Here you will find information on previous and upcoming CED Videodisc Workshops offered through CEDatum.
Please click on the file for details and photos of that years workshop.
At every workshop I like to give out a commorative pen and typically a gift item. Sometimes a gift is provided by a 3rd party. Here is a list of the workshops I have attended/hosted and the items given out.
2016 Workshop – T-Shirts, Pins, 3-Ring Binders.
2018 Workshop – Blue Pen, CED Travel Mug, (Black Tile Coaster Courtesy of Jason Jenks).
2019 Workshop – Red Pen, CED Tote Bag, (Stickers Coutesy of Tom Howe), (Red Tile Coaster Courtesy of Jason Jenks).
2021 Workshop – Green Pen, Build your own CED clocks, (CED Magic Can Koozie Courtesy of Tom Howe), Blue Tile Coaster Courtesy of Jason Jenks).
2022 Workshop – Purple Pen, CED Multi-Screwdriver, (Plush Nippers Courtesy of Rikker Dockum), (Green Tile Coaster Courtesy of Jason Jenks).
2023 Workshop – Black Pen, CED Baseball Cap, (SDT200 Prototype Player donated by Tom Howe for Display).
2024 Workshop – Light Blue Pen and Flashlight Set. (Samples of Wang’s Dupont, WD Provided by Bob Huck, divided and distributed by Tony Fleetwood)
2025 Workshop – Gold Pen w/ Nipper Logo, (1977 Prototype CED Discs Courtesy of Tom Howe).
Additionally there are usually events that occur at different workshops, these aren’t usually planned and don’t occur every year, but I thought it relevant to post some of the events to help others who have been to the workshop remember which one was which.
2013 Workshop – At John Steven’s Church in Monrovia, IN.
2015 Workshop – There was no official workshop this year but some people did gather at, I think Ryan Garner’s home in Novi, MI. Sean and Omar were filming to make a CED Documentary, this unfortunately never got produced as the footage was stolen/lost.
2016 Workshop – This was the first official workshop that I hosted in Indianapolis, IN. It was at the Wingate hotel and was attended by both John Stevens and Pam, former RCA employees. Pam brought her CED collection and SJT400 player for me. Charles Kaplan, son of Michael Kaplan who worked for RCA Labs in Princeton, NJ also attended this workshop. He brought some of his fathers journals from RCA as well as a 1977 Prototype disc. This workshop was recorded by Jeffery Smith and uploaded to YouTube. I brought the family with, my wife and son, and we rented a minivan for travel. We visited the former RCA factory on Rockville Road, and the family and I went to the Indy Zoo as well as stopped at Antique Archeology (as made famous by the History Channel show American Pickers) on the way home. I also remember we stopped at Bob’s Big Boy on the way, the next year it was closed when we passed and has since been turned into a Mexican Restaurant.
2018 Workshop – The family also came with this year but we took our own car, a 2014 Kia Optima. The workshop was held at the Wingate hotel in Indianapolis, IN again and was also attended by both John Stevens and Pam. I remember this is the only workshop attended by Chaz Wing from Maine. (I thought that was cool of him to come all that way to join us.) At this workshop John Greves unboxed a still sealed SJT400 he purchased on eBay. There is a video of this on my YouTube channel. After the workshop we visited the RCA Factory again. That night the sink in our room broke and they upgraded us to the Gemstone Suite. Before heading home I made a stop at the Indiana Historical Society and went through some of their RCA items. They have a lot, I was there at least an hour and didn’t even scratch the surface of what they have. We made a stop on the way home to take a photo with the Gibson City sign just outside of Gibson City, IL.
2019 Workshop – Again, the family came with on this trip. We stopped at the church where we were married, just for fun. The workshop was held at the Wingate hotel again and John Stevens, and Pam also attended. This workshop also had our first foreign visitor, Derrek Dresser from Canada. This was the workshop with the Nacho Cheese Machine.
2020 Workshop – The official workshop was cancelled this year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. But a small impromptu workshop was held in Eagle, WI at John Greves home. John repaired my JcPenney player, the video is available on YouTube. We spent most of the workshop marveling at John’s massive collection of arcade machines and various other hobbies. John’s wife, Barbara, made us a lasagna so amazing that’s its still spoken about in legend to this day.
