I have a VCR sitting a few meters behind me, about 20 years old. It used to work until about a few months ago when it suddenly no longer showed any life signs after a brief power outage. Last week we opened it up partially to diagnose the problem and partially to see if there's any way to remove the tape still inside.
We didn't quite succeed at either task: the malfunction seems to be caused by a blown IC and although we managed to unhook the tape from all the cylinders within, the cassette itself is locked in place by a gearbox that resisted all attempts to turn the gears by force (or rather, I was reluctant to apply more force for fear of snapping off the gears' spikes), so I simply re-hooked the tape back to where it was and reassembled the thing. I don't even know who to take it to, as my uncle who knew how to repair this old stuff died a couple year sago.
Edited by amitakartok on Jul 29th 2020 at 4:37:35 PM
I think the absolute oldest thing I have at hand at the moment is a still-working Western Electric 500 desk phone from 1969 (I actually attached a modular jack to it and plugged it in, and it still dials and rings fine), but there's plenty of newer-but-still-years-old tech around.
My brother was something of a collector of late 1970s and 1980s video gear, and most of it is still in storage in my basement since everyone's afraid to go into the crawlspace. On top of that, I have a number of old beater computers from the 1980s-2010s, the oldest of which right now is probably my Apple IIgs. As for stuff that's in current use, we still have a DVD/VCR combo from I think the early 2000s in the living room, and my laptop (which was a high-end beast when I bought it in 2012) is still kicking.
I've also been trying to get the family Jeep, a 2000 Grand Cherokee, back on the road after a prolonged absence. We've fixed most of the mechanical and body issues, but the brakes need bleeding and I still need to put on the new hood latch cable and either repair or (re-)replace the grille. Thing is, it's just been too hot to do much car work outside recently, and the thunderstorms haven't helped.
online since 1993 | huge retrocomputing and TV nerd | lee4hmz.info (under construction) | heapershangout.comThe computer I use to write this dates from 2004!
I also have a first generation X Box still on the shelf from around 2002-2003. A bunch of old VHS tapes and a VHS player. A .22 caliber pump action rifle from the 1930s, don't know exactly when but it was originally my grandfather's. A model 91/30 Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle from the Soviet Union made in 1939.
And a few other things.
I have one too, although I'm not sure when it was manufactured, seeing as I bought it second-hand about... seven years ago or so. It's not a Slim model, though, but the original black brick model.
If we're talking old computers, I also have an authentic Commodore 64 lying around somewhere that still works. No, I'm not making this up.
- My late grandma's old wind-up gramophone. Doesn't technically belong to me but I did use it for a while and bought old dance-band 78s for it. Was a pain in the backside to wind up and surprisingly loud (part of the reason I got banned from using it!)
- 12" black and white TV, acquired from a late friend of the family's. Currently in the loft.
- Acorn Electron computer and various software on tape I acuqired second hand. Rarely use it.
- Tape recorder acuqired for Acorn Electron, currently unused as it chewed up an audiobook copy of the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel "Dark Mirror" by Diane Duane and I can't be arsed to try and unjam it from the mechanism.
- VCR I bought new in 2000, currently unused after Valley Girl (don't ask) got stuck in it. Funny thing is this VCR doesn't have NTSC playback capability but it's an American tape. I managed to mess around with the vertical hold on the black and white TV so that I could get a picture!
- Another VCR bought from a charity shop which does have NTSC capability. Was downstairs but moved to the bedroom after the Valley Girl machine got the tape stuck in it. And yes, I have a fair collection of tapes, mostly anime, Doctor Who and the like.
- Analogue flat screen TV which I use to watch tapes on.
- Playstation 2 and 3 consoles.
- Amplifier and tape deck for hifi system. Off eBay. (Like hell am I going to pay hundreds for brand new hifi separates. Can't afford it.)
- Manual typewriter, off eBay. Managed to type a Jenny Everywhere story on it for the writing group I was part of but cannot find so it isn't copied onto my blog!
- Old university computer from c. 2003. Pentium IV with 512MB RAM. The Windows XP that was on it got overwritten with a Windows 98/Linux dual boot but somehow the master boot record didn't work so I've been booting into FreeDOS via floppy.
- Probably at least one old corded landline phone kept around "just in case"
- Various old mobiles stuck in a drawer. The one I use now is my Dad's old smartphone which is out of date enough the internet barely works, so I just use it as a basic phone.
- Beat up old radio from a charity shop which the tuning dial has fallen off from. FM barely works so I listen to Radio 4 LW when I'm lucky and there is no cricket on.
