# Wierd/Atypical stuff you own



## Bradlee (Mar 12, 2006)

Well I was just thinking it would be interesting to see what kind of random, unusual items people have in their house (or otherwise). 

It's not too strange but here's a start. It's a remote-control construction toy demo from the toy store where I worked:


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## BatteryCharger (Mar 12, 2006)

A $500 flashlight. :laughing:


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## nerdgineer (Mar 12, 2006)

A handheld electric eraser (used by draftsmen in the old days) made by Leitz. Beautifully built, ball bearings everywhere, silky, silent, and useless.

I used to have a full Graflex XL press camera outfit (6x9 cm roll film) with all 3 Zeiss lenses, Synchro-Compur shutters, many film backs, the works. Great lens quality, crappy lens mounts.

Don't know if these are weird enough. Dillon RL450 reloading press? Weirauch HW55T air rifle? Toys of an indulgent youth I never used...:shakehead
(as opposed to toys of middle age...)


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## jtr1962 (Mar 12, 2006)

I have loads of weird stuff. A few taximeters (both electronic and mechanical) and some tachographs (got all this plus lots of other parts when the last company I worked for cleaned out their stockroom) for starters. Lots of electronic parts. Thermoelectric assemblies with huge heat sinks. A few warehouse-type HID lights I found thrown out by the curb one day (they still work). It just goes on and on.


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## spock (Mar 12, 2006)

lots of stuff, just ask my wife. a pristeen auto carena. this is a wind up film camera made like a rolex. you twist the handle on the bottom to wind it up. a swiss "wind-up" digital watch. it has two dials that rotate in a window for the time. a japanese(good quality)flashlight that has a vacuum cleaner built in it. homemade sewing pins with the heads hand soldered on them(circa 1890). a bulovia accutron watch, and so on.


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## DonShock (Mar 12, 2006)

I used to own a Palm Beach County voting machine from the famous 2000 Presidential Election. I donated it to a charity auction 2 years ago and the guy that bought it donated it to the local museum, which is only about a half hour away from the Bush ranch.


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## RAF_Groundcrew (Mar 12, 2006)

Hi Nerdgineer,

A handheld electric eraser ???? :huh2: How does that work then?

Nigel.


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## DonShock (Mar 12, 2006)

I used an electric eraser in a HS drafting class. It just spins the eraser and is often used in conjuction with a metal erasing shield to limit the correction to a small area. It uses small white cylindrical erasers, about 1/4 inch in diameter and 3-4 inches long.


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## markdi (Mar 12, 2006)

1 acme 30kv at .045 amp neon sign transformer.

1 working - 1 not working model 111b delux scintilators very sensitive radiation survey meters.

2 working violet ray generator sets

1 sky writer by idieal toy - made in 1981

1 cil blasting galvanometer

a very nice hydraulic dentist chair.

1 big - old glass dome 34 inches tall by 28 inches - I wonder what it went to originally.

4 really old large gasoline model airplane engines with points coils and tiny champion spark plugs - one of them is called the baby engine - first production model airplane engine - very rare.

12 working stereo amplifiers from 300 wpc rms to 150 watts rms - 8 ohms both channels driven at the same time - I should sell a few of them.

I have the aladin mantle lamp that my 90 year old grandfather used as a kid on a farm in kansas.
his dad bought it from a door to door salesman.
grandpa was 5 when it was bought - he was not allowed to touch it until he turned 7 years old.

the old lamp is higher quality nicer looking and more advanced than my 5 year old genie 2 - brighter too.

I fixed it and tried to give it to my mom - she did not want it - I am not too upset ha ha.

2 pairs of 18 ct gold filled rimless glasses - in aligator cases that belonged to my great great grandfather - they are back in style in a retro way and I am going to have lenses made so that they will work for me.

1 small light weight jet engine with 36 pounds of thrust
- electronic automated micro processor controlled full kerosene autostart - no propane needed. 

1 15 - 20 pound thrust pulse jet - very loud.



lots of electronics test gear

1 or 2 flashlights including a modded arc ls2 p and very white perfect arc ls3 - and a few home made hid spotlights.


