5:05 - As soon as you said "Let me show you what happens when I switch it off" the power in my apartment building shut off momentarily. This device apparently has powers beyond all human comprehension!
That reminds me of an old joke by stand up comic, Steven Wright. _“In my house there's this light switch that doesn't do anything. Every so often I would flick it on and off just to check. Yesterday, I got a call from a woman in Madagascar. She said, 'Cut it out.'”_
delighted by how much of the j-pop from the e-kara machine i knew. you're right on the money with the music sounding like tracker music - the sound patches are just a stock set licensed from roland, the same stuff that's on their sound canvas boxes
I've seen a very similar device to the first one in action before, the basic idea is it calculates a score by how well your voice is staying in rhythm with the song.
Makes sense. Nowadays you can see it in tv shows where this score is employed. Also, the DAM website had it, too. Best part in those shows is when they have the actual singer doing their song and only getting 80 out of a 100 points. lol
I only learned a couple weeks ago that current Karaoke tech is crazy gamified, with leaderboards and rankings. Always had the impression it was just a salaryman serenading a bar not a video game, but it also makes total sense given the popularity of rhythm games.
@@treelineresearch3387 oh, the bar singing still exists too. But the much bigger and more normal situation is to have a huge place that only does karaoke. It’s well shown in Lost in Translation. You go there even with who company groups. That machine will have been placed in what is called a snack I guess. A small bar with a small karaoke machine where this meter will have been placed at the wall as an additional feature.
@@otherSmallCities Yeah I watched a "what is karaoke anyway" type video on here about the big karaoke complexes because I'm going there in the fall and was curious if it offered anything to a solo traveler. I'll probably try it, even better if I can find a native or two that wants to go.
12:52 That's the Mini-Moni! A sub-group of Morning Musume with 4 members smaller than 1m50 (hence the Mini ) singing children songs about cakes, cell phones, and other meaningless stuff. The meme "dramatic prairie dog" comes from one of their show (just look for "dramatic prairie dog original").
All of those JPop carts are from the period when I first started getting into the genre, and yes, Judy And Mary is phenomenal -- highly recommended. But your journey through those carts was very nostalgic for me, as I recognized a lot of songs I haven't heard in years. And I always love seeing Hello! Project stuff pop up in unexpected videos, lol!
To drill out those types of lock you first need to centrally drill a small pilot hole all of the way through the lock followed up by a 7mm drill then listen for the lever of the lock falling off the back of the lock mechanism.
What I noticed was those ring keys are standard keys, they're not security keys at least in this country. Commercial washing machines use these standard keys for parts that need to be serviced not for keeping money safe. There should be a different sort of key at the bottom where the coins actually fall. The key for the service area should be a standard one anyone can buy. The key for the actual coin box should be as custom as a house key, not one you can get off a shelf to open it.
@@joshuascholar3220 What country are you speaking of? In the USA, it's very common for vending machines (including laundry machines) to use these tubular locks on the cash box. They don't all have the same bitting on the key, though. Like most house keys, the blanks are readily available and not controlled.
@@ThetaReactor I am talking about the US. I guess laundry equipment are different from vending machines. In laundry I've seen 3 keys, 777, 888 and whatever GE uses.
Check the chips by the LED grouping that is not working properly. They're most likely shift registers. Could be as simple as corrosion on the pins or a trace. When you put pressure in a certain area, the faulty ones lit up so it's most likely a simple fix.
Electronics Engineer: The electronics are probably looking for the coin mechanism output to be active for an exact amount of time, so only the right weight coin triggers it. That's what that springy thing is for, to slow down the coin enough that it can use the time to determine the mass.
Yeah, the wire coil would be to detect if it's got the correct magnetic content too. He looks like he's got the standard 'Sakura' 100 yen coins rather than any special collector's edition and they apparently haven't changed since 1967, so in theory unless the mechanism is really sensitive or broken they should work.
The coil will be used to determine the magnetic signature of the coin. I worked with Mars coin systems in the 1980s 90s. It doesn't have a return mechanism so if you put the wrong coin in, it would be tough luck, and you lose it unless the owner was kind enough to open the box.
Yeah, I heard the coin mass was extremely tuned in these machines, as far as I know also to make machines not accept tokens that are otherwise right size - or if you were running such an establishment, reverse could be done I assume? Where you would tune the machine coin mechanism to accept tokens but not real money makes customers happy. I am always fascinated and appreciative of mechanical solutions in devices. Everything being computerized becomes tad boring these days.
My ears immediately pricked up when I heard the tune playing at 16:56 One I've not heard for at least 20 years, back when I had a Japanese pen pal, (more like e-mail pal), who sent me a cassette tape full of J-Pop tunes. And, one of them was 100 kai no KISS by Aya Matsuura!
@@linalmeemow She was one of a number of, 'idols', of the period, I believe. I did look up a few videos of hers, and sure enough, she definitely fitted into the category that appealed to young teenage girls at the time, no doubt. Somewhat infantilised with a squeaky, childlike voice. Luckily, the tape I had also had more grown-up sounding artists on it, which were more my style.
this is what modern day archeology ought to be interested in frankly. there's no one else even digitizing the existence of these types of gizmos that i'm aware of, of course this type of technology seems to have the almost existential cutthroat understanding that it will be forgotten, but it's far too interesting for that honestly
The MAME guys are very interested in that sort of thing, even emulating the thing so it gets truly preserved Mamehaze has some videos on his channel documenting the e-Kara core for MAME and what's missing for it to work perfectly
I was sure his would be the top comment under the video, talking of how he would have used x or y tool for 5 seconds to get it open (twice, so we can see it was not a fluke)
Alright guys, we have six months to organize a campaign to get Techmoan to release a "Fankastic Beats Body Body Rock It" single and we all buy a copy to make it this year's Christmas #1.
