The Secret Life of the Radio - Remastered
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- Опубліковано 1 чер 2021
- I've been in my workshop making things ever since, and the covid lockdown was the perfect time to make some new videos, trying to pass on some of what I've learnt. So if you're interested do try my new 'Secret Life of Components'
These old films were remastered and upscaled by Norman Margolus from a 1987 PAL tape made directly from the 16mm print, using machine learning software from Topaz labs. Commentary added in Feb 2021.
View all 18 episodes of the series and read about their background on my website:
www.timhunkin.com/a243_Secret...
The videos are also here @ / timhunkin1 - Розваги
Tim, that synchronised ladder slide is one of the greatest moments in television history.
Yes i always liked that.
I thought that too thirty years ago.
Following the ladder slide I love the way Rex just works off in the background as if it's all part of a normal day. Brilliant...
That followed by complete nonchalance. I didn't know I needed this in my life.
and knowing this series it was probably a one take job!
I don't think Tim realises how many people were influenced by his and Rex's series. It would be good if you could make a video about the filming, locations, inspirations, what went wrong, things you would have done in a third series, etc. Fingers crossed and thumbs up if you'd love it for Tim to do this.
Very true
I couldn't agree more!
I don’t think giving him assignments really shows much appreciation.
Much underrated ladder stunt at the beginning!
I was so thrilled when I learnt how to do this.
@@TomOConnor-BlobOpera aha, how? I expect to break my ankle first try.
@@MaximilianonMars start low, and practice.
@@MaximilianonMars you need boots that have the right shape sole, too.
I loved that as a kid. I never got to try it though as my dad only had a wooden ladder.
"You breaka my plates, I smasha you face" Words to live by.
That line has never failed to make me laugh! XD
Gold, I tell ya. My wife's Italian. I gotta show her that.
Memology before meming memery
One of the greatest lines ever broadcast on television. :o)
@@atari2600b This is why we can't have nice things... 😏
How appropriate to have Rex demonstrating the Rexophone!
That was funny.
Rex and his Rexophone
I think it's called the Rexophone cos Rex made it.
I always thought that was incredible and they make NO mention of it other than saying the name.
I’ve been a lifelong tinkerer, and this series was one big reasons I got started
Is every episode as entertainting as this? It is presented in such a lovely way.
Oh my god, Rex built Brum? I never got the chance to see secret life as a kid but this is a surprising connection.
Yeah crazy. R.I.P. Rex.
Is Brum the radio controlled car?
Never knew Brum. Looked it up and I can't believe this is a 1990s show. This radio talk sounds more 80's to me.
@@pdsnpsnldlqnop3330 Narrated by Toyah Wilcox. Her first TV break.
How she got the gig is a mystery though! 😆
Now that is useful to know! I'll look it up and binge on it.
(I guess you know Toyah and Robert's Sunday Lunch?)
Rex will forever be the Ultimate 80s Man. The Celica pickup, the ultralight and the matching jacket.
Yeah! That notchback pickup conversion is awesome.
What have we done to deserve 3 episodes in like 1 week?... wow. Thank you to your friend Norman who is working so hard on these remasters.
This episode has always stuck with me since I first watched it 20 odd years ago. I'm pretty sure this is a big part of why I'm a radio technician. Fantastically informative video Tim!
One of my favorite parts of this series is the friendship, ease, and cooperation between Tim and Rex, sad he didn’t have a greater presence on screen. Both hosts are excellent with an endearing energy about them.
A miracle.. in this modern digital world I still love humble radio...😊
"once the tuned transmitter was perfected, spark transmitters were quickly banned for polluting the airwaves" immediately reminded me of the Titanic. Supposedly, the Titanic Marconi operators were warned several times about icebergs but they didn't get the message because of the interference of all of the other spark transmitters & they were also busy sending & receiving the passengers' trivial messages. Love your work Mr. Hunkin!
The enthusiasm of the chap in the wireless museum is utterly infectious
mental RF history.
Big hugz from Fukuoka Japan.
The dancing radios at the end were the perfect capper!
