Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?

[ButterWashed]

There's a strong possibility I'll be moving from the UK to North America this year. I've found myself looking at all my "stuff" and thinking about what's actually worth taking with us. It's only now that I've noticed my TV is from 2008, my toaster from 2000 and my SNES from 1994!

I still use these things frequently, even daily in the case of the toaster (my wife doesn't like it though, it takes ages to toast sourdough).

What electrical goods did you buy new, that you still have and use?

[hilbert42]

The Sharp TV in my kitchen dates from 1978 and the Toshiba microwave oven is about the same vintage. Both appliances still function perfectly and neither has ever had to be repaired.

The microwave still uses its original magnetron and there's been little drop in efficiency (in fact, I can't notice any difference in heating from new but it's been a long time).

The TV set is pre-digital and had to be fitted with a set top box (STB/PVR) when digital arrived. That's not all, the TV is so old that it only has a coax antenna input which means the three video (RGB) outputs from the STB had nowhere to plug into. To solve this I had to use a Tandy RF video modulator between the STB and the TV set.

One might say that's carrying things to extremes but there was no need to change the TV set as it still produces a very serviceable color picture without bloom or loss of focus.

Contrast the quality of these truly excellent appliances compared with most of the junk available today (I'll bet your Android or iPhone won't still be serviceable in 45 years).

Edit: oh I forgot to mention the gas stove in the kitchen long predates me, it's from the 1940s and works perfectly. Some years ago when I had a plumber in for a water problem I asked him what it would cost to fit a new stove and his reply was 'heavens, don't change your stove that type is now fashionable again and people will pay a lot of money for that model'.

[jelder]

I have a lineman’s handset that was given to me in the mid 90s by a retiring friend. It’s probably at least 5 years older than that.

They’re extremely cool but useless now. They charge just by being used on POTS lines, and the clips, tiny beds of nails, can attach right into the middle of a cable leaving no noticeable mark.

Similar device on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lineman%27s_handset

[saltcured]

We also had an overseas move and back around 20 years ago. This wiped the slate for many of my older devices that weren't worth either exporting or re-importing.

Of items I bought myself and still use, oldest is a mini-Maglite flashlight I bought in the early 1980s. But it's a Ship of Theseus situation, converted to LED a decade ago. My next oldest item is a pair of Sony noise-cancelling headphones from around 20 years ago. Both operate on standard alkaline batteries, so are not doomed like so many other portable devices.

My iPod nano, circa 2007, is on the verge of death, unable to hold a charge for a whole song. It works attached to USB power/dock. From what I've read, it will probably kill itself soon when the battery swells.

If I include inherited items, I have things my dad bought new in the 1960s-1980s. Power tools like a drill, circular saw, soldering iron, heat gun, bench-top drill press, shop lights, and extension cords. We're also using major appliances, some probably from the late 1990s or early 2000s, including dual-fuel oven, refrigerators, dishwasher, and laundry washer and dryer. The oldest is the gas central forced-air furnace from the mid 1970s.

[Pine_Mushroom]

I didn't buy it new but I use my 1972 Fender Rhodes electric piano daily.

[lb1lf]

Oldest thingy I bought new myself probably is a Nikon F4s, spring 1994. It is the SLR which is so tough it is the only known object which can inflict blunt force trauma Chuck Norris.

Still use it for a reasonably liberal definition of 'use' - I probably ran 15-18 rolls of Tri-X through it last year.

As for used ones, the oldest one by far is a carbon arc lamp made in 1895-1898 or so; my grandfather was an engineer with the local utility company in Aalesund, Norway - and when he began working there in 1943, they still had a few arc lamps in storage which had been used as the first electrical street lights in Aalesund, being installed from 1895 on.

My grandfather, a terrific tinkerer, wanted to crank one up just to see if he could make it work, and was told to just bring a few of them home and play around with them until he tired of it.

I inherited a lamp and the rest of the carbon electrodes. I crank it up a couple of times a year for giggles. Made by Siemens and an absolute work of art.

[avidiax]

I have a small AA-powered "atomic" clock (radio controlled clock) that I got in college (~20 years ago).

I moved from the US to Europe, and kept several large kitchen appliances by buying a really solid transformer (AcuPwr). I kept a rice cooker, expensive coffee grinder, a Blendtec blender, a sous-vide stick, a vacuum sealer, a stand mixer, and a few more things. Replacing all of those in here would have cost much much more than the transformer.