2021 Workshop – This is the first workshop that the family didn’t come with. Instead I carpooled with Chris W. and Davey J. Chris brought his Gene Kelly RCA Dealership standee for everyone to take photo’s with. Before the workshop we stopped at a former RCA employee’s home, James Leech, and he and his wife Rhonda where selling Rhonda’s, mother’s collection. Thelma Turner was a former RCA employee of 40 years, she retired from RCA in 1988 and passed away in 1998. After her husband passed in 2019 they decided it was time to sell the collection. They were amazing people and we had an amazing time visiting with them and seeing all the amazing RCA things Thelma had collected over the years. This years workshop was also held at the Wingate hotel and John Steven’s came with his wife Kathleen. Pam was unable to attend as her mother was in the hospital. Eric Crowdis from Des Moines, IA attended this workshop and brought a plethora of rare discs with him, including 2 Blackhawk films, the McDonald’s Cartoon disc, the Lazon disc, and a World’s Fair disc. This was the first time I had seen any of these discs in person. After the workshop Chris, Davey, and I drove through Chicago (never again!) to visit John Greve’s home again.
Unfortunately, after the 2021 Workshop, on Aug 2nd, John Stevens passed away after a 6 year battle with cancer. Aug 21st we returned to John’s Church in Monrovia, where the first CED workshops were held, to attend his service. The family came with me and we stayed at the Wingate in Plainfield, IN. It was sad to loose such a dear friend and essential member of the CED group, he will be dearly missed.
2022 Workshop – For this workshop Chris and Davey carpooled with me again. We stopped and picked up a collection that belonged to Gunter John, from his son, John. Gunter was the head of mastering at Rockville Road. The workshop was held at the Wingate in Indy again, and was a great time. The Gunter Collection was the highlight of the event.
2023 Workshop – I felt that we needed some more space as I was expecting 4 of us, Chris, Davey, my son and myself, so I decided to barrow my parents conversion van for the trip. But then Davey was unable to go, but the extra space was still nice. The workshop was at the Wingate again and Pam made a brief appearance. Tom Howe sent me a SDT200 Prototype CED Player to display at the workshop. It was the most produced prototype player with some 450+ units manufactured. It used the older style caddy that is slightly smaller than a regular caddy and the hole diameter of the disc is slightly different sized as well. I believe the discs were 30 minutes per side at this point. This was also the first year I made some toolboxes to sell, for those who wanted to purchase a CED repair toolbox. This was also the workshop that Keith’s family purchased their first manakin friend. The day after the workshop Austin Nealon hosted another player repair clinic focusing mainly on VHD and some U-Matic players.
2024 Workshop – (Shortly before this workshop on June 17th 2024, Pam passed away from Cancer. She will forever be missed.) This workshop threw us for a bit of a loop. The Wingate decided to remodel and in their infinite wisdom they decided to store furniture in the event room. So we were unable to get the Wingate for this Workshop. The hotel with the next largest event room, although half the size, was The Hampton Inn in Avon, IN. So that is where we had the workshop in 2024. Chris and Davey decided to drive separately since I wanted to arrive a day or two early so as I could meet with Jeff Gold’s brother and another gentleman. Jeff Gold also worked in the Mastering department with Gunter and John Stevens. So I traveled about an hour south of Indy and met with Jeff’s brother where I picked up about half of Jeff’s collection. I then traveled another hour south west of Indy and met another gentleman named Chris, who had previously picked up half of Jeff Gold’s collection. I brought all the disc back together to the workshop. Then Chris and Davey arrived together and we all split a room. The highlight of this workshop was, shortly after it started an older gentleman showed up and sat in the back. After my presentation he introduced himself as Bob Huck. Bob was actually John Steven’s boss, at Rockville Road. He brought many great items to share and we could have picked his brain all day. But we had players to repair and the workshop went splendidly, although a little tight on space. Some notable stops my son and I made on our trip were the Iowa 80 Truckstop Museum, a Bojangles for the first time, as well as a Bennigans and Grindstone Charlies. On the way home we stopped in Gibson City and found an old RCA dealership that the owner had turned into a toy store, it was an amazing place.
2025 Workshop – The Wingate event room was still full of furniture so we again had to have the workshop at the Hampton Inn in Avon, IN. Again, Chris and Davey drove separately and my Son and I went by ourselves. This worked out well as we had plans to visit the Toledo Zoo and the Henry Ford Museum, and the Studebaker National Museum. It was a great trip. Chris stayed at the Hampton with us and Davey split an Air B&B with Keith. Bob Huck attended again and brought a former co-worker of his Byron Taylor who worked designing the stylus cartridge. There was a very good turn out for the workshop and the event room was much too small. If the Wingate is unavailable for the next workshop, other arrangements will have to be made.
If you have any stories you would like to share or add please email me at videodiscjunkie@gmail.com thanks.