Disneysongtape uploaded the whole Big Bird's Day On The farm tape and I've just seen the video, I believe I have heard this cassette before, that is once when I was at World 4 Kids in 1993 I was looking at the Tyco Big Bird and the tape was up to the point where "Good Morning Mr Sun was playing, so now I know what that first song in this video is, even though I didn't recognise it when you first uploaded this video, I think the reason for that is because Big Bird's volume is so low at that point
I'd be curious to know what would happen if you put a regular music tape in BB. I played one of the tapes in a normal stereo once and there was audio from one side and a pulsing noise in the other.
@blueoctopede I have a Tyco StoryMagic Big Bird, and the tapes sound very sluggish and almost drunk when they're played. Do you know how I could speed this up to normal again please?
P. S. Would you happen to know if there is any way to clean the fur? My Big Bird's "feathers" have become sort of clumped together and not soft and fluffy like it used to be. No idea why. Thanks.
@jtsoundtech Try spraying him lightly with some carpet cleaner and brush the fur down while it's still damp, then vacuum it when it dries- that should get a lot of the clumps out.
Hi again, I was just curious about something: I was reading over some of the comments, and you speak of a Dr. Eeyore who seems to know how to fix these... Does he have a channel on here? I can't seem to find him. Fortunately, I am not in need of a fix... yet, but am awfully curious to learn about how this works. You did a great job restoring yours!
Hmm. To translate the sticker thing you would have to set oyur computer or Google to a different languag and find the characters that look like the three or something..... lol Just a thought!
Great video! Would you happen to know where I can get a tape player belt for Big Bird? I know the problem with many Mickey Mouses/Teddy Ruxpins/ Mother Gooses are bad tape player belts and they can be fixed by simply replacing the belts. I haven't been able to find a belt that fits Big Bird though.
@GracieM1990 Thank you! I keep a stash of cassette parts on hand in case of emergencies, so I've never actually gone out and bought just a pack of belts. Your best bet would be to either look online (try kenselectronics; they're a bit pricey but have a good selection) or see if there's an electronics/junk store where you live that can sell you some spare parts. Good luck with Bird! Sorry I couldn't be of much help!
@GracieM1990 I don't know exactly what Bird's measurements are, but I assume it would be the same as a Teddy Ruxpin belt since their cassette players are similar in size; Square, 0.04 inch (1mm) thickness, ≈ 6.3 inch circumference. =)
my big bird has battery corrosion on his battery pack springs and some of the other connectors for his batteries any ideas how to clean them, as for his plush i would use a wire suede brush for shoes and blow dry at the same time but gently mind
@wizzwamf One other thing you could try is to use some vinegar to clean battery corrosion off the battery terminals, if you do that make suer you remove all traces of vinegar once the terminals are clean, I've hard from another YouTube user that if you don't remove the vinegar from the terminals they'll corrode again.
@tcarnley01 If he's having problems with his eyes and mouth I won't be able to help you- I don't have any experience repairing those types of motors, unfortunately. If you're feeling confident you can open him up yourself, but what you'd probably be better off doing is seeing if Dr. Eeyore of dreeyoreshosiptal can fix him up for you.
Are the cables for Big Bird's moving parts simpl connected by plugs and sockets as is the case with Teddy Ruxpin, or are the wires soldered directly onto teh circuit board? Just for your info, some people refer to the type of tape deck Big Bird has as a "letterbox" tape deck, because it's much like the slot you'd find on a mail box. It does as you've said before look so much like a car tape deck, and it sound like one when you insert a tape. "Cachunk!!!!!"
@silverthehedgielover Yes that song is really nice, I've never owned one of these, I first heard this song in this video, I'd not heard it before, but I really like it a lot.
@Lachlant1984 The base of the neck piece has two notches on the side, and slides into a piece on the top of the main player and snaps firmly into place. They definitely forecasted that kids would be carrying him by his neck; it's incredibly strong once the two pieces are connected.
When you say Big Bird's face is permanantly attached, do you mean the gearbox assembly is attached to that poll that forms BB's neck? Did the Tyco version have the "Satellite Jack" found on this version? Did you clean the tape heads when you repaired the broken wire. Because of the way the tape loads I can see that properly cleaning the playback head means taking the toy apart, unlike Teddy Ruxpin, all you need to do is open the door and remove the cassette before cleaning the heads.
@Lachlant1984 His face is sewn and bolted into the fur, leaving the gears exposed. With Teddy, there are simply holes in the fur where the eyes and mouth fit, and the pieces are attached to the frame inside. Much to my surprise, the tape heads were actually spotless! I think that he had broken early on and hadn't been played with much at all, and simply sat around collecting dust. The Tyco version is sadly incompatible with Cookie and Oscar, so no satellite jack.