This airing when I was a child (and the TV one) led me to a life of tinkering, fixing, building, and experimenting. Thank you for making these, and for revisiting the genre with your new components series. -A life long fan.
Although, as you say, podcasts pass down fibre optic cables, probably they mostly arrive on the final laptop or phone via Wifi or 4G. Many will reach the speakers or earplugs with Bluetooth.
Still on copper DSL where i am.... not one update living rural... 1.5 mps is it on the ground.... still very spotty cell coverage none on my still dirt road. Lot of sat dishe systems.
Indeed, albeit highly encoded and compressed. We use radio more than ever, but it's more inscrutable than ever as well. It's supposed that, if aliens (within 50ly or so) ever detect any radio signals from our direction, it will be only a narrow (less than a century) window in which we used powerful carrier based broadcasts. Modern encodings are only the power needed to reach the target audience; DTV required about a tenth the power analog TV used to, yet offers about as many times more bandwidth (or sub-channels, of low definition, per transmitter). Truly a modern marvel -- but little more than noise on the spectrum, undetectable at a distance.
@@T3sl4 big issue i have with the DTv i get less stations then the Analog days. Being rural they dont come through year round. Weather and trees play a big issue now. I have the largest roof top antena made, rotor and signal booster. Still can pull in all the network stations like the anolag days.... I have gone around and round with the FCC and the local stations about the problem. Crazy how technology goes backwards it seams if your outside a city.
@@Wrang15 Yep, the downside to the method is, below a certain SNR, there's just nothing to work with (even if you know how to decode it).
But at least you've got internet, right? (Unless you're in one of the many areas neglected for broadband...smh)
@@T3sl4 its one meg dsl. That runs sub 500 kbs a lot of the time. They are not adding new customers at least. They have a wating list. Should get intresting 70 new homes are going up and not a thing from the one ISP we have. Township allready put pressure on them and was told o well.
I stumbled across these videos yesterday while researching the history and technology of the fax and I’ve since been binging! I wasn’t alive when these episodes were recorded but they are honestly fascinating to me. Why don’t we produce these scientific yet casually comedic documentaries anymore? “They don’t make ‘em like they used to!”
Tim, you’ve made an outstanding contribution to education, and I’m delighted you’ve restored these to their glory on UA-cam. May they long live on as so their value is priceless, both looking at them from a point of historical reference but also as a nod to a format of production that seemingly no longer exists.
Podcast on mobile phone is still the same on the analog frontend. But goes through many layers.
So the magic of Marconi and others is still there 😀
I remember taking one of our two accumulators down to the corner shop to get it recharged on a Friday afternoon in the early 1950s. We had no electricity but the shop was on the edge of a (then) new estate and had electricity.
I have always loved radio. When I was little I would get electronics kits from Radio Shack and make radio transmitters and receivers, and later when I learn electronics tech skills the first thing I learned to troubleshoot was an AM radio with discrete components. And sometimes I still scan the shortwave dial (although SW stations have gotten scarce these days). Radio is magic, and unlike the internet, there is almost no way anyone can track what you choose to listen to.
Thanks from north east Tennessee, Washington Co. US
It brought a smile to my face to see Rex using the Rexophone. I'm rediscovering this after having watched it as a kid. I definitely didn't pick up on things like that back then, so all the better for enjoying the series again!
This is my favourite episode of this series. It's probably because I've been into electronics for over 40 years and fondly remember the "magic" of the first time I listened to radio on a battery less circuit I wired on my 75 in 1 electronic kit I had gotten for Christmas. I recently bought an actual piece of galena so I could build a "real" crystal radio, I've always felt that using a diode is cheating somehow, not that it stopped me.
Wow did he make brum! Loved it when I was a child. They also aired it in the netherlands.
It aired in Sweden too, it's by far the most memorable show from my childhood, it's a small world I guess
Thank you so much for these videos. I had forgotten that TV doesn't have to be unremittingly awful. Isn't it refreshing to watch a television programme that is interesting and educational, doesn't treat you like an idiot, contains more than three sentences per hour and is presented by a normal person who doesn't speak to you as if they are talking to a child.