Ha, as soon as you said "Takara" I thought "Huh, I wonder if Hasbro sold a version of that over here?" Hasbro and Takara go way back--the first generation of Transformers toys, for example, were resold Takara products. And then, lo and behold, there it was. :)
Thanks Matt.. a great video as ever. It’s not so much the quality of the tech, but the way that you present it that keeps me looking forward to Saturday mornings.
Did a bit of digging it’s scoring system from what I can work out it works on pitch and tempo and gives you a score and you can win songs (x amount of songs for 100 yen) come across a few Versions one with a roulette type display
I recall the Xavix system when I lived in Japan in 2004. They had demo setups at many electronics stores. The biggest selling point was a DDR like mat for exercise games.
Also, if you want the songs on the e-kara cartridges identified (for... some reason), I'm more than willing to help! 49 has songs by the band Judy and Mary, 45 has songs by the band Mr. Children (none of whom are children) and G-16 has songs by the group Minimoni, who were aimed at children. The others are compilations by various artists who were popular at the time. By the way, the first song you played was 100kai no KISS by Matsuura Aya :)
That is a coin comparator, You need to find a coin of that era in most cases. it checks the magnetic field of the coin to a know coin. So if the metal content of the coin or size etc. has changed from the time that coin comparator was programed. You might have a problem. It is done so people are not dropping washers into the unit for a free be ext. Normally the flop part is to keep people from doing the old cartoon string on a coin trick and pulling the coin out of the machine after credit as been given. Granted I work on US slot machines and pinball machines, but this is the basics of how they work in the US on a gambling device.
You described the older machines as being MIDI based, this handheld one is clearly MIDI based as well. It's using a simple GM midi soundset like the old Roland Canvases, but more akin to Window's built in GM soundset. Which is crap.
I don't think mod tracker music in itself has inheritly bad sound, as early "Unreal" / "Unreal Tournament" series games in 1990s had it and they were amasing.
There is two kinds of people: Those who don't watch a karaoke Techmoan video, and those who get amused by dry bloke dryly not-even-singing to karaoke backing. A skit you can repeat as much as Monty Python's parrot shop.
speaking of the parrot shop sketch is very apt for the 1st one: this karaoke machine is no more, it has ceased to be, it's gone to meet its maker. This is an ex karaoke machine
As someone from that era, I am pretty sure that karaoke mic uses an FM chip, not samples, to generate the sounds, like an Ad-lib or first generation Soundblaster PC-cards (The latter also had single-channel digital sound). Amiga tracker music COULD use pretty high-quality samples, though most did not. MIDI is just a format to record/ transmit music notation, it depends on the device replaying it how good it sounds. Despite the poor sound quality, I am impressed with how much functionaltity there is in such a small device.
The scoring system is fascinating - I would try a bunch of different dip switch settings and see if you can stumble across a freeplay setting. There’s no way it could accurately score singing accuracy though. It must be just for laughs or some way to covertly gamble.
Two of those 7 cartridges have Steps singles on, and neither single even charted in the US, so I suspect those cartridges are actually being squarely aimed at the UK, but were just in an era when a lot of the music in the UK charts happened to be by US artists anyway.
I'm from the states and only found out about Steps a couple years ago. My thought was maybe these were released both here and in the UK and they wanted to split the difference. I wonder if there are any tracks on here that a UK listener would think unusual?
Steps had a little bit of success in the US. 5,6,7,8 was a hit over there and they opened for Britney Spears on her first tour. Granted, they were label mates, but still. Anyway, since he bought the device from Japan, my main point is that Steps were much more successful in Japan and Australia (where I’m from). Or it could be a cheap licensing thing. “These guys make pop music that tweens like, shove them on it.”
Item one is definitely a karaoke scoring machine as it comes up as a "採点機" (scoring machine) on searches. Unfortunately there's not much information on this particular box on the Japanese internet either. I would guess it's using fairly simple audio circuits to compare the signal from the music to the voice and score how close they are. Modern karaoke machines still have a similar feature but they're built into the system and obviously provide a much more advanced analysis.
Korg and Yamaha were making professional devices and those would've been at the cutting edge of general midi. The e-kara is very much a toy... and the licenses to those sound banks or the dedicated chips to utilize them were probably kinda absurd to avoid a cheaper product competing with their higher tier products, but yeah that hardware probably just had way less memory/capability dedicated to audio built in. Basically enough appropriate for simple plug n play games but adapted for karaoke. Pretty phoned in, but probably just economically couldn't exist in any different form without being limited to professional use and professional cost.
18:55 I think it’s using the same technology the SNES was using called wavetable and FM synthesis, probably the Yamaha YMF278 now here instead of the Sony SPC700 in the console. The drum sounds remember me of the PSS Keyboard Series. Samples operate at 12 Bit - hence the muffled sounds.
I suspect that 12-bit shouldn't (in theory) actually be all *that* bad, since I've heard that 14-bit was considered acceptable for professional use in the early days of digital recording. Even some of the better 8-bit samplers could sound quite good using techniques to get round the resolution limitations. Then again, this thing isn't a remotely professional piece of equipment, and I can believe they cut every corner they could!
