Space on Sunday

Hello - I'm Andrew - the original provider of the Apollo 45" disc, and now a (long-overdue) Patreon. Me and the missus were slightly starstruck in being name-checked. Great stuff, Mat, as always.

Wonderful! My earliest memories were of the Apollo moon missions and I can vaguely remember my dad setting up his 35mm camera on a tripod to take photos from the television screen of Armstrong and Aldrin’s first steps on a moon. This week I have been reliving the 50th anniversary in real time with ‘live’ tweets from the mission, and watching other streaming videos and vlogs on Apollo 11. I have also been rereading the First On The Moon book each night.....this as my favorite book in my parents’s library when I was growing up in the 70s. What a treat this video has been, thank you so much for all your excellent videos, but especially for this timely video....keep up the excellent work!!!!

I rarely comment on anything either in here or in YT, but thanks a lot for the videos. I find these to be the most charming, captivating, and interesting videos in the history of YT, and by these I mean all the videos you make. These should be shown in schools as ”snacks” after lessons! Anyway, that’s all I have to say, take care. Proud to be a patron, I have been one for a year I think and I don’t intend to stop!

Thanks for the video Mat. I won't say thanks on YT as you said you won't read comments. I loved the way you got the record player working. I thought the buzzing could be a poorly smoothing capacitor in the power supply. Your investigation revealed it was resonance. I like space and history and to see the record demonstrated on a Philips record player of the era made the video complete. Best wishes.

That Philips player is so nice, looks like it's right out of a Gerry Anderson Supermarionation show.

Really enjoyed that episode! Certainly remember playing all my dad’s singles on a very inexpensive battery record player in the 70s in my bedroom. As you say, it’s just how the format was treated back then. Certainly never thought about tracking weight! Your audience here i think is actually hoping the item you feature is in need of service, as the repair job is the best bit.

Very nice episode! Loved the moonlanding as a child, because it was simply fascinating, and I love it now, because I take a bow for the technical achievement of this time... only 66 years after the first motorised flight! This is so incredible! BTW: would have loved to see some puppeteering about the moonlanding. ;-)

Is the narrator (e.g. at 12:01) the same guy as on the Omni 8 track quiz game? Or do all compressed low bandwidth narrators sound the same :)

A lot a fun as usual, Mat. It's especially nice for us Yanks who wouldn't have had a chance to see either of those items. Thanks for sharing. BTW, we're currently being inundated here in the states with television programs recalling the event, on both public and commercial television as well as basic cable and pay cable. My DVR is filling up fast!

Thanks Mat. I really enjoyed seeing the old record player and hearing the record. Best wishes.

Great Video Mat. Had some extra nostalgia for me as the screen grab you showed of the Philips advert showed a record player I used as a child - the orange one of the right. In fact still have it somewhere.

We were in Amsterdam last week, and saw one of those record players on display, as artistic design a the Stedelijk Museum. Funny that it should come up here.

The diagnosis and cleaning of this unit was very satisfying. I absolutely love the level of informed tinkering that is put into so many of your great videos. Please continue to make more deconstruction/diagnosis/repair/rebuilding videos along these lines. They do make my day. Thank you so much!

I have the 12" version of that record. I picked it up at the start of the year and have never played it. I shall remedy that now. I will have to keep an eye out for the 7" version now. I am anal like that.

I posted this on the YT comments, but for those who don't read those (I don't blame you): Highly recommended: https://apolloinrealtime.org/11/ The whole mission in "real time" with radio transmissions and comments, photos, etc. as things happened 50 years ago. Starts 1 minute to lift-off all the way up to recovery! :)

How cool! Both the record set and the player. I'm amazed at your ability to find and share nifty stuff like this. Thank you!

You for sure keep us entertained with stuff like this. Lovely episode, and please stop underestimating your repair powers. The fact you know what a dry solder joint is makes you an expert in many viewers' eyes already ;)

That record player probably has better quality electronics in it than that boombox from last week. And this also wasn't made as a top quality product. Oh, and by the way because the audio is from NASA footage, it's exempt from copyright so it's free to use.

Well, the Phillips record player didn't have the highest quality sound, but it was very clear and well played. Fun stuff. Thanks Matt.

Takes me back. I watched the landing live on the BBC and my parents bought me a 7" 33rpm record released soon after as a keepsake. Wish I still had it.

Concerning the moon landing experience itself: If anyone wants the full experience along with transcripts you should check out this site: https://www.firstmenonthemoon.com/ It seems to be from a couple of years ago but I only discovered it recently and was quite amazed by the work that must have gone into it.

Odd, D100 requires only a tiny amount, and a 25ml bottle is $20 at walmart or target. I know the UK is different, but thats just odd.

I wish I could convince you to replace your DeOxit 5% with the 100% version called D100 - sooo much more effective! - also, any time a motor doesn't run in life, give it a good whack with a hammer - works on everything from cars to turntables (the motor brushes are worn, is why this works)

I know a guy at work who's father went out and spent some big bucks to buy a colour TV - he wanted to see the Apollo 11 moon-landing in all its natural glory which... didn't quite work according to plan. I guess the family still laughs about that one.

I love your repair videos, successful and otherwise! Would that I could be so lucky! Most of my repairs turn out to be jigsaw puzzles in reverse and end up in a box. And I'm looking forward to any 50th anniversary videos. They say that there are a few moments in time that you will always remember throughout life. Most of mine involve assassinations, terrorist attacks, and mass shootings. Apollo 11 is one of the few wonderful memories. I was absolutely glued to my TV at the time!

This was a fun one! Amazing how it just started working by opening it. Kinda makes you feel like a magician or something.

Superb bit of tinkering that succeeded in getting the player going! I remember my Dad waking us at about 5am to witness the first steps on the moon in grainy black and white. Wonderful video, Mat!

It looks neat.. but yeah, I can tell it sounds terrible. Does it have a headphone or audio line out on that thing anywhere? I'm wondering if it is mostly just the speaker that sounds bad. (along with that resonant vibration)

I think this same audio program was pressed on to an ... acetate? ... record that was flexible enough to be bound into a magazine (here in North America). And I'm pretty sure I had a copy of it when I was a kid.

Congratulations on the repair! I wonder if you can play a record with the lid closed? But be careful, I don't want that you crash the restored UFO!

I remember being allowed to stay up and watch this back in the day... What a great, topical episode. Thanks!

Awesome video, both the record and the player are fascinating.

Hopefully these pull in the views. On an unrelated note, are you planning on ever doing another DAT video? I found an AIWA DAT enamel pin whilst antique shopping and thought it might be a nice curio to either show or wear if you ever did one.