0x168 - The OA (Semi-)Supercomputer/ The OA Recording Studio Redux

April 16, 2020

Well, my last attempt at a semi-regular home audio recording rig failed…and my regular laptop is on its last legs. Here’s my attempt at solving both issues at once.

0x169 - Ben's Junk: Sony SLO-325 Industrial Betamax

April 30, 2020

Time to take a bet(t)a look at the Archive’s first Betamax—from before the Archive even existed (in every sense).

0x170 - Ben's Junk: 1953 & 1956 Hoffman Television Catalogs

May 14, 2020

A genuine televisual feast.

0x171 - Ben's Junk: Tiger Quiz Wiz

May 28, 2020

Question #196.5: What is the Quiz Wiz lacking? Multiple Choice: A. An objective B. A reward C. Entertainment value D. All of the above

0x172 - Ben's Junk: First Alert FTR-960R Time-Lapse VCR (+ Time-Lapse Tape)

June 18, 2020

The Archive gets secure...or just paranoid.

0x173 - Archive Riffs: Moving Up To Amateur Radio

June 25, 2020

OA calling CQ, hopefully DX, lookin’ for the QT on the DL while TCB.

0x174 - Archive Thrifting #10: Before We Were SO Rudely Interrupted

July 2, 2020

Archive Thrifting is a magical tool of last resort…Why? Because it NEVER fails!

0x175 - Ben's Junk: Sony U-Matic & Industrial Betamax Wired Remotes

July 9, 2020

…or, Ben’s weirdest pet-project to date! (kerchunk)

0x176 - Archive Thrifting #11: This Can Not Be The Right Price Deal

July 23, 2020

0x177 - Ben's Junk: Pioneer RH-65 8-Track Deck

August 6, 2020

Meet the Archive’s new (to us) 8-track deck…

0x178 - Ben's Junk: Denon UD-M30 CD Receiver

August 13, 2020

A rare, intimate, bedroom edition of Ben’s Junk…

0x179 - Episode 200 Rebuttal & Deleted Scenes

August 27, 2020

Ok, time for my side of the story...

0x180 - Ben's Junk: JVC HR-S7600U S-VHS ET VCR (REVISITED)

September 24, 2020

Since I had S-VHS and VCR’s on the brain already (moreso than usual), it seemed like the right time to revisit one of the early, ultra-wonky Ben’s Junk topics.

0x181 - Ben's Junk: Buster Keaton Video Collection

October 8, 2020

October 4, 2020 marked the 125th anniversary of comedian/filmmaker Buster Keaton’s birth. Consider this the Archive’s (slightly belated and rambling) tribute to one of the greats…

0x182 - Archive Thrifting #12: (Not-So) Scary Deals

October 22, 2020

It’s the first Archive Thrifting Spooktacular! Strangely enough, it’s probably one of the least scary Thrifting episodes to date.

0x183 - Ben's Junk: (New) Polaroid 600 Film (& old camera(s))

November 5, 2020

You can keep your fancy digital cameras, thank you very much.

0x184 - Ben's Junk: (Some of) Ben's Audiocassette Collection

November 19, 2020

A slow-speed ramble for a slow-speed format.

0x185 - Ben's Junk: (New) Dubreq Stylophone

December 3, 2020

We be stylin’…stylus(in’), that is…y’all.

0x186 - Archive Thrifting #13: Deck The Hauls

December 17, 2020

Fillin’ up the ol’ one-horse open sleigh with…some junk.

0x187 - Ben's Junk: (some of) Ben's Vinyl Collection Vol. 2

January 28, 2021

Time to get back in the groove! (dodges tsunami of rotten produce)

0x188 - Ben's Junk: Sega Genesis Mini

February 11, 2021

Finishing up the trilogy of belatedly-acquired, nostalgically-motivated miniature video game consoles…

0x189 - Home Video Recording, 1972-Style (or, Ben's Complete U-Matic Rig)

February 25, 2021

Only about seven years in the making… With the occasional small liberty, a recreation of the first, commercially-available home videotape recording setup in North America. Depending on your perspective, it’s either hardcore or half-baked.

0x190 - Ben's Junk: Toshiba 20AF43 CRT TV

March 11, 2021

No one should ever get this excited over something this mundane… Or, this CRT is 20 AF…y’all.

0x191 - Archive Thrifting #14: (Non-)Luck of the (Non-)Irish

March 18, 2021

You’ll be green with envy over these finds…or not.

0x192 - Phonies (Answering Machine Greetings)

April 1, 2021

Just when you thought the Archive couldn’t get any more phake…

0x193 - Archive Riffs: A Taxing Set of Commercials (Tax Day Special)

April 15, 2021

It’s time to get down to business in Archiveland!

