Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [vintage]

For questions about early/old electrical technologies and devices that are no longer available today, or almost extinct.

For questions about early/old electrical technologies and devices that are no longer available today, or almost extinct.

This includes most kind of Thermoionic valves, gas filled tubes, magnetic tape cassettes and heads, Reel to Reel, CRT, Light pen, Light guns, Analog radios, VCR, Post office box, Telegraph, Electric heaters, Pipe light choke and starters, incandescent bulbs, Punch card readers, Landline telephone, rotary diallers, Meters of various kind based on Magnetic deflection, and every other kind of vintage electrical technologies.

151 questions
75
votes
6 answers

What happened to electrolytic capacitors in the 21st century?

We can sometimes see decades-old capacitors (such as ones made in the USSR) still working. They are bigger and heavier, but durable and not desiccating. Modern aluminium capacitors serve for about 11 years, if you are lucky, then become dry and…
Incnis Mrsi
  • 958
  • 1
  • 7
  • 18
55
votes
10 answers

Amplification before tubes and transistors were invented

Telephones are older than vacuum tubes and of course transistors. How was signal amplification done? I mean the technology, not the details. EDIT Some additional informations that I should have given at the beginning : The question is…
andre314
  • 996
  • 2
  • 7
  • 17
37
votes
1 answer

Why were germanium diodes so fast and germanium transistors so slow?

Germanium diodes were used for Radar during WW2. Germanium transistors appeared about a decade later. Most early transistors were only specified for audio use, like the OC71. The specified RF types like the OC44 were only good for a few MHz. Why…
Autistic
  • 14,235
  • 2
  • 27
  • 65
19
votes
3 answers

Identify this type of diode from the 1970s (1.3V forward)?

I am currently reverse engineering the electronics of a Pentax Electro Spotmatic camera from the early 1970s. I have the circuit mostly figured out but now I want to find out more about the particular components used. The component in question is a…
Edwin Steiner
  • 193
  • 7
16
votes
2 answers

Can anybody identify this component (SPRAGUE 663044-4) on this vintage electronic?

I am repairing a vintage Seeburg/Gulbransen 'Select-a-Rhythm' drum machine from 1967, the kind you would sit on top of your organ and play along with. I am trying to distinguish what this component could be, it basically looks like an old capacitor…
Rex Rick
  • 175
  • 8
14
votes
1 answer

Old equipment to identify

I volunteer at the Dauphin Railway Museum in Manitoba, where we recently received a donation of equipment collected by CNCP Telecommunications in the 1970s and earlier. Most has been identified, including testing equipment, telegraph relays, Telex…
Richard Simons
  • 141
  • 2
14
votes
4 answers

Are there special protocols one should take when handling vintage/old electronics?

UPDATE: I am mainly interested in learning about vintage chips, ics, cpus etc, mainly non-soldered chips. It would also be interesting to know about any other component (i.e., capacitor) that could have been near a soldered chip that could cause an…
XaolingBao
  • 469
  • 2
  • 9
  • 17
13
votes
6 answers

Why does this diode/capacitor combination appear on every board in a vintage computer?

I am working with a 1970s era computer system with multiple functional boards on its bus (similar to S100 but not S100.) Unlike S100, this system distributes power as already-regulated 5V (and 12V and -5/-12V) to each board in the system. Every…
BZo
  • 1,575
  • 1
  • 11
  • 22
13
votes
2 answers

Can you help me identify this manufacturer's logo on this component

Stylized S logo that I cannot find any information on. The model of this stud mount diode is 240E10RTC. It measures 45 mm in width has 20 mm threaded end
Rod
  • 173
  • 8
13
votes
1 answer

What is a "universal bridge"?

I recently came across this intriguing instrument from the 1970s(?): It's a "Universal Bridge" made by Wayne Kerr. It's not a type of device I've come across before and I'm curious what these are (were?) used for.
NPE
  • 543
  • 1
  • 6
  • 19
13
votes
7 answers

What kind of capacitor blew up in my old IBM monitor?

I pulled this out of an old IBM 5154 EGA monitor from the 80's. Clearly both are bad (though the monitor itself works anyway...). I know they're capacitors, but what kind? What would a replacement for these be? I'm also curious about why the…
Sydius
  • 321
  • 1
  • 2
  • 9
13
votes
5 answers

A story behind a weird inductor

This old, crusty inductor found in an old Iskra (Yugoslavia) TV intrigued me, and I was hoping that someone could tell me what's the story behind it's design. I don't know if the pictures are descriptive enough, but inductor's "head" is magnetic,…
Njubster
  • 149
  • 1
  • 4
10
votes
3 answers

Is there a name for this vintage 3-pin connector configuration?

I am trying to find a suitable replacement for this connector for a vintage radio, but I'm not sure how to search for it or if they even sell them anymore. Simply "3 pin male connector" isn't helping very much, and the part has no markings. I've…
pyridoxal_trigeminus
  • 357
  • 1
  • 7
10
votes
3 answers

What is this component? 1970s electronics

I broke it while trying to repair a nearby component on a 1970s board. It has two wires at one end that look like they are going to a coil and two axial wires. One of the axial wires came out with some pieces of glass. The only markings are "P/F"…
Andy
  • 293
  • 1
  • 9
10
votes
3 answers

Are screened transistors an endangered species?

In the germanium transistor era, the RF transistors were PNP small signal devices. Some of these small metal cased BJTs had 4 leads instead of the usual 3. The metal can was isolated and the 4th lead was called the screen and was connected to an…
Autistic
  • 14,235
  • 2
  • 27
  • 65
1
2 3
…
10 11