# Reviving Old Tech



## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

I found this in the loft, a Creative Zen Touch 20GB mp3 player, from about 2004. Even by the standards of the time it was pretty big and heavy at 200 grams, and lost out to the iPod in terms of looks, user interface and all round cool. But, it's an all-metal case and inside is a 20GB Hitachi disk drive.

I tried to charge it using the Creative charger, which remarkably I still have too, but the display kept flashing on and off, like it was trying to boot and failing. Eventually, after several attempts at a straightened paperclip reset, I got it to charge through a USB cable on my PC. Left it charging over night, this morning it fired up no problem.

Then the big test, would a Windows 10 PC even recognise it? I probably have a software CD somewhere, but it would be expecting Windows XP, so I didn't even bother looking. With no drivers loaded, Windows Media Player didn't find it, but in Windows Explorer there's a little "My Zen" icon under "This PC". No sync or other management options, but mp3 files copy over fine.

I have music on my phone, but just transferred a load of comedy radio recordings onto the Touch. Something to amuse me in the car.

I could get a new Chinese mp3 player with bells, whistles and everything for about £30, but I can't throw this old stuff away. Anyone else afflicted that way?


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## Biker (Mar 9, 2013)

Yep me, I still use MP3 players, my first on was a creative MP3 player a huge 10Mb one I bought on a trip to the US, I eventually gave up on this because the 1gb playes were out and cheap enough, plus I was only getting 30 mins or so out of the battery.

The 1gb one was the best I have had to date as it was totally waterproof and as i was using it on a bike, this feature was useful. I still have it in the loft but the textured plastic has gone 'gooey', I now use cheap Chinese blue tooth MP3 players as they are 8gb Big and absolutely disposable.

I also still have my first hand held GPS which I found on a hillside in Wales whilst hang-gliding. I still power it up from time to time to check it's still with us.

I have always been reluctant to chuck something out, if it still works.


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## WRENCH (Jun 20, 2016)

spinynorman said:


> I can't throw this old stuff away. Anyone else afflicted that way?


 Used to be, I moved house a couple of years ago, and literally got rid of everything, apart from my watches, and clothes. I had cameras, paraffin lamps, all sorts of antique stuff, memorabilia etc. Don't miss it either.


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

spinynorman said:


> I can't throw this old stuff away. Anyone else afflicted that way?


 Perfectly normal behaviour, IMO.

The majority of my timepieces fit this description, along with many toys (see other topic), devices, collectables, from earlier years...
































































My first 'mobile' phone (plus every subsequent one)...












spinynorman said:


> Anyone else afflicted that way?


 Guilty as charged, M'lud!

:biggrin:


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

Me too! Not in the same league as your superb calculator, but I still have my slide rule, drawing instruments, drawing board and tee square, all British Thornton.

Happy days carrying the drawing board to college on the rush hour bus!! Showed the slide rule to my son and daughter, I think they thought I was some kind of mad professor.


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Guilty as charged, but glad to know that some other Forum members will be joining me in the cells. :laugh:

I still can't resist the odd bit of old tech even though I am now sworn to abstain from buying anything like those great gadgets shown on this thread. We are meant to be downsizing over the next year or so and some of my bits have already gone to auction or charity. Truth to tell, if I see an inexpensive item that might make an interesting Forum topic then I can justify myself (and Kristina) that it just HAS to be purchased...


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## Davey P (Sep 9, 2010)

Alpha550t said:


> I still have my slide rule, drawing instruments, drawing board and tee square, all British Thornton.
> 
> Happy days carrying the drawing board to college on the rush hour bus!!


 I've still got my drawing equipment from college, including ellipse guides, Rotring pens, and set squares. Brings back great memories from my 2 year technical illustration course, which set me up for a successful career in illustration lasting 40+ years (and still going strong, although computers do most of my work for me these days :laughing2dw: )


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Karrusel said:


> The majority of my timepieces fit this description, along with many toys (see other topic), devices, collectables, from earlier years...


 This looks like a carefully curated collection, well above the level of my old tat.


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## al_kaholik (May 22, 2018)

I started re-working this, but it works fine after a strip and clean. Still needs a new capacitor but works just fine.