Are the tapes for the Ideal Big Bird also compatable with the later Tyco version? When you removed the face covering and showed the animation assemply I couldn't see the motors, but I could see a couple of rotating pullies, I'm guessing from watching the movement the pully on the right is for Big Bird's eyes. Are you going to upload any Big Bird songs from the tapes you have? Once again I'm really impressed with your restoration job.
@Lachlant1984 Yes, the tapes work fine for both versions, which is really nice since they failed to do the same with TR. The motors running the face on Bird are basically the same pulley system used in the little Teddies and the YES! ones, only much better quality. The bottom pulley operates a piece of plastic that fits inside the hollow bottom mouth, and the eyes work on a gear system; grooves on the motor fit into grooves at the base of the eyelids, and as it rotates, he blinks!
@blueoctopede Also, with the pulley system instead of servo motors like in Teddy, his facial movements are virtually silent, which is VERY nice. I always thought Teddy's servos to be very distracting from the actual story... I want to do a series of songs from his tapes like I've done with Teddy, but I'm not sure how strict Sesame Workshop/Jim Henson Productions is about their copyright so we'll just have to wait and see.
@blueoctopede Interesting that they were able to make the motors as quiet as you suggest. Certainly in this video I hear some motor noise, but that's to be expected, particularly when Big Bird's beak opens. Teddy Ruxpin can be a little noisey, but the noise doesnt' bother me, he's not as noisey as the Playskool TJ Bearytales toy my cousin has/had, I thought that thing was quite noisey indeed.
@blueoctopede So far this video hasn't been muted or taken down and you featured a full song, just as long as you don't feature a full tape you should be safe. I would be interested in what the other songs on the tapes sound like believe it or not, I find this toy to be very interesting, but still i prefer Teddy Ruxpin. I hope I'm not bothering you by asking all these questions.
I love the song at the start of the story you play at the end of the video, from the sound of it the story is called Big Bird's day on the farm. , I think the sound Big Bird makes to remind you to turn the page is cool, it sounds like an old cordless phone.
That's a really good restoration job you've done there, a simple fix for a problem that stopped him from working. Do you know if Big Bird's motors need oilling and lubrication as does Teddy Ruxpin? How many tapes do you have for Big Bird. I've seen a few of these on eBay over the past few days, it seems as if they're made in Hong Kong, right? I suspect that hand written lavel you saw was a serial number of some kind.
@Lachlant1984 Thank you! The motors actually do have grease on them, you can really see it on the motor running the eyes. There were 19 tapes total made for Big Bird, and so far I have 8. The stories are much shorter, too, only about 5-8 minutes each, whereas the Teddy Ruxpin tapes are about 15 minutes. I'm not sure where these guys were made... There was some writing molded into the plastic but I never got a clear picture of it, so there's no telling if it said where he was made or not.
Deathtrap?
bpmagruder 1 week ago
Disneysongtape uploaded the whole Big Bird's Day On The farm tape and I've just seen the video, I believe I have heard this cassette before, that is once when I was at World 4 Kids in 1993 I was looking at the Tyco Big Bird and the tape was up to the point where "Good Morning Mr Sun was playing, so now I know what that first song in this video is, even though I didn't recognise it when you first uploaded this video, I think the reason for that is because Big Bird's volume is so low at that point
Lachlant1984 2 months ago
is there any way to clean up battery terminals. I have one but 1 of batts exploded in let some film on metal. other than that he should totally work.
woolridge48 2 months ago
I'd be curious to know what would happen if you put a regular music tape in BB. I played one of the tapes in a normal stereo once and there was audio from one side and a pulsing noise in the other.
coondogtheman1234 4 months ago
@coondogtheman1234 youtube.com/watch?v=FMWKfiCPEpw =)
blueoctopede 4 months ago
Comment removed
coondogtheman1234 4 months ago
@blueoctopede
NM I got it it's big bird sings journey.
coondogtheman1234 4 months ago
@blueoctopede I have a Tyco StoryMagic Big Bird, and the tapes sound very sluggish and almost drunk when they're played. Do you know how I could speed this up to normal again please?
monkey4182 2 months ago
Comment removed
monkey4182 2 months ago
P. S. Would you happen to know if there is any way to clean the fur? My Big Bird's "feathers" have become sort of clumped together and not soft and fluffy like it used to be. No idea why. Thanks.