I could go on forever - I am a pack rat 

I need to use ebay and sell a few things


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## Bradlee (Mar 12, 2006)

markdi said:


> -a very nice hydraulic dentist chair.
> 
> -1 15 - 20 pound thrust pulse jet - very loud.



Indeed, very unusual.

CPFers really do have some uncommon and strange stuff.


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## jtr1962 (Mar 12, 2006)

markdi said:


> 1 acme 30kv at .045 amp neon sign transformer.


I have one of those. Forgot the voltage and current ratings though 22.5 kV rings a bell. I'll have to check in the garage later.


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## The_LED_Museum (Mar 12, 2006)

Let's see...not everybody has:

1: Blue DPSS laser module; 2+mW.
2: Yellow DPSS laser module, 6+mW (there aren't many of these around; possibly less than ten).
3: Argon-ion laser, single line (488nm), TEM00, 16mW.
4: Muncie combo high voltage insulater set (two piece set where they mate with one another; a base & a top); aqua glass.
5: Electric Mobility #255 motorised electric wheelchair.
6: "Boogie Lights" scrolling LED message board.
7: "Electronic Message Billboard" scrolling LED message board.
8: Prototype Arc LS flashlight (only two known to exist; mine is the only one in the western hemisphere).

A long time ago, I had a furnace ignition transformer. I think it was rated 10,000 volts AC 20mA on its secondary.
Large, heavy black thing with two porcelain feedthrough insulaters where the 10KV winding exited the transformer.
The secondary was center-tapped, so you could get 5KV from either secondary terminal to the metal case.

I can't think of anything else right off the bat.


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## flownosaj (Mar 12, 2006)

I've got a sword that I have no use for--it's not pretty but it's functional and very sharp.

:touche:


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## LowWorm (Mar 12, 2006)

A bowling ball named "BECKY."

Becky came into my life when some extended family member was clearing out his old junk. I guess his ex-wife's name was Becky, and she had it engraved on this 9-pound bowling ball. Relative gave Mr. LowWorm "Becky" to get rid of, but Mr. LowWorm (who at this time was fiance LowWorm) decided it would be more fun to see if he could bowl down the bushes in front of my parents' house with Becky while driving shrug. Bushes survived, Becky was only a few scrapes worse for her adventure, and we've kept her around since. She is our garage bowling ball, and keeps watch over our cars while we sleep, since she's really too homely to take out on a real bowling date.


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## PhotonWrangler (Mar 12, 2006)

An old Civil Defense geiger counter (the big yellow one). Also a couple of handheld Russian-made radiation detectors.

Unusual-looking vacuum tubes from back in the day - acorn tubes, 931 phototubes, etc. ALso some old ballast tubes which look very interesting when they're lit up.

A turntable (Technics direct DC drive, no belts).


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## Big_Ed (Mar 12, 2006)

Aside from 175+ flashlights (of course!), the most atypical stuff I have are various pieces of drive-in theater memorabilia such as speakers, in-car heaters, snack bar signs, cups, trays, basically anything that has to do with a drive-in theater.


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## Sub_Umbra (Mar 12, 2006)

Our house is littered with costumes and props from movies and stage shows. We've thinned it out some but there are still some items that will startle you the first time you stumble onto them, like the huge, totally buffed out, no-necked monster body guard standing just inside the bedroom door...in the dark.

Below is a link to a prop from the film *JFK.* 





Since most of it was filmed in New Orleans they created a hi-res cutout quartering-view of the Texas School Book Depository so more shots could be filmed locally. If you saw the movie this is what you actually saw in many of the shots in front of the Book Depository. It's huge for an apartment. (14 feet wide) I couldn't get back far enough to shoot it all.

In our old place we hung it on a big sky blue painted wall and we've shot a few personalized wallpaper photos with friends standing in front of it...with old guns...and UFOs...

The same folks who gave it to us also offered us the full sized set pieces for *JFK's grave*...complete with eternal flame. They had to make it as they couldn't get permission to shoot at the real grave. Had to say no -- no space for horizontal displays.