0x194 - Ben's Junk: GPX Digital TV Tuner + Recorder

April 29, 2021

Can a (relative) cheapie from Menard’s drag the Archive’s off-air recording capabilities (kicking and screaming) into the 21st century? Sort of…

0x195 - A Geeky Evening With Benny-Boy

May 13, 2021

A late-night, low-light, romantic fishing expedition with everybody’s favorite Oddity Archivist…fishing for ArchiveAnnex material, that is.

0x196 - Ben's Junk: ClonerAlliance Box Pro (Video Capture Device)

May 27, 2021

Could it be I’ve finally stumbled onto the rightful heir of the VCR? Looks like it…

0x197 - Ben's Junk: JVC HM-DH30000U & Mitsubishi HD-HS2000u D-VHS VCR's

June 10, 2021

A double-(4)-header of D-VHS (when possible) goodness!

0x198 - Episode 200 (Behind The Box) (Commentary)

June 17, 2021

If ever an OA episode needed a commentary track, it’s this one…

0x199 - Archive Thrifting #15: Out Of This World Deals

June 24, 2021

Featuring deals so far outta sight, they’re outta mind!

0x200 - Ben's Junk: Akai GX-220 Reel-To-Reel Audiotape Deck

July 8, 2021

Of course, I had to pick up a rare and unusual deck for a tape cleaning rig. Also, not to be confused with the Akai GX-220D.

0x201 - Ben's Casino Travelogue (Deleted Segment From How I Spent My Summer VIII)

July 29, 2021

The Archive delivers its first real travelogue…granted, it was all of a half-hour away from home, but still.

0x202 - Archive Thrifting #16: La Cage Aux Thrifting

August 5, 2021

Thrifting can be a real drag…but not when Ben’s around!

0x203 - VCR Cleaning (A Public Service Video)

August 19, 2021

A bit of VHSMR for everyone…

0x204 - Channel Update (9/2021) (Sony AV-2600 Update, Sencore VA62, etc.)

September 2, 2021

There’s plenty in the OA oven right now, just none of it is rising.

0x205 - VCR Rabbit Revisited

September 9, 2021

I got things just a hare wrong the first time around, so let’s hop to another round of tests…

0x206 - Ben's Junk: Video Store Regulars (& Memories)

September 23, 2021

Most people would rent a video once…Benny-boy was just insane enough to rent the same tapes over and over…then eventually buy them.

0x207 - Ben’s Junk: Wolverine Moviemaker Pro 8mm & Super8 Film Scanner

October 7, 2021

A half-hour Ben’s Junk? You might say the machine caused it to run reely long.

0x208 - Archive Thrifting #17: Spooktacular Savings

October 21, 2021

Get a witches shawl on and find a broomstick you can crawl on…and go thrifting with Benny-boy! (snap, snap)

0x209 - Ben's Junk: Sony Digital Mavica (Model MVC-FD73) (Floppy Disk Digital Camera from 1999)

November 4, 2021

Finally getting into this newfangled digital camera stuff…whatdaya mean you can’t get 3.5” floppies anymore?!?

0x210 - Ben's Junk: Coolmusic Ring Modulator (& other FX) ("Max Headroom" Hijacker Voice)

November 18, 2021

Does Ben really think he’s better than Chuck Swirsky? That freakin’ liberal…

0x211 - Ben's Junk: Christmas TV VHS & DVD's

December 2, 2021

‘Tis the season…for holiday specials. Here’s some of my favorites…

0x212 - Archive Thrifting #18: Shortwave Santa

December 16, 2021

Run, run Rudolph…towards another pile of junk!

0x213 - Ben's Junk: Keyfax Update/Pioneer GGF1381 Laserdisc Service Remote/Discovision Dead Sides Vol. 3

January 6, 2022

Going down a mental rabbit hole…in the most Archivian way possible.

0x214 - Ben's Junk: VuPoint Digital Video Converter (or, the circa 2010 YouTube video device)

January 20, 2022

Feeling nostalgic for those early YouTube potato video captures? I’ve got just the scratch for that itch…

0x215 - Ben's Junk: The Clapper

February 3, 2022

At long last, Ben’s Junk gets the clap…per.

0x216 - Laserdisc Laser Rot

February 17, 2022

A little mythbusting (and philosophizing)…OA style.

0x217 - Ben's Junk: Magnus Chord Organ

March 3, 2022

After last week’s video, I had to seek a 600-second miracle of my own. It seems to involve turning into a less-charming Daniel Johnston.

0x219 - Ben's Junk: Prog & Metal VHS, Beta & Laserdiscs

March 31, 2022

For those about to rock (in 11/4 time), we salute you…

0x220 - Ben's Junk: Newtek Calibar (A Pen-Sized Test Pattern Generator)

April 14, 2022

Ben recreates the best TV program of all time—the color bars!