Many other modern electronic devices are 120-240V compatible, sometimes even those that claim otherwise (e.g. LG OLED TVs).

In your case, your TV and toaster are probably not worth bringing. The SNES you can probably just find a different AC adaptor for, but it is also probably PAL, not NTSC; not sure that matters anymore.

If it is important to keep certain things, you can try Quick220, which lets you make a 240V outlet from 2 120V US circuits (split-phase), or you can do the same from a dryer or electic stove outlet.

[crtified]

My house's electric hot water system is dated 1959, so it must have been installed at the time of the original house build.

(I didn't buy it new - in fact my mother was barely born by then)

I'm slightly anxious about it sometimes, but finances are perpetually such that we have little choice but to soldier on and hope it lasts a good bit longer yet.

[awithrow]

The doorbell for my house. It's from some point in the 1930s and has a small DC induction motor that drives a camshaft that operates hammers to strike the gongs.

It's a bit of a work in progress as the assembly needs adjusting and degunking in order to run. However, when hooked up to a generator, the motor spins right up

[zerr]

Refrigerator from 1940s, still does its job.

[speedgoose]

Didn’t refrigerators of the time commonly use asbestos? How is the energy efficiency too?

[gpsx]

I had to replace my refrigerator recently after 12 years. I thought refrigerators were supposed to last forever, like the 1940 one, but it turns out mine had a design life of only 8 years, and this is normal now. (I may remember those exact numbers wrong, but it was short.) Replacing something that big that frequently can not be good for the environment.

[winrid]

I imagine the asbestos is sealed inside? Don't chew the fridge.

Also old fridges inefficiency mostly comes from two things. The seals on the door, which you can replace, and 2nd the compressors are less efficient. Why are they less efficient? Mostly because they use thicker oil which causes more drag. However, that's partly why they last so long. Oil in modern compressors looks like water.

[Tade0]

That would be my multimeter - a Soar ME-540, like this one: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/soar_digital_multimeter_me_540...

Bought originally by my father, most likely when he was on contract in Kuwait in the 80s. It fell out of use as he stopped doing any sort of electrical work citing typical age-related issues.

The battery cover is gone and the plastic body feels kind of loose, but otherwise it's fully functional(even if de-calibrated). The original fuse is still there, but I wouldn't use it for any high-voltage applications.

[eimrine]

> What electrical goods did you buy new

If buying new is a requirement, then it is my digital multimeter which I have bought maybe 20 years ago for $15. It has survived roughly 5-10 batteries mostly because it has no auto-off option and turning on is as simple as to press one button. Everything plastic is already broken - standing support, latches and standard probes. I am planning to replace it as soon as I start anything serious because the display flickers sometimes, probably due to careless usage.

[sitzkrieg]

ill double this. 27 year old fluke meter that works as new with a fresh battery

technically a hand me down but still!

[temeya]

An Atari Portfolio from 1989. Eats 6 AA Batteries like candy. (If it seems familiar, it's what John Connor uses to hack an ATM in "Terminator 2: Judgement Day!"

[eigenhombre]

Bought new and still use: RadioShack multimeter from the early 2000s

(sadly, the RadioShack soldering iron bought around the same time just shorted out)

Bought used and still use: 1950s ToastMaster toaster

[ButterWashed]

I didn't think anyone would have a toaster as old as mine, I might take mine with me just for preservation.

[RecycledEle]

I was walking through the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, and asked about one piece of test equipment. Nobody knew what it was. I explained it was an RC comparator, and I still used one daily.

I left a National NC-105 tube radio at my last employer along with some telephone test equipment that predated the invention of the transistor.

The last electronics class I taught used some resistors from a Heath Kit package. They looked into repairing a Heath Kit Hero Jr robot.

[calamari4065]

I have a few Commodore 64s, from the middle-early 80s.

Then there's the TI-30 calculator and the Atari 2600, both from the mid 70s.

If you want to count it as such, my house was built in 1952 and has a cute little switchboard to break out a phone line to every room (and I mean every room, there's at least 6 lines in my two bedroom house). It even has cute little handwritten paper tags attached to each line.

[lurn_mor]

My Electrolux Vacuum is far older than I am (50+ years) and replacement parts and consumables are still easily purchased on eBay. Runs like a champ and has never given me trouble. Plastic parts are failing faster than the metal cylinder body is. Has long since outlawed features like a spring retractable power cord. I laugh when I see another 'new' Dyson sitting in the trash heap.

