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Building a Reproduction Moog Melodia Theremin

Posted on by by Posted in DIY, Electronics, Odd, Odd, Strange, & Curious, Restorations, Strange, Theremins, Vintage

My completed reproduction of a 1960s-era Moog Melodia. Glamour shot by Becky Hart.

This model lacks the traditional volume loop antenna on the left side, instead using a plate of metal on the end of the cabinet (not visible here).

Why Build a Circa 1965 Theremin?

I don’t know why I became fascinated with the Moog Melodia enough to want to build a reproduction.  The physical appearance is very basic, and it has no timbre control, so you’re stuck with a single voice.  Part of the motivation for the project is that I enjoy doing restorations and have a great appreciation for the craftsmanship of antique and vintage items.  I also enjoy building from scratch, especially if the project has a nice mix of woodwork, metalwork, and electronics. With the Moog Melodia I get all of these.  I had no expectation going in that this was going to be a great theremin, but in the end it turned out to be better than expected, and it was fun to try to build something different.

I think the fact that the Melodia is well-documented helped to keep the scope of the project down to something that I was willing to do alongside other projects that are also competing for time.… Read the rest


Revisiting Kilroys in Minneapolis

Posted on by by Posted in Automata & Kinetic Art, Coin-Op Machines, Restorations, Vintage

Vintage Games, Advertising, Strange Wonders, and Peculiar Oddities

In the process of updating this video that I made in 2010 with new Kilroys website and contact information I realized that I had lost all of the original raw video clips during my last computer build, and all that exists now is the low bit-rate rendered SD version that you see here.

This made me start thinking about shooting an updated video in HD – which got me thinking about all of the fantastic items that have appeared at and disappeared from Kilroys over the years – which got me looking through old photos, and finally, which brought me here… to show some of those pictures.

Kilroys is an establishment owned by Kevin Hammerbeck and located in the slowly-disappearing Minneapolis warehouse district.  I call it an establishment because in a way it is a little difficult to categorize. Just a few days ago I called Kevin to ask what words I should add to the video title to make it more descriptive – Kilroys what in Minneapolis?  After some silence we started laughing – even after nearly 40 years in the business he was at temporary loss for that single short phrase that would fully describe what Kilroys is and what he does.… Read the rest

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“Instructograph” Morse Code Training Device

Posted on by by Posted in DIY, Restorations, Vintage
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Instructograph in Operation With A Railroad Telegraph Sounder

A Little History

The Instructograph is an early electromechanical playback device used for learning Continental or American Morse code. Several different models were manufactured by the Chicago-based Instructograph Co. from the 1920s all the way into the 1980s. Learning to receive code is generally a more difficult task than learning to send, and this portable device would allow the student to practice code recognition without the aid of an instructor or fellow student.

Tape Perforations Can be Seen Where Tape Loops Around Post

Tape Perforations Can be Seen Where Tape Loops Around Post

Reels of oil-impregnated paper tape perforated with dots and dashes were used to actuate a set of electrical contacts that would in turn operate an external railroad-type sounder, a buzzer or oscillator (for tone), or a light for optical communication. The earliest versions of the Instructograph used a wind-up phonograph motor with a variable speed governor to power the rotation of the tape reels.

Other than the mechanical motor, the only other elements in the device consisted of a set of contacts, a battery, and a rheostat to control the current to the sounder or buzzer.

Later versions used a variable speed electric motor for the tape drive, and some actually included an on-board electronic oscillator that would produce an adjustable audio tone.… Read the rest

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Restoration of a Berger “Chicago Ridge” Slot Machine

Posted on by by Posted in Coin-Op Machines, Restorations

Reconstruction of an 1897 Berger Basket Case

As Purchased

After Restoration

After Restoration

This was a fairly extensive restoration project that was completed in the mid 1980s. I had begun to write an article about it for one of the coin-op collector magazines of the time, but the magazine closed its doors before it was finished. I’ve probably forgotten a lot of details of the restoration, but that will help keep the story to a reasonable length. It was an interesting project because it went beyond the scope of a normal slot machine restoration and required the re-creation of many missing and broken parts. In the end it turned out to be a beautiful piece that is still part of my collection.

This restoration project predates digital photography, so the few pre-restoration pictures that I have were taken with a film camera and the prints scanned. The quality of the film images is poor, and I wish I had been more thoughtful about documenting things in the past. Thankfully I was able to retake all of the post-restoration photos (20 plus years later) with better lighting and a better camera.

I should note that the two framed cards above the handle appear to be some generic reprints and are probably not correct for this machine.… Read the rest

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