CED Digest Vol. 7 No. 34

CED Digest Vol. 7 No. 34 • 8/24/2002
20 Years Ago In CED History:

August 25, 1982:
* U.S. Marines land in Lebanon to join the peacekeeping force.
* U.S. Rep. Frederick W. Richmond pleads guilty to tax evasion and two other
charges and agrees to resign.

August 26, 1982:
* At the conclusion of their annual meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada's
ten provincial premiers call for a special conference with Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau to draft a comprehensive plan for the nation's economic
recovery.

August 27, 1982:
* King Juan Carlos of Spain acceding to the wishes of Prime Minister Leopoldo
Calvo Sotelo, formally dissolves Parliament so that general elections can be
held in late October.
* Leroy Williams, a former congressional page, admits that he lied when he
asserted in March that he had had homosexual liaisons with members of Congress.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Class of 1984.

August 28, 1982:
* U.S. Army Pfc. Joseph T. White of St. Louis, MO, defects to North Korea while
on duty at the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. White
is the first U.S. soldier to voluntarily flee to North Korea since 1965 and
only the fifth to do so since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
* A sharp increase in political killings in El Salvador during the past month
is reported by U.S. embassy and Roman Catholic Church officials.

August 29, 1982:
* The first-ever Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) convention begins
in Dallas, Texas and runs until September 3. Approximately 250 suppliers and
retailers attend the event. The results of a Nielsen survey released at the
event reveal that Beta is fading fast in the tape format war, with VHS
capturing 72 percent of the market.


* Ingrid Bergman, the Swedish-born actress, dies from cancer at the age of 67.
She won Academy Awards for her performances in Gaslight, Anastasia, and Murder
on the Orient Express (CED). She also appears in the CED titles Cactus Flower,
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Joan of Arc, Notorious, Spellbound, Casablanca,
and Intermezzo.
* Mary Matossian, a historian at the University of Maryland, proposes in the
journal American Scientist that the 1692 witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Mass.,
may have been caused by ergotism, the consumption of a fungus that grows
chiefly on rye and causes convulsions and many other forms of bizarre behavior.
* American Ashby Harper, at age 65, becomes the oldest person to swim the
English Channel.

August 30, 1982:
* PLO leader Yasir Arafat departs Beirut, Lebanon as the U.N. peacekeeping
force becomes established.
* Bill Dunlop of Mechanic, Maine sets a new record for crossing the Atlantic
Ocean from West to East in the smallest boat. His yacht, "Wind's Will," is only
nine feet long. The voyage, which took 78 days, began in Portland, Maine, and
ended in Falmouth, England.

* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Rapid Growth Of RCA VideoDiscs System Reflects Strong Support at Dealer Level

DALLAS, August 30 -- Aggressive and creative video dealers will be the victors
in the bitter trench war now under way for the consumer's dollar, an RCA
spokesman said today.

While industries ranging from automotive to zinc are struggling with declining
volume, sales of video products such as video discs, video cassette recorders,
color television sets and home video cameras are running ahead of last year
despite the recession, according to Thomas G. Kuhn, Division Vice President,
RCA VideoDiscs.

"One reason that video products have been able to counter the economic trend is
the strong selling job being done at the retail level by video dealers," Mr.
Kuhn said.

Noting that the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) has estimated video
disc player sales at between 250,000 and 350,000 units this year, and video
disc sales at between 5 million and 7.5 million albums, Mr. Kuhn said, "We are
in the forefront of a new $200 million a year business that promises to grow
substantially in the years ahead."

Although the video disc still has a few skeptics, "I can tell you that the
video disc in its first year outsold black-and-white television, color
television and video cassette recorders combined in their initial years in the
American marketplace. And that outstanding sales performance is testimony to
the strength and resiliency of our distributor/dealer organization," Mr. Kuhn
added.

Mr. Kuhn said, "The real profits from the video disc are going to those dealers
who stock a variety of titles and prominently display them at the retail level.
Our surveys indicate that in the vast majority of cases, consumers go back to
the same store for additional video disc albums because that store has a good
selection of titles. It seems axiomatic that dealers who carry discs sell
discs."

He said RCA has put strong emphasis on dealer-oriented promotions designed to
bring customers into dealer stores. This fall, for example, RCA will be running
three major promotions in addition to its national television and magazine
advertising.