I then bought another different tube radio, but haven't got around to fixing it yet, almost all the valves are broken, but I wanted it for repurposing anyway. Its destined for bigger things


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

al_kaholik said:


> I started re-working this, but it works fine after a strip and clean. Still needs a new capacitor but works just fine.
> 
> 
> 
> I then bought another different tube radio, but haven't got around to fixing it yet, almost all the valves are broken, but I wanted it for repurposing anyway. Its destined for bigger things


 Wonderful. I remember our "wireless" caught fire and my father threw it out into the garden. That was very exciting.

Also, in Keith Richard's autobiography he recalls plugging his first electric guitar into the family valve radio. Brought back happy memories.



Alpha550t said:


> Me too! Not in the same league as your superb calculator, but I still have my slide rule, drawing instruments, drawing board and tee square, all British Thornton.
> 
> Happy days carrying the drawing board to college on the rush hour bus!! Showed the slide rule to my son and daughter, I think they thought I was some kind of mad professor.


 I found my old Faber Castell slide rule a few years ago and was surprised to find there's a market for them, so I did sell that. Just found the Slide Rule museum, which looks interesting.

I think this was mine.


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## Boots (Sep 22, 2018)

spinynorman said:


> Just found the Slide Rule museum, which looks interesting.


 Got out my old slide rule a while back to explain to my 13 year old son - "Look, it's really clever, it can do multiplication and division by just sliding this bit." He yawns and reaches for his phone...


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

This was ours in early 60s (1960s) !! Sold it recently. My kids would just chuck it out when we go.


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Boots said:


> Got out my old slide rule a while back to explain to my 13 year old son - "Look, it's really clever, it can do multiplication and division by just sliding this bit." He yawns and reaches for his phone...


 My slide rule had a couple of the trickier formulas I needed for exams written in the recess where the slide runs.

You can't do that with a phone. 



Alpha550t said:


> This was ours in early 60s (1960s) !! Sold it recently. My kids would just chuck it out when we go.


 Never seen one of those before. What is it - a radio?


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## al_kaholik (May 22, 2018)

spinynorman said:


> Wonderful. I remember our "wireless" caught fire and my father threw it out into the garden. That was very exciting.


 The tubes are basically heaters, stank the house out the first time I got it warm, all the dust and crud that had accumulated (appeared it was in a kitchen from the state of the grease). I expect if I put it in the garden office over winter I won't need too much in the way of heating!

The repair guide which I found was from 1954, so I presume it's had a long life, the bakelite looks in really good condition. Inside, its been touched a few times with a soldering iron, and the job was ok. It has the unmistakable tone of an old valve unit, which is fantastic. It usually lives on Classic FM which suits it just fine


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

spinynorman said:


> My slide rule had a couple of the trickier formulas I needed for exams written in the recess where the slide runs.
> 
> You can't do that with a phone.
> 
> Never seen one of those before. What is it - a radio?


 Yes. Medium and long wave. Centre knob for tuning, Home Service, Luxembourg etc. Still working when sold.


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## Hayballs (Oct 19, 2018)

Here's my contribution to yesteryear. It's a bit of a brick, not really pocket sized. 40G capacity.










Not sure when I bought it. But I remember it caused quite a stir in the office.










Still works too


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Hayballs said:


> Here's my contribution to yesteryear. It's a bit of a brick, not really pocket sized. 40G capacity.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Wow, I've never seen one of those before. More of a desktop player than iPod competition.


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Just remembered this, in the bottom of a drawer, with a couple of working Duracells in it. Don't know how long they've been in there.


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Going off on a bit of a tangent here, but I was delighted to find that this old 80's computer game has been given a new lease of life. I spent countless all-nighters playing this back in the day :laugh:

No graphics to speak of, just ASCII characters, but that's why there's a genuine depth and complexity to the gameplay that modern games can't touch.

Moria


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

rhaythorne said:


> Going off on a bit of a tangent here, but I was delighted to find that this old 80's computer game has been given a new lease of life. I spent countless all-nighters playing this back in the day :laugh:
> 
> No graphics to speak of, just ASCII characters, but that's why there's a genuine depth and complexity to the gameplay that modern games can't touch.
> 
> Moria


 Those old games were brilliant, I agree nothing touches them today.

