The oldest Technology in your home...

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121128924#Comment_121128924

Lovely pieces thanks for sharing. I was on a ruthless clean out phase about 5 years ago- gave about 70 cassette tapes away to charity - kept about 6 which had sentimental value- honestly don’t regret giving them away as I no longer have a tape player - What I also had though in the late 90s was a Sony mini disk player- I found that great for recording shows on the radio - again long gone and much shorter lived than the cassettes

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121128361#Comment_121128361

My parents (long dead) 1962 Kenwood still works without missing a beat- built to last back then

Sleepy

I'd have some cameras from the twenties that are display pieces but in terms of regularly used tech, like @magicbastarder it'd be my hand tools.

I have a 1948 Stanley Bailey No 4 that my father snagged for me in a charity shop that came in it's original box and wrappings and a much older wooden jointer we believe is from the mid 1800's that still takes a good shaving. I also have a vintage brace drill and set of auger bits but I've no idea how old they are at best guess, they'd be a similar vintage to the Stanley No 4.

Cal4567

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121126872#Comment_121126872

As I have with my Betamax video.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129061#Comment_121129061

i also have this, but don't use it - two reasons, one is that the steel in the blade is weirdly brittle and hard to get a good edge on; also, it's not nearly as easily adjustable as my baileys. i have more baileys i didn't photograph, the biggest being a more modern 5 1/2, and that's usually big enough for me.

Sleepy

Yeah, my jointer is very similar to that. The blade in mine is good steel but realistically I end up using the Bailey for jobs that the jointer would be more suited for simply due to how awkward it is to dial in the depth of cut etc.

Kintarō Hattori

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129007#Comment_121129007

Minidisc was a lovely physical format that just unfortunately crossed paths with MP3.

paddydriver

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121126061#Comment_121126061

This too... 2 x SL1210's and lots of vinyl! The wheels of steel are still going strong.

MrCostington

Great thread @fortwilliam !

Mine would be an 1991 Pioneer XD-Z54T Hi-Fi still in daily use. I was made redundant from a job and as part of the package we all got, I think, £1,000 in vouchers, I used £500 of mine to buy that. Must have been a huge sum back then!

There is still the odd tool from my grandfather knocking around my mother's house, he was a carpenter.

I have an 1983 car if that counts.

Just last week had to replace a 10mm 3/8ths drive socket from the 80's that had worn out.

If you like this thread you may also enjoy this YT channel, Techmoan, here's a sample

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBKTDlAizSk

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129174#Comment_121129174

It didn't do quite as badly as folks make out, Sony still sold 22 million units. Still a bit of a household name as far as tech goes.

If you want to see a real failed (and quite interesting) recording format, check out Digital Compact Cassettes (DCC)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Compact_Cassette

magicbastarder

a friends dad had (has?) a sony pro walkman, about IRL£400 at the time i think - he told us that rumours were that sony killed it because journos etc. were still favouring it over DAT, which they were trying to promote.

Anesthetize

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129255#Comment_121129255

Minidisc was a very popular format in Japan for a long time.

taxAHcruel

This will date me. Still have a functional red and blue plastic "My first Sony" cassette player in the attic. There was a microphone attached which appears not to work perfectly any more unless you really shout into it. But the player itself still works.

Grew up listening to kids singing pop songs on it. For whatever reason I got a lot of "mini pops" cassettes in my Christmas Socks back in those days which was basically power ballads sung by 10 years olds.

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129539#Comment_121129539

Ha ha yeah forgot about those albums- I’d have poisoned anyone’s Christmas dinner who dared get me those for Christmas 🤪

Sleepy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129490#Comment_121129490

It was popular as a home / venue recording device here for a good chunk of the 90's / early 00's too. I still have a few discs with recordings of a night I used to produce in a bar in Galway somewhere in my mother's house.

banie01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121129174#Comment_121129174

I know a lot of gigging musicians who still use minidisc for the backing tracks. Most have moved on to laptop or tablet set ups but still quite a few minidisc knocking around.

Bobson Dugnutt

Apart from asbestos, a Roberts radio that my granny bought in 1982. Not quite a family heirloom, but getting there. Still sounds great and gets regular usage in the morning.

We also have a Pioneer record player that we found in the attic of my aunt's house. Also early 80's edition. It was about to be thrown into the skip, but we decided to keep it for some reason. Bit of a DIY job to get it cleaned, working, and outputting to a modern speaker. Not overly convinced about this vinyl revival, but it seems we own some sort of highly regarded record player according to ebay.

JMcL

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121128749#Comment_121128749

Now that you mention it, I do have a pair of early 90's Sennheiser headphones that have had the earpads replaced, and the cable at least once - I was able to order the parts direct from Sennheiser on the phone (think they were based out around Bluebell at the time). They're about one step behind Triggers Broom at this stage, but still going strong

https://youtu.be/LAh8HryVaeY?feature=shared

magicbastarder

mine are also sennheiser headphones. do i recall that they used to have a factory in monaghan?

i'm just waiting to find out if anyone i know will be placing an order with thomann soon, so i can get the replacement pads without having to pay €15 delivery.

JMcL

mine are also sennheiser headphones. do i recall that they used to have a factory in monaghan?

They did indeed - the boxes used to say "Made in Ireland" - though I think it may have been more the mass market gear and headsets rather than the higher quality stuff. Not quite sure when they stopped, though I'm guessing late '90s at the latest

iamstop

I've some ancient records. Earliest might be 50s or even 40s (70 to 80 years old!). The oldest turntable I have to play them on is about 27 y/o.

ruth...less

I had a small handheld tv with an aerial ran by batteries in the late 80s early 90s..you could get network 2 and rte 1 on it..can't imagine my parents threw it out it must be somewhere in their house.

Rubberchikken

A Sony Walkman bought in US in 1984/5. It was such an eyeopener at the time. Suddenly I could go for a walk while listening to music😁

colm_mcm

Nintendo Entertainment System, around 1990. Still working as well as it did back then.

silliussoddius

Any eight tracks around these days?

NewbridgeIR

My current turntable is from 1973, a re-conditioned Thorens TD-150 Mk II.

My VCR is from 1995. The one in my parents house is from 1986. Both still work fine. They also have a ghettoblaster from 1984 in their kitchen that they use as a radio.

Schnooks

I have an old Zanussi washing machine that was already in the house when I bought it in 1996. And even then it must have been a few years old, as the previous owners surely wouldn't have left it if it was newer, I reckon it is about 30 years old!

It's a clunky old yoke but it still does the job. I doubt it is light on electricity, but haven't noticed any huge consumption either. I have looked in shops so many times and promised myself a new one, but then think, why bother if it is still working ok? We have a a 2nd house in the SE with a much more modern one, and we do most of our washing there. The old biatch is only used about once a week.