Nagra is a Swiss brand of portable audio recorders first introduced in 1951. In 1997, the company expanded into new markets by launching a range of high-end equipment designed for the audiophile community.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagra

The Nagra VI

https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Nagra_VI_in_CamRade_bag.jpg/1280px-Nagra_VI_in_CamRade_bag.jpg

As for the top unit:

The first stereo analog recorder in Nagra’s range. An icon among sound recordists, film and record producers. The unique texture of a Nagra IV-S is still unparalleled and some demanding customers still use it today.

Nagra IV-S

https://www.nagraaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1971-IV-S-Version-IV-2-2048x1402.jpg

Note: I know absolutely zippo about this brand or their products, but wanted to add a whiff of context for those curious...

In the late 1970s, the Matsumoku factory in Japan was beginning to build and market Westone guitars. The majority of these instruments were high quality, innovative design instruments with limited (not mass) production. Westone guitars were first introduced to the U.K. market by 1981.After changing the Electra brandname to Electra/Phoenix in 1984, St. Louis Music announced that the Electra trademark would be merged with Westone in the U.S. market. From, 1984 to 1985, models were sold under the Electra by Westone, or Electra/Westone, imprint.

Source

1984 Electra Westone Catalog

Image Source

EDIT: Wait, stop everything! I have something to say, mates:

I try to spread my posts amongst a smorgasbord of communities I find worthy of supporting, but I can tell you frankly, if the following StarTrek TOS movie post is valued so little, then to me, this community is worth the same as that one.

It's a fun movie scene, or do you disagree?
https://piefed.social/c/startrek@lemmy.world/p/2389959/this-isn-t-reality-this-is-fantasy-uhura-to-mr-adventure-stiii

"As you know my friends, it all begins with "fine, Corinthian leather..!"

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=montalban+corinthian+leather

Well... actually:

The Orbit was a further refinement of previous Italdesign concepts such as the Alfa Romeo New York Taxi (1976), Lancia Megagamma (1978), Capsula (1982) and Together (1984). The concept was built on a Volkswagen Golf Mk2 platform, specifically the new "Syncro." The goal was to produce a car around 4m in length. The concept was 15cm taller than the existing Volkswagen Golf and featured a large amount of glass.

The Orbit would be developed further into the Italdesign Machimoto, shown the same year. --WP

https://assets.dyler.com/uploads/posts/265/images/5417/volkswagen-orbit.jpg

This shot is certainly from one of the testing phases. I personally find it hilarious:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qe8qpxvWbiw/maxresdefault.jpg

From this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe8qpxvWbiw

A polyphonic, virtual analog synth introduced by Roland in 2002. It was actually sort of a cross between a synth and a drum machine; it contained a number of built-in sampled drum sets, and was packaged in a tabletop package in a manner similar to other drum machines of its era. It was only the second virtual analog synth produced by Roland (after the JP-8000); the company was not very active in the virtual analog market in the 1990s, and this product was a departure, both functionally and stylistically, from other Roland synths of the decade.

https://electronicmusic.fandom.com/wiki/SH-32

I'm liberating this one from the evil empire. The original poster recently saw this one at Nagoya, evidently one of the few-ish remaining ones in service. Their post title was:

Orange backlit LCD, check! Phone card slot, check! Japan in 1982 was the future! (An endangered species spotted at Nagoya station)

More examples & angles:
https://www.google.com/search?q=classic+green+NTT+public+payphone+from+Japan&udm=2

More of his stuff:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Mitsuki+Nakamura+art&udm=2

Nakamura worked as art director on a number of anime works and has likewise worked as a mechanical designer.[4]

He is one of the pioneering mecha designers in the Japanese anime industry and was the first to have his name included in the end credits.[3][5][a] His best-known works as a mecha designer include Mach Five from Speed Racer, God Phoenix from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman and Time Mechabuton from Time Bokan.[3][6] Mach Five, in particular, is regarded as a masterpiece of the first Tatsunoko golden age for its outstanding design sense, and its design was so perfect that it was used almost unchanged in the 2008 live-action film Speed Racer by The Wachowskis, 40 years later.[3][7]

However, his speciality was not mecha design, but anime background art.[6] Background art plays a very important role in Japanese-style animation expression techniques. This has become increasingly the case in recent years, and Nakamura's art was one of the factors to move in this direction.[7] His representative works as an art director include Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Mobile Suit Gundam, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.[8][9][10]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuki_Nakamura

Still major internet problems over here, so I need some help figuring out what the deal was here.

