A dark, low-key photograph of a vintage workbench with scattered electronic components, coiled wire, and an old soldering iron, lit by a single warm lamp against deep shadow.
A dark, moody still-life composition with antique books and technical instruments on a wooden surface, warm sepia tones against near-black shadow.

Allen's Site

A personal corner of the web — electronics, DIY projects, vinyl transfer, and stories from a retired French engineer.

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Stories

Finding free legal music to test your ripping setup

A useful test library separates a rip-quality problem from a hardware or software problem. Before transferring an LP or cassette to CD, run known-good material…

PayID Baccarat Online: A Careful Look at Casoola

Australian players looking for a convenient way to play baccarat may notice PayID among the available banking options. The service is familiar to many local…

How to set record gain so the needle doesn't skip

A gain setting cannot prevent a mechanically damaged stylus from skipping, but correct record gain is essential for a clean vinyl-to-CD transfer. Gain controls…

Spin Blackjack Australia Online: A Practical Guide For Players

Online blackjack has become a familiar part of the wider Australian casino conversation, alongside pokies, live dealer tables and digital payment options.…

Recording a vinyl side in one take: a step-by-step guide

Recording a vinyl side in one take turns an LP-to-CD transfer into a controlled listening and capture session. Instead of stopping between tracks, you record…

Preserve liner notes as a PDF alongside your CD-R rip

LP-to-CD conversion and cassette transfers often preserve the sound while losing the sleeve’s most useful evidence: credits, lyrics, session notes, artwork and…

How to Make a CD Sound Louder Without Adding Distortion

Making a CD sound louder without adding distortion is mostly about controlling levels rather than forcing the recording. A track can be made louder by raising…

Sono mini system vs component hi-fi for vinyl ripping

A Sono mini system and a component hi-fi stack can both move records to CD, but they solve the job differently. The mini system favours an integrated setup;…

How to choose the digital format you keep as your master copy

Turning a vinyl record or cassette tape into digital files can feel like the final task, yet the format chosen at that moment determines how useful the…

A Safe Way to Remove a Broken Cassette Tape from the Player

A jammed cassette can turn a quick listen into a repair job. A common Australian reaction is to give it a go, but forcing an eject button may bend a tape…

A dark, atmospheric portrait-style still-life suggesting a thoughtful older gentleman's study — worn leather, handwritten notes, and soft amber light against deep shadow.

About Allen

Allen is a retired French national who spent his career at the Laboratoire Régional des Ponts et Chaussées de Bordeaux, where he performed measurements on concrete and metal structures — building transducers, electronics interfaces, and the software to run them.

Now retired, he fills his days with fishing, listening to music, tinkering with HI-FI equipment, archery, computing, and — when possible — a well-earned siesta. He also enjoys transferring his vinyl record collection to CD.

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  • Practical electronics tips and guides
  • DIY vinyl-to-CD transfer know-how
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