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This web page is dedicated to 2XL. It is in no way associated with the manufacturer of said toy nor is any of the information found on this site necessarily correct. If you can't find the answer to one of your questions, or wish to add to this site, simply click on the 'submit' graphic above and send us some e-mail.
Out fixation with 2XL formed when Andy brought his 2XL to college with him one semester, and we spent many, many hours playing with it and figuring out how it worked. "We" in this case consists of Andy (the owner of the 2XL unit featured here), Dave (the techno-guy who knows everything) and Jeff (the web site curator).
The web site itself has developed a loyal following and Cyrus has contributed some new .wav files for everyone to hear. Keep sending that feedback and we'll keep adding to the site...
NOW READ ON!
Q: | What is a 2XL? |
A: | 2XL is an 8-track based toy thing which allows its user to answer questions via buttons on its front. MORE TO COME!
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Q: | How do 8-tracks work? |
A: | From: Dave Lennie [[email protected]] Sent: Friday, October 24, 1997 10:40 PM 8 track was actually 4 stereo programs on one loop cassette which was modeled after the professional audio cart machine. Pressing "program" would physically move the audio head up one set of tracks, allowing you to listen to any one of the 4 segments on the tape. At the end/beginning of the tape, there was a short metal strip which the deck would sense in order to automatically advance to the next track at the end of one track (to avoid playing the same track over and over again). Cueing was next to impossible, and while a relatively slow "fast forward" function was possible on some decks, "rewind" was impossible due to the way the tape looped inside the cassette. Fidelity was pretty bad, and head misalignment was a frequent problem due to it moving around all the time. It's kinda like the older auto-reverse cassette decks which actually flipped the head around to play side 2, rather than just using a 4-track stationary head as they do now. |
Q: | How does 2XL work based on 8-track technology? |
A: | From: Dave Lennie [[email protected]] Sent: Friday, October 24, 1997 10:40 PM 2XL worked by asking a question which you answered by advancing it to a certain program on the tape. He actually had 4 different buttons, where each one would send the head directly to the corresponding track (as opposed to a single button which would just advance forward by one track). For example, if the question was on one track, two or three answer options would send you to other tracks. You would select your answer with the appropriate track button and depending on what you answered, he would tell you if you were right or wrong. With clever recording methods and some planning, you could keep a reasonably continuous stream of questions and answers going. I remember sometimes, however, 2XL would have to stop and "think" for awhile, or he would just tell you to press a certain button (without asking a question) in order to sync himself back up with the answers and other questions again. As I'm sure you remember, it was quite humorous to answer wrong on purpose just to see what he would say. There were quite a few ways you could get through the tape. I recently saw that 2XL is still available in a standard cassette form now. It probably uses the same basic technology, since cassettes really have 4 tracks as well. The newer version is probably more reliable and solid-state rather than the KERCHUNK of the 8-track head moving around when you answered. I don't know, however, if they still use the ridiculous Japanese/New Jersian voiced man or the horribly fake-sounding "thinking beeps".
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Q: | Can 2XL play my huge collection of regular 8-tracks? |
A: | From: Dave Lennie [[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 1997 8:16 PM Andy also said that he remembers that 2XL would play music (i.e. regular music 8-tracks). He said it was one of the "features" listed on the box. |
Q: | What is the correct voltage power adapter for plugging in
2XL without frying his circuits?
More specifically, here's some of the questions asked: From: Gordon Nelson <[email protected]> I have recently found an 8 track 2XL robots and he did not have a power Thank you, p.s. Your web page is fantastic-among the best I have seen! From: Ben Hills <[email protected]> Hi, I have recently been reunited with my 2XL that I used to spend hours The 2XL and two tapes have survived well, but the power supply gave I would be very grateful if you could give me the answers to my Keep up the good work with the 2XL Home Page. :-) Thanks. Regards, |
A: | From: Dave Lennie <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, October 20, 1998 10:59 PM The connector on the back is indeed for power. I modified the 2XL that
Andy Rat Shack sells an adapter capable of producing many DC voltages and it |
Q: | What are some people's opinions of 2XL? |
A: | From: Dave Lennie [[email protected]] Sent: Friday, October 24, 1997 10:40 PM I could never quite decide if 2XL was an ingenious inexpensive learning tool or a pathetic attempt at one. I'm inclined to think the latter, but had the voice and questions been better written and executed, it might not have been so bad. |
Q: | Where can I buy my very own 2XL? |
A: | From: Dave Lennie [[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 1997 11:42 PM If you're interested in purchasing your own 2XL, go here: http://www.dantiques.com/toys.htm From: Peter Golkin <[email protected]> I recently found a motherlode of 2-XL game tapes, all in very good |
Q: | Are there any bands named after 2XL? |
A: | From: Dave Lennie [[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 1997 11:26 PM You'll be happy to know that there's a band named 2XL. There's a pretty uninformative web page chocked full of grammatical errors at: http://members.aol.com/Band2xl/2XL.html These guys look like total mega-dorks. I tried to listen to some music via a realaudio link offered on the page but got an error. Figures. I don't think they were named after the plastic 8-track japanese new jersian robot, though.