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## TedTheLed (Mar 12, 2006)

a stapler: ZENITH 522/E
As well as offering the possibility to staple up to 40 sheets using ZENITH staples ref. 515/10, it can staple folded sheets such as those found in a copy book because of its great stapling depth... 

(ie; it can put in a 10mm staple about 6 inches from the page edge.)

..according to the distributer I have the only one they ever shipped to the US,
(from Italy)

A letter:
from the city of NY acknowledging my help in nailing a major air polluter..in '78 

A pen:
Parker 'Big Red' Duofold, my grandfather's..

A Pipe:
American Indian pipestone (catlanite) peacepipe.

A Cigar:
..in the humidor since the early 90's, an Upman Coronas Major Havana.
(think I'll smoke it today..)


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## nightshade (Mar 12, 2006)

A Commodore VIC 20 and Commodore 64, all still working great. Mint 1876 Schofield revolver passed on to each generation. Pioneer Boom Box from 1986, dual-cassette, dude!
A few NOS Casio led watches, calculators. Had more but lost plenty in the last cane. I really like keeping old technology devices that are still useful and fun.


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## greenlight (Mar 12, 2006)

Evil M-I-C-K-E-Y


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## markdi (Mar 12, 2006)

a very nice sorensen dcr 60 - 18b power supply.

0 to 64 volts at 18 - 20 amps precision current and voltage regulated - better than .25% drift.
1100 watt power supply.

now a smart person would not charge 8 - 6 volt 4 amp hour sealed lead acid batterys conected in series on top of the power supply.

I had the charge current regulated to 250 ma

about 20 minutes into charging the batteries I noticed a wee bit of white smoke wisping out of some vent holes on the supply.

one of the batteries leaked some acid onto a big power resistor and the watter/acid was evaporating.

I cleaned the resistor off and everything is fine.

oh and now I own 8 - 6 volt 4 watt fluorescent tube/inverter assemblys and 7 - 6 volt 4ah sla batteries
and 8 - 20 watt h3 sealed reflector/bulb assemblys - the lantern bodies were junk.
thanks to a dumpster diving friend of mine.


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## Warhead (Mar 12, 2006)

I own a Lyle cannon. Used to fire a tethered rod to shore, and fish back increasingly larger lines for escape on a basket or harness from a distressed ship. I “stole” it off a friends ship in the 80’s when they converted to a rocket type device. They were going to dump all of them overboard. Weighs about 200 pounds…try lifting that into your trunk! Had it sandblasted and powder coated a few years ago. Uses a blank .32 and a cool little firing mechanism to ignite a charge of your choice. I usually fire it blank but will hurl a potato out of sight. We machined a projectile for it once...and never found it. Good for getting the police over on the 4th. They always ask me shoot it again. Neighbors hate me for yet another reason, heh.


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## greenlight (Mar 12, 2006)

One-eyed lizard/little mermaid chimera.





With GID teeth.


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## nightshade (Mar 12, 2006)

Greenlight, ToyStory comes to mind. :laughing:


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## greenlight (Mar 12, 2006)

CowboyBobipede


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## greenlight (Mar 12, 2006)

ArachniSpawn


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## The_LED_Museum (Mar 12, 2006)

I should add the following to my list:

9: CBM 8032 computer, in working order.
10: Commodore SX-64 "luggable" computer; also works except that the keyboard was slightly damaged when I moved in October 2004.
11: Commodore 1702 color monitor.
12: Big huge JVC ghetto blasters from the late-1970s to the early-1980s: models RC-838JW, RC-550JW, RC-656JW, RC-M70JW, and RC-M80JW.

The cassette drive belt on the RC-M70 became broken in late-2004; otherwise works.
It has LINE-IN jacks, so it's easy to interface it with other stereo components.


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## greenlight (Mar 12, 2006)

That was fun! For the curious, some pieces were fitted as is, others were dis-assembeled and reconfigured with epoxy.


