Hackjob

This one was a very long time coming. A mouse that I've wanted to try since I was a kid, and now I've finally got my hands on one. This is the Razer Boomslang 2007 - a collector focused revival of what is widely regarded as the first purpose-built gaming mouse. Does it live up to the legacy?

A little over a year ago I made a post covering my prized vintage MCS 3275 receiver. Like all pieces of unrestored vintage gear it had its fair share of little annoyances, but nothing that seriously impacted my ability to use the thing - until now. Now those annoyances have become persistent problems, so I did what I always do and resolved it in the most headache-inducing way possible.

I've had a hankering for another Alps equipped keyboard ever since I parted ways with my oddball Datacomp DFK515 and thankfully, that opportunity finally presented itself in the form of what many consider to be the magnum opus. This is the Northgate OmniKey Ultra-T - and it eats IBM Model Ms for breakfast. Despite making a keyboard that holds a lot of reverence among computer users of a certain age - Northgate Computer Systems probably isn't a household name for most of you readers. In short, they were a manufacturer and seller of mail-order computers and peripherals during the 80s and 90s - among which was the OmniKey line of keyboards. The OmniKey ended up being so well liked that many customers just bought them for use with their existing systems. An early "Gold Badge" OmniKey 102. There were six models of the OmniKey. Northgate did sell some rebadged keyboards under the same branding, but we'll just focus on the more well-known originals: OmniKey 101: ANSI lay...

I had no real intentions on getting another buckling spring keyboard following the sublime Model F Labs Classic F104, but this was just too good of deal to pass up, and I figured it'd be fun to compare the two side by side. What I have here is an actual IBM Model F 'AT'; widely considered to be the best of the original Model F designs. Does it hold up today?

Vintage keyboards are a fun rabbit hole to dive into. They all tend to come from an era where there were no widely accepted standards like today, and many companies came out out of the woodwork seemed to have their own wildly differing ideas on how to best engineer these things. One such less known company was Datacomp, and among their sizable lineup of IBM PC peripherals, they put out this ugly monstrosity called the DFK515. Color me surprised - it's actually really, really good.

Getting my first vintage receiver was probably the most exciting piece of my foray into vintage audio gear. While I've changed other components of my setup around several times, this is the one piece of the puzzle that's remained constant over the past year plus, and it's not from a brand most people will immediately recognize. Here's why.

As a longtime writer, I've always appreciated the feel of a good keyboard, yet I've never actually used one that's has that kind of a reputation. I've been in squishy dome hell for damn near two decades and only fairly recently got a proper mechanical keyboard - but even that still didn't feel quite right. Ever dissatisfied, my keyboard search finally led me to this: the legendary Model M.

I always find all manner of cool and unusual crap on my occasional run through my local antique store, but it's rare that I actually end up buying anything. This trip was different, and I came home with an air rifle - of all things, and it's a pretty special one at that.

Speakerlab probably isn't a name that rings any bells for most people outside of the Pacific Northwest, which makes it even more weird that I found a pair of their speakers sitting in a Goodwill in the middle of Texas. Initially not knowing what the hell these things were, the Speakerlab 7s quickly stole my heart, and ruined every other speaker in the house for me. But, being close to fifty years old, they could use a little TLC, and perhaps a few upgrades while we're at it.

Back in the early to mid-eighties Technics began revising their core consumer turntable lineup, creating the MK2 series of SL turntables. These were, and often still are, regarded some of the highest quality and most feature rich turntables ever built. While the lineup has largely been overshadowed the monumental success of the MK2 SL-1200, there's one model that's held in nearly as high of regard: the MK2 SL-1600. Here's how I got along with one.

I recently came into the possession of a vintage Pioneer turntable. Specifically the semi-automatic, direct drive PL-518, one of their most venerable turntables of the late 1970s. Despite it's initial, relatively innocent appearance however, this deck was a long way from spinning LPs again thanks to the horrors of unchecked humidity. Unfortunately for me, the rust and rot was just the tip of the iceberg.

  I don't think I'll be able to outdo this one anytime soon. By complete dumb luck, I stumbled upon a rare and completely bonkers Sharp VZ-3000, just a short jaunt down the interstate from where I lived. Not knowing a single thing about what I was getting myself into, I parted ways with $100 and loaded this monster into my car. What ensued was months of trying not to rip my own hair out in the hopes that I could bring this unique machine back from the dead.

  About two months ago, I scored two direct drive turntables for $60: a Pioneer PL-518 and a Technics SL-1600 MK1. Either one of these decks alone would've been a steal at the price, and a huge upgrade from the old Garrard 770M I was spinning LPs on prior. Unlike the Pioneer (which has been such a nightmare that it deserves it's own post), the Technics managed to survive it's two decades of horrible storage in relatively great shape. It just needed a little love.

One of my favorite pastimes is scrounging around on online secondhand marketplaces and thrift stores for interesting gadgets worth bringing back into peak working condition. There's a certain satisfaction about finding some battered old throwaway and turning back the years of neglect to find something genuinely useful, or at least super cool. In some cases, it's a chance to visit a bygone era and bring a piece of it back to life. This Garrard Model 770M turntable was certainly all of the above.

The 1990s were a truly miserable time for regular computers. Everything on the market was just beige. Even Apple: usually known for having an easily recognizable lineup, marketed an army of computers that were all damn near imperceptible from one another. This all went on until Steve Jobs went on a fat trimming spree, reducing the company's confusing array of home desktops to just one stylish option: the iMac. It made waves with it's futuristic and colorful design, making the beige-boxes look like yesterday's leftovers. The machine was such a hit that Apple decided, why don't we make one for the road? Enter the iBook, the world's most refreshingly ridiculous laptop.

For the first real post on this blog, I thought it would be fitting to write about something that was killing me not writing about it at the time: building my first guitar. My desire to do this write up was also fueled by an unfortunate event from that year; one of my all-time idols, Eddie Van Halen passed away on October 6th, 2020, just months after I had completed the build in the summer. The guitar in question is a replica of Eddie's famously haphazard Frankenstrat, a guitar that after watching several YouTube videos and learning of the guitar's construction, I figured "Well, I can do that too!". So I did, and this guitar holds a very special place in my heart, not just because I defied my own lack of experience, but because I feel like it's a fitting tribute to one of the greatest guitarists that ever lived.