Seeing this program when it was originally broadcast in the US in the 1980s is one of the reasons I became an amateur radio operator. Thanks for putting these on UA-cam. 73 - Best regards.
I too have fond memories of seeing this show in the United States in the 1980’s. I was always sad there were not more episodes in the series. It’s was brilliantly put together. Entertaining while being highly educational. Tim and Rexs inventions and explanations were always fun and Tim’s cartoons were amusing. This series is in a class by itself.
25:05 I love the radio-controlled radios dancing about at the end!
Just out of the blue I thought about this tv series a few days ago and it was 2 videos on before I saw it and recognized it. I love this series and the basic honesty of the presenters makes the whole thing work. The first one I saw was about the fax machine. I've been hooked ever since...
Tim, many thanks for this informative video. I don't think we have ever met, but I had the great fortune to meet Rex Garrod several times when I worked in Suffolk as a "Rural Business Adviser" for a very archaic organisation with the grand title CoSIRA, the Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas. Amazingly set up at the behest of Lloyd George! Rex as you know so well was an amazing guy, who not only tolerated my lack of practical business experience but took delight in showing many of his latest amazing creations with gusto! I was so privileged to meet him. Kind regards and best wishes for 2024. Malcolm Perrins
Aha! Finally we discover what that massive variable capacitor is for!
As a young boy when this was aired along with other episodes TV ect, it inspired me. I built a Cats whisker, Built various receivers, listened to Shortwave broadcasts, Radio Hams etc, took exams in electronics, took my Radio Ham Test inc Morse. I have worked in "Radiotherapy Physics" for 20 odd years, Thank you for the inspiration Tim.
Tim, what a fantastic program. I’m in Australia and have been fascinated by radio since I was a baby! I am an amateur radio operator now and work as a radio broadcaster on a commercial FM station. I started off doing pirate radio as a teen and loved broadcasting to my neighbours, in the end I realised I loved being on air - the magic of talking into a microphone on a small room and being heard miles away (or in the case of amateur radio - overseas!) still blows me away today. Radio is a huge part of my life. Radio is “magic” and your program highlighted this to me yet again. Thanks so much for uploading this wonderful program. Craig Meddings - Geelong, Victoria, Australia VK3CRG
When I was 12 years old (1980), I also read, leaned and tried to assembly the AM radio receiver from electronics column of science magazine in Thailand "CHIAYAPRUAK WITTAYASART" that was so amazing. The circuit uses 7 germanium transistors, IF Boxes and output transformer for amplifier that were pretty cool in that time. I turned it on every day after back from school and before bed, until it was completely malfunction.
Today, I have just seen this video, and thankful Tim who brought me back in time of originated radio. I am so sorry Mr. Armstrong who created the better radio quality signal to the world until now.
This is the first time I'm seeing this series, thank you for sharing Tim.
These older, instructional videos and films are still very relevant and well anchored in historical accuracy and useful explanations.
Just wanted to say thank you.. thank you for making brilliant TV.. this particular episode really caught my attention as a young man when first shown..
This was my favorite series when I was in high school. I looked forward to every episode. Ah but the days where television actually contained quality content like this is but a fond memory.
This is yet another invention that has moved on in technological terms. I love this series and it’s sad to see the content of its programming become historical building blocks of technological history. It makes me feel old....
P.S. RIP Rex it’s a shame you are not with us.
P.P.S. I need to get down to London to get to your Arcade Tim, it looks fantastic fun.
I am old enough to remember when people listened to radio. People had stations they liked. It does seem to be an era that has come and gone now. Really the media did it to itself. So many commercials. I get that you have to make money. I think they may have gotten too greedy though. Plus we do have all the alternatives today. Back in the 70s what else was around?
I’m a little confused by your statement. AM and FM radio still exist with a massive listening audience on a daily basis. The principles of radio transmission and reception form the basis of television, WiFI, mobile phones, etc. Radio is everywhere.
