Your oldest device or gadget

[Chuckanut]

I came across this article about the oldest device or gadget people have and still use. It got me thinking and for now I think my oldest working device that I still use is a GE AM/FM kitchen radio. It has an attached electric outlet that can be turned on manually, or set set to turn on at a certain time. It's the kind mounted under the cabinets so does not take up counter space. It also has a light to illuminate the counter with Hi and Lo settings for the light level. The tuner is a dial that moves a red bar through the frequency scale. How quaint. Oh, reception is pretty good.

I estimate it's age at 30+ years.


https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52965974

A recent report by the consumer campaign group Which? suggests the lifespan of a smart fridge could be just a few years if the brand behind it stops providing software support and updates.
Meanwhile, Sonos has released new software for its internet-connected speakers that does not work on its own-branded older devices.
And this prompted me to casually mention on Twitter that I have a 12-year-old TV.
To make myself feel better, I also asked people to share their oldest working gadgets.
And a floodgate opened.

 

[davebarnes]

Meat grinder.
Wedding present. First marriage—1970.

 

[mountainsoft]

We still use the blender my mom gave us. She probably bought it in the early 70's. The cord, while in still good shape, is kind of scary looking. It's all metal, built like a tank, and still has the glass container. I just recently bought a new seal and impeller for it and it works like new. I keep thinking about replacing the cord on it, but am a little worried the old parts would break if I tried to take it apart.

 

[stepford]

Define gadget.


If it has to be electronics I still have a Heathkit receiver I built in the early 70's. If it just has to have moving parts I have old metal lathes that are older than I am. If it just has to be any kind of useful item my wife has some of her granddad's hand tools that are easily over a century old.

 

[Sunset]

OP needs to define gadget, I have an outhouse (toilet) that is 100 years old.

 

[powerplay]

I have a Singer sewing machine that is from the mid 1950's. It belonged to my aunt and was likely purchased around the time she married in Jan. 1955. It still works and I use it once in a while. Straight stitch only.

 

[Alan]

Trigger has had the same broom for the last 20 years. (Scene from Only Fools and Horses)

https://youtu.be/LAh8HryVaeY

 

[dixonge]

Fairly certain that nothing the wife and I own predates our marriage (30 years) - We do have a luggage scale that we acquired early on, but outside of that everything else is probably 10 years old or newer. In 2012 we had pared everything we own down to two suitcases each, after having filled a 2000+ sq ft house up through 2009. I'm guessing we'll be outliers in this thread...

 

[FIREd]

I don't have much which is more than a few years old. When I divorced I let my ex keep virtually everything in order to get a fresh start. A move overseas further limited the electronics I could keep. So, in terms of electronic "gadgets", the oldest item I own is my mid-2011 27" iMac computer, which I now use exclusively as a TV.

 

[aja8888]

I have my grandmother's 1919 stand up victrola (crank type) and it's in perfect condition. With it are original needle packs, four binders of albums (mostly polkas) and it's never been refinished.

I tried to pass it to my daughter, but she has "no room" for it.

As far as "gadgets" acquired by me (and still used and workings as original):

1. 4 HP Sears Craftsman air compressor - bought 1975
2. Weller soldering gun - bought about 1970
3. Mostly complete set of REAL Craftsman tools (sockets, wrenches) - bought 1960's
4. DW has an electric glue gun which probably dates back to the 1960's
5. A "Waterbury Kitchen Clock" with hand painted glass front dating back to the 1880's. Still running fine as long as I oil the movement bearings.

That's enough...

 

[donheff]

I still have an old wall phone from 30+ years and lamps that go back many decades further. I have chandeliers that were wired from gas lamps more than 100 years old.

 

[KB]

I have my parents waffle iron that they got in 1948. It still works fine however I do worry a little about the old fabric electric cord to plug it in. It's in good shape but ...

 

[target2019]

This is an older night light which goes back at least to the 1940/50 era. Redid the electrical cord and keep a small led bulb in it, always on in my office.

 

[sengsational]

I'm going with "electronics" and still useful.


This gadget has been delivering weather and hazards for over 40 years. Runs even if the Internet goes out.

 

[Ronstar]

I don't know if tools are gadgets, but I still use some of my grandfather's tools. The old tool that I use the most is his old crescent wrench. I have no idea how old it is. Maybe close to 100 years old.

All of my newer type gadgets are just that - new.

 

[braumeister]

If it needs electricity, then my Toastmaster waffle/pizzelle maker is my oldest gadget. Bought in the 70s.

If it doesn't need electricity, then the oldest gadget I use regularly is the Brown & Sharpe micrometer my mother used when she worked in a munitions factory during World War II.

 

[Souschef]

1954 K & E Log Log duplex decitrig Slide Ruls

 

[ERD50]

A couple related threads:

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/what-is-the-oldest-item-you-own-39396.html

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/your-oldest-appliance-just-for-fun-85735-2.html

-ERD50

 

[easysurfer]

Oldest thing that I still use is a used original type Foodsaver machine made in the 1980's. No kidding when those things last a lifetime.

I have some old computers (Timex Sinclair, Tandy 100 laptop, Mac Plus) around too but they are in storage. Also, had a Sony Mavica digital camera (that used floppy drives) but donated that away (still have some second thoughts about parting with it) since the battery was dead and I didn't want to buy batteries for something I really don't use anymore.

 

[Car-Guy]

Me!

Lot's of wear and tear and showing signs of age, but it's still working, for the most part.

 

[jim584672]

I'm going with "electronics" and still useful.


This gadget has been delivering weather and hazards for over 40 years. Runs even if the Internet goes out.

Wow, I didn't think NOAA weather radio was still a thing.

 

[John Galt III]

Sold my slide rule for a dollar last year. But... I do have 1970's Sears black and white TV that * I still use * at least once a week for looking at over-the-air TV stations, usually just to check the weather.

 

[kcowan]

An old mechanical bathroom scale inherited from MIL. Had to purge most of the really old stuff during several downsizings. We use the scale to weigh luggage by holding it and subtracting body weight for airline travel. Close enough was good for the checkin agents.

 

[jim584672]

Sharp solar scientific calculator 1985, still works fine.

 

[mountainsoft]

We're still using the Toshiba microwave oven my mom bought us when I got my first apartment in 1986. Works great.

I'm also still have my Sharp EL-5806 calculator I used in college in 1980. It sits right here on my desk and I use it almost every day.