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Old 16th Jan 2018, 6:59 pm   #1
electronicskip
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Default What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.

Just wondering , with all the collectors of almost every shape and size of treasured vintage electronic equipment. what is your most treasured piece? not in monetary value , but close to your heart or your most proud of?.

My personal one is a rare ATARI 2600 test console I acquired many years ago by being in the right place at the right time.

Also I have my very first computer a ZX81 which I waited ages for to be delivered from Sinclair,
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Old 16th Jan 2018, 7:09 pm   #2
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Default Re: Whts your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

My vote would go for the Teleton GT-202 tuner I have here. Bought it [and associated Teleton amplifier, now no longer around] from Lasky's some time in the very-early 1970s as a birthday present for my late father, as a replacement for an elderly-and-failing Mono, MW/LW-only radiogram.

I inherited-it back some time around 1985 when my father bought himself a Japanese Sansui "Monster" receiver and associated speakers.

The Teleton - considering how relatively cheap it was - still works remarkably well, and has emotional value far greater than its cash-value.

Alternatively, I have a Stewart-Warner built version of the "TCS12" receiver I bought from GWM Radio in the very-early-1970s. Was my first 'real' communications-receiver and introduced me to radio-amateurs working on 7MHz amongst the Soviet-bloc megawatt broadcasters [back then everything had the Radio Tirana 'fanfare' tuning-signal as continuous background].
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Old 16th Jan 2018, 7:21 pm   #3
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Default Re: Whts your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

Teleton equipment was great value for money and decent stuff as I recall when I used to sell it.
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Old 16th Jan 2018, 7:25 pm   #4
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Default Re: Whts your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

My mostly working (floppy drive will save to a formatted disk but not format new disks) Generalmusic/GEM S2. One of very few keyboards built with polyphonic after touch (we are talking ~20), and is an absolute beauty to play, sold as seen and given that my previous one never worked properly was a bit of a risk but for less than £100 it was worth it.

Although not really junk as it is still very much a usable piece of kit.
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Old 16th Jan 2018, 8:09 pm   #5
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Default Re: Whts your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

Mine is my Murphy A28 radiogram, I've owned it about twenty years and 5 years ago I undertook a major restoration of it. My friend spent a lot of time on the electrics and I spend a lot of time on the cabinet and it now works wonderfully and looks splendid.
Though it's quite rare I suspect it isn't that valuable but this is of no consequence as I'm so fond of it and it's given me heaps of enjoyment.
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Old 16th Jan 2018, 8:26 pm   #6
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Default Re: Whts your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

Quote:
Originally Posted by electronicskip View Post
Teleton equipment was great value for money and decent stuff as I recall when I used to sell it.
Yes - I don't know who actually made it [have heard suggestions Teleton had an association with a second-source plant operated by Mitsubishi] but their kit combined decent performance with good pricing and reliability.

Something at the back of my mind links them with a Korean company called Seoum [or SeOum?] - as a student I remember several times driving down to London in my Ford Escort and visiting one of the then-popular box-shifter warehouses [Laskys, RTVC?] and buying half-a-dozen sets of Seoum or Teleton "Hi-fi separates" - tuner, amp, speakers, cassette-deck - they had on offer.

I couldn't fit all these into the Escort when boxed, so I'd take five of the lot out of their boxes and stack them in the passenger footwell/on the rear seat while the sixth set stayed in boxes in the boot. Then I'd drive back to uni and sell the "boxed" kit on to another student when I got home - offering to go round to his pad and set it up/demo it.

Of course I then took the empty boxes home, to be refilled/re-used for the next sale... this sideline kept me in beer.
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Old 16th Jan 2018, 8:27 pm   #7
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Default Re: What's your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

Mine is my Regentone TR20 405-line television (with built-in A121 radio chassis), simply because it has been in my family from new, having been purchased by my grandfather in 1950.
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Old 16th Jan 2018, 8:32 pm   #8
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Default Re: What's your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

Mine is my Hi-Fi I bought new in 1985 when I was 16 which I still have and use now. An A&R A60 integrated amp, Monitor Audio 252 speakers and a SEE Revolver record deck with a Linn Basik plus arm and which I upgraded the supplied cartridge a few years later with a Nagaoka MP11 Boron cartridge with a Stilton body. I strayed worryingly close to audiophoolery at that time but was saved by lack of funds. Now, I still love using this kit and never intend replacing any of it. A Hi-Fi for life.
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Old 16th Jan 2018, 9:01 pm   #9
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Default Re: What's your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

A pair of SG Brown 4k headphones, you can do an awful lot with just them and what ever is lying around the house (the 'normal' house that is, not one of ours where finding a spectrum analyser or 'scope or AVO or... wouldn't be hard!).