I was thinking the same. As an electronic musician, it hurts me when people say MIDI to refer to a type of sound as it's just a control mechanism. It's like saying books that are written on a computer are different to books written on a typewriter. Similarly, Trackers are just using a different control mechanism. Virtually all modern music is done using MIDI - it's just that it's controlling powerful VSTs and external synthesisers instead of cheap soundcards. But there's been high quality music that's been written on Trackers, you just need to connect them to high end synths instead of things like Amigas...
@@deanolium Well yes and no. While Midi is the most common protocol, there's also still cv/gate for analog synths. Also most audio interfaces were never controlled by midi at all (maybe the high end stuff with integrated DSPs). What you are probably referring to is driver access to embedded fm sound chips on sound cards, which was heavily used by games (famously known ad Sound Blaster Standard). Today standard midi cabling has been mostly replaces by usb, because it's easier than dealing with channel configuration and additional power supplies for many devices. Also I've noticd that some Behringer devices seem to have stripped parts of the Midi protocol implementation (e.g. program change on Midi Thru).
That fist song where you complain that you can't read the Japanese lyrics. That's Aya Matsuura's 100kai no Kiss. I went through a bit of a j-pop phase in the early 2000s and was a fan. I think I have a CD with that on it. Odd to see that song pop up so many years later.
15:42 Back in high school in the 1980s I did lighting and sound work, and we always rented a huge sound system for our christmas assemblies. One year the rental system included a decent effects rack, and one of its digital processors had an effect called Berge Bundles, basically a high quality version of this. You just triggered some great memories...
As crappy as the Takara device is, it's actually not a bad representation of the real karaoke experience back in 2002. I spent many a night in karaoke booths in Tokyo around that time and quite honestly they looked and sounded not much better than this.
This was like a "Mat's Greatest Hits" video. First device doesn't work, can't be fixed, and even if you do, you have no idea what it does. The second does work, but you'd frankly wish it hadn't. Then - Karaoke. The perfect Techmoan video! You go dude!
Just a thought... How old is the machine and the coins you are using? If Japan has changed the metal content if the coins and the machine is old then the coin slot mechanism may not detect the new coins. This has always been a problem with coin detecting systems and countries would often give coin operated machine owners time to upgrade their machines before introducing new coins. However the economics of upgrading m/cs doesn't always work out and some aren't upgraded. An upgrade maybe simply reprogramming the chip on that Asashi Seiko slot unit. Alternatively find some old coins if that is the issue. Btw the LED on the slot unit may be just detecting a coin has been inserted, not that it's a valid coin.
@@frankcooke1692 Yes. The more parameters that can be checked the more accurate they are, but then cost goes up, so it will depend on the cost of goods or services being sold as to what level of checking takes place and other economic factors. The automatic teller machines that banks use, use weight to count coins. But then that isn't really checking for authenticity. I believe small cameras can be used these days.
The 100 yen hasn't changed for a very long time. The oldest one I've got is marked 昭和42 - so 1967 in the western calendar, and that's the same size, weight and composition as the current ones.
I know you already drilled out the tube lock out, but in the future you can open a tube lock by using a softer-body plastic pen. You just remove the ink cartridge so that you're left with a hollow plastic tube. take a pair of pliers and widen the open end of the pen body by inserting the closed pliers head into the body until it fits around the center cylinder of the tube lock. then press the pen body repeatedly into the lock while gently rotating it in the direction the lock would rotate (most likely clockwise). Eventually the pins will force the shape of the key into the pen body and make it into a makeshift key. For legal reasons, I should state that this ONLY WORKS on tube locks that you legitimately own.
Mmmm, that Ad-Lib sound (did they splurge for a real OPL2 chip?). 20:30 That's "The Starry Sky", which was used as the ending for the anime _Angelic Layer._ One of my favourite ending themes in fact.
That 2nd device at 16:49 has a menu input sound that seems to be the exact same as the Discord Notification sound. Thought I was going mental for a bit
I had one of those ekara TV devices when i was a kid! You just unlocked a core memory of us screaming childish obscenities into the tv with the voice filters. 😂
Because it used GBA like cartridges, and the graphics do look like what the GBA would produce, and guys from Nintendo were involved in this, I wonder if that microphone was actually a GBA but repurposed as a karaoke system. He mentioned that the cartridges had their own processor in them enabling enhanced graphics later on, but this might have been a coprocessor kind of like the Super NES Super FX chips. If the cartridges are electrically comparable with regular GBA cartridges, I wonder what would happen if you inserted an ordinary GBA game?
Mr. Children and Judy and Mary where (and are) super hyper popular. My wife is a huge Judy and Mary fan and whenever we went to Karaoke, that sure came on :D
I certainly appreciate your ability to laugh at yourself and continue on. We seem to have lost that in many places of the world, not limited to the USA. I appreciated the effort that went into this video. Thank you for uploading and sharing.
those tubular keys are generally standardized with relatively few different sets of teeth, odds are you could find one that works just by buying a random handful
Man I remember when Techmoan claimed he didn't know much about repairing. Now he's becoming a full fledged electronics technician with every video. It's inspiring really.
You said they looked similar to GBA cartridges and that music is exactly like something you'd hear on the GBA. I suppose there are limitations to cartridge based music from the 2000s.
