From capacitor input filters, wall-warts and bench power supplies, all electronic projects have one thing in common and that is they all require something to power them! A bench power supply is one of the most vital tools to have on your workbench as it just makes life simpler and prototyping much quicker.

A bench power supply with variable voltage, current limiting and dual positive and negative fixed voltage regulators is even more handy to have for electronics projects operation based on amplifier (op-amp) integrated circuits, testing the dropout voltage of a regulator, determining LED forward voltage and limiting the amp current so your project won't blow up into smithereens!

You can do cool things with bench power supplies like hooking them up in series or parallel to increase the voltage and current respectively. Depending on the model you want, you can pick up a basic linear bench power supply without any fancy features (like computer control) very affordably.

With that said, you can never beat the build quality and affordability of buying an old-school bench power supply like the +Hewlett-Packard 6236B triple output power supply, which has a switchable range on the voltmeter for low-voltage use.

While vintage power supplies are analog, you can always digitize very inexpensively an analog power supply by mounting a volt/amp meter panel. Here is an example of how an inexpensive volt meter panel is hooked up to a 50 year-old analog power supply:
Vintage stuff may not be everybody's cup of tea but one cannot really deny the cool factor of the analog power supply shown in the video above, not to mention the excellent build quality and cost savings of buying vintage power supplies. Besides, there is nothing like giving old stuff a new lease of life by injecting a touch of modern!
With that said, if you are a hobbyist who primarily works with 3.3 volts, 5 volts and 12 volts there is another power supply alternative you can consider and that is building your own bench power supply or buying an ATX breakout board.
Most computer power supply units (PSU) use the ATX motherboard configuration specification, which produce +3.3 V (orange cable), +5 V (red cable) and +12 V (yellow cable) outputs. By the way, the ATX stands for Advanced Technology eXtended and was developed by +Intel in the late 1990's.
Using an ATX breakout board is definitely the easiest way to convert an old computer power supply into a bench power supply as you won't have to fiddle around trying to find which wire is which. With an ATX breakout board, you will be able to use any ATX power supply you want without having to clip off the ATX power supply connector and ruin the ATX power supply for any other uses.

ATX breakout boards are easy to use and you simply insert the power connector from the computer power supply into the breakout board and you have yourself a variable voltage bench power supply in seconds. There are several ATX breakout board solutions out there and two that I like are the ATX breakout board from +Dangerous Prototypes and the ATX breakout board currently being funded on Kickstarter.
The ATX Breakout board on Kickstarter looks quite neat and it is compatible with 20 pin and 24 pin ATX power supplies and has other cool features such as 5Amp USB charging port and 4 pin connector to take advantage of the 12V CPU power for extra current output.

The ATX breakout board from Dangerous Prototypes also outputs 12V, 5V, and 3.3V but has -12 Volt output too, as well as screw banana terminals and separate LED indicator lights on each voltage channel so you know when each voltage is working and when there is a shortage.

As a hobbyist myself who enjoys hobby electronics, I can see the versatility of a bench power supply. You can use a bench power supply for anything from battery charging and powering projects to independently test components and doing small electronic repair of domestic appliances.

The Spartus Rocket camera was manufactured by the Herold product company in the early 1960's and it's a vintage camera most people probably won't remember but will instantly recognize because of its look. The Spartus Rocket camera was square in shape and had retro design lettering and a brushed metal cover. The Spartus Rocket camera had the look of a 1960's radio and featured a fixed focus lens, positive action shutter, and built-in optical view finder. The camera was made of Bakelite, which is a chemical compound used in the manufacturing of early plastic. With the Spartus Rocket camera you could capture as many as twelve exposures on standard 127 roll film, and you could somewhat carry it with you fairly easy given its relatively small size (it measures around 3 inches high, 3.5 inches wide and 2.5 inches thick).

Sony Mavica Floppy Disk Camera
A floppy disk camera? It's hard to imagine a world without flash memory but before USB ports existed, the only way to store images was on an internal 3½-inch floppy disk drive. The Sony Mavica MVC-FD7 floppy disk digital camera came out in the late 1990's and pretty much resembled a Sony camcorder of the time (it even uses the same battery!). This floppy disk camera came with 10X optical zoom and autofocus, and shot in 640 by 480. You could fit around 15 compressed images on one 1.44 MB floppy disk, though because of the compression the quality of the photographs wasn't as great as it could've been. Saying this, in the late 1990's the Sony Mavica floppy disk camera was a hugely popular high tech camera at the time because it allowed tape-less recording with a virtual screen.

