Awesome Older Tech Gadgets

[Toohotruk]

That one is kinds cool... :huh:

 

[M@elstrom]

Sega Game Gear!

Who'd have thought a little LED technology would seriously extend this little console's runtime (backlight modification)? I just won one off eBay should be en-route soon, can hardly wait... Sonic the Hedgehog - awesome! :thumbsup:

 

[gswitter]

Wasted quite a few afternoons at a friend's house, tormenting his dog with one of these...

I'm not sure if Milton Bradley's behind it or not, but someone's putting it back in production. Wonder if I can get away with giving one as a Xmas gift to a five year old girl... :thinking:

 

[^^Nova^^]

Some memories in this thread.

I remember playing tic tac toe on the Merlin.

Cheers,
Nova

 

[fyrstormer]

Sega Game Gear!

Who'd have thought a little LED technology would seriously extend this little console's runtime (backlight modification)? I just won one off eBay should be en-route soon, can hardly wait... Sonic the Hedgehog - awesome! :thumbsup:

You know you can get Sonic the Hedgehog for the Nintendo DS now, right? It already has an LED backlight, and a better screen than the GG will ever have.

Not everything old is worth keeping, unfortunately.

 

[Beamhead]

I loved the Dark Tower game, too. But the tower crapped out literally the day the warranty expired. My parents were not pleased.

We played the hell out of that game, the first 2 towers/games failed within the warranty period and then Toys R Us had the game on closeout for $25 bucks and I bought 2, both towers were flawless.
Gave one to my cuz and sold the other complete game on Ebay for insane money.
Those damn Brigands.

 

[StarHalo]

Room where the first message was sent over the internet (ARPANET at the time) on the night of October 29, 1969; room 3420 Boelter Hall, UCLA:

 

[guiri]

We played the hell out of that game, the first 2 towers/games failed within the warranty period and then Toys R Us had the game on closeout for $25 bucks and I bought 2, both towers were flawless.
Gave one to my cuz and sold the other complete game on Ebay for insane money.
Those damn Brigands.

OUt of curiosity, define insane money..?

George

 

[Burgess]

Great thread here !

:thumbsup:


i KNOW i commented here, several months ago.

Guess it must've gotten "Lost In Space" during the system crash.
:sigh:


I had a Sharp PC-1500 pocket computer, which i rcd. 10/1982.
Not a calculator, it was a real computer, running BASIC !
Took 4 AA alkalines, and had a one-line display of 80 characters !

Radio Shack sold its own variation, which was also mfg. by Sharp.

I learned a LOT from mine.
Considered it to be truly a Modern Miracle of Electronics !
Paid $200, plus some more for the additional memory card.

Believe it was an 8k card, for perhaps 40 bucks.

29 years ago, i felt this was *Simply Fantastic* !


_

 

[guiri]

It was. All that stuff was amazing to us then.

 

[Toohotruk]

I remember your post Burgess...seems like you (or someone) posted a pic of it as well, right? :thinking:

 

[Burgess]

I believe it was StarHalo who located (and posted) a photo
of the Radio Shack version. It had a few minor changes (keyboard layout ?),
but was also manufactured by Sharp, and fundametally the same device.

They both took the same "memory upgrade" module, too.

And, of course, they ran the same (BASIC) programs.

 

[RBR]

.....

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I believe it was StarHalo who located (and posted) a photo
of the Radio Shack version. It had a few minor changes (keyboard layout ?),
but was also manufactured by Sharp, and fundametally the same device.

They both took the same "memory upgrade" module, too.

And, of course, they ran the same (BASIC) programs.

I had one of those Radio Shack basic computers also. I think I paid $70 for it at the time. It was a marvel of engineering in it's day. But then so was the Texas Instruments SR-10 calculator, the first calculator that could do square roots. That was also a big deal in it's day and offered freedom from that damned slide rule. I loved those large tactile 'clicky' buttons and I still have it.

 

[StarHalo]

Not sure if these are awesome but here are two pocketable calculators, each with an addition and a subtraction side.

Both about 80 years old.

Awesome, I haven't seen anything like that; those must've been prohibitively expensive considering the popularity of slide rules.

I had one of those Radio Shack basic computers also. I think I paid $70 for it at the time. It was a marvel of engineering in it's day.

It's crazy to think that the power of supercomputers of that era are now the size of that handheld device (literally - a current smartphone has the same processing power as a washing machine-sized liquid nitrogen-cooled Cray-II); for five bucks, I can download and play X-Plane, a full featured flight simulator, on the Android phone I got for free from my carrier..

 

[guiri]

Almost forgot this one here.

Prussian bushwhacker, called Faschinenmesser, about 150 years old.

That one's for subtracting people's heads, right? :sick2:

 

[RBR]

.....

 

[Candlelabra]

Nope, still before my time, though somebody on EBay has one with the box and manuals for ~$250. I definitely remember Simon though, and I got a lot of mileage out of my Merlin (though it took too many batteries.) And speaking of taking too many batteries, I also owned a Pac-Man Mini-Arcade:

Dang, seeing one of these makes me want to see if I can buy one now...nice flashback.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Old radios with Magic Eye Tubes for tuning indicators.

More here.

 

[SlickSlabMcKnab]

I remember being as proud as punch having the first Nintendo handheld game on the block back in the early 80's I had this one (Snoopy Tennis) and my brother got "Parachute" :thumbsup:

Borrowed & re-hosted image

Kinda reminds me of:

Even though I haven't used mine and it's been in the box for a while now, it's still pretty neat.

Sega Game Gear!

Who'd have thought a little LED technology would seriously extend this little console's runtime (backlight modification)? I just won one off eBay should be en-route soon, can hardly wait... Sonic the Hedgehog - awesome! :thumbsup:

I still have mine. XD Surf Ninjas and Sonic were my favorite. Add the TV tuner that you once could pop into it and it was beyond a BEAST!