I did a video review and took apart the English version of this mic on my channel! The English version looks cheaper than the Japanese one but it has built-in songs in addition of taking cartridges! I got it for AU$ 7 from a thrift store.
There is a part of me that wants to crawl around that first device with an oscilloscope, and there is another part of me that wants to remain at least somewhat sane. Also, not trying to hit the Take On Me high note is simply criminal! The people deserve to hear that note!
I am watching this late at night and the unexpected Jabba the Hut Karaoke cameo at the end caused a spontaneous belly laugh so loud that I woke the whole house. Thanks a lot. 😅
I gotta admit, my eyes were glazing over on this one. I get the tech issues; the instant translator feature is interesting, but all else is just rot for me. That said, its still a thumbs up from me as I respect your efforts.
The first few coins dropped in changed the number on the broken display. My guess is that it's storing credits and its credit counter is maxed out so it keeps ignoring additional coins. And the battery isn't dead enough so it keeps the credits after power up.
For a man that doesn't like karoke , Mat has quite alot of Karoke machines by now.
Maybe he's trying to remove them from society?
We're up all night to get lucky!
@@jimbles5071I'm not
How many have english lyrics?
He's up all night to get lucky, not to sing karaoke
5:05 - As soon as you said "Let me show you what happens when I switch it off" the power in my apartment building shut off momentarily. This device apparently has powers beyond all human comprehension!
That reminds me of an old joke by stand up comic, Steven Wright.
_“In my house there's this light switch that doesn't do anything. Every so often I would flick it on and off just to check. Yesterday, I got a call from a woman in Madagascar. She said, 'Cut it out.'”_
That device looked like if you sang well enough into it it would dispense a packet of cigarettes.
Or something for the weekend.
Damn, it does. Is it the color?
And the second one looks like it should be shaving his beard.
yakuza side mission
thanks for the giggle xD
E-kara never released it's 90's gangsta rap cart to appeal to Techmoan which is a missed opportunity.
Lets be Thankful for that
Now I wanna hear Techmoan karaoke Wu Tang clans "shame on a wigga" with terrible midi BGM
They were very short-sighted. No thought for long-term applications of this technology. Disappointing.
You should send it to Techmoan. I hear he's into this kind of thing.
+10 points for mentioning trackers on the Amiga
Who?
Never heard of her.
@@monotonehell But is sounds nothing like tracker. More like AdLib.
Big Clive!
delighted by how much of the j-pop from the e-kara machine i knew. you're right on the money with the music sounding like tracker music - the sound patches are just a stock set licensed from roland, the same stuff that's on their sound canvas boxes
My wife is Japanese, I recognise many of those track names, they were very popular tracks some time between 1990 and 2006
Even if you don't get everything working, the content you make in the videos you produce are still fun to watch. Thank you for uploading it
Any content is good content when it comes to a Techmoan video! :)
Agreed! And the pun at the end was a cherry on top
totally I always enjoy techmoan
"Never have so many owed so much to so few" - Winston Churchill
"I've never spent more time doing less" - Techmoan
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
"I'll take it!"
That MIDI render of "Take On Me" hurts my heart. I can't imagine Norway's favorite musicians would be too happy with it either.
Think of how much it hurt when that MIDI was played through a Soundblaster 16 clone in a Packard Bell PC. Yikes!
A1's cover version wasn't much better.
norway: *sad honking noises*
I've seen a very similar device to the first one in action before, the basic idea is it calculates a score by how well your voice is staying in rhythm with the song.
Ok, that makes sense. I was wondering what it could possibly do.
Makes sense. Nowadays you can see it in tv shows where this score is employed.
Also, the DAM website had it, too.
Best part in those shows is when they have the actual singer doing their song and only getting 80 out of a 100 points. lol
I only learned a couple weeks ago that current Karaoke tech is crazy gamified, with leaderboards and rankings. Always had the impression it was just a salaryman serenading a bar not a video game, but it also makes total sense given the popularity of rhythm games.
@@treelineresearch3387 oh, the bar singing still exists too. But the much bigger and more normal situation is to have a huge place that only does karaoke. It’s well shown in Lost in Translation. You go there even with who company groups.
That machine will have been placed in what is called a snack I guess. A small bar with a small karaoke machine where this meter will have been placed at the wall as an additional feature.
@@otherSmallCities Yeah I watched a "what is karaoke anyway" type video on here about the big karaoke complexes because I'm going there in the fall and was curious if it offered anything to a solo traveler. I'll probably try it, even better if I can find a native or two that wants to go.
12:52 That's the Mini-Moni! A sub-group of Morning Musume with 4 members smaller than 1m50 (hence the Mini ) singing children songs about cakes, cell phones, and other meaningless stuff. The meme "dramatic prairie dog" comes from one of their show (just look for "dramatic prairie dog original").
utterly fantastic, no notes. 10/10
Yes, that was fankastic beats
All of those JPop carts are from the period when I first started getting into the genre, and yes, Judy And Mary is phenomenal -- highly recommended. But your journey through those carts was very nostalgic for me, as I recognized a lot of songs I haven't heard in years. And I always love seeing Hello! Project stuff pop up in unexpected videos, lol!
SAME lol I was like oh my God I see so many great Morning Musume songs on there. I saw one of my all time faves, Do It! Now!
To drill out those types of lock you first need to centrally drill a small pilot hole all of the way through the lock followed up by a 7mm drill then listen for the lever of the lock falling off the back of the lock mechanism.
