Sorry for the delay…been a busy few days and I didn’t expect any responses to this thread.
@RFR the therapist: it is just a little creepy how much of your first post hits home. And the second post is about 100%. But back to your first reply: your post brings back some memories…there’s a picture my Mom or Dad snapped of me when I was maybe 6 or 7…I’d discovered the Comet scoring powder and a sponge and was cleaning the bathroom sink. Like deep clean. I recall the buildup around the faucet fixture and somehow realized in the sink itself there was buildup that didn’t belong. Nobody asked me to clean it, I recall just knowing it could shine…got the comet and the sponge and went to work. I remember enjoying the effort and results, and being politely indifferent at the marvel of my parents. It was for my own enjoyment I made that sink shine. And then some years later I recall now I used to take my Dad’s three-head rotary shaver…there was a little brush…you could get all the trimmings and skin flakes and buildup out of it, take the rotary blades out of the screens, and by poking the brush at the surfaces really get the buildup off. And use toilet paper to wipe everything clean to a shine after that. I wasn’t doing it as a favor to my Dad…no disrespect to my Dad, but I knew it wasn’t critical to his shaving or the operation of the shaver that I did this. Yes he did wonder why his shaver was so clean and I vaguely remember him asking me if I cleaned it…I think I was around 9 five or take at that time. I just liked making it look new. And yes I did take my toys apart. I was curious how they worked. I think the first time I distinctly remember this was at around age 8, I had an original issue Kenner brand Star Wars X-Wing fighter toy…I wanted to know how it was you could push on R2-D2 and the wings would expand to the ‘X’ formation. And I saw screws. And I knew where I could find a screwdriver. And I had no apprehension about not being able to put it back together. And I did take it apart, and I did put it back together, and was satisfied I learned how it worked. That was the compulsion; no other reason than I wanted to know. So I guess I’ve always been this way. Thanks for triggering the memories.
@Slouching Raymond I love my Tek TM 500 gear. That’s also been a labor of love because, like pretty much everything I have, I had to buy it on the cheap left for dead or otherwise compromised and figure out, often with help, how to fix it and get it working. The “scope” you see is an SC 502 in a TM 504 mainframe along with a DM 501A DMM and a PS 503A power supply. To the right, out of the picture frame, is another TM 504 loaded with an SG 502 oscillator, FG 502 function generator and AA 501A distortion analyzer. I have a bunch of other main frames and modules, but those are the key modules on those two TM 504 frames on the “workbench.”
@flyingace not a Virgo…a little kreepy you could take a stab at a timeframe in which I was born lol. But I’m sure I’ve shared that info somewhere. Hey, I like the “it’s a hobby” response you’re adopting. As far as I’m concerned, as long as a “hobby” isn’t harming others or taking away from your obligations to provide for others, it really shouldn’t be anybody else’s business. Judgment is a great vehicle for stifling a person’s passion. You do you inasmuch as it doesn’t impact others. Your studio build looks really nice and you’ve got some good gear to work with.
Oh, and 244 for $50? Done. That my favorite 4-track cassette Portastudio. I have 4 of them currently. Think I can make two good ones out of the bunch, sell one and still have a pile of spares for the one I keep. I have spent the most time with a 424mkII as far as cassette 4-track, but when I realized the 244 has vertical channel PCBs with their own metal sub-chassis, and analyzed the signal path…I mean, c’mon…the 244 weighs twice that of a 424…metal…analog VUs…244…that’s it for me.
@famous beagle well that is a two-fold question in a way. I was married to a former Mrs. sweetbeats for 19 years. As much as she tolerated my interests, both with gear and playing and performing, it was also clear it was not acceptable. Anything that didn’t directly benefit the family in her eyes was against the family. There’s a lot more to the story. It was a pretty unhappy situation overall outside of the music and audio technology. In my mind it helped me to cope with the negative situation, and truly I wanted to pass the interests along to my children…to share and connect with them a part of me and even teach them some trade skills they might rely upon in a pinch someday. It became an escape, while I was still very active and engaged in providing and child rearing. But me staying up until the wee hours to tend to my interests and help me cope wasn’t acceptable. And I get it. But she didn’t want to work on the issues in spite of my asks over the years and long story short there’s a divorce and remarriage in the story…not because of the music and gear interests…there’s a much bigger set of issues that were at play there. And, again, I was a hard-working engaged provider throughout. That’s according to others close to the situation. Anyway, my wife today knows I’m a geek and likes the musical side of me. We have some atypical challenges to support with our family on top of the ongoing toxicity with my divorce from many years ago…but I’m much happier in my relationship with her. If we had more time and freedom I’m sure I would be in some local cover band or something and I’m pretty sure my wife would be my biggest fan. And she can sing. But she won’t admit to it. But she’s got something special. And I’m forever smitten. Maybe someday there will be more time to have fun with these collective interests. So there’s not the same degree of need or dependence on the “escape”. These days it’s more purely “hobby”. And we have to work some opposite shifts, so when there’s time while she’s working that’s when I’m working on stuff. And that’s after other obligations are met, not as she demands but as I identify. And not as a matter of hiding it, but because when we both have opportunity to be together and do stuff together I am more interested in that, which was not the case in my former life at all…an existence driven by fear, invalidation and conditions. So…to answer your question, today’s Mrs. sweetbeats doesn’t have a problem with my interests because she doesn’t feel threatened by them or have a need to control them, and I, in kind, don’t have an interest in filling my time with those interests to such a degree that it impacts what little time we have together in our very busy family schedule. Hope that makes sense.
