Video:
120×90 Pixels
15 Frames Per Second
8 colors. Black, white, and 6 shades of grey
Recording Medium:
Standard Type II Audio Cassette Tape
8.5x normal recording speed (NOT 9x as is commonly cited)
11 minutes of video recording time per 90 minute audio tape, 5.5 minutes per side (I believe this figure could be more accurate, I am going to look into it in the future)
Left channel of the cassette is audio, Right channel is video
Lens:
4mm diameter – 2/10″ diameter*, viewing angle of 60 degrees, infinity focus. Lens is in focus from between 1/8″ away to infinity
*I believe 4mm is the real measurement and 2/10″ was an American approximation that was thrown around for American reasons.
Misc:
Use of the A/C Adapter overrides the batteries. No need to remove them when plugged in.
Source: Interview with James Wickstead; who is one of the two men listed on the patent as inventor.
Motor:
Some time ago I was searching part numbers for the motor in the PXL when I came across this listing on a website called oddmix.com. The part number matches identically. This guys website clearly indicated to me that he knows whats up when it comes to this sort of thing, and I am pretty sure he sat down and spec’ed this out himself by hand. I placed an order for the motor but was later told it was no longer available and they took it off the website (Presumably he sold it and forgot to take it down). I just dug up the old email, I placed my order Nov 4, 2021. Thankfully, I copied down the specifications before the page came down, and more recently, I was actually able to track down the original listing on the wayback machine; http://oddmix.com/motor/mot_dc_sanko_m9i9ou26_1cw.html
I don’t know how to to verify this information myself, but like I said, this guy really seemed to know what he was talking about and the part numbers are identical so I’m all but certain this information is accurate. I’m not sure how he got the motor in the first place, as far as I’m aware this specific model number was only used in the PXL, and his website didn’t have anything thematically adjacent other than he was a big electronics and, specifically, motor guy, so presumably somebody scrapped a PXL (or the cassette mech from one) and he ended up with just the motor somehow, maybe in a bin of scrap parts. I believe that if somebody were so inclined they could take this list of specs and give it to a manufacturer and we could have a reproduction PXL Cassette motor. Do we need that? I don’t know. But I believe this info could facilitate that.
Here’s the full text from the listing:
Motor DC Sanko 9V.M9I9OU26-1CW Assembly Pulley Bronze Bearings Shock Mount
This is a precisely made, miniature Permanent Magnet (PM) DC motor with a pulley and bronze bearings. The motor begins to rotate at 1 Volt, while it’s no-load current is around 30-40 milliamperes DC. It runs super quiet, and with very low power. This motor is capable to drive many different loads smoothly and with a small PM or stepping motor and a rubber band as a belt it would make a classy but simple precision, low distortion sine-wave generator, a nice generator with a small windmill or some other great science project. First come first serve. Only one available.
Features:
- DC Motor Miniature Sanko 9V.M9I9OU26-1CW
- Motor begins to rotate: 1 VDC
- Motor current: approx. 30-40 mA no load
- Motor resistance: 10 Ohms – approx.
- Bronze sleeve bearings • Solder terminals
- Attached pulley • Shock mounts
- Size: 32 Dia, 37 L [mm] with pulley
- Shaft size: 2 mm Dia, 5 L [mm]
- Weight: 74 Grams with leads
Source: Sale listing at oddmix.com, Nov 4, 2021