Allen's Site
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.

Explore the Blog

Stories

Punt Live Roulette Online: A Practical Guide for Australian Players

In Australian slang, to “punt” is to place a wager, and live roulette gives that wager a streamed casino setting. Instead of playing against a computer…

Why Your Turntable Needs a Phono Preamp for CD Transfers

Transferring vinyl records to CD may appear straightforward: connect a turntable to a computer, press play, and record the music. In practice, the signal…

A Beginner’s Guide to Connecting a Tape Deck to Your Computer

Converting cassette tapes to digital audio is a practical way to preserve recordings that may be fading, stretched or difficult to replay. A computer, a…

ette tape formats explained: full-size, compact, and microcassettes

The humble cassette tape dominated home audio recording for decades, yet the terminology around different cassette sizes remains surprisingly confusing for…

Clean Your Vinyl Record Before Digitizing The Right Way

A clean record is the foundation of a good LP-to-CD transfer. Dust, fingerprints, mould residue and greasy deposits can create clicks, crackle and distortion…

Choosing your first turntable for vinyl ripping

Vinyl has enjoyed a quiet but unmistakable comeback in Australian loungerooms over the last decade. Many Brisbane and Melbourne households now keep crates of…

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.

Read the Blog

Stay in Touch

  • Practical electronics tips and guides
  • DIY vinyl-to-CD transfer know-how
  • Honest product comparisons
  • Bilingual content — English & French