Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Can anybody identify this tach sensor? It's from an Otari MTR-10/12 capstan motor (MR5A023A). It looks like an early mono tape head (late-70s) with magnets glued to the side. Bonus points if somebody can tell me the gap width. #otari #repair 210
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 05/06/2026Signifying Something podcast returns with a new episode featuring Bhob Rainey! I was fascinated to learn about Bhob's sonification and audification techniques using data from stock market predictions. Thank you @mphonic.bsky.social and @safieflato.bsky.social!signifyingsomething.bandcamp.comEpisode 014 - Bhob Rainey - "There's a Shania Twain to it..." ("Canopy of Catastrophes"), by Signifying Something3 track album 0116
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Sawai Sir Sawant Singh Bahadur, 6th Maharaja of Bijawar, looking so boss in carmine floreate frame on this 6 pie stamp issued in 1935 feudatory India. #india #bijawar #stampcollecting #philately 192
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 18/05/2026Email your senator about the ACCESS Act. Imagine leaving Instagram and keeping your followers. Post once and share everywhere. Own your data instead of renting it from Meta. That's what this bill does. Bipartisan, stalled, needs noise. Five minutes of your time. www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...congress.gov 010
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 18/05/2026I've been thinking about what you said @stamplab.bsky.social, about how the philatelic community is scattered across the web. This is the same thing we're dealing with in the experimental music community. Social fragmentation. 220
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 17/05/2026Ahmad Shāh Qājār looks so boss on these stamps. Issued in 1911 by the Persian Qājār dynasty, these are still illegal to buy and sell in the United States. #iran #persia #illegalstamps #philately #stampcollecting 4131
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 16/05/2026I'm really enjoying revisiting these recordings. I hadn't heard these since 2006 when they were originally released. Richard's writing is compelling too. Thanks to Wayback Machine for saving this stuff.homophoni.comRichard Kamerman - Trace Being | HOMOPHONITrace Being collects Richard Kamerman's 2006 HOMOPHONI process blog entries, images, and recordings. 030
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 15/05/2026I was updating the filenames on archive.org and noticed there was a lossless version of this. Yay! Added to the site.homophoni.comSafie Flato - None or Less Than Expected | HOMOPHONISafie Flato - None or Less Than Expected [homo059 2017] 130
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 15/05/2026homophoni.comSafie Flato - 48v | HOMOPHONI48v phantom power to mic in the 'off' position, max/msp 031
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 14/05/2026Back online with proper album pages, upscaled artwork, and even Richard's old blog. homophoni.comhomophoni.comHOMOPHONIHOMOPHONI is an experimental audio archive and label catalog of free releases spanning sound art, improvisation, musique concrete, and related work. 142
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 10/12/2025This hilariously brazen poke-in-the-eye was issued during the dying days of the Soviet Union and features infamous double-agent Kim Philby. Credits to the esteemed International Stamp Club of New York for the discovery. #stamps #philately #spieslovemail #kim #philby 062
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 02/09/2025Here's another Japanese occupation stamp, this time from Burma, issued in 1943. I was surprised to learn that unlike Manchukuo's puppet state, many Burmese welcomed Japan as liberators from Britain—hopes soon dashed by the realities of war. #stampcollecting #philately #stamps #japan #burma 1121
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 26/08/2025Anyone else notice that Scott now lists Carpatho-Ukraine as its own country, rather than as a semi-autonomous region of Czechoslovakia? #philately #stampcollecting #ukraine #czechoslovakia 062
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 26/08/2025Pretty sure these are the first postage stamps to feature a drone swarm. #philately #stampcollecting #ukraine #spiderwebeuromaidanpress.comUkraine Spiderweb stamp marks drone strike on Russia’s bombersUkraine issues a new Spiderweb stamp set, marking the June 2025 drone strike that crippled a third of Russia’s strategic bomber fleet. 171
Reposted by Daithí O'CiarbaKirsten M @piperewan.bsky.social · 18/08/2025Here’s a drawing that my art partner in crime and I did in 2020 to protest DeJoy sabotaging the USPS. We made these into postcards and sent them all over the US. I wonder how many senators/reps received them. Quite a few I’m sure. Still relevant, unfortunately. I think I have a stack left somewhere. 091
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 05/08/2025El Salvador has been making headlines recently, but before it was famous for giga-prisons, it was known as the "Land of Volcanoes." Here is El Salvador’s first postage stamp, printed in 1867 by the American Bank Note Company, featuring the Izalco volcano. #philately #stampcollecting #elsalvador 180
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 26/06/2025Just broke a piano string mid-tuning. Excellent live demo of Hooke’s Law meeting Newton’s Second Law. 030
