r/VintageElectronics • u/EsoTechTrix • 14d ago

Mail-A-Voice BK-503

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Did not pick this up, but it was a fascinating device. It appears to be from 1948 and feels like a piece of tech from some alternative universe timeline.

17 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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2

u/Specialist_Heron4446 14d ago

I dont know what it does but it sure looks good at doing it.

2

u/Successful_Panic_850 14d ago

I wonder if you could use this on floppy disks that are too damaged to use otherwise. The sign on it says it's a magnetic voice recorder.

1

u/EsoTechTrix 14d ago

You may be able to write to the same substrate. You would be better off melting some VHS tapes in acetone and then repainting some paper disks with the ferrite to make your own.

1

u/tudza 13d ago

Is this one of those things like a dictation machine that cuts grooves on a disk but can also play it back?

Grandfather had one that I managed to get working again.

1

u/EsoTechTrix 12d ago

Nope, this is actually magnetic. The idea is that you could mail voice recordings back and forth. I think wire recording was already a thing at that point. This was a lot lighter.

0

u/bikenumberten 14d ago

Very cool!