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## Topper (Mar 12, 2006)

Nothing at all. I am normal and have normal stuff. No really.
Topper


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## dcarch8 (Mar 12, 2006)

greenlight said:


> CowboyBobipede


 
Use you imagination. *Brokeback Mountain.*

*dcarch8 :devil: *


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## Kiessling (Mar 12, 2006)

Topper said:


> Nothing at all. I am normal and have normal stuff. No really.
> Topper



Yeah ... sure ... :nana:


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## greenlight (Mar 12, 2006)

dcarch8 said:


> Use you imagination. *Brokeback Mountain.*
> 
> *dcarch8 :devil: *



What, the thumb?


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## PhotonWrangler (Mar 12, 2006)

There's something a little creepy about those toy statues, in a Stephen King sort of way.
oo:


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## The_LED_Museum (Mar 12, 2006)

13: Tritium self-luminous EXIT sign.
True, these aren't very uncommon, but not very many people would have one of these.
14: American DJ Laser Widow (modified from 5mW to 35mW)
15: Marquees from a number of coin-op arcade video games from the 1980s.
16: A number of stuffed digimon creatures. Again, not that uncommon, but few people actually have more than one or two.


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## Spin (Mar 12, 2006)

i have four 1930's telegraph sounders that work. Interesting to look at but no practical application.


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## Spin (Mar 12, 2006)

i have four 1930's telegraph sounders that work. Interesting to look at but no practical application.


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## Pellidon (Mar 12, 2006)

One of those Vacuum tube testers that used to be in some drug stores and Rat Shacks. Acutally came from a Rat Shack. It was on the sidewalk and when I asked the manager why he said he was getting rid of it and I could have it for $5. Found out later those were leased to stores so he could not technically sell it. Actually used it once or twice.


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## drizzle (Mar 12, 2006)

A Curta Handheld Mechanical Calculator. This is a prize posession of mine, the best present I have ever received. My dad bought it for a small fee (I have never learned exactly the amount and haven't asked) from the son of a distributor. I believe the distributor died and these were just lying around so his son sold them to friends and co-workers.

The pictures don't do it justice. It is a mechanical marvel and works very well. It will add, subtract, multiply and divide very large numbers. The multiplication and division is done by a very clever implementation of multiple addition or subtraction.


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## twentysixtwo (Mar 12, 2006)

Nixiesat Nixie Clock


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## Flying Turtle (Mar 13, 2006)

Here's a few of my better items. The clown pic (I think it's Emitt Kelly?) was from my uncle. He was going to throw it away. The tank shell was a gift from my brother. Can't remember exactly where I found the bowling pin and Rheingold beer sign. Probably dumpsters. The steel helm, monkey head bookend, and wooden box with scholarly monkey all came from TJ Maxx. And, my favorite, the pristine fallout shelter sign, was liberated from the wall of a school basement. Weird enough?

Geoff


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## Sigman (Mar 13, 2006)

Ohhhhh greenlight - I don't know whether to worry about you or look at my family history to see if we're related...I think we're cousins or something!?  

That doesn't mean I still shouldn't worry though!


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## greenlight (Mar 13, 2006)

I had a little too much free time for a while...


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## yuandrew (Mar 13, 2006)

All in my room:

A SIMPLEX 4251 fire alarm pull station I took out of a building that was being gutted.

Various circuit boards salvaged from old or broken electronics (computer monitor, stereo, hard drive, dvd player, ect)

A shaded pole motor (with a power cord and metal fan blades attached)

12 volt computer fans (I have those laying all over the house)

A car radio with bookshelf speakers and a 12 volt AC adaptor hooked up to it (I was just listening to it earlier)

Homemade CD launcher made using parts from a broken DVD player.

A transformer, a controller board, and an ignition device that I recently took out of my friend's old furnace after his dad installed a new high efficiency forced air unit.

Too bad the ignition isn't the big "Oil Burner" transformer Craig has; it's this little black box that runs on 24volts AC and sparks once a second. There is one big spike comming out the top of the box that the high voltage comes out of. I can't find any other use for it other than shocking myself (It will somewhat turn a clear lightbulb into a plasma globe but you can't run it for too long as it get very hot)


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## Sub_Umbra (Mar 13, 2006)

yuandrew said:


> ...A car radio with bookshelf speakers and a 12 volt AC adaptor hooked up to it (I was just listening to it earlier)...