My brain (that is a piece of old junk now), given time and stuff it can do almost anything.
 
Old 16th Jan 2018, 9:04 pm   #10
electronicskip
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Default Re: Whts your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

Quote:
Originally Posted by G6Tanuki View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by electronicskip View Post
Teleton equipment was great value for money and decent stuff as I recall when I used to sell it.
Yes - I don't know who actually made it [have heard suggestions Teleton had an association with a second-source plant operated by Mitsubishi] but their kit combined decent performance with good pricing and reliability.
There is a very old thread 2008 dealing with the origins of Teleton.

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=32151
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Old 17th Jan 2018, 12:20 am   #11
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Default Re: What's your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

Clive's A28 Radiogram may be valuable or not but it's certainly a beauty!
My most treasured item? Possibly a Nems Clarke 1500A series Radio. Simply because they seem to be so rare and mysterious [having been employed in the US Sixties Space Program]

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Old 17th Jan 2018, 12:28 am   #12
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Default Re: What's your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

Despite being an Avid Cossor collector I have to say its a toss up between my EMOR Globe and my Murphy A8.

The round Ekcos and the Pye sunbursts and all the 1920's sets just don't cut it, it's hard to choose.

I think most days its the A8 and I really have no idea why I like this set so very much.

Cheers

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Old 17th Jan 2018, 1:08 am   #13
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Default Re: What's your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

A pair of Richard Allan speakers bought in the mid 70's and still going strong.

Several cats over the years have had a good go at the speaker cloth and the veneer has peeled off around the front edges, but wouldn't part with them for any reason.

Used daily as part of my multi media setup.
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Old 17th Jan 2018, 1:12 am   #14
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Default Re: What's your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

I have two pairs of Paramount mono block amplifiers from the mid 1950s.
They were converted to use Plessey MK4 connectors unlike there friends in local cinemas with horrid rubber connectors.
They are 3 part cast alloy construction with chromed brass front panels.
They make everything rattle with the volume turned up a bit.
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Old 17th Jan 2018, 1:23 am   #15
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Default Re: What's your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

Might be the two-valve TRF I built in '66, even though it is in pieces in a box. Alternatively, the 2m AM TX built in '69 and which I spent 1000's of hours using over the next few years, 99% of which were spent talking to '8DSW who was over 4 miles away.

Coming up on the outside is my Advance D1P/2 signal generator, which is the only surviving example of its kind in the World. I guess that very few of you will be in a position to experience the pleasure of owning something which is "the only surviving example of its kind in the World" ?

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Old 17th Jan 2018, 5:21 am   #16
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Default Re: What's your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

Difficult.... I'm torn between my AR88 - no suffix letter, a very early one from before there were two versions. I bought it when I was 13 and grew up with it, and the hifi amp I designed for myself.

Both have quite a lot of me in them.

I have a couple of things which were lab protos of things which never went into production, so it's certain they are the only ones in the world because no others were made. I can't say I treasure the items, though I do treasure the memories of their development. No, it has to be the AR88 or the amp.

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Old 17th Jan 2018, 10:32 am   #17
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Default Re: What's your most treasured Piece of electronic junk.

My completely useless but treasured junk includes a WW2 magnetic sensor from a German sea mine. Beautifully made, it includes a little DC motor to adjust the sensor to a null before arming. A shame that some of the best engineering is designed to blow itself up!
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Old 17th Jan 2018, 5:18 pm   #18
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Default Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.

The wording of the OP refers more to "equipment" than anything else, but some of the stuff I really do treasure are tools. Very high on this list;
  • a small electrical screwdriver from Woolworths, Morley, around 1960 (6d ?)
  • a small electrcial screwdriver from Lewis's, Leeds around 1963.
I would very much like to be buried with these in my pocket, and someone might have to be bribed in order to do that, but that's OK.

There's a small group of people trying to get to do Viking longboat funerals; that would be so good. Not sure anyone will get to take their AR88's with them .

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Old 17th Jan 2018, 6:54 pm   #19
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Default Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.

Usually the last beast that I spilt good blood [and grey matter] on!
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Old 17th Jan 2018, 10:15 pm   #20
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Default Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.

I've got a few things around, including my Dad's old Trio amp which was connected to my laptop until recently, it still sounds OK but the switch gear & pots need cleaning.

Another item is a Marantz tuner, another hand me down from my Dad, still working though the memory needs a mains connection to remember frequencies.

I also have a Pace On Digital box which is now next to useless but I've kept for historical reasons, especially as it's most recent British made electronic device I have.
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