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

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'.

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.

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.

Ye old fire hazard mixed with a tripping hazard.

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.