I have a car radio built into a cart with a power supply, speaker and a Ramsey Noise Reduction Antenna I put together for DXing MW. Car radios are pretty good for DXing with tricked up antennas. Most AM radios have some kind of built in antenna that will continue to pick up garbage no matter how good the antenna is that you *add* to it externally.


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## Kristofg (Mar 13, 2006)

-A lego display which included four models in a plexiglass case in a toy store
-A VFX-1 VR helmet (still works)
-Russian self winding mechanical watches
-The complete color set of traser keyrings
-Every comic book of TinTin


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## greenLED (Mar 13, 2006)

I had a LED "hand" from a pedestrian crossing; we could plug it into a regular light-bulb socket... my wife threw it out!!!


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## chmsam (Mar 13, 2006)

Drizzle -- take very, very, very good care of that Curta. You might want to do a web search to see how much money those are going for right now. Think of the Antiques Roadshow and the folks who go "OMIGAWD!" after they hear the appraisal. And then they faint. 

Last one I saw for sale was about $800 and that was a real steal. I have seen them offered for well above $1500. That was for a large Curta and all the stuff that went with it, including the box.


I have a Compaq Portable computer -- only 26 lbs.

A Stevens Reader Board and a Stevens Rally Calculator. The board is illuminated and allows scrolled paper instructions to be read while navigating a road rally at night. The calculator allows you to tell how accurate your speedometer and odometer are and to make corrections on road rallies.

Various noise filters and "sound shapers" for shortwave listening.

A tube pre-amp and a solid state amplifier, both built from a kit.

A salesmans model of the Chrysler Turbine Car.

A set of four Glencairn nosing glasses, one of which I need to use soon! (They're for tasting and smelling -- "nosing" -- whisky).


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## Warhead (Mar 13, 2006)

I've got a complete led crossing signal for pedestrians. Took me months to get the info for how to supply and switch it. I use it as a room light in here. Red or green, both bright. Together (man and hand) it's brighter than a 2x100watt bulbs in the overhead. Fell into the bed of the truck as we drove past, just lucky I guess.


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## Mrd 74 (Mar 13, 2006)

I have a nice coin purse made out of a real frog and a nice piece of track from the old Toronto trolley system and I must say they compliment each other nicely. Nothing weird though.


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## MrTwoTone (Mar 13, 2006)

Do 6 John Deere 2-cylinder tractors qualify?Or how about a Swedish M96 
sniper rifle dated 1900?


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## AlphaTea (Mar 13, 2006)

a 3 inch long piece of 3" dia rebar.
Crane camshaft from a 77 Z-28 with one lobe rounded off
12" Sunburst Luminglas
6" Green Luminglas
1992 Bowling Trophy with the Little bowler broken off
1993 Horses A$$ Bowling Trophy (1st to worst in one season)
A cubic butt-load of C64 and C128 Software and parts
a 3ft x 5ft Skylight I bought 12 years ago and never put in
A Hebrew language Coke bottle
Framed "Who's Your Daddy" Darth Vader poster
Original production Daffy Duck colored cell
Ren and Stimpy ball cap
Original Scarlet Pumpernickel movie poster
I have an Ooosic and a Ulu around here somewhere


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## Bradlee (Mar 13, 2006)

AlphaTea said:


> a 3 inch long piece of 3" dia rebar.
> Crane camshaft from a 77 Z-28 with one lobe rounded off
> 12" Sunburst Luminglas
> 6" Green Luminglas
> ...



That's a lot of random stuff!


