JA-RU Slidetek, possibly the world's worst ever stereo viewer
 

 

JA-RU SLIDETEK

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Strictly speaking this viewer should not appear on this web site because it is too new, being manufactured in China in 2005, but there is so much to say about it that it just had to appear!

This viewer probably qualifies for the undisputed title of 'The World's Worst Ever Stereo Viewer'. Never has any company managed to build so many faults and flaws into just one product!

The most significant failure is that you cannot see stereo with it...at all!

When you look through the lenses the images appear as two separate pictures, no merging occurs whatsoever. Even if it did, it wouldn't  do the viewer any good, because the lenses distort the image so badly that is is like looking through two marbles.

The slide advance mechanism almost works, but not if you want to rotate the reel around completely. The best I have managed is two consecutive images before a jam occurs.


The quality of finish is equivalent to giving a pot of paint to a six year old child and saying, "paint this".  Paint drips, runs and splashes are all over the viewer. The advance lever is so fragile that any back to front movement is highly likely to snap the lever straight off. The plastic is of such poor quality that it actually creaks when you hold the viewer firmly.

Attempting to insert or retrieve a reel from the viewer is likely to lead it being damaged, or even it's total destruction. The reel slot is so tight that attempting to insert a reel causes it to bend and the reel needs much careful persuasion to locate into the correct position.

It is astonishing that the viewer is packaged such that a potential buyer can actually try the viewer first. How have any of these items ever been sold!

Looking at the finish on the edge of the logo gives an impression of the overall very low standard of workmanship that has gone in to producing this product.

At first glance it looks as if the reels supplied may be this products saving grace, but no!

The reels are made from a heavy gauge paper, the two halves of which were already becoming unglued as they were removed from the packet. The images are actually very good (when viewed in a View-Master viewer) were it not for the fact that on Disc 1 the Zebra images are mounted the wrong way around, one up and one down, giving a weird kaleidoscope effect with the animal's stripes.

DISC2 appears to have the contents of a Chinese restaurant menu on it, being, birds, rabbit, kitten, goldfish, guinea pig, iguana and puppies.

It is hard to imagine what went through the designers and manufacturer's heads when they conceived this product.

It is SO awful that it deserves a place in any stereo viewer enthusiasts collection!

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