What I noticed was those ring keys are standard keys, they're not security keys at least in this country.
Commercial washing machines use these standard keys for parts that need to be serviced not for keeping money safe. There should be a different sort of key at the bottom where the coins actually fall.
The key for the service area should be a standard one anyone can buy.
The key for the actual coin box should be as custom as a house key, not one you can get off a shelf to open it.
@@joshuascholar3220 What country are you speaking of? In the USA, it's very common for vending machines (including laundry machines) to use these tubular locks on the cash box. They don't all have the same bitting on the key, though. Like most house keys, the blanks are readily available and not controlled.
@@ThetaReactor I am talking about the US. I guess laundry equipment are different from vending machines. In laundry I've seen 3 keys, 777, 888 and whatever GE uses.
Check the chips by the LED grouping that is not working properly. They're most likely shift registers. Could be as simple as corrosion on the pins or a trace. When you put pressure in a certain area, the faulty ones lit up so it's most likely a simple fix.
That could be but the leaked battery does not instill any optimism in me
@@jwhite5008 Not sure if it leaked or not, he said rusted whereas an actual leak usually does far more damage than that.
@@alexatkin I guess you're probably right. although that sort-of depends on the battery type and board manufacturing process
Electronics Engineer: The electronics are probably looking for the coin mechanism output to be active for an exact amount of time, so only the right weight coin triggers it. That's what that springy thing is for, to slow down the coin enough that it can use the time to determine the mass.
Yeah, the wire coil would be to detect if it's got the correct magnetic content too. He looks like he's got the standard 'Sakura' 100 yen coins rather than any special collector's edition and they apparently haven't changed since 1967, so in theory unless the mechanism is really sensitive or broken they should work.
he was using a bag of 100¥ coins though? unless i am misunderstanding
Or not
The coil will be used to determine the magnetic signature of the coin.
I worked with Mars coin systems in the 1980s 90s.
It doesn't have a return mechanism so if you put the wrong coin in, it would be tough luck, and you lose it unless the owner was kind enough to open the box.
Yeah, I heard the coin mass was extremely tuned in these machines, as far as I know also to make machines not accept tokens that are otherwise right size - or if you were running such an establishment, reverse could be done I assume? Where you would tune the machine coin mechanism to accept tokens but not real money makes customers happy.
I am always fascinated and appreciative of mechanical solutions in devices. Everything being computerized becomes tad boring these days.
My ears immediately pricked up when I heard the tune playing at 16:56 One I've not heard for at least 20 years, back when I had a Japanese pen pal, (more like e-mail pal), who sent me a cassette tape full of J-Pop tunes. And, one of them was 100 kai no KISS by Aya Matsuura!
Ayaya! She was everywhere when I moved to Japan 22 years ago -the musical equivalent of giving a 7 year-old a big bag of speed, if I remember right.
@@linalmeemow She was one of a number of, 'idols', of the period, I believe. I did look up a few videos of hers, and sure enough, she definitely fitted into the category that appealed to young teenage girls at the time, no doubt. Somewhat infantilised with a squeaky, childlike voice. Luckily, the tape I had also had more grown-up sounding artists on it, which were more my style.
I think we'd all welcome a whole video of just Techmoan helium karaoke.
It's a foolproof way of never getting a content match that's for sure.
They see me rolling.
They hating.
Patrolling me. Trying to catch me riding dirty.
'Techmoan trying to do karaoke' is my new favourite segment on this channel.
It could be an evolution of the retired muppet segments. Mat ends up doing karaoke at a pub at the end of a video singing a summary of his experience.
I 100% shouted MINIMONI and MORNING MUSUME when he showed the cartridge lol
this is what modern day archeology ought to be interested in frankly. there's no one else even digitizing the existence of these types of gizmos that i'm aware of, of course this type of technology seems to have the almost existential cutthroat understanding that it will be forgotten, but it's far too interesting for that honestly
The MAME guys are very interested in that sort of thing, even emulating the thing so it gets truly preserved
Mamehaze has some videos on his channel documenting the e-Kara core for MAME and what's missing for it to work perfectly
spotted ayumi hamasaki on some of those karaoke cartridges!! really happy to see her here haha
The world needs a Techmoan album right now.
I think there is some TH-cam-poop where he sends his album to the 8-bit-guy.
@@Shilorius I need this! ))
@@badger_grol I think the video is called "Techmoan annoys the 8-Bit Guy"
Just like it needs Whoflu v2.0! The World will pass on this generous offer kthxbye!
Another winner! I love having lunch and watching our man Mat fiddle with old tech. What more could one ask for? 😸
I am sure @lockpickinglawyer is weeping about that lock removal technique!
A ruddy big drill on one...
@lockpickinglawyer's inbox must be flooded with "Have you seen this?" by now
I'm sure LPL sells a pick for that sort of lock.
And 30 seconds after I put the comment Techmoan mentions the lockpick kit! 😂
Omg I just said that lol you are right! I think he chose the Big Clive way of getting into electronics 😂
I was sure his would be the top comment under the video, talking of how he would have used x or y tool for 5 seconds to get it open (twice, so we can see it was not a fluke)
I was waiting for a shepherd's crook to come in from the side and drag you off screen!
Alright guys, we have six months to organize a campaign to get Techmoan to release a "Fankastic Beats Body Body Rock It" single and we all buy a copy to make it this year's Christmas #1.
