitzer77]

I too was wondering how this machine could handle 3 lines at once. There used to be a local telephone weatherline back in the '80s & early '90s that behaved like that (the announcer at the end of the recorded forecast would mention that the message would repeat), I'm guessing they must've used a Takacom machine like this.

[@greenaum]

Perhaps if it was a rolling-type message, you'd have all 3 lines connected. If it was a single message, start-to-finish announcement, then you'd only connect one. So the machine could handle both roles, and possibly even more.

[@jackallen6261]

I have to wonder if this was similar to the "Time and temp" recordings one would get back in the 80's from the local banks? I haven't even thought of those for years, lol.

[@LordSandwichII]

You should do the announcements for cinemas! You had me fooled. I was like, "what the hell does phoning up the cinema have to do with this?" It was only when I heard the bit about overpriced popcorn that I realized! XD

[@databits]

Thank you Lord Sandwich! I appreciate that!

[@MrSparkzz]

"It's not yelling rape.. it's actually yelling tape." Alright, databits. I ain't falling for that one, I've already alerted authorities. They're on their way.

[@LandNfan]

I wonder why they didn’t just use an NAB broadcast cartridge, AKA 4-track? The cost, I suppose. Back in late 1969, before Judge Green broke up AT&T, you could only get an answering machine by leasing it from the phone company. I decided to DIY one. I found a home 4-track recording deck (very rare) at a yard sale. I got a friend in radio to get me a 60 second tape. Broadcast cart machines used a tone signal on a second track to signal the end, but the home audio version lacked that. So I made a simpler way to sense end of tape. I fabricated a sense head from a small block of wood with two wires embedded in it. I then applied a thin foil patch to the tape surface. When that patch passed over the sense head, it physically closed a low voltage circuit. The cartridge served as both the outgoing message and as a timeout for the incoming message. A circuit of relays sensed ringing current on the phone line, which started both the 4-track and a separate cassette tape to capture the incoming message, the biggest drawback was that you had to listen to your outgoing message prefaced to each incoming on the cassette. It was a fun project and worked quite well for something put together from odds and ends.

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

The "calling home..." Part on the Phone gave it away at the start :P

[@markanderson350]

Very well made Japanese style equipment. Bet it could run for years no maintenance. Nice job showing us.

[@databits]

Thanks Mark. Yes and still running fine!

[@ZXRulezzz]

It'll probably still run for years, maybe even decades after that with no maintenance, considering quality ELNA electrolytics it has and that the tape mechanism is still intact :) BTW, what is that antenna-looking trace on the right side of the drive board @ 15:28, right above the motor? I mean, I understand that it's PCB inductor, but what purpose it serves here?

[@markanderson350]

that's not a name we see often, I think commercial grade only

[@thanthanasiszamp4707]

databits Tape player says: "ΓAPE me please!" XD

[@BastiElektronik]

5:33 Him just explaining and the Machine stating rAPE rAPE rAPE rAPE rAPE rAPE really gives me happiness

[@gavincurtis]

What is that square PCB trace pattern at 15:28? Looks like an antenna or inductor of some sort. Is it to remove emf from the motor? You know that PCB engineer gave himself a pat on the back for that bit of ingenuity. Awesome machine.

[@Lagib28]

You seem to have the knack for finding the most unusual gear.

[@databits]

I try! I really do!

[@stereomonovici5796]

r A P E

[@GuitarAudiologist]

Ruhh row Raggie, rit's a ra ra.. rAPE Recorder!

[@databits]

ROOK OUUTTT!!

[@MIW_Renegade]

GuitarAudiologist 😂

[@georgelincolnrockwell14]

This fubbing killed me omg

[@AR15.666]

It says rape

[@KentuckyRanger]

I remember calling theaters back in te day. It sucked when you'd call after someone hung up in the middle of the message, because I'd have to listen to the tape to the end, just to hear the first movie and its times...

[@belstar1128]

How many frigging tape formats did they make.

[@databits]

Way too many!

[@Redhotsmasher]

betarage Over 9000? :P

[@BertGrink]

Approximately 5.317 billion formats lol

[@greenaum]

At least dozens.

[@TheWASHINGMACHINEBOY]

OVER 9,000!

