Florida Calendars for 2015

It's New Years Eve. That means it's time for one shameless plug of my own. Besides dirt cheap stereos, I also enjoy photography. I took some great shots when I lived down in Florida. 2015 is a New Year.  If you are looking calendar that will look good on your wall, please check out my calendars here: GatorDude spotlight on Lulu. I've republished my calendars for 2015 on lulu.com. You can preview them below. My topics are the Forgotten Coast of Florida! It's a relatively undeveloped stretch of the Florida Panhandle.



The Rusting Cars of Wakulla. It's a graveyard for vintage cars and trucks
 from the 1950s near Crawfordville, Florida.

 

Finally, what trip to Florida would be complete without Alligators. I've got lots of my best alligator shots right here:



These calendars are a beautiful addition to any kitchen wall or office space. If you are a photographer, they'll also give you a chance to see what you can do with your own calendar project. This concludes my shameless plug! I've got an all new Watch Review scheduled for tomorrow! I hope you have a great New Year no matter how you keep track of it!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Readers! I hope that Santa granted everyone their home audio wishes.  This year, we spent part of our Christmas Day staring at our tree with my old Technics receiver reliably cranking out Christmas tunes through my venerable Cerwin-Vega speakers.  It was a nice way to pass the time while our Christmas dinner was baking in the oven.

 Now that Christmas Day is over.  It's time to go and fill those little audio system gaps that remain.  For example, if you've been wondering how to get your old school stereo to play streaming audio from a bluetooth wireless device, this might just be your answer:

Good luck and happy hunting!

Thrift Store Finds at Christmas Time

I guess it would be considered rude to give a gift from Goodwill for Christmas.  That's a shame.  Sometimes a bit of retro technology will fit the bill perfectly. 

For example, one of our relatives needs a stereo--actually a CD player.  It needs to replace a Bose Wave radio with CD player.  However, a Bose Wave radio is not in our gift budget.  It also has to be simple to operate.

Today. I saw a Sony boom box that sounded quite nice.  But, a ten year old boom box would probably not be well received.  Besides, at higher volumes the sound got somewhat distorted.  That might be a problem in my relative's cavernous living room.

Alternatively, a perhaps better, I could get an actual stereo receiver for about $40, a CD player for about $10, and two speakers for about $20.  A used stereo would really  offer room filling sound and fit the budget.

But. for now, we will keep on shopping until we find the perfect gift that can come in a shiny new box.  I think a more powerful boombox like the Sony MHCEC619iP 120 Watts Music System might fit the bill.

Thrift Store Find: Panasonic CD Stereo System SA-PM16

Sometimes you can find some gems at the thrift stores.  On a recent pass through a Goodwill near my office, I came across a great little mini stereo - the Panasonic CD Stereo System SA-PM16.  A 60 watt system with robust 6-ohm speakers in wooden cabinets, it looked ready to rock and sounded pretty good on the store shelves.

 

Panasonic CD Stereo System SA-PM16

When I pried off a speaker cover, the speakers looked clean and solid without a hint of deterioration.  The biggest question for a potential buyer would be: Does the CD player work?  However, it did have an RCA input on the back so it would be possible to plug in a PC or MP3 player and bypass CDs entirely.

For less than $20, it looked like a nice buy!

Cheap Stereo Cables

A lucrative industry has grown up around providing premium stereo cables to audiophiles.  Some folks swear theycan hear a difference between normal and premium cables.  Others discount the effects of premium cables citing science and physics.

I believe in having quality cables that allow you to make a good connection between your components.  I don't fully believe in magical cables that make a difference in sound quality.  However, my mind is open.  I also tend to believe that people who have seen ghosts, UFOs, bigfoots, and chupacabras have seen something out of the ordinary.  But, I can't say they exist until I see one myself.

For my stereo systems, I tend to use semi-premium cables from brands like Monster Cables.  They have nice connectors and are easy to work with.  At some stereo stores, Monster Cables cost a little more than a plain jane RCA cable.  But, here is my secret:  thrift stores that sell stereo components often sell cables.  At one of my local Goodwill stores, a Monster Cable goes for $7.97.

Monster Cables at a Thrift Store

You can get new stereo cables from Amazon for just a little more.  I always buy new speaker wire from Walmart or Target.  Speaker wire tends to visibly deteriorate over time.  If you have a twenty year old stereo, there is no reason to have twenty year old speaker wire.

Thrift Store Cables

I should note that finding stereo cables at thrift stores can be pretty hit or miss.  Since we were thrifting regularly, I would just pick up a good quality cable whenever I found one until I had a good stockpile.

Thrift Store Stereo: Hitachi SR-804 Receiver

My quest for old stereos has slowed down a bit now that I have reliable Technics and Sony stereo systems.  However, I still test out any old system that I find on the Goodwill shelves.  On a recent run, I came across this vintage Hitachi SR-804 Receiver.  It has that silver face that everyone loves!

Hitachi SR-804 Receiver (Front)

Unfortunately, I could only get it to power one speaker.  I passed.  I don't need another semi-functional receiver to add to my pile of projects.

Hitachi SR-804 (Rear)

From what I've read on audiokarma.org this Hitachi unit is a surprisingly powerful receiver.  The unit is a Class G reciever that contains circuitry to double its output from 50 watts to 100 watts for peak demands.

For more information and specifications, check out this post on Stereonomono.