Ha, as soon as you said "Takara" I thought "Huh, I wonder if Hasbro sold a version of that over here?" Hasbro and Takara go way back--the first generation of Transformers toys, for example, were resold Takara products. And then, lo and behold, there it was. :)
Sadly, Hasbro is now just reselling failure and shame.
Beyblade is probably the only other notable Takara/Hasbro partnership these days aside from Transformers 😅
19:06 Hikaru Utada's "Distance" makes it onto this channel yet again ;)
0:51 "Can you figure out what it is?" 100% it's either karaoke or pachinko.
or both
@@docwhogr Kachinko also known as Japanese Fentanyl.
This.
@@tarnvedra9952karichinko w/ slimy beans
Pachioke
Thanks Matt.. a great video as ever. It’s not so much the quality of the tech, but the way that you present it that keeps me looking forward to Saturday mornings.
Did a bit of digging it’s scoring system from what I can work out it works on pitch and tempo and gives you a score and you can win songs (x amount of songs for 100 yen) come across a few Versions one with a roulette type display
I recall the Xavix system when I lived in Japan in 2004. They had demo setups at many electronics stores. The biggest selling point was a DDR like mat for exercise games.
Also, if you want the songs on the e-kara cartridges identified (for... some reason), I'm more than willing to help! 49 has songs by the band Judy and Mary, 45 has songs by the band Mr. Children (none of whom are children) and G-16 has songs by the group Minimoni, who were aimed at children. The others are compilations by various artists who were popular at the time.
By the way, the first song you played was 100kai no KISS by Matsuura Aya :)
That is a coin comparator, You need to find a coin of that era in most cases. it checks the magnetic field of the coin to a know coin. So if the metal content of the coin or size etc. has changed from the time that coin comparator was programed. You might have a problem. It is done so people are not dropping washers into the unit for a free be ext. Normally the flop part is to keep people from doing the old cartoon string on a coin trick and pulling the coin out of the machine after credit as been given. Granted I work on US slot machines and pinball machines, but this is the basics of how they work in the US on a gambling device.
you should've sing "Daisy, Daisy Give me your answer, do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you" with that extra low voice
'I'm sorry @MRooodddvvv , I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission, and I want to help you', probably.
AS my wife's grandma would have said "Lovely tone dear" - she was VERY deaf!
By any chance, was she a relative of the Bei Fong family? 😂
You described the older machines as being MIDI based, this handheld one is clearly MIDI based as well. It's using a simple GM midi soundset like the old Roland Canvases, but more akin to Window's built in GM soundset. Which is crap.
I don't think mod tracker music in itself has inheritly bad sound, as early "Unreal" / "Unreal Tournament" series games in 1990s had it and they were amasing.
I think they're likely just MIDI as well, but with a very poor synthesis chip.
There is two kinds of people: Those who don't watch a karaoke Techmoan video, and those who get amused by dry bloke dryly not-even-singing to karaoke backing. A skit you can repeat as much as Monty Python's parrot shop.
He's not dry, he's pining for Akihabara.
@@andreasu.3546 I never wanted to be a karaoke singer; I wanted to be a lumberjack.
@@MarkTheMorose You'd be OK, you could sing Karaoke all night and work all day (edit: got the lyrics the wrong way round)
@@andreasu.3546 it's ok as long as he can wear suspenders and a bra just like his dear Mama he'll be fine
speaking of the parrot shop sketch is very apt for the 1st one: this karaoke machine is no more, it has ceased to be, it's gone to meet its maker. This is an ex karaoke machine
If this is a disappointing and mediocre video , then every other similar TH-camr content creator should hang up their hat !
Loved this 😎
As someone from that era, I am pretty sure that karaoke mic uses an FM chip, not samples, to generate the sounds, like an Ad-lib or first generation Soundblaster PC-cards (The latter also had single-channel digital sound). Amiga tracker music COULD use pretty high-quality samples, though most did not. MIDI is just a format to record/ transmit music notation, it depends on the device replaying it how good it sounds. Despite the poor sound quality, I am impressed with how much functionaltity there is in such a small device.
Hearing a Stevie Wonder song with a guttural metalcore vocal can now be checked off on my bucket list.
The scoring system is fascinating - I would try a bunch of different dip switch settings and see if you can stumble across a freeplay setting. There’s no way it could accurately score singing accuracy though. It must be just for laughs or some way to covertly gamble.
Two of those 7 cartridges have Steps singles on, and neither single even charted in the US, so I suspect those cartridges are actually being squarely aimed at the UK, but were just in an era when a lot of the music in the UK charts happened to be by US artists anyway.
I'm from the states and only found out about Steps a couple years ago. My thought was maybe these were released both here and in the UK and they wanted to split the difference. I wonder if there are any tracks on here that a UK listener would think unusual?
Steps had a little bit of success in the US. 5,6,7,8 was a hit over there and they opened for Britney Spears on her first tour. Granted, they were label mates, but still. Anyway, since he bought the device from Japan, my main point is that Steps were much more successful in Japan and Australia (where I’m from). Or it could be a cheap licensing thing. “These guys make pop music that tweens like, shove them on it.”
Item one is definitely a karaoke scoring machine as it comes up as a "採点機" (scoring machine) on searches. Unfortunately there's not much information on this particular box on the Japanese internet either. I would guess it's using fairly simple audio circuits to compare the signal from the music to the voice and score how close they are. Modern karaoke machines still have a similar feature but they're built into the system and obviously provide a much more advanced analysis.