[@j_ro]

hearing that tape announce "return of Oz 2" took me back to my childhood, and the traumatic horror that film brought to my 9 year old mind. my parents dropped me off in a theater (parenting was different in 1985) to watch my first movie by myself while they shopped. im still afraid to step in a patch of sand.

[@cnerde]

The sounds of the wheelers haunt my nightmares.

[@DragonBuilds]

Better alternatives than displaying "rape" when there is no tape: tAPE LOAd Err E LC (Load Cassette)

[@yosi1989]

TAKACOM ... My father worked for a year. TAKACOM's head office is located in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.

[@5roundsrapid263]

I grew up in a small town with a 4 screen theater. It had a recording almost exactly like this. Talk about a flashback!

[@databits]

I found this script online. It made for easy prep work! Thanks for watching!

[@mr.smash698]

That was a script? I thought you came up with that on the spot.

[@emorris272]

Neat machine! You have a great announcers voice!

[@databits]

Thank you Edward.

[@thinkoutsidethebox5134]

after Line 1 picks up wherever it's at during the planning process and line 2 Rings it will pick up line two and play at that point same thing with line 3 it'll play wherever Line 1 and 2 where at then because of a open spot on the tape line one will hang up when it's done but two and three will continue to play until they are fully played then the lines will hang up that's how it works

[@ChrisCooling]

our theater used an standard off the shelf answering machine for showtime recordings.

[@VintageElectronicsGeek]

Great video! Do you do VO's professionally?

[@databits]

I can! Do you need a VO person?

[@TilmanBaumann]

So the second or third caller would come in mid-announcement?

[@highvoltage12v]

Center negative DC jack. Evil.

[@pineappleroad]

stuff from around that time period tends to use centre negative because any devices which had batteries would need to have a way of automatically switching between the power adapter and the battery, and they put a physical disconnector in the barrel jack socket to do this, so when the power adapter is plugged in, it disconnects the batteries which is why centre negative became a thing, and id imagine it was easier to use centre negative on other devices from that time period as well

[@ZaneWuffy]

i would love for you to set this thing up so other people can call it :3

[@SudosFTW]

it looks more to me from what appear to be datecodes on some of the electronics that it was made in the 90s, not the 70s.

[@databits]

And not the 80s either. Thanks for the comment!

[@SudosFTW]

it could also be a bring-over from the 80s, just late-production. the board layout really looks 80s as well. if it was 70s, there'd be a different type of PCB in there. what you have is green solder mask which makes me think late 80s to mid-90s in origin, but not in date manufactured. take my findings with a grain of salt and do some more digging.

[@disgruntledgoat]

Ugh - there's a blast from the past - electronics equipment using centre-negative power jacks...

[@marcusdamberger]

I noticed that too. Some Sony Walkmans also did this..

[@dannyfitzgerald1593]

everything vintage Sony was centre negative! It was a nightmare.

[@leisergeist]

friggin' evil center-negative... maybe some day I'll learn to double-check when I pull a spare power supply off a shelf lol

[@nickwallette6201]

And Famicom, Super Famicom, Super NES, FDS, Sega Genesis model 1, ....

[@wildbilltexas]

What were originally on the tapes? It's a nice machine for the time, but I guess an "T" LCD was too cost-prohibitive back then!

[@databits]

The tapes were blank. New old stock.

[@wildbilltexas]

Thanks, I was just curious. Keep up the great work with the videos. My family had a bunch of 8-track tapes in the 70's and later I was a radio DJ and worked with "carts" all the time, but I've never seen this machine before.

[@greenaum]

They're LEDs, not LCDs, video got that wrong. And they don't make "T" ones, or any alphabetic really. They're just the 7-segment LEDs meant for showing numbers in alarm clocks etc. By being creative you can fit most letters of the alphabet into there, if you don't mind a mix of lower and upper case, and a few slightly dodgy ones. If you want a proper alphabetic display, or for more expensive ones like gambling machines etc, you'd use a 14 or 16-segment display with diagonal segments and more, they can do pretty decent text. Nowadays you'd probably just go with a colour graphical LCD.

[@KentuckyRanger]

@ 5:40 rape? I know, it's supposed to say tape, but that looks ALLOT like rAPE... ;O) P.S. I just looked at the comments, I see I'm not alone, LOL!