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## tvodrd (Mar 13, 2006)

I have a 16 bore howda (think gazebo mounted on an elephant) _pistol._ It has very deep rifling and a blunderbus muzzle, is engraved, double action, and has a Liege proofmark. Dates from 18XX. (I've fired it with 18ga shotshells and the pattern is so wide you can miss an empty beer can at six feet!) Over 20 years ago I designed/built an all aluminum, 2 5/8"-bore (Budweiser  ) pneumatic cannon. It's 13' overall with a 10' barrell, and dumps the entire contents of an 80 cuft aluminum scuba tank (redline 500psi- uses CO2) per shot. At the smaller end I have several 2mm pinfire pistols.  (Load a #9 birdshot into the blanks, and they will shoot completely through a full can of beer. :green: ) I have 4 original Sharpshooter, rubber band-powered pistols that launch a #6 birdshot at painful velocities. Then there's the cartridge collection- from a 5" naval case and down, including Kynoch .600 NEs in hardball and softball. Remington/Winchester tins and cups... Only recently did I get into flashlights. :green: I can't begin to list the stuff I've managed to acquire over the years, and It's time to start offing some of it! 

Larry


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## yuandrew (Mar 13, 2006)

^ Now that Tvodrd has mentioned guns, I have to add my homemade "airsoft gun" made from a Nerf dart gun and some straws. When properly lubercated, it shoots harder than most cheap spring type airsoft guns.

Anyone here heard of a tillandsia? I have one growing mounted to a flourescent light starter can sitting on top of one of my stereo speakers. http://www.airplant.com/ Just a little "houseplant" I keep in my room.


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## Coop (Mar 13, 2006)

A whole bunch of working MSX computers, with a lot of accesories like a Moonsound OPL4 based soundboard which was modded to have 640k sampleram instead of 128k... A plush Cthulu, 2 pet rabbits with serious attitude/social issues, a small english sportscar with 2 flat tires and a $2000 sound system. over 80 pairs of socks, glow in the dark geomag (magnetic construction toy) on my nightstand.... and a girlfriend who can stand being around me


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## The_LED_Museum (Mar 14, 2006)

Back around 1980 or 1981, I used to have somthing called a "spoke gun", made from parts from a motorcycle spoke. It used red phosphrus from crushed matchheads as the propellant and a small blob of solder as the projectile. Heating the end with a cigerette lighter or turning it with pliers was how you triggered it to shoot.
It was powerful enough to break light bulbs at 20 feet - assuming you could hit them of course.


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## tvodrd (Mar 14, 2006)

Spoke guns and _memories!_, Craig. There was a trick you can do with with a wood cloths pin and light-anywhere matches that will launch/light them, concurrently!  Edit: I think we're in the wrong thread.

Larry (past my bedtime)


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## Navck (Mar 14, 2006)

Me
Atari Mega ST2 (Fathers kinda)
Palm Personal (Pretty much related to Palm 1000)


My mother's friend
A sewing machine thats from 1940s. Still works (She recently helped them unjam it, they didn't want a new one since the old hand operated one worked just as good)

Friend
A real nazi officer's badge, got it from some officer who retired before war started and got to keep his badge (Random huh)
A rock that fell straight down (Not as if it was chucked) onto his head, so far its shown to be hard or harder than HA-3 and looks like tigers eye


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## Arkayne (Mar 14, 2006)

Bradlee said:


> It's not too strange but here's a start. It's a remote-control construction toy demo from the toy store where I worked:



Awwwe man! You sir are a lucky duck. I looooved the Rokenbok demos at the toy stores. I wonder what happened to them because they seem to have vanished.

I have a tarantula!


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## Bradlee (Mar 14, 2006)

Arkayne said:


> Awwwe man! You sir are a lucky duck. I looooved the Rokenbok demos at the toy stores. I wonder what happened to them because they seem to have vanished.



Yep, I was pretty pleased to get it; I was surprised the owner did not want to keep it for his own house. I offered to buy it off him, but since he got it free from Rokenbok, he just gave it to me.

BTW, I love the colouration of your Tarantula.


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## greenLED (Mar 14, 2006)

tvodrd said:


> There was a trick you can do with with a wood cloths pin and light-anywhere matches that will launch/light them, concurrently!


Now, there's something I hope my son doesn't get his hands on! :laughing:


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## jeep44 (Mar 14, 2006)

There is a collection of 12 Civil War M1858 Smoothside canteens on shelves behind me in my "office". You don't see those everyday.