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 12/06/2025@stamplab.bsky.social mentioned Manchukuo recently, which is an interesting chapter in history and philately. So, here's a stamp issued in 1935 during the brutal Japanese occupation of Chinese Manchuria, featuring the puppet emperor Puyi. #stampcollecting #stamps #philately #china #japan #manchukuo 1131
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 28/05/2025I posted this photo before, but deleted it because I felt like it was too personal. I really should stop deleting posts. So, let's try again: here is a piano that my partner Christine gave me. It's basically the most incredible gift I've ever received from the most incredible person I've ever known. 080
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 19/05/2025Here’s something unique — an Express Post stamp from the Republic of China, issued between 1912 and 1916 (I think). Does anyone know more about these? It’s the only one I’ve ever come across. #philately #stampcollecting #stamps #china 1142
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 19/05/2025Counting down the days until the embargoes are lifted so I can finally start selling stamps from Syria and Iran. How about Cuba next please? 020
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 16/05/2025This set from the Lao People's Democratic Republic is beautiful. We often think of Laos as a single, unified culture, but the reality is that it’s home to dozens of distinct and diverse cultural traditions. #philately #stampcollecting #stamps #laos 0110
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 15/05/2025General Grant and party after leaving the Bonanza Mines, Virginia City, Nevada, Oct. 26, 1879. The mine operated from 1865-1960 and at one time was reported to be the second largest producer of quicksilver (mercury) in the United States. #postcards #mining 010
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 12/05/2025Taking apart a destroyed Fostex 260 4-track. I don't like the digital transport buttons on these models, but they make gnarly feedback which I love. And this board is kinda beautiful by itself. 180
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 10/05/2025Here is one of my favorite cat stamps from Japan, featuring a painting by Takehisa Yumeji. #philately #stampcollecting #cats #japan #黒船屋 0131
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 08/05/2025These are bonkers. Issued by the Taliban after the American withdrawal to commemorate the defeat of the Soviets. February 15th is now a national holiday in Afghanistan. #stampcollecting #philately #afghanistan #illegalstamps 070
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 08/05/2025These Yemeni space stamps from 1970 are steeped in Cold War-era anxiety and reflect the country's longstanding interest in aerospace and rocketry. Likely intended for collectors rather than actual postal use, they remain intriguing artifacts of their time. #stampcollecting #philately #yemen #space 080
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 03/05/2025Found at a thrift store: a letter addressed to Miss Sallie Hall of Wallingford, Connecticut, containing an 1852 albumen print by Montgomery P. Simons (1816–1877), one of Philadelphia’s earliest practicing photographers. #philately #stampcollecting #albumen 180
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 30/04/2025Overprinted stamps from 1898, issued during the first U.S. occupation of Cuba—the same year we acquired Guantanamo Bay. Feels timely, as we stumble into a fresh chapter of American expansionism. #stampcollecting #philately #cuba 090
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 29/04/2025On the way to the dog park. Mr. Dill Pickles freaking loves the dog park. 040
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 27/04/2025Cable pianos are generally considered to be the worst, but I think this ruined piano is beautiful. How could you not want to drag your fingernails across those exposed strings? And the way the keys are all crammed together at the end reminds me of something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. 150
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 25/04/2025A player piano that my friend Pascal is restoring. It would be fun to experiment with preparations or perhaps make some Strumming Music style rolls. 0120
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 17/03/2025Trying to figure out why this Akai GX-260D only works intermittently. Bad caps probably. 070
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 04/02/2025Replacing the belt on a Sony TCM-20DV. These aren't as nice as the 200DV but I like the location of the pitch knob. 040
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 29/01/2025Trying to figure out why one of the channels died on this TEAC 144 4-track. 150
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 27/01/2025The famous Toshiba RT series, used by the Lockerbie bombers. 030
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 27/01/2025This is the inside of my friend Pascal's Revox A77. It works pretty good now. 030
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 27/01/2025This is my Otari. It's broken right now but it looks really cool. 190
Daithí O'Ciarba @homophoni.bsky.social · 27/01/2025I am not really sure what to talk about so I'm just going to post some photos of tape recorders. 140
