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Show us your junk!

neuromodulator
neuromodulator over 6 years ago

I love junk, specially when it can be fully restored, has interesting parts or uses interesting technology. Most of the junk I get, comes from the university, its dumped because its either too old or it doesn't work anymore. I'll start this thread by showing one of my latest junk acquisitions:

 

imageimageimage

 

 

This is an autotransformer made by a company called "The Superior Electric Co" from Bristol, Connecticut. It was apparently build in the 60s (according to what I found in the net) and supports a max of 1.2 kva. The autotransformer works as expected but of course it shows its age, the rubber cable is not in the best condition and so isn't its paint. In the future I may repaint it and replace the cable but for now its good enough as it is.

 

Have you also found nice junk? Show us!

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Top Replies

  • michaelkellett
    michaelkellett over 6 years ago in reply to neuromodulator +13
    Here is the first processor controlled instrument I designed. Intel 8748, code hand assembled on paper and entered into Intel desktop dev system by hand in hex. Not really junk, but not very useful now…
  • dougw
    dougw over 6 years ago +12
    While looking for something else deep in the "archives" I came across my favourite scientific calculator. (circa 1975) It still works fine. The LEDs were so power hungry I eventually built a power supply…
  • genebren
    genebren over 6 years ago +11
    In the spirit of your original request (show us your junk!), here is some of my junk. One of my many past jobs was working for a life sciences company that built instrumentation for various forms of testing…
Parents
  • jw0752
    jw0752 over 6 years ago

    The Cray Super computer was developed here in Chippewa Falls. Somewhere along the way I picked up this section of core memory from an early Cray machine. I would guess that it was in the middle to late 1960s. At the time they were still using discrete transistors in their circuits. There are 1024 bits in each of the 4 quadrants so this would be the equivalent of a 4 kb memory chip. My how things have gotten smaller.

     

    image

     

    John

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  • balearicdynamics
    balearicdynamics over 6 years ago in reply to jw0752

    John if I am not wrong, this technology was hand-made.

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  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 6 years ago in reply to jw0752

    There is an Arduino shield kit available, if anyone wants to have a go at 'knitting' core store...

    https://www.tindie.com/products/kilpelaj/core-memory-shield-for-arduino/

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  • balearicdynamics
    balearicdynamics over 6 years ago in reply to beacon_dave

    I have already seen this shield, but it seems me a bit too reduced. With all the effort to set up this kind of project IMHO it was worth to provide something more than just 32 bit of data. Instead, as this project is part of our contemporary, my question is where we can find these small ferrite rings. That is a very important thing. Or maybe are sold on Amazon?

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  • genebren
    genebren over 6 years ago in reply to balearicdynamics

    Enrico,

     

    I found some on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/i/302773538905?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=302773538905&target…

     

    Not always a reliable source for electronic components, but at least someone has some. (available in lots of 50K)

     

    Gene

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  • balearicdynamics
    balearicdynamics over 6 years ago in reply to genebren

    Thank you Gene!

     

    It seems on EBay there are plenty of these. I have also found a good article on how to set up a circuit Arduino based. I will keep this knowledge apart, should useful with something I have in mind image

     

    Enrico

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  • Jan Cumps
    Jan Cumps over 6 years ago in reply to balearicdynamics

    There's someone who built the Arduino shield, then put LEDs under the cores, and he wrote a sketch that constantly read the memory and lit those LEDs that were positioned under a core that was "high".

    He then used a magnetic pen to touch cores, and their leds would light up. He could "magnetically draw".

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  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 6 years ago in reply to Jan Cumps

    This project perhaps ?

    https://hackaday.io/project/163976-interactive-core-memory-shield-using-led-matrix

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  • Jan Cumps
    Jan Cumps over 6 years ago in reply to beacon_dave

    Yes! I didn't see it there, but it's the same project of the same guy.

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  • ntewinkel
    ntewinkel over 6 years ago in reply to genebren

    genebren  wrote:

     

    > (available in lots of 50K)

     

    wiring up 50k bits of core should keep someone busy for a little while! image

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  • genebren
    genebren over 6 years ago in reply to ntewinkel

    Nico,

     

    50K cores is only 6.25K bytes of memory (without parity checking), so if someone wants core memory someone needs to get busy.image

     

    Gene

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  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 6 years ago in reply to ntewinkel

    "wiring up 50k bits of core should keep someone busy for a little while! image"

     

    Perhaps time to upcycle that old weaving loom ?  image

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  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 6 years ago in reply to ntewinkel

    "wiring up 50k bits of core should keep someone busy for a little while! image"

     

    Perhaps time to upcycle that old weaving loom ?  image

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Children
  • Gough Lui
    Gough Lui over 6 years ago in reply to beacon_dave

    Would hate to snap a wire or make a mistake mid-weaving ...

     

    - Gough

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