@@paulpalinkas Particularly in automobiles and jobsites, where it is still incredibly popular. And in the US/Canada, analogue radio still reigns supreme. I hope digital radio never catches on here; it would be amazing if antique radios still worked 50 years from now. It's such a simple technology that it seems there is nothing to be gained from switching to digital broadcasts.
@@paulpalinkas I was thinking the same thing. Radio, AM and FM, analog, is still huge, especially for news and talk shows. Not as big in music, maybe, but still huge. Satellite radio couldn't kill it even.
@Paul Palinkas Absolutely, those 'building blocks' are in more devices now than ever!
I remember some of these episodes. It's great to see them agan.
This and the electric light episode were my favorites as a kid. Thank you for taking the time to re-master these and make them available.
There is a bunch of "magic" in the radio business still. Even if you know how it all works, yet it is so wonderful to hear. I completely agree that any truly ingenious idea has some magic in itself -- a magical spark of a bright mind.
Still a bit of magic when I hear programs from far away and when I get via the modern internet video reports from people listening to my transmissions at the other end of the world 😮 It became common to reach the world online yes, but thinking that's without cable.
True analog is never going away - it simply can't be replaced. Big radar installations still use tubes (thermionic valves), and every single person has at least one tube in their home - the humble microwave.
Also, if you connect to the internet via a starlink satellite - you are again listening to sounds coming through the air - space, even!
Well said :^)
@@user-io4sr7vg1v it cracks me up when I see rabbit ears sold as 'digital TV antennas'
Such wonderful work, transmogrified by the disfiguration of Take 5 into the even-beat of reggae.
Now we have the Steady Crafting youtube channel to tuck us in, but these are classics. Your watch show was on time..
"Hello, and welcome to the Crafsman show. My name is your host... The Crafsman!"
I have most of this episodes recorded on vhs from tv. one of my all-time favorite show.
Thanks Tim, that was awesome, yoy have just wet my appetite even more for Radio. I have been a Shortwave listener since buying mt 1st Worldband Radio in 1990. 73 de ZS5DG in South Africa.
Love each and every episode of this Incredible series, loved it as a child and I still do , Now seeing the Remastered series it's almost like seeing this for the first time
Thank you Tim and Rex for your work in production of this most entertaining and educational series ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🎬❤
Still plenty of radio, just higher and higher capacity and shorter and shorter distances. I’m sure you listen to your podcasts - or watch UA-cam on your phone or pad, using WiFi at home or 4G (or 5G) when you’re out and about! Radio definitely still has a role to play.
I hate wireless. Never use the rubbish!
@@1pcfred Invisible demons! It's the work of the devil I tell you!!
@@TheOtherBill it could be. Wired works better for me.
At 24:12, Tim picks up an ICF-SW1s, a tiny little wonder manufactured by Sony which I happen to have. Excellent video. I also think radio is magic. Thank you Tim.
Mr. Hunkin, thanks for sharing this. I really miss this high-quality television programs today.
Unfortunately I didn't saw this program on the TV, just found this on UA-cam.
I discovered the magic of the radio when I was a child, and later got my license as a HAM radio operator, and still interested today. Greetings from the Netherlands and take care.
I'm a bit awed by the RC car at 10:55, the protocol he used to drive it is crazy. Shifting a specific pulse in a sequence forward or reverse in time. True analog radio control. You'd definitely have to have programming to deal with reception flukes on the business end. But if you only had 30 axes (or bools) to transmit, at a 1MHz pulse train, it would update every 31us with some sort of frame header.
That bloke in the white coat could have had his own TV show; what a natural. Reminds me of Photonicinduction the way he speakssss.
I loved watching this back in the 80's. Tim was a big influence on me and I've carried a lot of his stuff in my head for 40 years. Nice one Tim!
28:13 "I was left wondering if there wasn't a way of creating energy out of these great voltage differences" - you and Tesla both, I believe! I think that there probably is a source of free, clean energy - but those who have discovered and patented it have unfortunately often come to a sticky end. The Why Files recently did a video about this subject, it is literally deadly serious. There is just too much money and power tied up in the oil business for any free, clean and sustainable energies to be allowed to come into common usage. That is borderline evil, when you think of all the pollution it causes and the terrible impact on the environment burning all those fossil fuels has. Sorry for the doom and gloom - wonderful programme, as ever, a treat to watch and very informative.
