u/swifferpowermop345

Hey everyone,

I’m a big retro tech and gaming nerd living in the Hamilton / Golden Horseshoe area. I’m trying to find out how people locally manage to stumble into those legendary "jackpot" hauls. We’ve all seen the posts where someone goes to pick up a cheap Facebook Marketplace item and walks out with 12 CRT monitors, a dozen broken consoles, and a basement full of niche 80s/90s gear because the older owner just wants it gone.

I already do the usual rounds (standard thrift circuits, local FB Marketplace alerts, etc.) and I find decent stuff, but I want to know where the real volume hides around here.

For the local veterans around Hamilton/Burlington/Niagara:

• Are there specific estate sale companies, swap meets, or regional flea markets I should be marking on my calendar?
• Do you have any luck dealing with local e-waste, junk clearance companies, or scrap yards around the industrial areas?
• How do you guys network to find the older folks who are finally ready to clean out their basements of niche tech?

Not looking to steal anyone's absolute secret honey hole, but any pointers on how to break into the next level of local vintage hunting would be incredible. Thanks!

Trying to find a specific TikTok about a creepy Little Golden Record I'm trying to find a specific TikTok I saw a while ago and I'm hoping someone recognizes it. The video was a girl who went to a thrift store and found an old yellow Little Golden Record. I eventually figured out that the record was: “I'm Gonna Get Well Today / Dr. Sniffleswiper” — The Sandpipers, Mitch Miller and Orchestra (R276) In the TikTok, she takes the record home and plays it on a modern record player. Instead of sounding like a normal children's song, it plays extremely slowly, deep, distorted and creepy, almost like an analog-horror soundtrack. The part I remember most clearly is that she says people gave her two different tips for fixing the playback speed, and she actually tries both suggestions on camera, but neither one works. I'm NOT just looking for the song or information about the record. I'm specifically trying to find that particular TikTok/video again so I can rewatch/save it and use the distorted audio as a reference. If anyone remembers the creator, TikTok account, original video, repost, Reddit post, YouTube Short, or even the specific viral trend this was part of, please let me know. The exact search terms I've already tried are:

• “Dr. Sniffleswiper”
• “I'm Gonna Get Well Today”
• “Little Golden Record creepy”
• “Mitch Miller creepy record”
• “Sandpipers creepy record”
• “yellow children's record creepy TikTok”

Even a screenshot, creator name, repost, or another person remembering the video would help a lot.

I ordered a Pop'n Music controller off eBay about 2–3 weeks ago because I wanted to use it with my modded PS1. The listing said PS1/PS2, so that's what I thought I was buying. It finally arrived today and I opened the box to find out it's actually the Dreamcast version. Not exactly what I was expecting lol. I've contacted the seller and I'm waiting to hear back to see if they actually have the PS1 version and if an exchange is possible. If they don't, though, I'm trying to figure out what my other options are. I'd honestly rather keep the Dreamcast controller if I can find a way to actually use it. I paid around $60 for it, and I'd rather get some use out of it than have it just sit around as a collector's piece. I've looked into Dreamcast-to-USB adapters, but I haven't found many affordable options, and I'm not sure which ones would actually work with the Pop'n Music controller specifically. I'm also interested in using it with PC Pop'n Music/arcade-style Pop'n Music if that's possible. I'm open to doing some kind of modification or wiring if that's actually the best option, but I don't want to start cutting wires or modifying the controller without knowing exactly what I'm doing. So what would you guys recommend? Is there a specific Dreamcast-to-USB adapter/interface that works with the Pop'n Music controller? Is there a way to connect it to a PC? Or is there another solution I'm overlooking? I'm not completely against returning it if that's ultimately the best option, but I'd really prefer to find a way to use the controller I already have. Any advice would be appreciated!

Accidentally received the Dreamcast version of a Pop'n Music controller instead of PS1. What are my options? I ordered a Pop'n Music controller off eBay about 2–3 weeks ago because I wanted to use it with my modded PS1. The listing said PS1/PS2, so that's what I thought I was buying. It finally arrived today and I opened the box to find out it's actually the Dreamcast version. Not exactly what I was expecting lol. I've contacted the seller and I'm waiting to hear back to see if they actually have the PS1 version and if an exchange is possible. If they don't, though, I'm trying to figure out what my other options are. I'd honestly rather keep the Dreamcast controller if I can find a way to actually use it. I paid around $60 for it, and I'd rather get some use out of it than have it just sit around as a collector's piece. I've looked into Dreamcast-to-USB adapters, but I haven't found many affordable options, and I'm not sure which ones would actually work with the Pop'n Music controller specifically. I'm also interested in using it with PC Pop'n Music/arcade-style Pop'n Music if that's possible. I'm open to doing some kind of modification or wiring if that's actually the best option, but I don't want to start cutting wires or modifying the controller without knowing exactly what I'm doing. So what would you guys recommend? Is there a specific Dreamcast-to-USB adapter/interface that works with the Pop'n Music controller? Is there a way to connect it to a PC? Or is there another solution I'm overlooking? I'm not completely against returning it if that's ultimately the best option, but I'd really prefer to find a way to use the controller I already have. Any advice would be appreciated!

