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.
Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?
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Re: Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?
#22I'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.
Re: Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?
#23A 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.
Re: Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?
#24hello, 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 ...
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.
Re: Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?
#25I 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.
Re: Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?
#26A Sharp Elsi Mate EL-8011 calculator in 1976
Also purchased a HP 15C calculator about 1982
Small transistor radio from early 70s
Re: Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?
#27An 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!"
Re: Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?
#28That 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.
Re: Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?
#29The 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
Re: Ask HN: What's your oldest piece of electrical equipment?
#30My 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.