The famous Victrola brand, made by the Victor Talking Machine Co. of Camden, NJ.
Boy, we sure do depend on electricity! So, what do you do when there isn’t any?
Besides remembering where the candles are, I had to explain to my kids which of the house phones would work in the event our power went out. Of course, the laptop and phone batteries will only last so long. But without a phone, computer, video game or TV, what would they do for entertainment? Somehow I can’t picture them reading by candle light.
Even before the San Diego power failure, I was thinking about how fun it could be to use my recently restored Victrola phongraph in the event of an outage for some old-school musical entertainment. (Better than trying to act out a home-style version of “Glee,” right?)
The Victor-Victrola XIV phonograph with built-in horn. No electricity needed.
Planned Obsolescence?
There’s an old saying that “they don’t make things like they used to.” Like most clichés, it’s based on a truth: Much of today’s technology seems designed with planned obsolescence in mind. Or perhaps it’s not so much that manufacturing standards have become slipshod, but that the pace of innovation has increased so rapidly.
Moore’s Law
Intel co-founder Gordon Moore famously observed in 1965 how the number of components that could be put into an integrated circuit seemed to double every year. He postulated that this trend could continue “for at least ten years.” His prediction has since become known as “Moore’s Law” and has proven remarkably accurate.
Progress Marches On
“New and improved” will always fascinate, but some old things were truly made to last. Despite the parade of ever-fancier gadgets, some technologies refuse to die out completely. Like phonographs.
"Victor Talking Machine at the summer home." (1904 ad)
Even though the music distribution and playback systems have been reinvented numerous times (78 rpm records, 45 rpm singles, 33 1/3 albums, 8-track tape, cassette, CD, mini-disk, mp3, Napster, iTunes, iPod, Pandora…), there are still die-hards out there who hang on to record players.
Ye Olde Record Shoppe
Records shops can still be found if you look hard enough. And vinyl is making a bit of a comeback, particularly with the DJ crowd.
Records are being rediscovered by a new audience at places like Dr. Freecloud's Record Shoppe.
After recently restoring the Victor “Talking Machine” Victrola XIV (circa 1917) that sat silent in my parent’s house for decades, I got a few old 78 rpm records to play on it. Needles are supposed to be changed after every play, because they’re made to wear out faster than the records. The great thing about the Victrola is that it requires no electricity. This hand-cranked mechanical marvel runs on a spring and has no volume control other than the cabinet doors that enclose the built-in horn.
Now through the wonders of the Internets, I’m able to share with you a few songs played on a vintage Victrola phonograph. Enjoy!
Thankfully, our power didn’t go out and I was able to upload this blog post. But what about you? What do you do to amuse yourself when the power goes out?