Hello! I'm looking to set up an automated phone number where I can have basically any audio I want play when the number is called. It could be a meme, my own voice, a song, a creepy recording, or really anything I want. I'd like the recording to play automatically when someone calls, and then ideally have it say something like "please leave a message after the tone" and let the person leave a voicemail afterward. I'm doing this as a fun little project because I'm getting a Cell2Jack soon. My plan is to connect my rotary phone to it so I can use the rotary phone with my cellphone, and I thought it would be really cool to have a separate number that acts like a custom answering machine/hotline that I can call from the rotary phone. I will be setting everything up from my desktop, not my phone, since my phone will be the phone I'm calling the number from. I'm in Canada, and I'm really hoping there's a free way to do this. I'm not looking for anything complicated like setting up a PBX or paying for a VoIP service. I basically just want a phone number that automatically answers and plays an audio file that I choose. Has anyone done something like this before, or know of a free service that can do it?

Thanks!

Hello! I'm looking to set up an automated phone number where I can have basically any audio I want play when the number is called. It could be a meme, my own voice, a song, a creepy recording, or really anything I want. I'd like the recording to play automatically when someone calls, and then ideally have it say something like "please leave a message after the tone" and let the person leave a voicemail afterward. I'm doing this as a fun little project because I'm getting a Cell2Jack soon. My plan is to connect my rotary phone to it so I can use the rotary phone with my cellphone, and I thought it would be really cool to have a separate number that acts like a custom answering machine/hotline that I can call from the rotary phone. I will be setting everything up from my desktop, not my phone, since my phone will be the phone I'm calling the number from. I'm in Canada, and I'm really hoping there's a free way to do this. I'm not looking for anything complicated like setting up a PBX or paying for a VoIP service. I basically just want a phone number that automatically answers and plays an audio file that I choose. Has anyone done something like this before, or know of a free service that can do it?

thx!!!!

Looking for Someone Experienced With PS1 CD-R Burning to Troubleshoot With Me

I'm still trying to solve a PS1 CD-R compatibility/burning issue and haven't been able to get it working reliably.

I have already posted the full details of the problem and have gotten some helpful suggestions, but I'm looking for someone who actually has experience with PS1s, CD-R media, and burning games who would be willing to troubleshoot with me back-and-forth rather than just giving me one suggestion and disappearing.

I can provide the information, ImgBurn/ATIP data, photos, videos, and anything else that's relevant. I also have additional information about the discs and burners my friend used.

If you know this stuff and have some time to help me work through it, please comment here or DM me. I would really appreciate having someone who can actually stick with the troubleshooting until we figure out what's going on.

I'm not looking to waste more CD-Rs randomly testing things—I want to figure out what is actually causing the problem first. and so I can get burned game to work on my ps1

I desperately need help diagnosing a very strange PS1 CD-R/FreePSXBoot problem.I have a PS1 using FreePSXBoot/TonyHax. The exploit itself loads normally, but whenever I try to boot a burned PS1 CD-R, TonyHax gets to the blue screen saying “Waiting for CD to become ready” and stays there indefinitely.The strange part is that my friend's old, heavily scratched burned PS1 games work perfectly in this exact console. They boot and play normally and the drive is essentially silent while reading them.My own freshly burned discs behave completely differently. When the PS1 tries to read them, the optical mechanism makes a loud, frantic rattling/scratching noise that I don't hear with my friend's discs.I have tried:• Verbatim CD-Rs• Maxell CD-Rs• Two different computers/burners• A Plextor PX-891SAF internal desktop burner• An external laptop/slim drive• 4x, 10x and 16x burn speeds• Multiple PS1 games• ImgBurn• Burning the .cue file from the BIN/CUE image• ImgBurn verification succeeds 100% on the burned discsI have tested both a US game (Crash Bandicoot) and a Japanese rhythm game (Pop'n Music), and they produce the same behavior.The mechanical behavior is what really confuses me.With the lid normally closed, my burned discs cause the loud rattling/scratching noise while the drive tries to read them. My friend's burned discs do not.If I open the lid and manually press the lid sensor/button, sometimes my disc still makes the noise and sometimes it doesn't. If the drive does spin up quietly, it spins normally, but TonyHax still remains stuck at “Waiting for CD to become ready.”Very early in troubleshooting, I was following an online guide that told me to remove the FreePSXBoot memory card at a particular point while a game was beginning to boot. The game actually displayed text at that point, but removing the card caused it to freeze/dim. Ever since then I've had this problem. I don't know if that event is related at all, but I wanted to mention it in case it matters.I am NOT claiming that I know the laser is definitely good or that the discs are definitely bad. I'm trying to figure out what these observations actually mean.Could this be:• A CD-R media/reflection/recording-quality compatibility issue with this particular PS1 optical drive?• A burner/media combination that produces discs that verify correctly on a computer but are difficult for the PS1 to read?• A mechanical/focus/tracking problem that only becomes apparent with my particular CD-Rs?• A FreePSXBoot/TonyHax CD handoff or TOC-reading problem?• Something involving the lid sensor or CD-drive state?• A problem specific to my PS1 model?I am NOT looking for “buy another pack of CD-Rs” as the first answer. I've already changed brands, burners, computers and speeds. I want to understand why my friend's burned discs work in this exact console while mine do not.If anyone has experience with FreePSXBoot/TonyHax and PS1 CD-R troubleshooting, I would really appreciate help figuring out what the next controlled test should be.I can provide my SCPH model number, photos/video showing my PS1 failing to read my discs, photos of my own discs, and ImgBurn logs if needed. I don't have my friend's discs, so unfortunately I can't provide photos of those.