[@MicrophonicFool]

I love the fact you used a 2-XL 8-Track cart to demonstrate. That is some 80's Geek cred right there

[@Tomsonic41]

At least it was recorded by a real human back in the day; much nicer to listen to! These days it'll be some kind of computer playing a bunch of voice samples like : "rated R" "showing at" "twelve" "fifteen" "PM"...

[@ssbohio]

That's the way the old analog Audichron machines would play the time & temperature for the phone company, with little snippets of recorded voice strung together by playback heads on the magnetic drum.

[@phantom3rdchannel]

i was trying to figure out the date looking at the chips then boom plain as day 04nov95 on the motor. kinda surprised they weren't digital yet.

[@databits]

Good catch! I always forget to check those places! Yes, I am surprised that tapes were still the thing in 1995.

[@russellhltn1396]

While I think digital was around, 6 minutes worth could get expensive. Some customers may have wanted to be able to swap tapes - perhaps one for weekdays and one for weekends.

[@AnOfficialAndrewFloyd]

tah kah chee hoh There. Now you know how to pronounce the probably Japanese name, like Tah Kah Com.

[@databits]

Thank you, I feel much better now.

[@turntable1985]

Wow! Just when you think you've seen all of the formats, there's always more to discover.

[@databits]

Amazing discoveries on the databits channel!

[@wisteela]

I'll have to find something like this here in the UK. They could have avoided the rape message by using a lower case t. That chip being diagonal is very unusual.

[@over00lordunknown12]

5:30 Oh, yes, yes, looks interest- woah WAIT! "rape"?!?!... XD (Apparently, it is supposed to say "tape". but can't show the whole letter, so it looks like an "r"... XD)

[@AureliusR]

Oddly, the recording was re-used on this website: www.esl-lab.com/intermediate/movie-shows-script/ Or did you get it from there and record it yourself?

[@SpacePills1]

You live at the cinema?

[@mylesmccloud8746]

No he doesn't live in a cinema. It was only an elaborate setup to demonstrate how the machine worked.

[@SpacePills1]

I know >< I posted too early then forgot about it lol

[@databits]

I have a nice home theater, does that count?

[@SpacePills1]

Haha, as long as your home theater doesn't flash "rape" too then sure, else I'm very concerned for your electronics..

[@scratchpad7954]

4:14 - "Six seconds isn't a whole lot of time to say what you want to say..." That is exactly long enough to give the standard message the phone company would say if you tried to dial a disconnected number: "The number you have dialed has been disconnected and is no longer in service."

[@TheMagpyeTrader]

You have SFX for your opening but can't blur out a number in post? Interesting...

[@ZethieTail]

2:13 " where youll overpay for popcorn, soda and pepsi" LOL, also pepsi IS soda? why did it say it twice basically?lol probably advertising

[@rich1051414]

The display yelling rape when it doesn't have anything inside of it is pretty humorous.

[@paltryblather9331]

i dont see how it could take multiple calls when theres only 1 tape deck unless all those capacitors were designed to clone the tape playback. so if it could do that, then it should still operate after a tape is 'loaded' & removed? might be worth testing it out, idk

[@ArcadeMachine15]

I know it’s supposed to say “tape” but come on...

[@rockabillycat1954]

Very professional speaking/announcing... have you ever worked radio or did v/o work?

[@TheWASHINGMACHINEBOY]

now that i think about it, i wonder if you have a recording on the second track on the two-minute casette

[@AureliusR]

That 30 degree angled DIP IC is extremely unusual. It's rare to even see 45 degree angled DIP chips, as they usually end up taking more surface area to route. Surface mount ICs are commonly rotated, though.

[@AureliusR]

Everytime I watch this video, it still blows me away that they did the 30 degree rotation thing. That is just beyond unusual. They either must have had a really good reason, or the designer just wanted to add some flair to their PCB.

[@Matrix803]

One thing I don't understand: What if you have a 30-second recording, but one person calls in, then another person calls in 15 seconds after the first person.... How would the machine be able to accommodate two callers that called in at random intervals simultaneously like that? o 3 o;;

[@FlameStrykeShadowDark]

I have two theories on this. First, it's constantly running so the first person calling in would start the cartridge, the second and third would enter wherever the loop was at the time. The second theory is that if someone called in mid-speech they would hear either silence or a slow set of beeps until the cartridge reset to the start point, then open the other phone lines and replay the message.

