What other "old" technology do you use on a regular basis.

[RealBlackStuff]

That Marantz 6300 Turntable - as mentioned earlier - fetched $330.- without the dust cover!
http://cgi.ebay.com/MARANTZ-6300-TURNTA ... 0449814688

[A31]

That Marantz 6300 Turntable - as mentioned earlier - fetched $330.- without the dust cover!

With 37 bids!! Obviously people want these things are prepared to pay a lot of mone yfor them!

[Temetka]

Some purists will argue HP calculator ended when HP axed the division in 1993 or 2001 depending on whom you ask. I still have a HP48 that I got in 1992, and I don't expect to replace it unless it breaks.

Any magneto optical drive users here? My Fujitsu DynaMO 640SE from 1996 still works, along with the 11 640MB cartridges of data. MO was quite a bit simpler to use than CD-R at that time: Faster read/write, direct disk access without mastering, erasable, more durable cartridge format, etc. However, MO's place in the market was threatened when CD-R media price dropped from $20 to pennies each, and the release of DVD+-R/RW was the nail in the coffin.

Ah the MO drive.

God I miss those. Fast and high tech. Mine was also a 640MB Bournelli drive and I still have it, but no cartridges for it. I paid about $1000 for it back in 95 to hook up to my 486 system which was later upgraded to a NexGen P90 system if anyone remembers them.

God I love retro tech.

[AIX]

I still use a flat CRT TV (it's a Sony WEGA); old enough, isn't it? But I think it's time to move on to a flat panel TV (plasma/lcd, led it's pretty expensive) this year.

[A31]

Oh yes, we also have a 2003 Sony CRT TV, it's as big as a flat panel but just a CRT but just not a flat screen. I think it's 32" Screen! It seems to be lasting for ever so maybe upgrading to a flat screen isn't really necessary at the minute??

[paul*robertson]

Oh yes, we also have a 2003 Sony CRT TV, it's as big as a flat panel but just a CRT but just not a flat screen. I think it's 32" Screen! It seems to be lasting for ever so maybe upgrading to a flat screen isn't really necessary at the minute??

Panasonic 28 inch CRT here. Awesome picture, £90 off ebay 4 years ago. When all tv is HD, then i'll change.

[qviri]

What is a "TV"?

[A31]

What is a "TV"?

A television set

[hart22]

I still use my Parker 51 fountain pen... although the one I have is a tad over twice my age.

[killer]

I still use my Parker 51 fountain pen... although the one I have is a tad over twice my age.

On my 21st birthday I was given a Parker set of fountain pen, ball point pen, and propelling pencil. I lost the ball point pen by leaving it on an aeroplane. Thieving airport cleaners never returned it, even thought it was reported missing straight away. The propelling pencil stopped accepting lead and was ditched. Perhaps someone changed the thickness of the lead inserts?
Anyhow, the fountain pen (Parker 51) is in daily use and is wonderful.

So forty nine years after receiving it, it still beats anything Apple can produce.

[kiwipad]

I can't claim to be using these on a regular basis as they are still in storage waiting to join us here in NZ, but music is usually listened to on a Rega Planar turntable through a Creek 4040 amp (1980's vintage) - yep that means vinyl records! Real upset is we just picked up a dozen new releases on 12" while back in UK...and can't listen to them. So now investigating some new-fangled (!) idea of turntables with USB output as a temporary fix...

Re. the Marantz stuff, I remember them running some very slick tv ads in UK way back and although the kit had a good rep, it always looked a bit too spangly for me.

Even the (forced) move to digital music (not wanting to be without music for any length of time) was as retro as I could make it with a Creative Nomad (2.5" hdd type).

And cars? Well the "fleet" back in Europe included a 1959 (yes, really) Mini and a 1967 Sunbeam Alpine, oh and a 1957 Massey Ferguson 35 (didn't use that on the road too much though ) The most vintage we've managed here so far is my girlfriend's 12 year old Toyota Celica SS3 - way too modern for my tastes

IG

[killer]

A Sunbeam Alpine.Wow! Great memories. Only beaten by a Sunbeamn Tiger, I guess.
I always loved the Daimler SP250, also known as the Daimler Dart, but never owned one.

Regarding music, I got fed up of all that crack and hissle from vinyl. It all seems so much clearer to me on digital sources. Each to their own. If a dog comes into your house vinyl gets ruined by their floating fur before too long, however carefully you clean around.

[kiwipad]

A Sunbeam Alpine.Wow! Great memories. Only beaten by a Sunbeamn Tiger, I guess.
I always loved the Daimler SP250, also known as the Daimler Dart, but never owned one.