1 - Thank you really fun.
2 - Somewhere out there LPL is twitching
3 - Japan lives 10 years ahead of us.
Korg and Yamaha were making professional devices and those would've been at the cutting edge of general midi. The e-kara is very much a toy... and the licenses to those sound banks or the dedicated chips to utilize them were probably kinda absurd to avoid a cheaper product competing with their higher tier products, but yeah that hardware probably just had way less memory/capability dedicated to audio built in. Basically enough appropriate for simple plug n play games but adapted for karaoke. Pretty phoned in, but probably just economically couldn't exist in any different form without being limited to professional use and professional cost.
18:55 I think it’s using the same technology the SNES was using called wavetable and FM synthesis, probably the Yamaha YMF278 now here instead of the Sony SPC700 in the console. The drum sounds remember me of the PSS Keyboard Series. Samples operate at 12 Bit - hence the muffled sounds.
I suspect that 12-bit shouldn't (in theory) actually be all *that* bad, since I've heard that 14-bit was considered acceptable for professional use in the early days of digital recording.
Even some of the better 8-bit samplers could sound quite good using techniques to get round the resolution limitations. Then again, this thing isn't a remotely professional piece of equipment, and I can believe they cut every corner they could!
@@NotATube I’ve got a Kawai R-50 drum machine which’s also uses 12-Bit samples. I love that gritty sound.
I was thinking the same. As an electronic musician, it hurts me when people say MIDI to refer to a type of sound as it's just a control mechanism. It's like saying books that are written on a computer are different to books written on a typewriter. Similarly, Trackers are just using a different control mechanism. Virtually all modern music is done using MIDI - it's just that it's controlling powerful VSTs and external synthesisers instead of cheap soundcards. But there's been high quality music that's been written on Trackers, you just need to connect them to high end synths instead of things like Amigas...
@@deanolium Well yes and no. While Midi is the most common protocol, there's also still cv/gate for analog synths. Also most audio interfaces were never controlled by midi at all (maybe the high end stuff with integrated DSPs). What you are probably referring to is driver access to embedded fm sound chips on sound cards, which was heavily used by games (famously known ad Sound Blaster Standard). Today standard midi cabling has been mostly replaces by usb, because it's easier than dealing with channel configuration and additional power supplies for many devices. Also I've noticd that some Behringer devices seem to have stripped parts of the Midi protocol implementation (e.g. program change on Midi Thru).
SNES uses samples, not wavetable or FM synthesis.
Oh I recognize a lot of those songs on the e-Kara cartridges! I'm a fan of 00s jpop lol.
It's not a Saturday morning unless there's a new Techmoan video.
That fist song where you complain that you can't read the Japanese lyrics. That's Aya Matsuura's 100kai no Kiss. I went through a bit of a j-pop phase in the early 2000s and was a fan. I think I have a CD with that on it. Odd to see that song pop up so many years later.
15:42 Back in high school in the 1980s I did lighting and sound work, and we always rented a huge sound system for our christmas assemblies. One year the rental system included a decent effects rack, and one of its digital processors had an effect called Berge Bundles, basically a high quality version of this. You just triggered some great memories...
That shambles brought a very big smile to my face. Thank-you for continuing to brighten up my Saturday evenings :)
That voice changer makes you sound like the mice from Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
I love the fact that even if stuff doesnt work how you planned, you still share it with us.
This is one of your best in ages, I love the suspense that someone must surely know what that thing does
As crappy as the Takara device is, it's actually not a bad representation of the real karaoke experience back in 2002. I spent many a night in karaoke booths in Tokyo around that time and quite honestly they looked and sounded not much better than this.
Mat, this is exactly the type of content I come here for, thank you..
Love a Saturday that gets to start with Matt demonstrating something, or failing to.
This was like a "Mat's Greatest Hits" video. First device doesn't work, can't be fixed, and even if you do, you have no idea what it does. The second does work, but you'd frankly wish it hadn't. Then - Karaoke. The perfect Techmoan video! You go dude!
Just a thought...
How old is the machine and the coins you are using?
If Japan has changed the metal content if the coins and the machine is old then the coin slot mechanism may not detect the new coins.
This has always been a problem with coin detecting systems and countries would often give coin operated machine owners time to upgrade their machines before introducing new coins.
However the economics of upgrading m/cs doesn't always work out and some aren't upgraded.
An upgrade maybe simply reprogramming the chip on that Asashi Seiko slot unit.
Alternatively find some old coins if that is the issue.
Btw the LED on the slot unit may be just detecting a coin has been inserted, not that it's a valid coin.
I always thought those things were triggered by weight, or shape. Is it common that they use some kind of.. is induction the right word?
@@frankcooke1692
Yes.
The more parameters that can be checked the more accurate they are, but then cost goes up, so it will depend on the cost of goods or services being sold as to what level of checking takes place and other economic factors.
The automatic teller machines that banks use, use weight to count coins. But then that isn't really checking for authenticity.
I believe small cameras can be used these days.
The 100 yen hasn't changed for a very long time. The oldest one I've got is marked 昭和42 - so 1967 in the western calendar, and that's the same size, weight and composition as the current ones.