This Series is truly awesome!
simply brilliant programmes.thank you tim,
I really enjoyed this episode, this made me interested in radio.
Wow! Thanks. Reminds me that I really have to get my antenna back up. Her in the Us I've been interested in the evolution of radio for many decades but I've never heard of this series.
From these YT uploads, I’ve made VHS video copies of the whole series..
I watch them on a 1980’s portable C.R.T. Television..
I’m not a “Hipster”, but at 64 my eyes are to old to watch anything in HD..😳
The demonstration of the large metal ring with the spark gap at the beginning shows how the modern "magnetic loop" antennas work; by converting the electro-magnetic waves in the air to an electrical signal that the radio can convert into an audio current to operate the speaker diaphragm.
Thank you so much for this. I remember watching these over 30 years ago, and they were one of the reasons I did an engineering degree!
I feel incredibly low at the moment . Watching this old series is helping me alot . Everything in the modern world seems to be pushing some kind of agenda or selling something or trying to brainwash people. We live in a sneaky , dark, evil world. These videos with tim is as innocently pure as it gets. Some people you can just tell are good, kind people with pure hearts, Tims one . I cant tell you how much i appriciate it at this point in my life
Man, Rex was such a cool dude!
Rex lived life full tilt.
And that's why the semiconductor diode was revolutionary: it only allows electrons to flow in one direction AND it's tiny. The crystal-whisker component is a diode.
Loved the huge tunning capacitor!
I loved this episode. I watched it many times. Rex’s ladder slide at the beginning and the way he climbed the ladder is great. Alas I learned Gerry wells died in 2014. Apparently he made over 130 wooden replicas a the ekco AD65 round radio. His house is now a museum.
Gerry’s description of early radio listening is a wonderful segment in this film.
I vividly remember watching this series back in the day when I was a kid… sooo awesome
Oh Howard ! My hero !
Hi Tim. I'm 59 years old and I been watching you for year and year's. Fabulous your still uploading and I love catching up on all you taught me all those years ago. Thank you Tim. Your Fabulous and I love watching. Regards from me in Lowestoft.
Hi Tim, I just wanted to tell you that I absolutely LOVED watching The Secret Life of Machines with my dad when I was a kid! Your explanations, and custom props, and of course the original artwork are the BEST. I'm in the USA, but I don't remember what channel had your show here back then. After finding these on UA-cam, I remembered every single one! Just like back in the day, I can watch them over and over. I was very excited to see that you're still doing videos. Even though I'd really like to see some more cartoons in the new videos, I can't stop watching them! I love making and repairing mechanical devices, including cars, and the info is invaluable. I saw the videos showing the arcade, and I am hoping there are some more detailed videos showing all the machines you've made. I haven't got a chance to watch all the videos yet, and I don't think I'll have a chance to stop by the arcade in person (although I definitely will, when this C***D mess is completely over). I always liked your unique style of machines that were always featured on Secret Life. I really would travel to the UK just to see your arcade. Anyway, HUGE fan, thanks for everything you've done, and for the evenings I looked forward to when I was a kid, watching you and Rex (SOOO sad to hear about Rex) with my dad, who has since passed. Keep up the great work! Oh, and I could literally watch an entire video about how you got everything working in just one of your arcade machines. Maybe that could be a series! That would be seriously cool!
I just want to say thank you for making these available. I'm a tinkerer and engineer in my mid thirties and I attribute a lot of that to watching wonderful programs like this in my youth. Finding a "New" example really brings out positive nostalgia.
Miss you rex, and your badass personalized car
Yes people are listening to podcasts etc. but they are doing it over their mobile phones, so it's still broadcast by radio. The amazing part is that this is gets better audio quality than FM and every listener is getting their own personal broadcast! It even uses less battery than a DAB radio. Digital switchover will end up being mobile broadband rather than nasty old DAB.
