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Related

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…
  • rsjsouza
    rsjsouza over 6 years ago in reply to michaelkellett

    Thanks; that is a nice bit of kit indeed, albeit noisy.

     

    At the moment I am trying to make it work with an old Dell Inspiron 2200 running Windows XP, but both yours or shabaz' laptops could drive the TWD 120 very nicely.

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  • rsjsouza
    rsjsouza over 6 years ago in reply to shabaz

    Wow! A windowed 68HC11!

     

    Twenty years ago I worked with the K4 variant - windowed EPROM, lots of PWMs and quite good memory for the time. Their assembly was really easy to use.

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  • balearicdynamics
    balearicdynamics over 6 years ago in reply to michaelkellett

    A Toshiba... I owned a lot of models

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  • balearicdynamics
    balearicdynamics over 6 years ago

    image

    A 2012 MacBook Pro 15 inches. 100% died. The issue is the motherboard and the graphic card and it is no longer worth to repair. I kept it to follow and idea but there are lot of parts I don't know how to make. If I can convert the 15 inches LCD (No retina) connected in some way to a PI, power is ok, touch and keyboard too, the motherboard can be removed and... why not? But I have no idea how to connect this screen converting the signal to HDMI, I suppose. Some suggestions?

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  • gpolder
    gpolder over 6 years ago

    image

    A Macintosh 512 motherboard that I got hold of about 25 years ago. Together with a modified serial mouse, a modified black and white PC monitor an original keyboard and floppy stations it still functions.

     

    imageimageimage

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  • ralphjy
    ralphjy over 6 years ago

    I don't consider this junk, but rather a treasured relic.  It is a Kim-1 board that used the 6502 processor like the Apple II.  My first experience with single chip microprocessors was the Intel 8008 when I was working for the Radioscience lab at the university as a grad student, but I didn't get to keep any of those image.   So, this was my first personal computer.  I still have an old Apple II+ hidden away somewhere.

     

    I had this stored in the original shipping box so you can see the 1976 postmark from Mos Technology in PA.

     

    imageimage

    image

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  • dougw
    dougw over 6 years ago

    Here is a blast from the past.... I dug out a Polaroid Spectra System (circa 1986)

    image

    It looked to be in mint condition...

    image

    So I turned it on (released the pop-up lens)...

    image

    And it showed ready...

    image

    So I snapped a picture - it flashed and spit out a picture just the way it should...

    image

    The image did not develop, but I was impressed that every thing else worked fine, including the battery - after about 30 years of sitting on a shelf!

    Apparently you can still buy film for these cameras.... I might find an excuse to try it out one of these days.

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  • dougw
    dougw over 6 years ago in reply to ralphjy

    My first technical summer job was assembling all the 8 bit SBCs of the day, including a 6502 KIM-1, RCA 1802 COSMAC, Motorola 6800, Signetics 2650, Intel 8080 and Synertek 6502 SYM-1. That job was a great introduction to microprocessors. I eventually bought a Rockwell Aim65 (1978) that I still have and it still works.

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  • balearicdynamics
    balearicdynamics over 6 years ago

    Another beautiful junk waiting to be connected to a microcontroller. It was great, programmable in BASIC!

    image

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

    My eldest daughter bought a recent one. Not a Polaroid but some other brand using the same chemical process. For the fun of it.

     

    Customer action shot:

     

    image

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