Oddcast August 2026

Just wanted to wish you all the best Mat. Hope the operation goes well and make sure you take enough recovery time.

The cat 😻😻😻. He choose you, but of course, still does it the way he wants to 😉. Of course, my 2 feline girls are always watching with me 😁.

Very interesting video Mat, as ever: well-paced, edited, very much enjoyed it. It takes something special to hold my attention for more than a few minutes these days, and I watched this in two lumps, although I can honestly say I would have watched in one go had I the time. Hope the Op goes well too. Regards

I think you made the right choice with the DAB aerial you chose to put up The larger one will be much more directional, needing to be pointed at one transmitter. The smaller looped dipole you've put up will be omnidirectional, pulling in signals from multiple transmitters which is no bad thing. If it was me, I'd try to mount it a little higher so it completely clears the roof of the shed. Could be picking up interference from your lights etc, leading to the signal meter jumping about? Regardless, a good setup and I'm pleased it's working now.

Just got round to this. Best of luck with the operation. Must actually seem quite a relief compared to what you were facing a year or so ago. At least this is familiar territory. I'm only familiar with the UK version of The Price Is Right, and I certainly don't recall Leslie Crowther having a similar microphone, though I guess Terry had beaten him to it! Altogether now... "Supermatch Game, Supermatch Game, Supermatch Game, Supermatch Game!"

I was able to use copyright claims to take down several videos that were AI-generated summaries of my video about USB video capture devices, even though they were not a word-for-word copy of what I said in my video. In my case, however, they did copy my video thumbnail image, which is probably why YouTube approved my claims and took down the videos.

Thanks for the update video, an enjoyable watch. You did well with the DAB tuner, very nice unit. I have an Audiolab DAB tuner and the signal level can vary a bit on that too. Admittedly I am using a small internal antenna as I live in a good signal area. I have large loft antennas for TV and FM. All the best for the operation as and when it happens.

Uhh, the microphone is already uncomfortably high on that thumb nail for a german viewer 🥴

The part with the DAB Radio and the Cat may not be an ideal standalone video for youtube, but the radio seems great and maybe think of the views. ;) As always, thanks for the patreon update.

Let's just take a moment to revel in the fact that we get to see you face the ridiculousness of filling a giant leaky Perspex wave machine, and not the health scares and stress of last year. You also may have started a new, blue civilization... keep us posted!

I love the punch card stereo. I did not know it existed, and I am glad you showed it to future generations.

The thin mic hearkens back to Gene Rayburn on Match Game in the US as well. He was quite the character :D

Crossing fingers to see the amplifiers you mentioned ❣️👍🏻

This video had everything -- cat! cool tech find! soldering! tape! outdoor messing about! All it was missing was weird noodles. Sometimes it feels like the Patreon-only stuff is an embarrassment of riches. Which leads me to... Re: the yearly Patreon thing, even if you cut off 1/4 into the year, I wouldn't care. I only started being a patron the last few years, so I feel like I'll never make up for the great content that came before. Hope your surgery/recovery goes as easily as possible.

The PAT testing sticker looks like the ones on stuff at The British Heart Foundation charity shops. They need to do basic tests for electrical safety, it might just have sat on a shelf or warehouse. Enjoy

Love the story about your nephew. I was really looking forward to when my son (21) would get in to physical media and we could go round looking together, collecting, etc… and never happened 😢 gutted. Hey ho. I went through a long period of just having mp3s on my phone and that was fine for me until the start of lockdown, when I decided to start re-converting all my physical media which at that time was all in the attic. Then had to re-do everything again when I started learning about music file-types and lossless etc. Same with my dvds. Then one day I realised I really enjoyed going on eBay, swapping with friends, looking through the shelves of charity shops and finding all the songs, albums and movies I’d ever wanted to own. It became a fun obsession after lock down ended completely. Knowing I own pretty much every song and movie I’ve ever wanted, I started building a real nice vintage Technics hifi system. Bit by bit, it’s now a passion of mine. Although I enjoy going to hifi shows, I don’t have the audiophile obsession. Just a good appreciation for physical media, old sound systems while keeping an appreciation for modern technology. My collection now comprises of cds, blu-rays and vinyl, with everything converted and stored on my NAS. And boy do I love my tinkering 🤣 My labour of love. Cheers Lee

Thanks so much for another excellent Oddcast. On the motor markings @ 47:25 - and I'm sure you've already figured this out - they denote the speed of the motor in number of rotations per minute. Timing the machine to 10 transitions(?) in two minutes translates to around 5 per minute, hence 5/FV (FV could stand for full voltage or fan ventilated). The patch applied over the wheel makes the machine tilt more in one direction and less in the other, which may be why you're not seeing much of a difference in performance. Couldn't see whether the motor was responsible for the eccentric wheel pattern (giving the up/down motion) but chances are the wheel has an offset centre. Might be worth drilling a different offset centre hole in the wheel if you can get it off to give a more aggressive pitch or looking for another wheel of the same size with a different offset rather than changing the motor/power.

