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Old 9th Jun 2020, 1:05 pm   #1
AC/HL
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Default Your oldest working on topic gadgets

On today's BBC news site.

Electronic/household electrical gadgets only, no OT deviation please.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52965974
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Old 9th Jun 2020, 1:32 pm   #2
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

Mine is a H-P 33E calculator from around 1977/78.

I *still* think in RPN when doing calculations.
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Old 9th Jun 2020, 1:59 pm   #3
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

Nothing pre-war. A 1950's cylinder vacuum cleaner that lives in the garage. A brown enamelled steel electric kettle of unknown age that I inherited from work.
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Old 9th Jun 2020, 2:31 pm   #4
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

Oldest in regular (seasonal) use would be a No.1 Belling Champion convection heater of the earliest sort, perhaps 1938, which unlike every other Champion I've seen lacks, and clearly has never had, any form of guard underneath to protect prying fingers from electrocution. Older heaters, kettles, toasters, cooker, vacuum cleaners etc. are in retirement at least for now.

Paul
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Old 9th Jun 2020, 2:58 pm   #5
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

My dad's got a 1980s Casio calculator, for me I've got several things, Headphones, telephones, cameras, televisions, games consoles, audio etc all from the 50s-80s, but then perhaps the strangest of all, especially to be sitting in a bedroom, is a 70s Bendix tumble dryer, works, although not used.

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Old 9th Jun 2020, 3:13 pm   #6
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

There was an article in my latest Archaeology magazine (this is on topic, honest) about a recently re-discovered lost room in the houses of parliament, it was once a passage, now bricked up. During repair work in 1949 is was discovered and a light switch and bulb installed. It was lost again behind panelling until this year. When the door in the panelling was opened by the locksmith the light switch was thrown and the light worked. The bulb was an Osram 150W of George VI vintage.

Peter
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Old 9th Jun 2020, 3:51 pm   #7
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

Our Fridge Freezer is from circa 1972 and my camera is from 1939, though it hasn`t had much use since Kodak stopped making Kodachrome.

I also have a 1957 HMV 3030 tape machine.

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Old 9th Jun 2020, 3:52 pm   #8
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

My Dad’s old Trio amplifier must be heading for its second half century but has never needed any electrical repairs in living memory, but I gave it a good internal cleaning to sort out some crackling last year.
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Old 9th Jun 2020, 5:22 pm   #9
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

I've got a 1920's BTH type C crystal set directly driving a small Brown horn speaker, used as a monitor for my pantry transmitter which is sat right next to it in the workshop...
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Old 9th Jun 2020, 7:24 pm   #10
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

A Black and Decker D500 from the 1960s (silver/gold paint) rarely used except with the chuck replaced with a backing pad for a grizzly disk.

HP25 from 1975 (regrettably not a 25c)

HP11c from the early 1981

Psion 3 from 1993 (and several of the slightly later and much better 3a's which are in daily use)

Stuart
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Old 9th Jun 2020, 8:47 pm   #11
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

Post No.6:-
I love the legend on the lamp- 'Property of His Majesty's Govt.' !!
I now have a Goon Show-esque vision of MP's going home with their pockets full of cutlery and toilet rolls.

My oldest gadgets are not interesting enough to list, but perhaps significantly they are generally things that i would trust to be 'on' if i left the house.

Dave
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Old 9th Jun 2020, 9:38 pm   #12
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

Quote:
Originally Posted by barrymagrec View Post
my camera is from 1939, though it hasn`t had much use since Kodak stopped making Kodachrome.
I have half a dozen Kodachrome 64 films if you'd like one foc! I haven't used any since Dwaynes stopped processing them for Kodak, but I've been thinking about home processing as a black and white film.

David
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Old 10th Jun 2020, 12:18 am   #13
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

A BC-221 with "Phila 43" on the label. 77 years old. Still used as a marker oscillator - and pretty stable after a couple of hours warm up...
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Old 10th Jun 2020, 12:42 am   #14
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

A Casio FX-201P calculator I bought in 1976, still use it every few days.
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Old 10th Jun 2020, 1:48 am   #15
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

The oldest working electronic non-radio I have is 1934 DeJur selenium cell light meter for photography. It still reads correctly.

I suspect that the oldest working electrical thing somebody here have would
be a Morse Code key or sounder or a telephone. They date well back before 1900. OR maybe an arc lamp?
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Old 10th Jun 2020, 8:00 am   #16
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

My household gadget that is running all day everyday is my Magneta 1930's clock.
 
Old 10th Jun 2020, 10:01 am   #17
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

How about this tantalum bulb, of a date just pre or in World War 1 which places it probably 1912-1916?

Interestingly, this bulb was repaired through the pinch by a company named TrelCo at which time a print label with army arrow was added. Tantalum bulbs (and especially osmium bulbs) were so expensive that small firms could make a reasonable living repairing them.

This bulb is 'working' in the sense that I powered it up once only, very gently, on my Variac.
Cheers, Marty
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Old 10th Jun 2020, 10:01 am   #18
barrymagrec
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

Quote:
Originally Posted by Backtoreality View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by barrymagrec View Post
my camera is from 1939, though it hasn`t had much use since Kodak stopped making Kodachrome.
I have half a dozen Kodachrome 64 films if you'd like one foc! I haven't used any since Dwaynes stopped processing them for Kodak, but I've been thinking about home processing as a black and white film.

David
A very kind offer but these days I doubt I`d ever get round to using it now. I last used the camera on a trip to Iceland at which point I discovered the Weston III had stopped working and I had to guess the exposure, I`m too out of practice for that now and I`ve just never got round to fixing the meter.......

Thanks anyway though - I might try B & W again at some point but time you know.....
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Old 10th Jun 2020, 10:27 am   #19
John M0GLN
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

Other than old radios the only thing we have is a 1972 Kenwood Chef which my wife's using at the moment for bread making.

John
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Old 10th Jun 2020, 11:00 am   #20
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Default Re: Your oldest working on topic gadgets

I’ve got an Ekco RS3 which I think is my oldest working radio, it was recently restored my me, so does that still count? If it’s the oldest working near original thing then it would probably be my Ekco AC85, that is still working well on all its original capacitors, including the cardboard cased smoothing block, the only things changed on that set were the mains lead, and the wiring to the speaker. I guess mechanical clocks are off topic, but if they weren’t then I’ve got a few of those in daily use, which would easily be much older than the RS3.

The trouble is I have such a huge collection of things that it’s hard to remember which is your oldest, and if it still works if it’s not used daily. A lot younger, but in daily use is my Sony FH-7 mini hi-fi, fantastic sounding machine! I’ve also got several vintage folding cameras too, and a couple of early 35mm cameras, not tried them with film yet, but the shutters fire on their various settings.

Regards
Lloyd
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