[f1refly]

> Has long since outlawed features like a spring retractable power cord.

What country do you live in where spring retractable power cords are forbidden on vacuums? And for what reason?

[lurn_mor]

Ye old fire hazard mixed with a tripping hazard.

[nomemory]

A soviet radio the size of small dinner table from the 50s. It's actually nice, looks like furniture.

[Ekaros]

I think my vacuum might be 15-16 years old... Other than that, not too much as haven't been around buying stuff for that long.

Hmm old 27" 1440p Dell monitor seems to be still working most of the time. And I think I got even older Lenovo L220x...

Also old HP Color Laserjet from 2010 did print things recently.

[HeyLaughingBoy]

Kitchenaid stand mixer and blender are the oldest things I can think of. Probably around 20 years old.

If we're not just talking consumer goods, I have a Textronix oscilloscope from the 80's that I use occasionally.

[t312227]

hello,

i look at my desk ...

TI 30 galaxy solar calculator - bought in 1985 for high-school and still in use: maybe not daily, but at least once or twice a week :))

cheers v

ps. also a multimeter and a soldering-iron from the 2nd half of the 1980ties ...

[chrisandchris]

A HP-42S and HP-19B my father gave me. So somewhere around 1980 and I still think these are the most awesome calculators. Still works like a charm and still in use weekly.

I'm so used to UPN that I always struggle to use a "regular" calculator.

[t312227]

hello,

yes ... the HP calculators where really great, but also prohibitively expensive ...

the TI 30 in all its variants was the "cheaper" scientific calculator for the masses in the 1980ties :))

cheers, v

[chrisandchris]

Can't say how much they cost. They were built some years before I said hi to earth.

Edit: Prices seem to have increased and a 42S sales used on Ebay from $150-259. So still quite some money.

[mikewarot]

I have a Radio Shack 42 watt soldering Iron I bought in 1979, with iron coated copper tips. I have a digital multimeter I bought a few years later, also from Radio Shack.

[iamflimflam1]

Got an HP LaserJet from around 2001 that is still going strong.

[brezelgoring]

My parents have a General Electric fridge from the 1970s!

Still works like a charm but the latch broke sometime in the 90s, so we have a pulpo to hold it closed.

It will outlive me, I’m sure of it.

[ahartmetz]

A tube radio from roughly 1965 that I had repaired about two years ago. I don't use it often, and if I do, with a radio transmitter connected to my smartphone.

[speedgoose]

I still use seldomly the electric guitar I got when I was a teenager. I’m not a very good musician and guitar player, but it makes nice harmonics.

[acheron]

That I got new? Probably alarm clock with the red LEDs, from 1991ish.

I have an early-1960s waffle iron but it was refurbished and bought just a couple years ago.

[galacticstone]

I have an early 1970s electric can opener from my parents that was bought at JC Penney. Still works well. Also, a 1950s clock radio.

[petabyt]

I've got a 70s Pioneer Receiver I still use to listen to the radio sometimes. And I use it for audio with my 2008 Samsung TV.

[Delk]

I have a Philips amp/receiver whose age I don't know but I think it's from the 70's or possibly 80's. I still use it for music and sometimes films or series when I don't want to use headphones.

The connected speakers are probably also from the same era. I can't confirm the age of either since the amp is from my late father and the speakers from some past neighbour.

[asdefghyk]

A Sharp Elsi Mate EL-8011 calculator in 1976 Also purchased a HP 15C calculator about 1982 Small transistor radio from early 70s

[leros]

It might be my Radio Shack multimeter I bought in 2003. I recently got rid of my TI-89 calculator that I bought around 2000.

[jesperlang]

My TI-83 Plus calculator from around 1999. Still use it today, almost a quarter of a century later!

[DamonHD]

Maybe the oldest device is my soldering iron, and it really does need some TLC!

The some of our solar PV system is 2008!

[whalesalad]

Ah yeah me too, have a Weller soldering iron from 2001-ish.

[smcleod]

1984 Linn Sondek LP12 turntable and 1991 Plinius SA50 Amplifier both of which were my fathers.

[winrid]

Maybe the early 70s Zinsco electrical panel my landlord refuses to replace? :P

[noud]

Zelda, link's awakening... one of the best Gameboy games ever made.

[aio2]

Not the very oldest, but the Wii