jtsoundtech 5 months ago
@jtsoundtech Try spraying him lightly with some carpet cleaner and brush the fur down while it's still damp, then vacuum it when it dries- that should get a lot of the clumps out.
blueoctopede 5 months ago
Hi again, I was just curious about something: I was reading over some of the comments, and you speak of a Dr. Eeyore who seems to know how to fix these... Does he have a channel on here? I can't seem to find him. Fortunately, I am not in need of a fix... yet, but am awfully curious to learn about how this works. You did a great job restoring yours!
jtsoundtech 5 months ago
i must say, big bird's internal organs are much less complex then teddie's XD
Nuggetlover96 6 months ago
Hmm. To translate the sticker thing you would have to set oyur computer or Google to a different languag and find the characters that look like the three or something..... lol Just a thought!
Twilight101cp 9 months ago
If his face is permanatly attatched, how'dyou get he fur stuff off and things?
Twilight101cp 10 months ago
@Twilight101cp I didn't. It just came off as one big piece with eyes and mouth still connected.
blueoctopede 10 months ago
This is truly awesome XD!! I wonder what th Tyco Big Bird looks like inside.
electronic4evr 10 months ago
Great video!! I have fond memories of having one of these as a child!!
jtsoundtech 10 months ago
Great video! Would you happen to know where I can get a tape player belt for Big Bird? I know the problem with many Mickey Mouses/Teddy Ruxpins/ Mother Gooses are bad tape player belts and they can be fixed by simply replacing the belts. I haven't been able to find a belt that fits Big Bird though.
Thanks!
GracieM1990 11 months ago
@GracieM1990 Thank you! I keep a stash of cassette parts on hand in case of emergencies, so I've never actually gone out and bought just a pack of belts. Your best bet would be to either look online (try kenselectronics; they're a bit pricey but have a good selection) or see if there's an electronics/junk store where you live that can sell you some spare parts. Good luck with Bird! Sorry I couldn't be of much help!
blueoctopede 11 months ago
@blueoctopede
Thanks a lot! You've been very helpful. Would you happen to know the parts number or size for the belts?
GracieM1990 11 months ago
@GracieM1990 I don't know exactly what Bird's measurements are, but I assume it would be the same as a Teddy Ruxpin belt since their cassette players are similar in size; Square, 0.04 inch (1mm) thickness, ≈ 6.3 inch circumference. =)
blueoctopede 10 months ago
@blueoctopede. Thanks! I'll let you know if I find where I can get them. :)
GracieM1990 10 months ago
2:24 thats not big bird
1kelpar 1 year ago
my big bird has battery corrosion on his battery pack springs and some of the other connectors for his batteries any ideas how to clean them, as for his plush i would use a wire suede brush for shoes and blow dry at the same time but gently mind
wizzwamf 1 year ago
@wizzwamf Some rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip is what I use for corrosion. Works like a charm!
blueoctopede 1 year ago
@wizzwamf One other thing you could try is to use some vinegar to clean battery corrosion off the battery terminals, if you do that make suer you remove all traces of vinegar once the terminals are clean, I've hard from another YouTube user that if you don't remove the vinegar from the terminals they'll corrode again.
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
I have a big bird just like this. I lost his nest, but I just can't seem to get him working again. Just wondered if you would fix mine?
tcarnley01 1 year ago
@tcarnley01 If he's having problems with his eyes and mouth I won't be able to help you- I don't have any experience repairing those types of motors, unfortunately. If you're feeling confident you can open him up yourself, but what you'd probably be better off doing is seeing if Dr. Eeyore of dreeyoreshosiptal can fix him up for you.
blueoctopede 1 year ago
Are the cables for Big Bird's moving parts simpl connected by plugs and sockets as is the case with Teddy Ruxpin, or are the wires soldered directly onto teh circuit board? Just for your info, some people refer to the type of tape deck Big Bird has as a "letterbox" tape deck, because it's much like the slot you'd find on a mail box. It does as you've said before look so much like a car tape deck, and it sound like one when you insert a tape. "Cachunk!!!!!"
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
@Lachlant1984 Yes, Bird's got a "plug-and-play" circuit like Teddy. The only things directly soldered are the volume control and cassette deck motor.
blueoctopede 1 year ago
@blueoctopede i'm just kidding i wish i met him! XD i just wanted to see someone's reaction if i said that XD
silverthehedgielover 1 year ago
omg! i totally remember that song how to get from here to there i caught myself singing along with it
silverthehedgielover 1 year ago
@silverthehedgielover Yes that song is really nice, I've never owned one of these, I first heard this song in this video, I'd not heard it before, but I really like it a lot.
