i wanted one of those things when i was a kid, i wasnt allowed to use my parents camcorder, funny thing is now, i got so many devices (ipod,cellphone,tablet, point and shoot) that have video abillitys and i dont even make videos all that much
I used to have one of these! I teamed it up with a Tyco VideoPainter to make onscreen graphics (didn't have the hardware to overlay them unfortunately!)
Being a resourceful kid I used to leave the audio inputs on the VCR and instead plug in a CD/Tape/PC so I could add my own soundtrack and/or narrate.
The Tyco cam is extremely cool if you use it for video feedback- point the camera at the monitor and slowly turn the camera. You will get the most amazing geometric shapes that twist and turn in an endless tunnel. Try it and play back the images on youtube. Unfortunately my tycocam is long gone and the few videos I did record are lost. A real shame because i also had plenty of homemade tapeloops my friend and I made for an audio track. I plugged the tyco into a spring reverb for a gittery effect
i used to want one until my dad explained to me it uses VCR and is black and white only. So...he just let me use his normal video camera for my movies as a kid with super vision :)
That's a cool looking camera like danielgosson's, and he mentioned that the video resolution was around 176x144. You can see that the video has about the same quality as the videos looked back in the late 1930s, because the aspect ratio of the video is 1.22:1; a bit narrower than most standard cameras of today that can record in 1.33:1.
I had one of these as a kid... made hundreds of movies with it. It was my favorite toy growing up. Bought all the extra cable you could... could get the thing into just about any part of the house or yard. My parents were constantly having to watch themselves so they wouldn't trip!
Hey everyonelovesbutters. I'm so glad you figured this out. I've had one in a closet for years and never used it, because I didn't want to haul a VCR around to record onto. So what kind of cable did you use to record it onto your digital video camera. You mention that you used a standard audio cable that used the left as video and right as audio but what digital video camera accepts those? What's the other end of that cable you're showing at 3:28?
It is the same kind of cable used to connect an iPod or Walkman to a home stereo system, with one 1/8-inch headphone-style plug and two RCA plugs. You plug the headphone-style plug into the Tyco and then the two RCA plugs give you its video and audio outputs.
Thanks vwestlife, but I have 2 digital camcorders and neither of them accept RCA plugs. My VCR does but I'm interested in feeding it to a digital camcorder. I think my camcorders only accept usb, dv or "1/8-inch a/v". And each of these options is one hole each, not two.
You can use female-to-female RCA gender changers to connect the Tyco's cable to your digital camcorder's A/V patch cable (if it came with one; they're fairly standardized, with what looks like an extended headphone plug connected to three RCA plugs, for composite video and Left and Right stereo audio channels).
You're awesome to try to help me like this but even though I happen to have some female-to-female gender changers and two 1/8 inch to triple headed RCA cables, I tried it and no go. I think the a/v 1/8 inch jack on my camcorder is output only maybe. Looked through the menus of it an there seems to be no mention of recording from an external device of any kind. I'll try my other camcorder tomorrow. Thanks for trying!
i wanted one of those things when i was a kid, i wasnt allowed to use my parents camcorder, funny thing is now, i got so many devices (ipod,cellphone,tablet, point and shoot) that have video abillitys and i dont even make videos all that much
gmcnewlook 1 week ago
oh I had one of those, I took the camera out of it and made it into my nightvision device^^
coolbluelights 1 year ago
PXL2000 has the advantage of a recording medium (and it was quite interesting) but there's lots of static and it's bigger
bakonfreek 1 year ago
I used to have one of these! I teamed it up with a Tyco VideoPainter to make onscreen graphics (didn't have the hardware to overlay them unfortunately!)
Being a resourceful kid I used to leave the audio inputs on the VCR and instead plug in a CD/Tape/PC so I could add my own soundtrack and/or narrate.
M3G4UK 1 year ago
This is a great video, I love old electronics, I found one of these online and your vid really helped me!
mikedijital 1 year ago
The Tyco cam is extremely cool if you use it for video feedback- point the camera at the monitor and slowly turn the camera. You will get the most amazing geometric shapes that twist and turn in an endless tunnel. Try it and play back the images on youtube. Unfortunately my tycocam is long gone and the few videos I did record are lost. A real shame because i also had plenty of homemade tapeloops my friend and I made for an audio track. I plugged the tyco into a spring reverb for a gittery effect
paulj0557 1 year ago
i used to want one until my dad explained to me it uses VCR and is black and white only. So...he just let me use his normal video camera for my movies as a kid with super vision :)
xxhennersxx 2 years ago
That's a cool looking camera like danielgosson's, and he mentioned that the video resolution was around 176x144. You can see that the video has about the same quality as the videos looked back in the late 1930s, because the aspect ratio of the video is 1.22:1; a bit narrower than most standard cameras of today that can record in 1.33:1.
JBlair1982 2 years ago
Cool... I got a commercial for it in my video response.
Noyjeetut 2 years ago
I had one of these as a kid... made hundreds of movies with it. It was my favorite toy growing up. Bought all the extra cable you could... could get the thing into just about any part of the house or yard. My parents were constantly having to watch themselves so they wouldn't trip!
thomasg86 3 years ago
Hey everyonelovesbutters. I'm so glad you figured this out. I've had one in a closet for years and never used it, because I didn't want to haul a VCR around to record onto. So what kind of cable did you use to record it onto your digital video camera. You mention that you used a standard audio cable that used the left as video and right as audio but what digital video camera accepts those? What's the other end of that cable you're showing at 3:28?
zedrothehedro 3 years ago
It is the same kind of cable used to connect an iPod or Walkman to a home stereo system, with one 1/8-inch headphone-style plug and two RCA plugs. You plug the headphone-style plug into the Tyco and then the two RCA plugs give you its video and audio outputs.
vwestlife 3 years ago
Thanks vwestlife, but I have 2 digital camcorders and neither of them accept RCA plugs. My VCR does but I'm interested in feeding it to a digital camcorder. I think my camcorders only accept usb, dv or "1/8-inch a/v". And each of these options is one hole each, not two.
zedrothehedro 3 years ago
You can use female-to-female RCA gender changers to connect the Tyco's cable to your digital camcorder's A/V patch cable (if it came with one; they're fairly standardized, with what looks like an extended headphone plug connected to three RCA plugs, for composite video and Left and Right stereo audio channels).
vwestlife 3 years ago
You're awesome to try to help me like this but even though I happen to have some female-to-female gender changers and two 1/8 inch to triple headed RCA cables, I tried it and no go. I think the a/v 1/8 inch jack on my camcorder is output only maybe. Looked through the menus of it an there seems to be no mention of recording from an external device of any kind. I'll try my other camcorder tomorrow. Thanks for trying!
zedrothehedro 3 years ago
And I know the Tyco works because I tested it on my VCR and it works just fine. So hmmmm......
zedrothehedro 3 years ago
I owned one. Had lots of fun in my youth! :)
ZeeSmoosh 3 years ago
I had one of these! I converted it into a night vision device ^^
coolbluelights 3 years ago
got some good games there,, not bad for under 10 bucks for everything there.
everyonelovesbutters 3 years ago