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General Vintage Technology Discussions For general discussions about vintage radio and other vintage electronics etc. |
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21st Jan 2018, 3:53 am | #41 |
Pentode
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Auckland New Zealand
Posts: 175
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
A tag strip, plug-in coil former, surface mount valve socket and much more. Insignificant bits and pieces and components which turn up in my boxes and jars of thankfully collected items which enable me to often repair what is otherwise impossible.
N.B. In particular and especially, the odd piece which I recognise as having originated from a cousin who set me on the road towards my interest in all things electrical, electronic and technical. These otherwise insignificant items are very special, as they vividly invoke memories of a childhood when I watched "Digger" arduously complete a one valve radio using a soldering iron heated in the the farm kitchen cooking range. Advanced projects quickly followed as the family farm economics improved. It was not long before Digger lost his life north of the equator as an airforce pilot doing his bit in defence of freedom. The current situation in the UK makes my blood boil. |
21st Jan 2018, 11:59 am | #42 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Charmouth, Dorset, UK.
Posts: 3,601
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
A Truvox tape deck and amplifier from the early '50s, this particular one I inherited from a silent key friend but I bought a similar one new in 1954 from Premier Radio in Fleet Street . I also have a box containing some selenium rectifier washers from my dads pre war Lotus radio that I dismantled when I was still at school.
Peter |
21st Jan 2018, 12:45 pm | #43 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Colchester, Essex, UK.
Posts: 4,081
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
Over-engineered Heayberd 2v,6v,12v battery charger. Gives 1.5A, cool running and in complete silence. These are now regrettably attracting the attention of table-lampers, no doubt due to their sheer weight and stability. As soon as i have found a red belling-lee terminal to replace one of the black ones, i will call it finished..The + and - symbols are very indistinct. I am far happier leaving this charger ticking over in the shed than some of the modern buzz boxes.
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21st Jan 2018, 2:44 pm | #44 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Worthing, West Sussex, UK
Posts: 5,185
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
I suppose my most treasured item is my Leak 2900A amplifier, I bought it second hand in 1979 (cost me a months wages) and it has been the heart of my HI-FI setup for the last 39 years!
I am also very fond of my large collection of 405 line tellies, particularly the Bush TV85 I remember watching as a child in the 1960's. As yet unrestored, but still in working order! Mark |
21st Jan 2018, 6:31 pm | #45 |
Heptode
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Coventry, West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 518
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
for me its my Regentone MULTI 99s esp the mk 2 version as that is the one we had when I was a kid. playing Donkey Serenade by Alan Jones, Pink toothbrush by Max Bygraves,or Softly Softly by Ruby Murray, for Christmas Mary's Boy Child by Harry Belafonte on 78s brings back a lot of childhood memories
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21st Jan 2018, 9:21 pm | #46 |
Octode
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Liss, Hampshire, UK.
Posts: 1,870
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
I'm another one of those who treasure quite a few bits and pieces - either because they've been passed down through the family, I've owned them for a while or they were the best you could get at the time they were made. I guess honourable mentions should go to the Ultra Twin which was my first radio at the age of 8 and the Revox B77 which I bought new in 1982 and is still in regular use today.
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23rd Jan 2018, 4:37 pm | #47 |
Nonode
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Gloucester, Glos. UK.
Posts: 2,149
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
I suppose another of my most treasured piece of electronics would be my first CB radio I bought new from the shop I worked at.
Amstrad CB901 CB Radio with a roger bleep!!! Still works as well as the day I got it too. |
23rd Jan 2018, 5:39 pm | #48 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 9,637
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
Not exactly treasured, but I do still have a Perdio PR36, which I bought with more or less my first earned income, and that still works too. It was also one of the earliest repairs I did, it had an intermittent OC45.
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23rd Jan 2018, 11:35 pm | #49 |
Octode
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Ventnor, Isle of Wight, & Great Dunmow, Essex, UK.
Posts: 1,377
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
This question has had me puzzling all week! I've got all manner of stuff in various stages of decay, so what stands out as really special?
My conclusion is basically stuff I had when I was a kid. The oldest is a chassis from a Regentone Multi 99 radiogram. When I was 9 years old, our next door neighbours, who were well aware that I was into all things electrical, said that I could have their old radiogram. I only had a Benkson tiny portable radio on which I listened to Ed Stewart's 'Junior Choice' on Saturday mornings, so a proper radiogram was a dream come true. I would also be able to play the half dozen LP's I had. I remember laying awake in bed soon after I was told I could have it. Just pure excitement: I'll never forget it! That was the first step down the road into the abyss of obsolete junk!! 41 years later and I still get the same excitement for a new project. That radiogram was a test bed for my newly developing electronic skills. At some point I converted it to stereo by grafting in an amp from a scrap record player. I did a deal with a school friend, involving biscuits or a dinner ticket in exchange for a stereo cartridge from a radiogram he had found dumped behind some garages. I'll never forget listening to 'Scoopy Do', the only stereo record I had, in stereo for the first time!! Eventually, after the Collaro record deck had been removed, the remains were nailed onto the garage wall and tuned to Laser 558 whilst I indulged my newfound passion of old car wrecks. Austin 1100's among the first! At some point it was scrapped, but amazingly, the complete chassis survived and got carted about with lots of other junk. I dug it out about 10 years ago and powered it up and it actually still worked although with lots of hum. So a future project will be to re- house it and put it back into use. All pure nostalgia, which is, I think, what drives most of us on this forum! All the best Nick |
24th Jan 2018, 12:23 am | #50 |
Heptode
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK.