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
@Lachlant1984 lol they're pretty expensive on ebay i want a teddy ruxpin but whenever i put something on ebay it never sells
silverthehedgielover 1 year ago
Does the neck assembly somehow attach securely to the main base unit, or is it simply held together by the foam and fur when fully assembled?
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
@Lachlant1984 The base of the neck piece has two notches on the side, and slides into a piece on the top of the main player and snaps firmly into place. They definitely forecasted that kids would be carrying him by his neck; it's incredibly strong once the two pieces are connected.
blueoctopede 1 year ago
When you say Big Bird's face is permanantly attached, do you mean the gearbox assembly is attached to that poll that forms BB's neck? Did the Tyco version have the "Satellite Jack" found on this version? Did you clean the tape heads when you repaired the broken wire. Because of the way the tape loads I can see that properly cleaning the playback head means taking the toy apart, unlike Teddy Ruxpin, all you need to do is open the door and remove the cassette before cleaning the heads.
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
@Lachlant1984 His face is sewn and bolted into the fur, leaving the gears exposed. With Teddy, there are simply holes in the fur where the eyes and mouth fit, and the pieces are attached to the frame inside. Much to my surprise, the tape heads were actually spotless! I think that he had broken early on and hadn't been played with much at all, and simply sat around collecting dust. The Tyco version is sadly incompatible with Cookie and Oscar, so no satellite jack.
blueoctopede 1 year ago
Are the tapes for the Ideal Big Bird also compatable with the later Tyco version? When you removed the face covering and showed the animation assemply I couldn't see the motors, but I could see a couple of rotating pullies, I'm guessing from watching the movement the pully on the right is for Big Bird's eyes. Are you going to upload any Big Bird songs from the tapes you have? Once again I'm really impressed with your restoration job.
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
@Lachlant1984 Yes, the tapes work fine for both versions, which is really nice since they failed to do the same with TR. The motors running the face on Bird are basically the same pulley system used in the little Teddies and the YES! ones, only much better quality. The bottom pulley operates a piece of plastic that fits inside the hollow bottom mouth, and the eyes work on a gear system; grooves on the motor fit into grooves at the base of the eyelids, and as it rotates, he blinks!
blueoctopede 1 year ago
@blueoctopede Also, with the pulley system instead of servo motors like in Teddy, his facial movements are virtually silent, which is VERY nice. I always thought Teddy's servos to be very distracting from the actual story... I want to do a series of songs from his tapes like I've done with Teddy, but I'm not sure how strict Sesame Workshop/Jim Henson Productions is about their copyright so we'll just have to wait and see.
blueoctopede 1 year ago
@blueoctopede Interesting that they were able to make the motors as quiet as you suggest. Certainly in this video I hear some motor noise, but that's to be expected, particularly when Big Bird's beak opens. Teddy Ruxpin can be a little noisey, but the noise doesnt' bother me, he's not as noisey as the Playskool TJ Bearytales toy my cousin has/had, I thought that thing was quite noisey indeed.
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
@blueoctopede So far this video hasn't been muted or taken down and you featured a full song, just as long as you don't feature a full tape you should be safe. I would be interested in what the other songs on the tapes sound like believe it or not, I find this toy to be very interesting, but still i prefer Teddy Ruxpin. I hope I'm not bothering you by asking all these questions.
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
@Lachlant1984 Not bothering me at all! I love answering questions =)
blueoctopede 1 year ago
You should put a TR tape in him, it would be funny.
LelouchLamperouge019 1 year ago
I love the song at the start of the story you play at the end of the video, from the sound of it the story is called Big Bird's day on the farm. , I think the sound Big Bird makes to remind you to turn the page is cool, it sounds like an old cordless phone.
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
That's a really good restoration job you've done there, a simple fix for a problem that stopped him from working. Do you know if Big Bird's motors need oilling and lubrication as does Teddy Ruxpin? How many tapes do you have for Big Bird. I've seen a few of these on eBay over the past few days, it seems as if they're made in Hong Kong, right? I suspect that hand written lavel you saw was a serial number of some kind.
Lachlant1984 1 year ago
@Lachlant1984 Thank you! The motors actually do have grease on them, you can really see it on the motor running the eyes. There were 19 tapes total made for Big Bird, and so far I have 8. The stories are much shorter, too, only about 5-8 minutes each, whereas the Teddy Ruxpin tapes are about 15 minutes. I'm not sure where these guys were made... There was some writing molded into the plastic but I never got a clear picture of it, so there's no telling if it said where he was made or not.
blueoctopede 1 year ago
I love Big Bird! wacthing this makes me happy
Pupepepets 1 year ago 4