Mobile broadband is a paid service. Radio (AM, FM or DAB) is free, so it will most likely remain popular, though, of course, I cannot be certain of it.
@@Pentium100MHz most people have a large internet allowance these days.
Never had a mobile phone. Never will. I'm not Dick Tracy.
@@pklongutoobe Well, I can play music on my phone, but it's low quality. To get higher quality, I would have to connect the phone to a proper amplifier and speakers (in car or at home) using a cable or bluetooth.
Now my phone became part of my audio gear. If I want to call somebody or go somewhere taking the phone (but still having music in the room for other people there) or whatever, I have to mess with it, then mess with it again to resume the music.
It would be more convenient to have a separate device that plays music, while I use my phone for other things. However, that device would need its own mobile internet subscription, which costs money. Thankfully, FM radio provides high enough quality for free.
A bitrate of 300 kbp/s or greater is necessary for DAB to match FM performance, I call DAB radio a failure.
14:46 this gave me anxiety for a second, I thought he‘ll turn up the volume of the entire broadcast 😅
That's the monitor 😁
@@Audion i know 😂
Just brilliant.😀👍
And nowadays all the things he mentioned that radio got integrated into have also gone the way of the dodo, now that we all listen on our Smartphones, Tablets, etc. But somehow, radio stations themselves are still around. 🎶Radio, what's new? Radio, someone still loves you!🎶 😊
Thanks again for the remastered version and all you have done for the world
I love the Extra Bits after the end of the episodes. Thank you Mr. Hunkin!
Probably most viewers are watching this via a wireless connection to the Internet, be it wifi, cellular, or satellite. Radio keeps evolving.
… great to see Gerry Wells at 17:18 - my hero! …
R.I.P. Gerry, although I'm glad the Radio Museum is still running - an incredible endeavour!
Also, Rex had a plane???
This is the second time I watch this video after decades.
It's timeless.
Thank you
All this aired before my time, but im sure glad to be watching it now
Thumbs up when you are an eighties or nineties kid and started smiling while seeing Brum 😊
I loved this series, another series I loved was "The Day the Universe Changed" narrated by James Burke.
Both these series delved into the history and the people behind our advances in technology with humor.
It was unfortunate to lose Rex so soon, Tim's recent series always has "In Memory" to Rex in the closing credits.
Wonderful stuff. Thanks Tim and Rex. I'm 65 now and still live your programmes. I remember taking the accumulator to the chemist - and now I have a podcast :-), oh, and I worked in TV for over a decade too. I no longer teach, but I'd start with the Motor and go on to chatGPT in the first lesson these days.
Thank you for making these videos available and now remastered, I watched these as a kid on Discovery Channel, very educational. I remembered clearly the opening/ending music "Take Five" but didn't know the name of the music until later. These bring back memories.
Great episode (as they all were)! Thanks for remastering it for modern tv. Easily one of my Top 10 favorite TV series of all-time!
OMG, that ladder slide!
Amazingly good teaching
I've often thought of the irony of the radio era (of home entertainment at least) being supplanted by internet traffic carried over copper phone lines invented before radio itself and the extra irony of installing a little domestic radio network in your home to carry that signal the final few feet!
15:15 - the excitement of watching people listening to the radio... on a silent movie with subtitles :-D
I did taste a bit of irony there.
tim hunkin is a superbe! his knowledge and unique form of presentation makes the wonder all around us more comprehensible in an engaging way - thank you for tim for your wonderful shows! ⚡🙏✨
Absolutely outstanding Tim, thanks for sharing 👍
Thim hunks : the old school.. Thaink you from morocco 🇲🇦
Oi moi8, I saw a marathon of your series on The Discovery Channel (US) 20 years ago. At first I was frightened by the stop motion. & Then I was confused. Why was I learning things so fast? Then I slowly became angry. American television was all a snake oil salesman's lies. Since I've binged so many British documentaries that I now point out to Brits all the gags they're doing in throwback sketches because THEY'VE never watched The Ascent of Man. So thanks brih. You've changed my life.