Argus Lady Carefree
If you are not familiar with this camera, the name "Argus Lady Carefree" could be easily confused with a feminine hygiene product! What is interesting about this camera, besides the name, is that it was actually made by Balda-Werke in the late 1960's for Argus. The Argus Lady Carefree uses 126 film cartridges, which is now almost impossible to get and even if you do, it'll be pretty hard to find a photo lab that will process this type of film.

There is also a Japanese version that was made of this camera by the Japanese company Sedic Ltd. which sold it as the Argus Instant Load 146 X and the Astral S20 Electric Eye (this was the first Japanese camera to use the Magicube).

Beacon Two-twenty five
The Beacon Two-twenty five is another Bakelite camera that oozes retro blast from the past. This camera was made by Whitehouse Products Inc., between the early 1950's and late 1950's and featured a 70mm doublet lens, a single shutter speed of 1/50, 620 roll film and a f12.5 single aperture, though the early models had two apertures (a larger f12.5 aperture and a smaller f9.5 aperture). And just like the Imperial Savoy Box camera, you could also re-spool the Beacon Two-twenty five camera with 120 roll film since both 620 roll film and 120 roll film are identical.

Le Clic Disc Camera
While many have probably forgotten it, the "Le Clic" disc camera created somewhat of a revolution when it first came out in the mid 1980's...and I would know since I owned one too! The Le Clic camera was a very inexpensive, yet fashionable super slim pocket camera (about an inch thick). The Le Click camera utilized Disc film technology, had a built-in reusable flash and came in a variety of color accents and striking patterns to appeal the young generation.

After the Le Click craze died down, the Le Click cameras pretty much faded into obscurity, mostly because the film was too grainy, difficult to load, and the film processing was expensive not to mention that the Le Clic cameras were also expensive to run (you could only take about 10 pictures per disc film).

Imperial Savoy Box Camera
The Agfa ePhoto CL50 came out right before the turn of the century and looked very much like the Sanyo VPC-Z400. In fact, the Agfa ePhoto CL50 specifications are so identical to the Sanyo VPC-Z400 that one might think Sanyo made ​​the ePhoto CL50 camera. Saying this, the Agfa ePhoto CL50 camera is a real blast from the past because it was one of the first cameras to have a Suncatcher prism on the back which redirects sunlight to the LCD screen to power the backlight (hence saving on batteries). Also, the Agfa ePhoto CL50 had the look and feel of a regular point-and-shoot film camera, which at the time was so cool.

While I came of age during the digital age, I did grow up in the analog world of VCRs, bulky video cameras, mechanical typewriters and Kodak camera films! I'm a bit of a geek who likes to indulge in all things retro and find gratifying going to outdoor sales in search for old bits of clever technology that doesn't use computer controlled systems.

One of the first times I remember seeing a reel to reel machine was, funny enough, in a Knight Rider episode back in the 1990's...I just remember that hypnotic sound was so full and vibrant! I believe the reel to reel featuring on that episode was a Pioneer RT-909 so ever since I've been wanting to get my hands on one of them!

Unfortunately, I haven't been lucky to find that model but was lucky to find a classic Akai 1730d SS 4-track reel to reel tape recorder (with GX-heads), which can be used for playback or record as a "regular" 4-track 2-channel stereo mostly with combination for pre-recorded tapes.With the Akai 1730d SS model, I actually have the option to record only on one channel or on all channels at the same time, which is great!
What I find fascinating about reel to reel tape deck recorders is how the very first ones didn't actually use tape but wire. Another interesting fact is why tape is brown in color, and that's because the tape film is sealed in with magnetized iron oxide dust particles. So, as tape passes through the recording head, it gets magnetized according to the signal coming through the microphone (which acts as the transducer) converting that sound into an electric audio signal that is then amplified (via a pre-amp) and then printed to tape. That's basically how a classic reel to reel tape recorder works.

How to Thread A Reel To Reel Tape Deck

To thread a classic reel to reel tape recorder you simply thread the tape from the supply reel under the head cover, out between the capstan and the pinch roller, then over the guide roller switch (which engages the mechanism) and then wind the end of it on the take-up reel. The reel to reel tape deck can use different size reels such as metal NAB hubs (10.5 inches), 7-inch plastic reels and even smaller reels. The Akai 1730s SS model actually only takes 5 or 7-inch reels.

