The oldest tech you still use

[MoonSong]

I'm not that old, but I still keep a vcr and an 8mm videocamera, also a mostly mechanical photo camera, none of them are that active though. I still use an LCD monitor with an adapter for HDMI. It ought to be at least 20 years old.

Among the old laptops I somehow accumulated, there's an Acer netbook from around 2010. I recently topped the RAM to 2 gb. It runs surprisingly well.

There's an old turntable from the late 90s plugged to an stereo from the mid oughts. And a Playstation One, a GBA, and more recently a 2ds. I also have two very old mp3 players.

 

[MoonSong]

And how could I forget? The coffee maker we use is from over thirty years ago. Before the pandemic, we changed the main switch because its light didn't work anymore and it was getting dangerous. I'll do my best to keep it for the rest of my life.

 

[kigmatzomat]

I have some automotive tools I was given the late 80s that were likely made in the late 70s. Until this summer I had a timing light of the same vintage.

Electronics wise....I have a USB hub I use as a charging hub to charge game controllers. That's probably a mid-2000s era.

I have data files from the mid 90s. Txt files I've been turning to markdown as I edit them.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Ignoring simple tools?

We have a windup chiming wall clock made in Germany in the mid-1970s. My Marantz stereo speakers date from the same time, as does my TEAC microphone.

 

[sevenbastard]

Hmmm I put a rock over my trash can lid to hold it down. Im not a geologist but I reckon its a few thousand years old.

Do I win?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

More or less. Mostly I was trying to specify something you've used and owned for a long time, rather than just something old you acquired recently.

Oh that is a little different. Still nothing impressive due to losing most things in my twenties when i got homelessed during the 2008 recession, but i have had my grandpas pipe and USPS package knife since i was an early teen, so 30+ years...

 

[Lidgar]

Ignoring simple tools?

We have a windup chiming wall clock made in Germany in the mid-1970s. My Marantz stereo speakers date from the same time, as does my TEAC microphone.

[thread derail warning] I bet those Marantz are worth a pretty these days. It's crazy how much old stereo equipment from the '70's and '80's go for now. I saw a vintage Pioneer tuner (I think it was a TX-9500II) go for over $3k the other day. My father in-law still his McIntosh component system with original Bose speakers that is epic to listen too.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

[thread derail warning] I bet those Marantz are worth a pretty these days. It's crazy how much old stereo equipment from the '70's and '80's go for now. I saw a vintage Pioneer tuner (I think it was a TX-9500II) go for over $3k the other day. My father in-law still his McIntosh component system with original Bose speakers that is epic to listen too.

Funny story: the Marantz belonged to my Dad. He was assembling HIS component stereo system, but balked at the price of the Bose 901s he really wanted. He “made do” with the Marantz for a few years until he finally broke down and bought some 901s, relegating the Marantz to end tables. The 901s quickly proved themselves by revealing parts of recordings the Marantz speakers didn’t audibly emit.

(Still, when I assembled MY component system in the mid-80s, I grabbed them up.)

 

[MNblockhead]

Still upset my dad threw away the old TRS-80. I would power it back up every few years and it still worked. But then he went through a big de-clutter project and threw it out.

At least I managed to salvage his old slide ruler before he threw it out. I never got around to really learning how to use it though, so I suppose that doesn't count.

Does the intention to get something working again count? I have a pocket watch from my great great grandfather and one from my great grandfather. My great grandfather was one of the founding members of the the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota. His is a brail pocket watch. One of these days I want to get it repaired and working again. It would be cool to read the time without having to pull out and look at the watch. Though, I suppose using haptic feedback on my Apple watch, I can accomplish the same thing. But I love pocket watches.

If we stretch the definition of "tool", I have a rock a girl gave me in the early 80s that has moved around with me, serving as my default paper weight. Though I have less and less use for a paper weight so its become more of shelf nick knack.

I have a leatherman I was gifted in the mid-1980s. The leather sheath is worn but still solid and the multi-tool itself is still in great condition. Given how many hiking and camping trips, international travel, and just having around for decades it has been with me, I'm shocked I've never lost it. This must be the oldest tech I've had that I still use often.

 

[Lidgar]

Funny story: the Marantz belonged to my Dad. He was assembling HIS component stereo system, but balked at the price of the Bose 901s he really wanted. He “made do” with the Marantz for a few years until he finally broke down and bought some 901s, relegating the Marantz to end tables. The 901s quickly proved themselves by revealing parts of recordings the Marantz speakers didn’t audibly emit.

(Still, when I assembled MY component system in the mid-80s, I grabbed them up.)

Those 901’s are epic. My father in law had them suspended from the ceiling in the four corners of his music room. A true audio experience. Never forget listening to Dark Side of the Moon for the first time on that system.