I used to play the Collosal Cave Adventure, which was text only. "You are in a maze of twisty passages all alike" usually finished me off.

I also had something called Rogue, not sure of it's the same thing, but that was all graphics characters.

We still have an Atari ST with games like Gauntlet and Dungeon Master. It works, but the joysticks got wrecked, I think by my wife playing Magic Pockets.


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Yes, Rogue was the original that spawned many other similar games on OpenVMS and later on the IBM PC. Hack, NetHack, Angband, Utumno and Moria were the most well-known, but there are probably other variants. Happy days :biggrin:


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

Not exactly "tech" but worth a look.


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

Alpha550t said:


> Not exactly "tech" but worth a look.





Alpha550t said:


> Not exactly "tech" but worth a look.


 Just an update. I've had this in the loft/garage/shed for 30 odd years. Thought I'd look online at value, if any. An hour ago I got an offer off a collector in Canada of $3000. I had no idea of its value. I'll look into it further.


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## Bladerunner (Jun 4, 2006)

My contribution:


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## Lou61 (Aug 9, 2015)

spinynorman said:


> Just remembered this, in the bottom of a drawer, with a couple of working Duracells in it. Don't know how long they've been in there.


 'Shelloil'. I remember there was a whole range of words we used to be able to make the display spell.


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Lou61 said:


> 'Shelloil'. I remember there was a whole range of words we used to be able to make the display spell.


 Well spotted. It's the only one I can remember.



Alpha550t said:


> Just an update. I've had this in the loft/garage/shed for 30 odd years. Thought I'd look online at value, if any. An hour ago I got an offer off a collector in Canada of $3000. I had no idea of its value. I'll look into it further.


 That's amazing. I'll have to get my old Olivetti portable out now. Doubt if it's worth anything like that much though.


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

spinynorman said:


> Well spotted. It's the only one I can remember.
> 
> That's amazing. I'll have to get my old Olivetti portable out now. Doubt if it's worth anything like that much though.


 Believe it or not, I found one that sold at auction for $8500! Mind that was cracking condition. He offered me 3000 immediately so it makes me think its worth more. Get that Olivetti polished!!


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

Lou61 said:


> 'Shelloil'. I remember there was a whole range of words we used to be able to make the display spell.


 0.7734 is hello (viewed upside down)


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## al_kaholik (May 22, 2018)

Alpha550t said:


> 0.7734 is hello (viewed upside down)


 Not even a nod to the infamous 58008 yet?


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## Lou61 (Aug 9, 2015)

al_kaholik said:


> Not even a nod to the infamous 58008 yet?


 If you had a memory function, you could make it say 918 before saying 58008. I still find this amusing.


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## jizzle (Jul 11, 2010)

Funnily enough I've also stumbled upon some old tech in my parents house. I've been helping them have a sort out.

Old laptops, and a digital camera from around 2004, a couple of old mobile phones, and some VHS tapes.

The laptops would not even start up, so it's unlikely that anyone would get anything off them, apart from some old coursework or photos! Everything listed above has ended up in the bin.

My parents were brought up in the 1950s and their parents were very much "made do and mend generation" which is fine, but it has made them hoarders. My dad is struggling to let go of "junk" in the shed, such as a TV arial, broken tools beyond repair, moth eaten coats that have not seen the light of day in years, and an off cut of carpet which is about 40 years old and the foam backing has disintegrated!


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## Alpha550t (Mar 31, 2020)

jizzle said:


> Funnily enough I've also stumbled upon some old tech in my parents house. I've been helping them have a sort out.
> 
> Old laptops, and a digital camera from around 2004, a couple of old mobile phones, and some VHS tapes.
> 
> ...


 How much does your dad want for the carpet?


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## jizzle (Jul 11, 2010)

Alpha550t said:


> How much does your dad want for the carpet?