Classic reel to reel tape recorders vary slightly in designs but the main features are as follows:

• Reel-size button (to change from small to larger reels)
• Speed Tape (to adjust the speed of the tape). It's typically between 15 IPS and 7.5 IPS. Bear in mind though that a cassette deck tape moves at a speed  1.875 IPS (inches per second)!
• Capstan (controls the speed the tape goes through), 
• Pinch roller (engages with the capstan pinching the tape), 
• Guide roller (some reel to reel tape recorders such as the TEAC 3340S have two of these guide rollers)
• Supply reel and Take-up reel
• Index counter (to give you an idea where a track starts or ends)
• Rec, Stop and Pause buttons 
• Rewind, fast forward and play buttons
• Output level dials and input dials (for the mic and line level adjustment)
• RCA line inputs and outputs for connecting to a mixing console 
• Record mode switches (to switch recording between channels)
• Channel plugs for the mic level inputs (to plug in a standard SM59 mic you will need a XLR to quarter-inch adapter)

Studio monitor headphones are the perfect tool for sound monitoring and they can make you listen to music you never thought you would revisit!
Compared to most studio monitor headphones, the Brainwavz HM100 stand out from the crowd with their vintage look and huge earcups housing 52 mm dynamic drivers with 64 ohms rated impedance, making the Brainwavz HM100 medium/low impedance headphones.
If you are into everything retro, you will like the look of the Brainwavz HM100 polished wood finish, metal accents and leather-trims. The HM100 headphones are very retro and beautiful to look at.
The HM100 headphones are well put together without any components being out of alignment although the use of plastic material for the construction of parts of the headband and hinges lessens its overall premium build.
Fortunately, the Brainwavz HM100 do come with a hard shell zipper case with inner protective foam that securely shelters the HM100 headphones during transportation.
During normal use at home or in a studio, it's worth using a headphone hanger for temporary storing the HM100 headphones.
The Hengja headphone hanger pictured does not come included with the Brainwavz HM100 headphones but it makes for a great headphone accessory to have because it can be adjusted two ways.
You can have the Hengja headphone hanger adjusted horizontally on a desk and/or vertically on a bookshelf panel.
Considering the Hegja hanger relatively low price, the construction of the headphone hanger is excellent.
The Hengja headphone hanger is made entirely of metal. The bracket body and headphone support are made of black anodized aluminum while the securing screw bolt is made of silver anodized aluminum. The overall feel quality of the Hengja headphone hanger is premium and durable.
Adjusting the Hengja headphone hanger is easy too and done with the included allen key/screwdriver tool. The allen key side of the tool loosens the allen bolt screw that secures the bracket so you can adjust the hanger from landscape to portrait mode.
The screwdriver side of the tool allows you to screw and uncrew the retaining bolt that secures the Hengja headphone hanger to any surface.
It's nice that the inner side of one side of the bracket features a thin layer of foam for additional grip when the Hengja hanger is attached to a vertical surface.
Coming back to the Brainwavz HM100 headphones, the sound quality is excellent with a wide frequency response range (10 Hz ~ 40 KHz) and neutral sound signature so the HM100 headphones sound exactly like the signal fed into them.
Being closed-back, they don't leak out noise and provide superb isolation from the world around you so you can deeply immerse yourself into your music.
The earcups are oversized but you get excellent ear clearance for those with the largest of ears. You can swivel the earcups left and right and up and down.
The HM100 stock earpads are made comfy cushiony foam that is covered with real brown leather. The spare pair of black earpads are made of fabric material that look like velvet but it's in fact made of stretchy black velour knit fabric which is the same velour fabric used in photography backdrops.
It's nice that two sets of cabling are included. One cable is a 1.3-meter long detachable cable with color coded plugs and rubber sleeve, and the other cable is a 3-meter long detachable cable with braided sleeve and marked L and R plugs.
Being able to choose from two sets of cables means you can use the the shorter 1.3 meter long lead with a home Hifi setup and the longer 3 meter long lead for studio and DJ setting.

While the HM100 are almost on the scale of "high impedance" headphones, they only have a 64 ohms impedance rating which is relatively low impedance when compared to 300 ohm and 600 ohm studio monitor headphones.
High impedance headphones are great because they require less current so you can plug-in several 300ohm/600ohm headphones without overloading a multi-channel headphone amp and clipping the sound.
Because of the low impedance rating of the HM100 headphones, these headphones are more suited for tracking single sessions than for monitoring a recording with three or more musicians through a headphone monitor mix.
While the HM100 headphones are low impedance headphones they do have high sensitivity (96 dB +/-3dB at 1 mW) which is great because you can use a portable bluetooth headphone amp solution such as the BTR1k, ES100, and BTR3 to clear up the sound and boost the volume without distortions.
These headphone amplifiers (amps) mentioned are capable of driving up to 300ohm headphones; however with low impedance, low sensitivity headphones these headphone amps (and most amps really) would struggle so high sensitivity headphones (over 95dB) are always a plus.
As far as frequency response, the greater the frequency range the better the headphones are for studio monitoring. Most studio monitors can reproduce lows in the range of 10 Hz to highs in the range of 40 kHz. Buy it