0x221 - Ben's Junk: Hotronic AP41 (Frame Synchronizer & Time Base Corrector)

April 28, 2022

It takes a lot to keep Ben’s Junk together…‘cause Ben’s Junk ain’t no good when it’s distorted and out-of-sync.

0x222 - CD Frustrations & Easter Eggs

May 12, 2022

A casual chat…if only because the prospect of the sixth “Ben’s Junk” in a row was too much to bear.

0x223 - Ben's Junk: Sony CVM-51UW & Panasonic WV-BM990 CRT Monitors

June 2, 2022

CRT’s are for squares…which we proudly are.

0x224 - The Eraser Laserdisc Experiment

June 23, 2022

Tackling one of the great urban legends of the Laserdisc format. Are there any “good” copies of Eraser? And, no, I’m not referring to the film itself.

0x225 - Archive Thrifting #19: Radios, Radios

June 30, 2022

Got a new phone (not by choice)…which means a new camera…which means…test drive time!

0x226 - Archive Riffs: Hey, Stop That!

July 7, 2022

It’s a(n apparent) fine line between deep expressionism and wonky student film.

0x227 - Ben's Junk: Midland WR400 NOAA Weather Radio (& other Radio Ramblings)

July 14, 2022

Mother Nature: (throws flash floods, tornadoes, derechos and blizzards at Archive HQ) Ben: I get the hint already! Geez…

0x228 - Ben's Junk: Sony SRF-A100 AM/AM Stereo/FM Portable Radio

July 20, 2022

A truly nice little radio (especially on the AM front)…and a nice little prelude to the OA 10th Anniversary episode.

0x229 - Archive Thrifting #20: Fair(mont) (St.) Clouds over Mankato

July 28, 2022

Taken while shooting the AM Stereo episode. If nothing else, it was the least sticker-shock-intensive part of the trip.

0x230 - Ben Repairs: Radio Shack Executive Stress Eliminator

August 4, 2022

Testing out a potential, new occasionally recurring thing in which I undertake minor repairs on some item…and, as always, mock it a bit.

0x231 - Sony Videocorders Update (CV-2100 & AV-3600) (8/2022)

August 18, 2022

…and the single most challenging project I’ve ever taken on…continues to kick my butt. Share in the frustration, won’t you?

0x232 - Ben's Junk: Tyler Portable TV (model TTV701-7)

September 1, 2022

Hope you like fussy, fidgety, unintuitive setups…and 45-minute Ben’s Junks.

0x233 - Ben's Junk: Sears Whisper-Matic IV (& Victorian-Era Theater Slides)

September 15, 2022

Hey Buddy, wanna see some early 20th century movie theater slides? Didn’t think so.

0x234 - Ben's Junk: Ben's Blackhawk Films Collection (minus the videotapes)

September 22, 2022

…or, Ben gets nostalgic for other people’s nostalgia.

0x235 - Ben's Junk: Sony Trinitron PVM-1343MD (Professional Video Monitor)

October 6, 2022

A rather unprofessional look at a truly professional piece of gear. Such is the Archive… And, yes, “Junk” is used in the loosest way possible here.

0x236 - Archive Thrifting #21: We Already Have Halloween At Home

October 20, 2022

Mom, can we buy some Halloween? (see title for answer)

0x237 - Benny M.'s TV Party (Commentary)

October 24, 2022

I think I have some ‘splainin’ to do regarding this one. NOTE: I recorded this back in early June (2022) as a fail-safe in case the thrifting episode I was trying to make fell through. Some of the points discussed here are now outdated.

0x238 - Halloween Special 2022 Blooper Reel

November 3, 2022

…or, as some might call it, “Ben’s Final Descent Into Madness”.

0x239 - Ben's Junk: Telemeter Pay TV Box (Circa 1960)

November 17, 2022

It’s (apparently) a fine line between your TV and a taxi meter…

0x240 - Ben's Junk: Favorite (and/or Notable) Christmas Albums

December 1, 2022

Even old scrooge Benny-boy has those Christmas tunes that get his foot (arrhythmically) a-tappin’.

0x241 - Archive Thrifting #22: Christmas In Elbonia

December 15, 2022

The merriest* thrifting video of the year! *FACT CHECK: Mostly false.

0x242 - Archive Thrifting #23: Holiday Hangover

December 29, 2022

Old year, old junk. Poetic, ain’t it?

0x243 - Magna-Guard (or, Copy-Protection, Vol. 3)

January 5, 2023

And the quest for that form of copy protection that’ll make my VCR burst into flames continues…

0x244 - Ben's Junk: RCA BW003 (1978 Home Video Camera)

January 19, 2023

Please inspect Ben’s Junk for damage before use…and let it warm up for awhile…and don’t point it at anything bright for more than a second or two. You know what, forget it.

