The Sabamobil
Here's a video about a forgotten audio format from the 1960s, the Sabamobil from SABA. In this video I'll explain where it fits in with the history of tape players, you get to see it in action, hear the music from a Sabamobil cartridge and find out the simple secret hidden inside the odd looking cartridges.
I started making this video a couple of years ago but put it on hold because I wanted to get hold of some blank cartridges to demonstrate on the machine. At the time I'd just seen a seller on ebay advertise a job lot of 20 blank Saba carts (that he wouldn't split or send to the UK) so I assumed that some more would be along soon.
However since then I haven't seen any others offered for sale. In fact it seems like the machine is rarer than I first thought. It doesn't even appear in the Museum of Obsolete Media. http://www.obsoletemedia.org
In the end I used some other tapes to demonstrate how blanks would have worked with the machine and this actually added a bit more interest to the video..so it all worked out for the best in the end.
The reason I mention this is that it explains why some sections of the video are in 1080p HD rather than the UHD/4K I've been shooting in since the start of 2016.
Remember HD? Oh those were the days, how did we manage...
Comments (17)
I have always had a soft spot for SABA radios. My father had a SABA Stereo Automatic 11 that he passed onto me a few years ago. It no longer worked but after having it serviced it sounds a good as I remember as a child. Here's a video I made a few years ago back when iPods were still a thing. I always loved that with the addition of a custom audio cable you could integrate something so modern (for 2009) to something so old. <a href="https://youtu.be/zuXWLlVv2hk" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/zuXWLlVv2hk</a>
So funny, I had just been reading up about detachable car radios when this popped up, particularly this Oldsmobile transistor- <a href="http://www.abetterpage.com/transistors/trans/US/1azTransport.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.abetterpage.com/transistors/trans/US/1azTransport.html</a> and the Pontiac "Sportable" transistor <a href="https://assets.hemmings.com/blog/wp-content/uploads//2016/05/01-Pontiac-1958-Sport-Radio-Lead.jpg." rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://assets.hemmings.com/blog/wp-content/uploads//2016/05/01-Pontiac-1958-Sport-Radio-Lead.jpg.</a> But both a detachable radio AND obsolete/obscure audio format in one? That is pure Retrotech right there. Great video.
Very interesting. What price did you get your device for?
I can't remember...it was a couple of years ago. I don't think it was expensive though, somewhere around £60 or so.
And another gem. Well done!
That's old chap.
It's really interesting how fractured the formats were between the countries, all with their own local innovations. Obviously that doesn't happen anymore, everything must be a worldwide launch.
There were a lot of great innovations that came out of Germany especially, from Philips and Telefunken, unfortunately they usually failed to capitalise on their hard work. You're right about how everything has to be global now... no more Japanese only VHD machines. That said, the next video does feature a current device that's only used in one country...but it's a bit of an anomaly.
The sabamobil cartridge your opened appeared to have another label underneath. Any idea what's on that?
It's only got the one label...I think it must just have looked like there was another one because of the way it peeled apart.
Very fascinating. Never heard of that system, even as a german.
It's funny, I'm never able to guess whether these things are well known or obscure...just like the Tefifon, I thought that would be much more familiar to older German viewers than it was.
Looks like Phillips made something similar <a href="http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philips_all_transistor_rk5l_el_358500.html?language_id=2" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philips_all_transistor_rk5l_el_358500.html?language_id=2</a>
Yes I managed to get some nice pictures of that machine from ones that had been sold on ebay - you can them at around 09:50 in the video.
Another format I'd never heard of, thanks for bringing this one to light!
So cool love how many different ideas companies came out with back then instead of the same ol me too products like today.
That's what fascinates me with old tech too. I fear that for all the innovations smartphones and tablets brought they also signalled the end to a more interesting Wild West of tech.