I really like the simplicity of the Sony XDR-S61D when it comes to navigating through 100+ DAB programmes. It's quite similar to your XDR-S41D, just a bit bulkier, and it uses a rotary encoder for the tuning knob. One would think that supposedly high-end separates would offer an experience at least as comfortable as those kitchen radios, yet you either get that basic two-line alphanumeric display or that dull UI straight from the SDK of the DAB module manufacturer that everyone uses. The Arcam T32 seems to be quite nice, though. It's a shame that your plans for the wave machine didn't work out, given how much effort you put into it. I would have given up by the time I noticed the leak, but the misty acrylic alone would have been a show-stopper. Isn't one of the jobs of a piece like that to look good? I wish you a speedy recovery from the surgeries ahead.

I was one who requested more kitty. Thank you very much!

Too many comments to dig through ... AC motor, right? The DAB+ radio was a big win, OTOH. Appreciated (and predicted, 'cause I remember when his mic was "new") the Bob Barker reference. Looked silly then, too. The Match Game reference would have been Gene Rayburn. That was a more fun show at 12 years old - lots of double entendres. Interesting that DAB/DAB+ use vertical polarization while FM usually uses horizontal or circular polarization. All my posters at that age, though late 70s, were of Chevrolet Corvettes. Assumed I'd have one by now but never have had one. Four Subarus though and now a plug-in hybrid Pacifica minivan. Take as much time as you need for your health, please. We'll be fine.

"Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded"

Mat, a better solution to trying to view old photos with more resolution is not using Chat GPT, but instead is to get that gadget that Decker in Blade Runner used to enhance photos via voice command. Might be hard to find on eBay though. **[HUMOUR]** 🤦‍♂️🙂 BTW, this was an enjoyable oddcast as usual, but the variety of stuff you covered made it stand out.

I totally get you putting the poster of the Sinclair television on your wall. I had Sony and Teac posters. My brothers thought I was weird. Good luck on your surgery, Matt.

I wonder if the motor is AC and not DC which would explain why it wasn't working with the power supply. To stop algae growing in my washer fluid tank on my cars, you can pop in a little bit of bleach or, what I do, add a bit of Milton fluid or a bit of a Milton tablet.

Another serendipitously timed video, as I am wiring up my very first tape loop very soon. I also wanted to add that my local record store does brisk business in CDs and vinyl records, with cassettes kind of falling off. This has also lead to an uptick in CD player and hi-fi set sales. Cheers.

Too late, already renewed for a year.. I'll be sure to behave if you will hashtag, humour

Was that a new record deck (when you were looking at dab+) or one of your older ones? Nice to see your tuxedo cat, I have one similar they often have very strong personality which is great, mine headbutts me if I don't cuddle her

The recent phenomenon of people holding wireless or lavalier microphones in front of them does annoy me. The entire purpose of those is so that the presenter does not have to hold something in front of them, and yet...

Oh, hello there. It's very nice to see you because I can watch you on TV today. On the downside that means a longer comment. 😛 • I remember you once said something to the effect of: 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. Is that somewhat still your feeling these days? • I am still very thrilled that records are back (to stay, hopefully) because the format is a big part of my childhood. It's almost the only thing that has survived. We just need more new hi-quality record players - maybe even new record changers. Never going to happen [side-eyes China]. • It's great that your nephew is into CDs. He's in his late teens or early 20's now, I would guess, although you may have more than one nephew. The idea of you out and about in audio shops with him is really nice. • Bees Knees is a certifiable renegade. Cats with the tip of their tongue peeking out are adorable. • My cat screams, too. When I get home at night she asks me where the hell I have been all day, repeatedly. • Nice DAB+ radio you have there. I'm amazed how many channels you can get. There's an Absolute 10s channel - why the hell. 😂 • The enormous #HUMOUR is perfect. Do that for other things that should already be excessively obvious to viewers. • Is 'my transcript's being used by AI' the NEW sincerest form of flattery? • Pollution in the wave machine. True to life? 😑 • I agree with the microphone thing. I saw a video of someone who taped a portable mic to a spoon as a sarcastic jab to those folks who hold the mic. I often wonder if you could hook a mic to your shoulder like an epaulette... or look more awkward. • If you run an image through ChatGPT you can prompt it to 'Create an HD image of the identical (photo/image/graphic)' and it does very well in keeping things nicely accurate to the source. • I was thinking about sending you an Iowa State Fair postcard. You may or may not receive one. Take care and keep cool. 🤍

Top shelf update, good sir 👍

Great video! Did you think to measure the output of the original power supply in the wave machine?

Is right. Thats my Monday between calls sorted.