0x245 - Ben's Junk: Forbidden KLAK (via the Archer Multiple Video Distribution System)

February 2, 2023

You wanted more Oddity Archive…After Dark? Here ya go. Just don’t expect anything too hot.

0x246 - Ben's Junk: Realistic (Radio Shack) FM Wireless Lavalier Microphone System (Circa 1988)

February 23, 2023

For those looking to up their YouTube microphone game…had such a thing existed in 1988.

0x247 - Ben's Junk: (Some of) Ben's TV-on-DVD Collection

March 9, 2023

For how much TV I watched when I was younger, it’s a wonder my brains didn’t completely leak out of my ears. See the beginning of the de-evolution of Benny-boy here…

0x248 - Ben's Junk: Hitachi Visionbook Pro 7560 Laptop (or, My 1st, failed attempt at a Windows 98 Rig)

March 23, 2023

…because I MUST get my Diamond Rio loaded (ideally, with Diamond Rio songs)!

0x249 - Ben's Junk: Ben's Mad Magazine Stash

April 6, 2023

What—Me Ramble?

0x250 - Noelle's Mystery Tapes (& Channel Update - 4/2023)

April 20, 2023

Some like roses on a date, some like candy. Benny-boy likes uncatalogued analog magnetic media.

0x251 - Ben's Junk: 80's Music Videos (on Laserdisc)

May 4, 2023

Oddity Archive and MTV have a momentary cease-fire to appreciate some 80’s tuneage.

0x252 - Ben's Ugly A/V Rack

May 18, 2023

Hey! Nice rack, Benny-boy! (snicker)

0x253 - Betacam SP (1st Test...From A Newbie's Perspective)

May 22, 2023

A ferric-oxide (or metal, depending on the tape) baptism…by fire.

0x254 - Christmas Morning on a June Evening (or, Mail Day From Tyrone)

June 22, 2023

Hope you have your June tree up (ideally, something deciduous), 'cause we're about to celebrate Christmas in June.

0x255 - Archive Thrifting #24: The Delicate Sound of Thrifting

July 6, 2023

Some things don’t come easy…like the first thrifting video of 2023 (more than halfway into the year, no less).

0x256 - Ben's Junk: X-10 Videosender (another VCR Rabbit-esque device)

July 13, 2023

Coming right at the end of the usefulness for something like this. Let’s see if it’s too little, too late…or right on time.

0x257 - Revenge of the Sony AV-3600 Videocorder (1st Test)

July 20, 2023

Some people’s sinuses come back from Arizona…my AV-3600 came back from Arizona—arguably the same headache.

0x258 - Archive Thrifting #25: 3M (Moderate Minnesota Madness)

August 10, 2023

Celebrating the 25th OA Thrifting video by doing one in Minnesohta, doan ‘cha know?

0x259 - Fix It or Forget It? (NEC S-VHS Deck)

August 10, 2023

It’s everybody’s favorite new (not quite) nerdy game show…Fix It or Forget It!!!

0x260 - Ben's Junk: 1966 (partial) Zenith Phonevision Pay TV Box

August 24, 2023

The Archive phones it in…phoneVISION, that is.

0x261 - Ben's Junk: SelecTV Pay TV Box

September 7, 2023

Oddity Archive®: Only for the most SelecTiVe viewers!

0x262 - Ben's Junk: ClonerAlliance ViewLite AV (Video Capture Device)

September 21, 2023

A little device with a lot of potential…but does it live up to it?

0x263 - Ben's Junk: Sears Du-All Eight (8mm Viewer/Editor)

October 5, 2023

Well, it does du all, I’ll give it that…

0x264 - Archive Thrifting #26: Indian Summer

October 12, 2023

Dragging out the Summer a little longer…whether you like it or not.

0x265 - Ben's Junk: Sharp VL-E47 "Viewcam" (Video8 Camcorder, circa 1995)

November 30, 2023

Oddity Archive®: Now in glorious Hi-Fi Mono!

0x266 - Archive Thrifting #28: Scandalous Santa

December 14, 2023

Just hear those cash tills jing-a-ling’—ring-ting-tinga-ling…

0x267 - Archive Thrifting #29 (Christmas Leftovers)

December 28, 2023

From that part of the Archive that’s a bit like that old take-out in the back of your fridge…that you forgot about.

0x268 - Ben's Junk: Ben's Rifftrax DVD & Blu-Ray Collection

January 4, 2024

Looking at the Rifftrax collection…with only minimal snark…which may very well go against the laws of riff comedy.