Posts: 704
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
Lots of things for me but either my first real multimeter bought by my parents for Christmas a long time ago or my Outrun arcade machine which is my “holy grail” machine. Not perfect condition but would be the last thing in my collection of stuff that would go.
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26th Jan 2018, 12:11 am | #51 |
Pentode
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Lichfield, Staffs, UK.
Posts: 150
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
Hmm: Is it my beautiful ELS 63 loudspeakers which I purchased as soon as I could afford to buy "real" hifi, or was it my Brenell STB2 which I went without meals to save up for as a 1st year university student back in the late 1960's and still works well today then it could be my AVO 8 mk2 which is still in regular use.
Decisions, decisions............ P.P.
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26th Jan 2018, 1:54 am | #52 |
Hexode
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Cambridge, Cambs. UK.
Posts: 469
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
My ACE U-50 Radio. Sounds awful really but i like it
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26th Jan 2018, 12:17 pm | #53 |
Octode
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Ayrshire, UK.
Posts: 1,096
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
Nothing too esoteric here....my Beckman Tech300A DVM which I bought many years ago when I was a TV engineer. DVMs were quite rare for TV engineers then and it was somewhat of a novelty but I used it constantly. I still have it and still use it at least once every week because it now lives on my work bench and is my 'go to' meter although I also own a Fluke 77. My Beckman is so familiar to me it's like an extension of my own hand and I can almost set without looking at it. I used to be able to do that with Avo 8s when I was a field engineer!!
Also my Tektronix 2465B 'scope which I was given and was literally within days of going into a skip. When I got it it had less than 300 total hours on it total time. In the time I've had it I've added about 60 hours to it. I don't really use it enough but for someone of my modest means to own such an fantastic 'scope and by such fortuitous means is incredible. Happily due to the generosity of a forum member lending me his programmer, I have been able to capture the cal. data from the Dallas chip and program a new one so that vulnerability is covered. Like every one else on here I've got lots of bits of kit which I've saved, been given, fixed etc. and just simply use every day and have no reason to change. They work well and reliably and do their job. However the two items mentioned above are probably my most treasured for the reasons given. TimR
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28th Jan 2018, 1:05 pm | #54 |
Hexode
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Newcastle, Australia
Posts: 316
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
Hello all.
One piece of “stuff” to save in case of a fire or to say my favourite bit of kit. Nothing special out of my collection of “stuff”. However there is one thing that I have a passionate interest in preserving. An old bit of Army kit. Just an extension speaker, an LS-166 speaker of American origin. I do not have any pictures on hand but there are lots of them for sale on the internet so a pic is readily available. Quite boring for other people really. It saved my life so long ago! 1968 and I was involved with a particular Asian war. On this particular night we came under a vicious attack from the enemy and there was a lot of noise about with mortars, rifle fire and Rocket propelled grenades going off within our position. Our side was really into the engagement and returning fire at a frantic pace. There were a few mortar rounds that landed quite close to the M113 armoured personal carrier I was in. My job at the time was to stand watch listening to the rear link radio and the local Squadron net to let my boss know what was going on. An enemy mortal landed quite close to my carrier and it shook loose the clamp on the extension speaker I was listening to and the speaker fell on the floor face down. I bent down to pick it up. When I was bent over an enemy rocket propelled grenade hit the side of my carrier and burnt a hole through the side. If I had been still sitting where I was I would have had something like a one inch hole through my head. It frightened the “you know what” out of me. I treasure that little speaker and I have a passionate interest in it’s welfare. Just my 2d worth. Cheers all. Robert. |
28th Jan 2018, 3:23 pm | #55 |
Octode
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,082
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
Wow now that's a story no wonder you love it
Trev |
29th Jan 2018, 12:11 am | #56 |
Hexode
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Newcastle, Australia
Posts: 316
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
Hello all.
Just re-read my last post and there is a small typo that changes the whole concept of the post. About half way down it says "An enemy MORTAL landed quite close to my carrier". Ahhh no. Should have read "mortar" as in thing that goes bang big time. Interesting thing with the Enlish language how one little wrong letter can change the whole meaning of a passage. Cheers all, Robert. |
30th Jan 2018, 4:28 pm | #57 |
Octode
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Bath, Somerset, UK.
Posts: 1,804
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
On that military theme, I suppose that my most cherished item must be my R1155 that I bought from the December 2010 RWB auction. I had always wanted one and this one came my way for £45. I proceeded to discreetly add a LT and HT power supply between the tuning heart and the front panel using traditional parts and although it is not used much it is much loved and admired.
Neil
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11th Feb 2018, 10:47 am | #58 | |
Nonode
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Gloucester, Glos. UK.
Posts: 2,149
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
Quote:
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13th Feb 2018, 10:47 pm | #59 |
Octode
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 1,872
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
I have a couple of old 'Stead' 5kV screwdrivers I'm rather fond of - they just feel nice.
They've not saved my life, though; generally I start to back away by the time we get past 440, let alone 5000 |
15th Feb 2018, 12:51 am | #60 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 18,675
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Re: What's your most treasured piece of electronic junk.
My Stead
Does not say "Stead" on any of its facets. I wonder if indicates an early or late production.
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