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  1. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    It Finally Happened: Not One, but TWO Heart Attacks

    It's been a stressful year. My wife told me it was the Year of the Dragon. Lord have mercy! The Dragon's calling card came early on Dec 31, with a generator building fire. Being it was raining for 3 weeks straight, our solar panels weren't bringing in much power and I was running the generator...
  2. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    New Year's Eve Generator Fire

    This was a totally unexpected incident, as I had run this generator on 95°F days and no fires resulted. It's been raining all week and everything is wet and 35°F and the fire happened. Ran the generator for an hour (as usual) to bring the battery banks up (been raining for weeks on end here)...
  3. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    It Took Me 5-1/2 Years, But I Finally Got Live Streaming to Work on my Web Server

    I wanted to have my own live stream, where I didn't have to worry about being banned for 183 days just because some copyrighted material appeared on a TV in the background. So I researched it and found Doug Johnson's video on how to set up your own RTMP streaming server with nginx. My setup was...
  4. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    AI Voice Modeling (Deep Fakes)

    Lately, I've been exploring AI for both image creation, and more recently, voice cloning. My early work last summer was in replicating the early 1950s style of electronics documentaries. I trained a voice model based on an old GE announcer and made a new video shop tour with that voice and a...
  5. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Dishonesty in the Roof Coatings Industry

    In 2017, I finished a 14 year renovation of my roof (new joists included). I was looking into putting down a final top cover of EPDM rubber. Had one place lined up and a friend to help, but what killed the project is the roofing supplier said his boom truck operator was sick. After months of...
  6. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Gradually Going Off-Grid (Battery Backup and Solar)

    With electric bills approaching $800 monthly, and with the frequent long duration outages after a storm, I decided to supplement my generator with LifePo4 battery backup (starting out with 14kWh, 16 280 Ah cells) and a 6kW/18kW inverter so that we can keep the electricity on overnight when the...
  7. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Fumetsu no Anata e (To Your Eternity) Original Soundtracks 1 & 2

    December saw the release of the final disc in this set of three blu-ray + CD collection. The first two packages contain one BD and one CD, the third completed this 20 episode series with two BDs. There is an irony to this story... the first time I watched this series, I did not really notice...
  8. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    My God, What Did They Do to this Beautiful Music?

    Recently, I discovered some amazing music. It was part of a TV series soundtrack. I first heard the isolated soundtrack on Youtube and came to really appreciate the music. However, the audio sounded "grungy" and I figured that whomever uploaded it dirtied it up to try to fool the copyright...
  9. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    My Signal-Responsive Dynamic Bias for Vacuum Tube Amplifiers

    Recently, I was tasked with the complete re-design of a disaster of a DiY tube amp that a customer had brought me. It was built from organ parts. As such, the audio transformers were unsuitable for high fidelity service, the amp was cathode biased and the phase inverter was not balanced...
  10. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    DLNA Server and UDP-203: Navigation Changed and became too complex

    When I first set up my UDP-203 in April, and a DLNA server on one of the Linksys 3200ACM routers, navigating to "network" menu was simple and easy. I'd select Network and then my DLNA server would show up as a yellow penguin icon. I'd click that, and it'd got to the Media drive and I'd only have...
  11. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    UDP-203 Network File Tree Question

    When I first got my UDP-203, using the DLNA server built into my Linksys WRT3200ACM router, the server drive would show up as a Penguin icon similar to LINUX's icon and opening that would take me right to the media drive, very few nesting levels. Something happened after a couple of weeks in...
  12. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    HOW I GOT A $15,000 4k PROJECTOR FOR $6500

    I bought this B-stock Sony VPL VW765ES projector on eBay, originally for $7500, haggled down from the asking price of $9900. It was supposed to come with a new, spare bulb, as the projector was a store demo that had 2600 hours on it. When the projector shipped, the extra lamp didn’t come with...
  13. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Looking for 4K Version of Zektor MAS7.1 Switcher

    I've gotten myself a lucky great deal (1/2 retail) on a store demo VPL VW675-ES true 4K projector from Sony. I have a Oppo UDP-203 en route to me, arriving Wednesday. I've upgraded all my cables and put in a new HDMI 4K/60P switch for my two video editing workstations to drive the projector...
  14. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Audiophile Unfriendly New Neighbor Moved In Last Month, Calls the Cops on Me

    It is a terrible day in American history: The Great Bass Pig has had nasty neighbors move in within close proximity to his Lair. For fifty years, this desolate mountaintop spot was home to the Bass Pig's Lair. But this past summer, someone bought the forest across the road and started clearing...
  15. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Prospects for Decent DCI 4K HDR REC2020 Projectors Well Under $60,000?

    I wonder how long we'll have to wait before 4K becomes the new 1080P and 4K projectors drop to the current 1080 prices? Will 16K be mainstream by then? I've been researching decent 4K projectors for while now, as I'll soon need a means to show my 4K production work to clients on a big screen...
  16. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Cost to Ship My HT, Studio and Lab Gear to Japan?