I like old tech.
Edited by TheLyniezian on Sep 27th 2020 at 11:30:04 AM
I have a PS1, two PS2s (one original, one slim), I think we have a VCR somewhere that doesn't work? And I dunno if the PS3 counts but I have an 80gb model that unfortunately succumbed to the Yellow Light of Death, and a slim 120gb model that we were able to transfer the data from the 80gb to before its demise... other than that I don't really know lol
FC: SW-1445-0294-1719/PSN: TekkenGirl4Lyfe/Currently playing: Croc: Legend of the Gobbos HDMy mom has a manual typewriter that has to be over fifty years old. She used it for clerical work at her first grown-up job working at a bank. It's heavy as fuck and looks super-cool, and its key travel can be measured in inches. Considering that it's just sitting around collecting even more dust than it already has, I think it would be cool to display in my home someday. Even better if I can find someone to restore it. It might make me look like a massive hipster, but I love that kind of super-vintage early-days-of-computing-era tech.
Edited by CrystalGlacia on Sep 28th 2020 at 5:13:40 AM
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."A few things:
- A Panasonic Slimline tape recorder, circa 1985. Got it on eBay from someone who bought it at an estate sale, which luckily came with its original power supply so I don't have to run it off batteries all the time. It still works and sounds great, too.
- A Walkman-esque portable cassette player, circa 1984, also from Panasonic. Also works great, but for being portable it sure doesn't really like be jostled around. Maybe it needs new belts.
- A GE model 7-4663A clock radio whose date I can't pin down because it uses a date code format that's very unorthodox for GE (If you want to figure out what 2935K with the numbers 5 and 8 checked off mean, be my guest). Most places I've seen online pin it somewhere between 1975 and 1987, but I have a suspicion mine might be from the late 70's or early 80's. It definitely doesn't fit traditional GE date codes either. Dating issues aside, it was a lucky Goodwill find that works perfectly and I use it as my regular alarm clock. I especially love how it had not only a reverse button, but a fast-forward/fast-reverse button for setting the time and alarms. Oh yeah, and you can program two separate alarms on it. It's cool as hell and I love it.
- A metal cabbage shredder that belonged to my late (and very Czech) maternal grandmother. I have no idea how old it is beyond my grandma acquiring it in 1960 at the absolute latest. I still use it to grate cabbage. Works great but also messy as hell.
I have a pile of potential e-waste like this.
- A busted-ass portable cassette player (a local Walkman knockoff) from mid-to-late eighties - aside from the cassette hatch holding on sellotape, it should work when powered.
- A Panasonic walkman from the nineties, and it should work as well.
- A cheap-ass discman kind of thing, it might even work.
- A record player - I think that if I replace the belt that spins the platter, it should work.
- Several cellphones, I dug up a Motorola RAZR V3XX lately because I need it as a prop for my new stream intro.
- An apparently unkillable hand mixer from the eighties. Yes, it still works.
- Similarly old and similarly unkillable coffee grinder. I used it to grind spices a couple of times.
- Similarly old and similarly unkillable meat grinder.
Considering most of that stuff works, it's a testament to how we got fucked by planned obsolescence.
"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von LewisI have numeous Walkmanesque things in various stages of "don't work". The most recent aquisition I made sure at least had a carry strap as a major source of knackerization is the belt clips not being adequate and them falling off. It still makes a lot of noise and some tapes won't play on it.
Yes, I have a cheap mp3 player as well but I never use it.
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Yeah, there is so much we end up discarding or allowing to gather dust in a drawer it's crazy. No wonder the planet is supposedly in trouble. Admittedly things improve (and part of the joys of using old tech include seeing how and why!) but enough of it when functional still can be used.
Also that cooking equipment... surprising how much the old stuff seems built to last by contrast to now. Still think we might have an old food processor somewhere but not sure.
Edited by TheLyniezian on Sep 29th 2020 at 1:05:38 PM
Several:
- A VCR (and a tape collection)
- A cassette player (plus a small collection of cassettes
- A Tape Rewinder
- Another example that isn't exactly in my house is a landline in my grandparent's house.

My mother still owns a portable electric oven that she bought when we first moved to town in 1995 or so. It still works perfectly even though we never serviced it.
On a lesser note, my dad has a few laptop models from the 2000s he keeps as backup in case something happens to his latest model.
Edited by Lazlo74 on Jul 29th 2020 at 6:56:59 AM
Scaled seeker