Preference for outdated technology

[frank]

As per the olde school thread: motorcycles and cameras

 

[MontanaJay]

Since I'm retired I have no need for a cell phone and don't have one. It's landline for me, and I even have a dial wall phone.
Another hobby is restoring tube radios, though there's little of interest to me being broadcast on AM or shortwave anymore. My music is all in iTunes but played through a Panasonic home receiver. I even use the speakers from a Sony stereo I got in college in 1972.
I also fiddle around with Coleman lanterns and stoves that burn white gas, which come in handy during power outages and no batteries required.
I use an IBM Selectric for address labels and such -- even send a snail-mail letter now and then. My computer printer is mothballed. I got tired of paying for ink and if I need anything printed I'll take it somewhere.
Still have a couple of fountain pens and use them occasionally, like for writing checks, because I don't do online payments for regular bills.
My winter car is a 1998 and the summer one a 1992.
I have a bunch of film cameras and a wet darkroom, but the tell the truth that's a get-a-round-tuit pastime for me.

 

[Adrian Twiss]

I too prefer an fountain pen when writing letters or when I am writing in my journal. I use a kindle and tablet as I don't like carrying lots of books around with me. Many of my books have sentimental value and they never leave the house. When it comes to golf I am bang up to date. I use ultralight graphite shafts and quality 3 piece balls. I use a laser rangefinder for distance measurement and keep my stats with a satellite data tracker. The game is hard enough without stepping back in time.

PS I don't wear plus fours.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

...I use "technology" that best suits my purposes.

Seems like you'd enjoy working for this organization:

https://www.ncat.org/​

 

[BrianShaw]

Only when driven at an even pace of 161280 furlongs per fortnight. (60 MPH)

Please tell us that you used a slide rule to do that calculation!

 

[Sirius Glass]

My preferences are not outdated. There are some new methods that do not interest me.

 

[Roger Cole]

Please tell us that you used a slide rule to do that calculation!

Actually I've long joked about furlongs per fortnight and just found that Google turns up online conversion for it.


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[thefizz]

I prefer to use a compass and map when hiking instead of a gps device.

 

[Nodda Duma]

I've taught my two girls (9 & 7) to type on typewriters dating from the 20s / 30s. So periodically my folks and the in-laws will receive typed letters from them. Proper memo form and typed addresses and everything. One was my wife's grandmother's typewriter which she had kept forever. She was about to donate it away when I mentioned to my mother-in-law that I had bought a typewriter for the oldest. So she rescued it for the younger daughter. It's an Underwood from the early 20s. The other is a Royal from 1934 as best I can tell. I have a third (Underwood) waiting to restore for when my son is old enough.

I've also ground and polished my own lenses & mirrors by hand. On my to-do list is to build a polishing & grinding station. They're not difficult. Just have to avoid harmonics between the spindle rotational speed and polishing arm stroke rate.

 

[Jim Jones]

Please tell us that you used a slide rule to do that calculation!

No, no, not a slide rule! Use an abacus for exact numbers!

 

[Dan Fromm]

No, no, not a slide rule! Use an abacus for exact numbers!

Right. Fifty years ago I took a linear programming course taught by a PhD economist who'd begun his professional life as a nuclear engineer. One day he worked an example that filled three slates with calculations to produce a ratio. The expected miracle happened, the ratio's numerator and denominator had many factors in common and the monstrosity reduced to 4/2. Dick whipped out his slide rule (12" loglog decitrig duplex) and did the division. The answer, he said, was 1.99.

 

[Vaughn]

Well, some of my film I use is out-dated, but fortunately my cameras have no "Use By" date.

I use my old Svea white gas backpacking stove. Works great. Stoves have gotten pretty fancy these days.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Svea_123R_with_pot.jpg

 

[AlexMalm01]

I drive a stick-shift.


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[Fixcinater]

Well, some of my film I use is out-dated, but fortunately my cameras have no "Use By" date.

I use my old Svea white gas backpacking stove. Works great. Stoves have gotten pretty fancy these days.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Svea_123R_with_pot.jpg

Is that really as loud as some internet experts claim it to be? Have not seen one in the flesh.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Yep. The Svea 123 does roar but it's a friendly one.

 

[Vaughn]

Is that really as loud as some internet experts claim it to be? Have not seen one in the flesh.

Not quiet -- perhaps like the old Colman lanterns. Nice to turn them off and hear the night noises return. But generally, I boil about two or three cups of water then turn it off. Enough for a cup of tea, hot water for instant oatmeal for breakfast...or soup for dinner. One moving part as far as I can tell, dependable, efficient and fast. Sometimes I'll cook over a fire, but I tend not to when I am on my own as I can camp anywhere and leave no trace.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Coleman white gas lanterns are the cat's meow. I still have the exact same forest green classic A200 with the iconic rounded globe you can see in (there was a url link here which no longer exists).

It still looks brand new and is still as bright as a carbon arc. I can tell the tank pressure and condition of the gas generator tube just by listening as it burns. It's an impressive floodlight, a toasty hand warmer, and produces the second best smell in the entire world.*

My ancient Coleman laughs at modern fluorescent and (especially) LED lanterns...



Ken

* Kodachrome fresh out of the canister is the only better smell.

 

[Steve Smith]

I drive a stick-shift.

As do most people in the UK.


Steve.

 

[Roger Cole]

I bought my last car new in December of 2010. I insisted on a manual and they had to get one from a dealer in Florida. They're distressingly hard to find here, and even so only in sports cars or compacts. Fortunately I drive a lot and prefer not to waste excess money on gas for bigger cars so I gravitate toward compacts anyway.

 

[MattKing]

The manual transmission cars are becoming even more rare, not least because the Continuously Variable Transmissions ("CVT") available for a lot of small cars tend to give better fuel consumption numbers in the US and Canadian government tests.

Honda is offering a new CVT that can be switched to operate with seven, manually selectable set gear ratios. Essentially it operates as a manual transmission with an automatic clutch. A good sounding idea (especially for stop and go city traffic) that might tempt me away from a manual transmission.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Modern auto transmissions are stout and get better fuel consumption. And much better in sticky stuff off road.

 

[BrianShaw]

Yep. The Svea 123 does roar but it's a friendly one.

and hot. I use one for melting lead.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Well, not exactly outdated technology per se, but I've kept a small selection of 1960's and 1970's issues of Popular Photography and Modern Photography. They're just fun to look through.

 

[Nodda Duma]

As do most people in the UK.


Steve.

I suppose that makes up for driving on the wrong side of the road.

 

[f/16]

I listen to LPs, cassettes, and CDs. We still have 3 tube type TVs in the house-hey, they still work fine. Even though I don't own a car with a manual transmission anymore, I find them fun to drive. I record CDs on a CD recorder which is a stereo component. I use paper maps when I travel. I prefer to have the schedule of my sports teams printed out so I don't have to get on the internet to see who's playing tonight. When shooting, I prefer manual exposure mode.