Regarding music, I got fed up of all that crack and hissle from vinyl. It all seems so much clearer to me on digital sources. Each to their own. If a dog comes into your house vinyl gets ruined by their floating fur before too long, however carefully you clean around.

Nah, the big Ford V8 made the Tiger too nose-heavy - a nicely tweaked Holbay complete with a pair of Weber 40's did the job quite nicely Herehttp://picasaweb.google.com/ian.g.nz/Mi ... 3536125122 she is in Norway about 25 years ago !

IG

[craigmontHunter]

Old (1996) Digital monitor, 17 inch, beats any LCD I have ever used, and I don't know why. I just like it better. Untill recently, we also had the keyboard that came with that computer, another Digital part, and it had the best typing experience I have ever had on a desktop, Rivaling my T41.
1995 Scanner, running in a windows 98 virtual PC becasue XP did not like either the windows 95 or 3.1 drivers.

1999 Dell latitude LS 500 also gets used almost daily as a backup system.

1992 Mitsubishi TV, the tuner card has died, and cable is running through the TV.

My parents stereo system, from sometime in the 80s (my mom got it while she was in high school)

[Miller88]

I use a Model M keyboard and ball mouse on my desk every day.
I drive a 10 year old car
I watch a CRT TV (unless I'm watching the HTPC)
Occasionally I hop on my parents Celeron 330 laptop from 2005!

[asiafish]

I'm currently reading the time (4:04 PM) on a 1956 Omega Constellation wristwatch. Old, attractive, and believe it or not, reasonably accurate.

[asiafish]

I use a Model M keyboard and ball mouse on my desk every day.
I drive a 10 year old car
I watch a CRT TV (unless I'm watching the HTPC)
Occasionally I hop on my parents Celeron 330 laptop from 2005!

Sadly I drive 5,000 miles per month, give or take, so old cars are just not an option. I'd LOVE to buy a 1986 or 1987 BMW 325is coupe, but such is life.

[matt340]

The oldest piece of technology I use is an IBM WorkPad c3, which is still in brand new condition despite a fair amount of use.

[NorrisCell]

Despite the endless procession of Blackberries, Iphones, and various Windows Mobile and Android devices that pass through my hands, I always have dedicated "old" cell phones I use here and there. They have always served me well.

- Nokia 8390 (8310 for you UK folk) was my first GSM phone on AT&T, so I keep one like it for nostalgia
- Nokia 6310i - Looks like a TV remote. Only black and white screen phone I know of with Bluetooth.
- Nokia 3390 - This thing is a text messaging monster. Best keypad on a phone ever.
- Nokia 6190 - "The James Bond Trick" - Google it.

6190 is the oldest, clocking in around 1998/99. None have color screens. All are 100% reliable and awesome.

[paul*robertson]

Despite the endless procession of Blackberries, Iphones, and various Windows Mobile and Android devices that pass through my hands, I always have dedicated "old" cell phones I use here and there. They have always served me well.

- Nokia 8390 (8310 for you UK folk) was my first GSM phone on AT&T, so I keep one like it for nostalgia
- Nokia 6310i - Looks like a TV remote. Only black and white screen phone I know of with Bluetooth.
- Nokia 3390 - This thing is a text messaging monster. Best keypad on a phone ever.
- Nokia 6190 - "The James Bond Trick" - Google it.

6190 is the oldest, clocking in around 1998/99. None have color screens. All are 100% reliable and awesome.

And you get a decent battery life.

[archer6]

My trusty Moleskine & Montblanc.

[Beaver]

Any magneto optical drive users here?

Yes, with 3.5" 128 MB cartdridges, used by my server for backups of important setup files

And the oldest stuff... mhm, probably the empire style chess table, but I am not using it very often (about twice a year ). Also it's not a technology.

[visionviper]

The only "old" thing I have is a Marantz MA600 amplifier that I bought a year-ish ago for use with my computer. If I kept my old computer stuff I would have a Pentium-based Toshiba desktop.

[sysiphus]

Oldest technology is my ~1957 Rolex Datejust...inherited from my grandfather. Still keeps great time, and unlike most modern "fancy" watches, it's not flashy. Really, though, while it's quite nice, it's not truly fancy--just a well-made tool...no "bling" like the current ones. An old warhorse. Love it, will keep it until I've got someone to pass it on to.

