What do you do with obsolete technology?

[Tom.G]

My old functional PC's have gone to a local Senior Center, the local Historical Society, etc. The Senior Center was was especially grateful, it meant the part-time police officer that did local outreach could finally get on-line without 'borrowing' someone elses desk!

I do still have my Altair 8080-based computer though, circa 1975. Recently replaced the electrolytic filter caps and the thing still works. Peripherals unfortunately are no longer available so program input is flipping the front panel switches; much slower than a hard disk.

 

[Nik_2213]

When we first down-sized, I gave a dozen or so hefty crates of electronics books, magazines and 'stuff' to local STEM college. The lecturer almost burst into tears, but not from joy. "What am I supposed to do with all this ?"
Seems my 'amateur hobby' went rather beyond the curriculum, much of it far beyond the wildest ambitions of all but a very few, very rare students...
Typically, a handful a decade...
Oops.
Upside, my ~£1k boost to his subject's book-shelf wows every OFSTED inspector who notices it.
Downside, I gave away some 'Classic / rare / unusual' titles that I really, really should have kept...
Weep.

The second phase of our down-size saw half a dozen crates of classic computer books, hardware & accessories sent to a 'Retro-Computer' swap-meet. Thus went my beloved Apple][+ 48k, the UK's very first with FP Applesoft BASIC in ROM. In its original import case ! A BBC_B-128, an Archimedes A 410/1 etc etc etc.
Weep ^2...
---

Disclaimer: Do any of you remember 'Microdigital' or their short-lived 'Liverpool Software Gazette' ? I was their 'Hexadismal Kid' because I could not remember more than a few of the 6502's not-very-many op-codes. So, I invested in a full-on symbolic assembler to write fun one-page programs. Between crafting 'Stargate', my 3D-planetarium, in FP BASIC, of course, of course...

 

[nsaspook]

Dump it.

 

[JBA]

If anyone decides to become a slide rule collector, just let me know and I will be glad to contribute.
I still have my 1958 college Post Versalog slide rule in it original leather scabbard w/ snap-on belt loop in its original box, the snap-on magnifier accessory for the viewing glass to get that one more decimal point accuracy in its original box and the Versalog instruction book with its paper cover; and, there is no way I can bring myself to trash those things even though I can't remember how to use the slide rule and am too lazy to use book to learn since I still have my trusty HP RPN calculators.
(Except my HP-35 that I was stupid enough to store away without removing the rechargeable batteries that then leaked and destroyed it.)

NOTE: Remember to remove the batteries from any electronics you want to store away and keep for awhile or still cannot bring your self to part with.

 

[BillTre]

Some cool looking stuff I keep, but we have a recycler of electronics in town so I can get rid of old stuff.
I can also find some things that still work there (usually cables and power sources for me).

 

[davenn]

Being an amateur radio operator for more years than I care to remember
The hoarding of electronics is a given, specially for those of us that are active constructors
rather than an appliance operator
Even the thought of tossing a bit of electronics that could be scavenged for bits is a crime haha

But now at the tender young age of 60, I really do need to start sorting some stuff. The thought
of something happening to me and leaving the poor wifey to sort it all out would be a bit unfair.
I also have to realize, that with health not the best and eyesight getting worse, I am never going to
use all the stuff I have collected. My construction activities have declined rapidly in recent years.

I had one huge cleanout 20 yrs ago before I left New Zealand to come to Australia. Now 20 yrs later
and the accumulation in Australia has again reached excessive proportions haha

Dave

 

[anorlunda]

The hoarding of electronics is a given, specially for those of us that are active constructors

I used to be like you, but I discovered the cure. We moved from a house to a sailboat. Nothing left behind, even in storage. During the move all out possessions in the world had to fit in the airline checked baggage allowance.

I must admit that we retrogressed. After 13 years, we sold the boat. We now live in 2 RVs (one in Vermont, one in Florida). That's about 800 square feet, compared to 250 on the boat.

You could daydream of being a Mars colonist, with an allowance of 1 kg personal stuff. At least that puts a positive spin on it.

 

[Mark44]

Last week, my wife and I got new carpeting in our house, to replace the carpet that was laid down when the house was built in '98. We have a fairly large house, so the project took two and a half days to complete. Everything sitting on a carpet had to be moved -- beds, living room furniture, six bookcases, stereo equipment, etc.
This was an opportunity for us to get rid of lots of books that we didn't wish to keep, as well as my computer stuff that I will probably never use again, such as 5 1/4" and 3 1/2" floppy disks (neither of my two computers has a floppy drive). I did keep my slide rules, though.

 

[anorlunda]

I did keep my slide rules, though.

As did I. Even when living on the boat, my slide rule in its holster was always close by.

 

[BillTre]

Here is something that my wife pulled out of storage somewhere.
It used to belong to my dead father-in-law who used to make and fly ultralight airplanes.
It is some kind of slide rule-like think for dead reaconning navigation. My dad had a circular slide rule for use in flying, but not like this one.

 

[Nik_2213]

Wow !
IIRC, a simpler version was popular with Yachties. I've vague memories of my father trying to get to grips with something similar on a basic navigation course.
Must be said, that taught me a lot about vector sums...

Also, several charts he bought came rolled in 'discards', one for a fjord. My young brother and I arranged several large boxes and a periscope, navigated our 'X-Sub' to lay saddle-mines and sink the Tirpitz...

 

[anorlunda]

Here is something that my wife pulled out of storage somewhere.

Guess what? They are still for sale. Only $49.95.

https://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/deluxe-color-coded-e6b-flight-computer.html

 

[JBA]

It has been decades since I flew a small single engine plane but I still have my a plastic version of that device with a fixed protractor and a separate circular calculator for determine ground vs flight speed. Seeing this made me wonder how wind drift was determined by using a GPS and, from the information at the below website,m the process hasn't really changed much, except that GPS's indicate your actual flight path vs path to target by either a map display of the two paths or by a display of the compass angle of each path. Basically, even with a GPS, it is still the pilot's responsibility to establish the necessary flight angle to correct for drift, so don't be too quick to state those items you have as "obsolete".

www.takeflightsandiego.com › assets › documents › FlyingGPStheRightWay

 

[symbolipoint]

Now the Thomas Guide Maps are becoming obsolete technology. One of my relatives still uses them, and so did I up to about a few years ago. These days Google Maps seem easy enough to use.

 

[gmax137]

Here's a nice general purpose circular rule. The circular ones don't have the "problem" where the result goes "off the edge" of the stationary part. Companies used to give things like this out to their customers.

I'm not sure what to do with it. Maybe I should start a collection? There is a slide rule community, the Oughtred society, after a Rev. Oughtred.

 

[Nik_2213]

"... where the result goes "off the edge" of the stationary part. "

Would have loved a circular slide rule, but scales on my mid-range stick were arranged such I could just turn it over and continue...