 He doesn't want to sell it, he wants to keep it "in case he needs it" LOL


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Ah, digital cameras. I have, in order of decreasing obsolescence, an Olympus "Camedia" C-220 Zoom (2 mega pixels); a Canon Ixus 860IS (8 mp) and a Canon PowerShot SX240HS (12.1 mp). The PowerShot is still an OK camera, the others not so much.


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## John_D (Jul 21, 2018)

spinynorman said:


> Ah, digital cameras. I have, in order of decreasing obsolescence, an Olympus "Camedia" C-220 Zoom (2 mega pixels); a Canon Ixus 860IS (8 mp) and a Canon PowerShot SX240HS (12.1 mp). The PowerShot is still an OK camera, the others not so much.


 I have a few of those as well. Still got my first digital camera that I got in 1999, an Olympus C-1400 XL like this:-


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## al_kaholik (May 22, 2018)

jizzle said:


> My parents were brought up in the 1950s and their parents were very much "made do and mend generation" which is fine, but it has made them hoarders. My dad is struggling to let go of "junk"





spinynorman said:


> obsolescence


 These two insights hit the nail on the head. With modern tech being very much built with a short shelf life its a step change from things that were just built, by the nature of them and tech at the time and have lasted.

I have hand tools which my Grandad had, made of Sheffield steel which are still going strong, mostly screwdrivers and mole grips. This is completely contra to much of the cheap stuff you can buy such as cheap spanner sets which just break on the first application, or screwdriver 'bits' which are disposable.

Hoping for an eBay win on a nice bit of old tech this morning. Watch this space...


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## Biker (Mar 9, 2013)

This was my grandads. It still works and sounds phenomenal










I was given this by an old lady who was moving house. It is the same as the mantle clock I grew up with.









More old tech still alive and bangin'
















Sent from my SM-A515F using Tapatalk


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## al_kaholik (May 22, 2018)

al_kaholik said:


> Hoping for an eBay win on a nice bit of old tech this morning. Watch this space...


 Nope. Sodding work calls meant I missed out. Have emailed the guy in case if falls through. Sold for £1, I even offered him £30 a few days back, so both of us missing out.


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## Biker (Mar 9, 2013)

still got one of these in loft...

[IMG alt="See the source image" data-ratio="56.25"]https://cdn.wallapop.com/images/10420/2w/tx/__/c10420p176076357/i393502799.jpg?pictureSize=W640[/IMG]


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## jizzle (Jul 11, 2010)

Biker said:


> I was given this by an old lady who was moving house. It is the same as the mantle clock I grew up with.


 The Clock face reminds me of the old BBC clock logo used on idents/news! (Early to mid 1990s)


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

al_kaholik said:


> Nope. Sodding work calls meant I missed out. Have emailed the guy in case if falls through. Sold for £1, I even offered him £30 a few days back, so both of us missing out.


 Bad luck. I hate it when that happens.


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## Biker (Mar 9, 2013)

jizzle said:


> The Clock face reminds me of the old BBC clock logo used on idents/news! (Early to mid 1990s)


 Yeah it does, I had that as a screensaver once upon a PC


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## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

When we cleared Sheila's mum's house after she passed away, we found this old Bakelite Bush radio up in the loft. Medium wave and Long wave. It still works, though it takes around 45 seconds to warm up, and smells of burning dust after a while.... And it weighs a ton! :wink:


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## Biker (Mar 9, 2013)

Roger the Dodger said:


> When we cleared Sheila's mum's house after she passed away, we found this old Bakelite Bush radio up in the loft. Medium wave and Long wave. It still works, though it takes around 45 seconds to warm up, and smells of burning dust after a while.... And it weighs a ton! :wink:


 A thing of beauty..


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Roger the Dodger said:


> When we cleared Sheila's mum's house after she passed away, we found this old Bakelite Bush radio up in the loft. Medium wave and Long wave. It still works, though it takes around 45 seconds to warm up, and smells of burning dust after a while.... And it weighs a ton!


 I was wondering how many of those stations still exist, looked up Allouis and ended up with the TDF Time Signal. I guess you could set your watch by it. :thumbsup:


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## al_kaholik (May 22, 2018)

Its great to see lots of old radios still in use, clearly digital and DAB still has a way to go before it completes the switch over


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