The first promotion, which starts September 14, features the five James Bond
movies now available under the RCA VideoDiscs label. Mr. Kuhn said, "The James
Bond films constitute the most successful series of motion pictures ever
produced, and we believe that James Bond's legion of fans will welcome the
opportunity to collect these spy thrillers for their home video libraries." Any
customer that buys three James Bond discs will get a $10 rebate from RCA as an
incentive to make multiple purchases.

In October, RCA will run a Halloween horror film promotion highlighting nine
discs. With the purchase of any three horror discs, the consumer will get a $10
rebate plus a $5 coupon that may be used toward the purchase of any other RCA
video disc.

In November, the company will run a promotion featuring 13 comedy discs. Once
again, the consumer who buys any three of these discs will get a $10 rebate and
a $5 coupon that can be applied to future disc purchases.

In addition, Mr. Kuhn said RCA has prepared a very exciting stereo
demonstration disc to help dealers promote the new stereo video disc players
and has provided dealers with point-of-purchase material to support its
promotions and disc sales.

"We have approached the marketplace with the dealer's interests and needs very
much in mind, because we are fully aware that the success of the video disc
depends on strong dealer commitment and support," Mr. Kuhn said.

August 31, 1982:
* Polish police use tear gas, water cannons, and noise grenades to control
moderate-sized crowds of demonstrators who defy government warnings against
holding rallies on the second anniversary of the founding of Solidarity, the
outlawed federation of trade unions.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Ken McLean" <mcleanka>
To: <digest@cedmagic.com>
Subject: Stylus Loose Connector Problem
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 2002 18:45:22 -0500

Hi Tom!
    Periodically, I read in the newsletter letters of problems with fixing
loose connectors on styli (styluses?)...more than one stylus!  Repeatedly,
warnings have been given about resultant meltdowns of the connectors if/when a
solder is attempted.
    I have a vague memory (and they're all getting more so every day) about an
electrolytic glue being available on the market.  I don't know where...perhaps,
Radio Shack.  Would this not be a simple and solution to fixing the problem
without the threat of "burning your bridges before you?"
Ken

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Guy Krause" <krauseg>
To: scdolley
Cc: digest@cedmagic.com
Subject: Replacement stylii
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 08:18:44 -0700

Have you tried your local GE/RCA parts outlet?

>I have a couple of players that work ok, but really need new styli to 
>function well.  I ordered two of these, at the cost of $40 a piece, 
>from fox international.  Both were missing the gold thread connection.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Ken King" <kkingcqe>
To: digest@cedmagic.com
Subject: SJT-400 sound
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 15:52:20 +0000

I have one of those players that came from an eBay seller who said "works great
but selling as-is".  Been working on this SJT-400 for some time to replace
loading mechanism that arrived with several broken pieces.  Now I find that it
has a great picture but no sound.

Haven't really gotten into troubleshooting it yet and I think that I saw
something posted here a while ago on this subject.  I saw nothing at the CED
Magic site about this problem.  If you remember seeing this and have a copy,
how about sending it my way or posting to next week's Digest? Thanks.

While I'm writing, has anyone encountered J or K series players that had the
loading belt turn to ooze?  First one I saw (the above mentioned player) I
thought was a misguided attempt at repair.  Now I found another with the same
condition.  Maybe came to me via the same collector?  The stuff is just
impossible to remove with the solvents and cleaners I've tried.

-Ken

------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: digest@cedmagic.com
Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 18:14:22 -0800
From: "Tom Howe" <tom@cedmagic.com>
Subject: RE: the quest for a working stylus

>I have a couple of players that work ok, but really need new styli 
>to function well.  I ordered two of these, at the cost of $40 a piece, 
>from fox international.  Both were missing the gold thread connection.

For stylus cartridges, I'd recommend purchasing these from some suppliers here
on CED Digest, as they are familiar with CED technology and can at least
inspect the cartridge for damage or a loose gold-colored flylead. Both James
Curiel (via CED Central) and Harry Libby (via the RCA VideoDisc Classifieds)
offer new-in the-box stylus cartridges. Here are the links to their web pages:

http://www.cedcentral.com/

http://www.ep.com/js/about/c1064/b1064/v2/50703.html

--Tom
Previous Digest | Next Digest | Volume 7 Index | CED Magic Home