Oldest piece of electronics in regular use is a NEC MobilePro 780. Windows CE-based "Handheld PC" with a 93%-sized keyboard that, with a little practice, is totally touchtype-able. Boots instantly off of flash ROM, and the PCMCIA and CF slots let me use relatively modern accessories with it (4GB CF card for easy storage/file transfer and 802.11b WiFi card). The precursor to today's netbook. Still runs great, and while too slow for modern web browsing, still is fine for typing documents/notes, and Outlook support makes emailing doable. I suppose it's been 90% surpassed by my Android phone, but I still enjoy it, and appreciate the high-quality keyboard (I had one of the original EEEpc 701 netbooks, but promptly got rid of it because of the horrid keyboard...and this was before I'd ever had a Thinkpad to spoil me!)

Following up on the HP/RPN discussion: I know the build quality on my HP49G+ likely doesn't compare to the older HPs, but I still love my RPN, too!

[mikey pizano]

Oldest technology is my ~1957 Rolex Datejust...inherited from my grandfather. Still keeps great time, and unlike most modern "fancy" watches, it's not flashy. Really, though, while it's quite nice, it's not truly fancy--just a well-made tool...no "bling" like the current ones. An old warhorse. Love it, will keep it until I've got someone to pass it on to.

Oldest piece of electronics in regular use is a NEC MobilePro 780. Windows CE-based "Handheld PC" with a 93%-sized keyboard that, with a little practice, is totally touchtype-able. Boots instantly off of flash ROM, and the PCMCIA and CF slots let me use relatively modern accessories with it (4GB CF card for easy storage/file transfer and 802.11b WiFi card). The precursor to today's netbook. Still runs great, and while too slow for modern web browsing, still is fine for typing documents/notes, and Outlook support makes emailing doable. I suppose it's been 90% surpassed by my Android phone, but I still enjoy it, and appreciate the high-quality keyboard (I had one of the original EEEpc 701 netbooks, but promptly got rid of it because of the horrid keyboard...and this was before I'd ever had a Thinkpad to spoil me!)

Following up on the HP/RPN discussion: I know the build quality on my HP49G+ likely doesn't compare to the older HPs, but I still love my RPN, too!

I got a 780 too but its not in the best condition anymore. I wish I could get a 900c or a Sigmarrion III.

[mediasponge]

Oldest technology currently in regular use? My '62 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider (similar to http://www.motorbase.com/uploads/2005/0 ... spider.jpg )

Oldest electronics currently in regular use? The A31p in the sig. iPod Video 5th generation (I rebuild them). TI graphing calculators (no idea how old). I have a HP5m Laser printer that must have loads of frequent flyer miles going to convention sites. Got it for around $50 at a company auction. The toner cartridges last about 18 months. What a workhorse.

Plenty of stuff a lot older, but not in regular use. Oldest WORKING electronics not used regularly is a Tektronix 545 ca 1955 similar to http://www.barrytech.com/tektronix/vintage/tek545.jpg

[jdhurst]

<snip> Oldest WORKING electronics not used regularly is a Tektronix 545 ca <snip>

Wow! A tube-type 33MHz machine. I think it weighs over 80 pounds. Congratulations that it is still working. ... JDH

[mediasponge]

Wow! A tube-type 33MHz machine. I think it weighs over 80 pounds. Congratulations that it is still working. ... JDH

*sigh* I tried to fire up the Tektronix last night and it didn't come up. It's actually a 543B now that I look at it. I also have a Dumont 304-AR Cathode Ray Oscillograph that is even older. It's the rack mount version of this model. I do have a tube tester (bought surplus and re-wound the transformer BY HAND). Yes, I'm certifiable. I have several tube-powered instruments in the collection. The Tektronix, The Dumont, a Navy VTVM in a water-tight case, and a signal generator. I used to use the VTVM quite a bit before I got a Fluke hand-held. The VTVM definitely works, but could use some new probe wires. The VTVM is an Anton TS-505C/U. Anton also made Geiger counters during the Cold War...

[fasteez]

Some purists will argue HP calculator ended when HP axed the division in 1993 or 2001 depending on whom you ask. I still have a HP48 that I got in 1992, and I don't expect to replace it unless it breaks.

Gosh HP48G* were, and still are, a gem. The new ones have blazing fast chips, but they don't have the chicklet keys.
No wonder why I own thinkpads, both have great keyboards (and RPN is a LISP which is another beautifull thing itself). Mine still boots but act weird sometimes, the 768k mod may have suffered (enough ram to put a full fledged CAS) a bit since.

[jdhurst]

<snip> *sigh* I tried to fire up the Tektronix last night and it didn't come up. It's actually a 543B now that I look at it. <snip>

You can go to www.vacuumtubes.net and get all kinds of tubes there. I got replacements tubes from them for my HP400D VTVM. It is working fine now, and is good for rough indications in higher voltage circuits. It won't get damaged like a DVM might.

What I don't know is if Tektronix used strange tubes. I don't think so, but I am not certain. ... JDH