I know you already drilled out the tube lock out, but in the future you can open a tube lock by using a softer-body plastic pen. You just remove the ink cartridge so that you're left with a hollow plastic tube. take a pair of pliers and widen the open end of the pen body by inserting the closed pliers head into the body until it fits around the center cylinder of the tube lock. then press the pen body repeatedly into the lock while gently rotating it in the direction the lock would rotate (most likely clockwise). Eventually the pins will force the shape of the key into the pen body and make it into a makeshift key. For legal reasons, I should state that this ONLY WORKS on tube locks that you legitimately own.
Mmmm, that Ad-Lib sound (did they splurge for a real OPL2 chip?).
20:30 That's "The Starry Sky", which was used as the ending for the anime _Angelic Layer._ One of my favourite ending themes in fact.
The Starry Sky is SOOOO good
That 2nd device at 16:49 has a menu input sound that seems to be the exact same as the Discord Notification sound. Thought I was going mental for a bit
I had one of those ekara TV devices when i was a kid! You just unlocked a core memory of us screaming childish obscenities into the tv with the voice filters. 😂
I had one as well 😂 only one cartridge tho. I remember it had "Hit me baby one more time" on it.
Because it used GBA like cartridges, and the graphics do look like what the GBA would produce, and guys from Nintendo were involved in this, I wonder if that microphone was actually a GBA but repurposed as a karaoke system. He mentioned that the cartridges had their own processor in them enabling enhanced graphics later on, but this might have been a coprocessor kind of like the Super NES Super FX chips. If the cartridges are electrically comparable with regular GBA cartridges, I wonder what would happen if you inserted an ordinary GBA game?
Sounds a lot more fun than actually singing. Or maybe that's just me being immature lol.
I had an ekara as a kid in the US, I remember trying to collect all the Britney Spears cartridges. Thanks for the memories :')
Mat, your karaoke will win the day regardless of the kit it’s played on!😂
Mr. Children and Judy and Mary where (and are) super hyper popular. My wife is a huge Judy and Mary fan and whenever we went to Karaoke, that sure came on :D
And the sound is like from some Karaoke box in the late 90s :D or later for songs that where not really popular. 懐かしい！
Great video, I always enjoy watching them on a Saturday morning.
Never a dull video with you.... you show some weird and wonderful things that otherwise we'd never see
i felt nostalgia for a life i've never lived. i'm sure there's a german word for this. this video is a vibe!
Anemoia is a decent approximation
Techmoan vs. Aya Matsuura. I never thought I'd see the day!
When the new techmoan video drops at 5AM, I watch it. 😁
I certainly appreciate your ability to laugh at yourself and continue on. We seem to have lost that in many places of the world, not limited to the USA. I appreciated the effort that went into this video. Thank you for uploading and sharing.
Karaoke, Go, and JRPG, three things that will never disappear from Japanese pop culture.
those tubular keys are generally standardized with relatively few different sets of teeth, odds are you could find one that works just by buying a random handful
16:32 SPEEEEEEN
Man I remember when Techmoan claimed he didn't know much about repairing. Now he's becoming a full fledged electronics technician with every video. It's inspiring really.
You said they looked similar to GBA cartridges and that music is exactly like something you'd hear on the GBA. I suppose there are limitations to cartridge based music from the 2000s.
TBH nearly everything in this machine screams "GBA", and if Xavix were ex-N employees...
Loved it! The 1960 El Camino has always been one of my favorite cars. And I loved the gas pumps. Thanks!
29:45 There is no Techmoan. Only Zuul!
Does this mean he sleeps SIX inches above his blankets?
@loginregional Four feet, actually 😄
I just called
To say
HELL AWAITS
You drilling the lock out gave me the giggles which on a Saturday is awesome
Can't wait for Mat's rendition of "Baby One More Time" or "Oops I did it again"
(Posted before the end of the video) So disappointed Mat ;D
I did a video review and took apart the English version of this mic on my channel! The English version looks cheaper than the Japanese one but it has built-in songs in addition of taking cartridges! I got it for AU$ 7 from a thrift store.
Cool! References to Lockpicking Lawyer and music from Hikaru Utada!
Exploring the Japanese Kara-tech washout is fascinating! It's incredible to see the innovative technology and its impact on traditional methods
It's so fitting that you finished by singing Stevie Wonder sounding like the Clitheroe Kid! This is one of the funniest things you have done.
Brilliant! I love the way this video jumps the shambles shark all the way into total classic territory at the end!
Thanks for this.
There is a part of me that wants to crawl around that first device with an oscilloscope, and there is another part of me that wants to remain at least somewhat sane. Also, not trying to hit the Take On Me high note is simply criminal! The people deserve to hear that note!
At this point you could start a channel that's just your muppets doing karaoke.
PLEASE. THIS MUST BE.
That was a hoot, Mat. Thanks for trying to make sense of that format!
I am watching this late at night and the unexpected Jabba the Hut Karaoke cameo at the end caused a spontaneous belly laugh so loud that I woke the whole house. Thanks a lot. 😅
Watched this after work on the home computer with my husband. Loved how you ended this one!!! Awesome ❤
Dude I loved this video.
I gotta admit, my eyes were glazing over on this one. I get the tech issues; the instant translator feature is interesting, but all else is just rot for me. That said, its still a thumbs up from me as I respect your efforts.
Matt, would you visit Japan and make some videos of the wierd tech you can find there?
The first few coins dropped in changed the number on the broken display. My guess is that it's storing credits and its credit counter is maxed out so it keeps ignoring additional coins. And the battery isn't dead enough so it keeps the credits after power up.