Little help..?

If I understand correctly, the original Batmobile was in fact based on a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car. Kind of wild, as the first Batman TV series launched 11yrs later!

Sorry for the lack of info / pics, but Spectrum basically crippled my internet on Monday, and I'm still trying to figure what the hell's going on.

In any case, here's more pics of this memorable automobile:
https://www.google.com/search?q=1962+Ford+Seattle-ite+XXI&udm=2

This one comes from a certain "BadBeachBuggy" over at the Evil Empire, so why not liberate it? TBH, I'm barely familiar with the whole battlestation hobby and concept, but if it delivers like this...

And what the hey, I'll let you guess that bloke's location:

(right-click as needed)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODYwNzcyMjIxNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDEyNzU5MTE@._V1_.jpg

Yes, he's in Stirling, Scotland! Oh, and one more, for the road. Evidently this is all modern tech btw, just dressed up in ~50's style gear.

pic link

Widely regarded as THE boombox/ghettoblaster.

Kind of obvious which movie inspired this ad.

This piece is called "HobbyPop RoadShop" by Bruce McCall, from ~1957, from the book The Last Dream-o-Rama. Or so my research suggests. And of course, this post certainly doubles as a 'retro-futurism' posting, as well.

Another view:
https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Draft-5f307c0c16ab2__880.jpg

(unfortunately, that double-underscore ("__") in the URL seems incompatible with PF's image-insertion mode, or maybe I'm doing it wrong?)

Anyway, here's a fun mini-article going in to more detail:
https://paleofuture.com/blog/2007/11/26/cars-detroit-forgot-to-build-1950-1960.html

Drive safe out there!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_700

Saw this posted at the evil empire, and decided to liberate it, plus do some research. Here's my take:

This was actually pretty dang cool for the time, letting a person jam along to accompanying music (not unlike karaoke) using only some... D cells to power the whole unit, I believe. Or one could simply use the tape recorder to grab guitar recordings for later playback. So-- good for quick demos, testing things out, and transcribing stuff on the fly, all in a very portable, lightweight form.

CONS:

• The built-in speaker certainly did sound like crapola.
• The neck was professional-grade, along with (arguably) the electronics, but the main body was made of thin-ish plastic that didn't exactly inspire confidence in heavy / casual usage.

PROS:

• This sucker had a fairly impressive range of all the core digital adjustments a pro would want, such as mixing levels, mixing volumes, basic effects (like whammy & overdrive), etc.
• The player was NOT actually stuck with the cheap internal speaker. The EG-5 had 1/4" (amp!) and 1/8" inputs & outputs, as well as DC power input and a couple other thangs. (see lower-right in the shot below)

Here's a magazine review:
https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/the-plug-in-and-play-performance-of-the-casio-eg-5-cassette-guitar-was-pure-1980s-weirdness

And here's me laddie, checking it out crown-to-bum, playing it a bit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwL2nPMIcgw

Source of photos: https://luxuryradios.com/nordmende-spectra-futura-it/

Manufacturer's website: https://www.nordmende.eu/the-brand/iconic-products/spectra-futura/

Yes, it's real - http://retropc.net/ohishi/museum/ratecaputer.htm

If you just want to see the end product, skip to 26:34

Original post by @Crul@lemm.ee:

Source: IMG_1256 | David Schleinkofer | Flickr

Hi-res version (2309 × 2062)

I painted this for Science Digest Magazine for an article on space travel to Mars. 1980's

Original post by @Crul@lemm.ee:

Original image

Source: Spectravideo Documents

Main page: https://www.samdal.com/spectravideo.htm

Original post by @Crul@lemm.ee:

I could not find the artist, not even on the PDF of the magazine:
Atari User Magazine Vol 3 Issue 08 by Paul Rixon - Issuu

Hi-res image from Zero Call - Battle of the Young - YouTube

Original post by @Crul@lemm.ee:

Source: Kennor Computing products and technician, 38 McCoy Street, Myaree, 6 April 1984. - State Library of Western Australia

More Kennor products: Encore -- Kennor Computing products and technician, 38 McCoy Street, Myaree, 6 April 1984.

Via vidibit Tumblr - Kennor Computing products and technician

Seen on: Buttons & Knobs — Kennor Computing // Accounting Machine (Australia,...