[@thetman0068]

$6 tickets!?! WHERE CAN I FIND THIS THEATER

[@thdremily]

Flashing 'rape' absolutely killed me XD

[@cats400]

A theater in my area used this technology all the way until 2008!

[@ruikazane5123]

No. Thanks to you, I learned those things really existed!

[@TheLaXandro]

I think your machine is posessed by the spirit of Johannes Krauser II

[@raymondkitchen6137]

I'm pretty sure "Road Trip" came out in 2000.

[@JarodMoonchild1975]

Raymond Kitchen That was surprising to me as well. I thought to myself: Damn, that movie theater needs to catch up with the times. Even 2016. (Cos it's 2018 now, lol. 😆) But then I saw some comments about that "theater" message, replayed that part again, and was in on the joke. (Translation = I thought it was a legit theater message, so I didn't really pay attention to it, at first. Well played, databits. Well played. 😂😂😂)

[@BenHelweg]

What is the I/O port (concealed)? Also you did that theater recording magnificently.

[@databits]

Thank you Ben. Not sure on the I/O port!

[@whickervision742]

If you were even briefly involved with servicing any kind of equipment, you'd know that it's standard procedure to put tape over any port that the end user / customer can mix up. There are 3 ports in back that can plug in phone lines and all would work, and a 4th one that is not for phone lines. Which port would the customer invariably plug the phone cable into without looking, and then complain it doesn't work with all manner of nastiness? You got it, the 4th one.

[@ruthlessadmin]

They should have made the T a backward R.... It is funny af tho... Also, you have a great voice for that kind of recording. I thought you were playing back some old sample tape in the first call you made.

[@databits]

Thank you for your comments! I appreciate it!

[@jasoncallan]

I always thought this was far more informative than that stupid fandango.

[@NotBart]

Wait... It said calling home...

[@jackallen6261]

Awesome content!! Just subbed!! I hit the Thrift Stores in my area 2 or 3 times a week and find some just amazing stuff that most people would never even think of!! lol.

[@databits]

Thanks for your comment!

[@AztaTheGreat]

my dad calls the one in his old hometown and it still works and its creepy

[@keithm5224]

I always thought Kramer was on the other end

[@mitch19636]

'd pick the phone up and throw it. lol.

[@honich-eriker]

According to some date codes on the capacitors and relays, this machine was made around 1996/1997.

[@hayleywaalen2612]

What the heck is Friends Forever?

[@jackoneill8585]

rapee rapeee rapeee lol like it knows movies rape your wallet

[@Admirallmao]

LOL @ The display saying rape

[@phaZed9]

This thing belongs in a Stephen king movie.

[@NJRoadfan]

The machine likely only supported one caller at a time. Most small businesses have multiple phone lines in a "hunt" group. All incoming calls normally ring on line 1, if line 1 was busy it would ring line 2, if that was busy it would ring line 3.

[@Synthematix]

Thats a rape alarm

[@americanpatriot646]

1313 mockingbird lane

[@_l.jordan_9114]

That's understandable

[@demonprincess5634]

maybe it is screaming rape lol

[@guillaumegaudin694]

5:47 is it asking for rape ?

[@lilycowlishaw2952]

Is it just me or did it say overpay

[@moon_mint]

You've got a great phone voice

[@dlawlis]

Move theaters no longer use these machines. Now they have bedbugs. Coincidence? I think not.

[@EvilJ069]

"rape... rape... rape..."

[@jackjowett902]

The new google assistant.

[@CoopyKat]

I love this stuff, I always wondered how they made those automated recordings back then.

[@wogfun]

@8:37 I would be very surprised if that switch didn't control the playback speed of the tape, allowing a second message to be recorded on each track for a total of 4 in LP, and 2 in EP. For the machine to have a switch allowing the same audio to be recorded in a stereo mode as opposed to mono makes no sense.

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

OHHHHHHH okay just thought why it would say such a word on this maschine until I noticed it wasnt an R but an T