    It's been impossible to find an example of someone moving a large sound system to Japan on the expat forums. Maybe some of the folks here have moved sound systems across national borders. I'm trying to get a ballpark estimate of what it costs to move about 1800lbs of speakers and 900lbs of...
  17. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Looking for an Attorney to Sue School District and DCF

    'Been a while since I've been able to focus on life. Our autistic daughter was the victim of a system that's overzealous about taking children away. She said something at school that got the DCF and the police involved. Yet, it was normal fare for her to spew gibberish. However, poor teacher...
  18. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Classic Automobiles in 4K (video)

    I shot some 4K video last weekend at an annual antique auto show in town. It was shot in DCI 4K and uploaded to Youtube. I used a baked in LUT and the images are pretty much unaltered from how they came out of the camera. https://youtu.be/YnJpYcmNd54 Be sure to choose 2160P if your connection...
  19. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Display Technology: Dynamic Range (We Need MUCH More!)

    I've been shooting high dynamic range DCI 4K content for a while and one of the frustrating issues that faces me is the fact that current displays only reproduce about half of the f-stop range that I can shoot. SpectraCal folks have an interesting discussion on how the display industry in...
  20. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    ANSI Lumens / Projector Calculator / Illogical Foot Lambert Readings

    I'm reading specs on various projectors and checking the predicted brightness on Projectorcentral.com's calculator. The problem is that higher lumens-rated projectors are coming back with much lower FL ratings on the calculator, for the same size screen, which defies logic. Brighter projector...
  21. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    My Latest Recording (May 3, 2014)

    Last Saturday, I was commissioned to make a recording of early period music. The works range from 9th to 15th century and include works by Abel, Binchois, Cima, Gibbons, Maurus, Schütz, Preaetorius and Rorem. Since this is a live sounding space, I wanted to avoid the pitfalls of using omni and...
  22. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Spring's Coming! Time for the Next B.A.S.S. Meetup! (Connecticut)

    It's coming up on that time again. What time, you ask? Time for the Third Annual Basspig Audiophile Society Social! The way events are going, I'm likely to settle on April 5, a Saturday, for the meet. Our usual starting time of 2PM is planned. Dinner and a buffet will be served upstairs, as...
  23. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    2nd Annual B.A.S.S. Meetup - Connecticut

    It's been a busy month in the shop, and I realized it's almost April!! Planning of the second B.A.S.S. meetup here at the Bass Pig's Lair is underway and we're floating Saturday April 13 as a possible date. I haven't even finished my OTL VT amplifier project yet, as I've not had time and I...
  24. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    The Next Annual B.A.S.S Meeting: Pick Your Own Date and Vote On It

    March 30, April 6, April 13.. these are the possible dates for the next Basspig Audiophile Society Social meeting. If anyone would like to see the legendary Bass Pig's Lair (sound system and theater/studio www.basspig.com) as well as a tour of our electronics shop with some neat seminars, please...
  25. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    What I've Seen in the Vintage Amp Repair Business

    It has been about a year now since I’ve opened the doors of my shop to the general public. In that year, I have seen an amazing range of different amplification devices. While about 70% of my work involves guitar amplifiers, I have also seen my share of audiophile equipment. Reel to reel...
  26. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    I've Started an Amplifier Repair Business

    For some time, I've been gently nudged into considering doing repairs and mods to amplifiers, ever since my Phase-Linear D-500 mods blog appeared on basspig.com. Things finally came to a head in February of this year. The video business never really got going and was dying away in exponential...
  27. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Client, Victim of Piracy, Asking for Copy Proof Video Online (including camcorder)

    I have a client who produces instructional videos, and due to his fame and demand for these videos, the traditional DVDs have been pirated and he stopped production this year upon discovery. This summer, his manager talked him into doing the videos again, but this time only releasing them...
  28. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Taking the OTL VT Concept to the Next Level: NO Transformers

    Back in the '60s, I built an OTL with 8020 triodes. It produced a modest 25 watts into 16? loads. After many years of tubes, then building the ultimate audio system over a 38 year period, I am back to tinkering for pure pleasure in the lab. So my fascination with OTL VT amps resurfaced after a...
  29. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    1st Annual Basspig Audiophile Society Meetup (Connecticut)

    Dear Friends and Colleagues, March 31st 2012 marks the very first meeting of the Basspig Audiophile Society. Venue: Theater with 12' AT screen and legendary 16,500 watt sound system Laboratory: The 'mad scientist's' lab, where I tweak, redesign, and sometimes repair audio gear. Equipped...
  30. Mark (Basspig) Weiss

    Ceramic vs. Polystyrene Capacitor Distortion Analysis

    This is some very interesting results that I obtained while testing capacitors in interstage op-amp circuits. I breadboarded a quad of inverting op-amp stages and intercoupled them with capacitors for this experiment. The first trace with the green callouts is four polystyrene capacitors...

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