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Q: | IS 2XL a life form? |
A: | That depends on who you talk to. Dave sez yes, but Jeff and Andy disagree. |
Q: | What other related toys might be considered life forms? |
A: | One example is Armatron: From: Dave Lennie [[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 1997 8:16 PM I still have the Armatron at my parents house. I should probably get it and remove the batteries, as they may have already exploded inside it. FUEL CELLS LEAKING MUST REMOVE IMMEDIATELY that would be what you guys would tell me that it wrote on the wall of the basement. |
Q: | Who does 2XL look like if I put a fishing hat and black glasses on him? |
A: | From: Andy Boyer [[email protected]] Sent: Monday, November 03, 1997 7:27 PM Did you know 2XL looks just like Woody Allen if you put a fishing hat and black glasses on him? I've seen it for myself. |
Q: | What are other people saying about this web site? |
A: | From: [email protected] Sent: Monday, August 03, 1998 6:28 PM Subject: 2XL Hi there, I too was crazy about 2XL and all its sound effects as a child. Two decades later, after cleaning out my basement, I brought mine back to life and this time began playing with it from the "How'd they do that" perspective too. Not really expecting anything, I entered 2XL into Yahoo just for the heck of it, and was surprised when I found your website. My compliments to all three of you. Your explanations, pictures, and sounds were great! To your point "I could never quite decide if 2XL was an ingenious inexpensive learning tool or a pathetic attempt at one." My guess is that two decades from now, today's 10 year olds will be reminiscing about how cheesy Microsoft's "purple puppet robot Barney" was. Thanx for bringing back childhood memories guys. Hope to hear from you, Cyrus (Toronto, Canada) From: [email protected] I can't believe this! You mean, my sister and I aren't the only ones
who grew From: James Cassidy [[email protected]] |
Q: | What are some other 2XL-related web sites? |
A: | From: Andrew Boyer <[email protected]> Date: Friday, February 19, 1999 1:12 PM Here is another web page about our friend, 2-XL. It has some info we could http://www.joysjapanimation.com/Fer/2xl/index.html Andy |
Here are some pictures of and by 2XL. Click on the thumbnail of the picture to see it in full, living color!
Here are some pictures drawn by Armatron, friend of 2XL. Click on the thumbnail of the picture to see it in full, living color!
Note: No, these really have nothing to do with 2XL, excepting that Andy and Jeff believe that 2XL and Armatron conspired to create these drawings. Dave DOES NOT believe that these drawings were created by Armatron, nor does he particularly like it when you bring the subject up.
Here are some sounds for you to listen to or download. These are WAY cool and make great Windows event sounds!
Note from Dave: "I think the best ones are 'question' and 'answer'. They are an actual question and corresponding answer from the 'Strange But Is It True' cartridge. It's one of those great ones where you answer correctly but he decides not to give you credit through some kind of made-up loophole. In most of the clips, you can hear what sounds like a chorus of 2XL's all babbling about different things in the background. This is a testament to how truly crappy 8-track technology is and how much crosstalk exists between tracks. At times there is so much noise that it's almost difficult to hear the track you're trying to listen to."
If you have problems, e-mail [email protected]
Note from Cyrus: "I've spliced together a few sound 'collages' from various tapes...8-track quality control being what it was back in the late 70's, I guess I lucked out - mine never had crosstalk noise problems."
This page was last modified on: 04/08/09 |
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