Out in the garage are two matching,restored WW2 BSA M20 motorcycles. Actually,I have wierd/oddball stuff all over this house.:laughing:


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## zespectre (Mar 14, 2006)

Two control boards from the very first F-16 flight simulator and one replacement control board (still shrink wrapped) for the AH-64 Apache simulator. Both produced by Singer/Link flight dynamics of Binghamton, NY. I'm considering donating them to the Smithsonian.

(My hometown's real claims to fame, founding location of IBM and Singer/Link flight dynamics) http://www.link.com/history.html

Too bad it's an economically stagnant location now <sigh>.


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## J_Oei (Mar 15, 2006)

A trebuchet.

Someone mentioned a $2K stereo system?
(I think my cables cost that much!)

M1 Garand WWII vintage in un-issued condition.

A watercooled peltier overclocked P4.

1 TB in RAID-5

a TiVo with over 300 hrs of recorded material that I'll never find time to watch.

A fixed-gear velogrome track bike

Target compound bow

(Different strokes!)


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## iamerror (Mar 15, 2006)

J_Oei said:


> A trebuchet.
> (Different strokes!)



You have a trebuchet? I bet not too many people can say they have one of those:wow: How large is it... what is it made out of... what do you launch with it and how far?


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## J_Oei (Mar 16, 2006)

The trebuchet is made out of wood.

I made it to win an engineering contest for a tennis ball throwing machine under 4' tall. The design is not a fixed axle, because the throwing arm would have gone over the 4' limit. The axle is actually pulled down by the weight.

(I'll try to post a pic tomorrow.)


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## gadget_lover (Mar 16, 2006)

You guys are really making me think. At one point I thought I had unusual collections but not anymore...

At one point or another all of these were abi-normal:

Someone mentioned Tivo. We have three since the silly networks refuse to stagger the shows we like to watch. 

A few years back my Prius was atypical, but now I see them daily. 

A few years back a talking GPS was abi-normal, but now is run of the mill.

Most of the clocks in my house (and my wrist watch) update their time based on a radio signal sent from NIST in Colorado. (also becoming comonplace)

Daniel


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## snakebite (Mar 16, 2006)

a imsai 8080.think wargames.
a prototype electric huffy green machine.
a pair of angle plug chevy heads from a 302
rf power amp that autotunes from 2-70 mhz 
has 4 3cx1500a7 and uses a small polepig for the plate supply.
soon to have a honda minicar from the early 70's.has a hopelessly blown up engine so i will be installing a engine from a wrecked hayabusa.
will soon be driving a chevy van that i am transplanting the entire drivetrain and all computer hardware from a wrecked iroc into.
a tiny tiger generator.
a philco safari tv set.
too many antique radio's and tv set to list.
approx 50000 vacuum tubes.
only 12 or so flashlights though


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## DonShock (Mar 16, 2006)

This is probably the weirdest thing I have ever owned, even if only for a short period. This picture was taken over 20 years ago. A buddy gave this Air-to-Air Missle to me as payment for a debt in college. Then a few months later decided he still wanted it, so he finally came up with the cash to get it back.


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## goldenlight (Mar 17, 2006)

Would about 10,000 rounds of ammunition, in the 6 calibers I reload, be weird?


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## MrTwoTone (Mar 17, 2006)

I dunno,I have 10000 rds of 9mm alone,the MP-5 uses a LOT of ammo.


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## ABTOMAT (Mar 17, 2006)

Ooh, MP-5. Are you LEO or Class 3?


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## LEDMaster2003 (Mar 17, 2006)

Fire Alarms!

Wheelock MT-24-LSM
Wheelock MIZ-24-LSM
Wheelock RSS-24-MCW-FR
Wheelock 7002
Wheelock 7002T
Wheelock LSM-24
Wheelock EH-DL1
Wheelock MIZ-24-HFR (5)
Wheelock AS-24-LSM
Wheelock AS-24

System Sensor PA400W
System Sensor MA1224DB
System Sensor PS241575ADA
System Sensor MA-SS24

Edwards 892-2B (2)
Edwards EG1 Genesis cover
Edwards 202-15PS
Edwards 202-7A
Edwards 270-DPO Pull

Gentex SHG-24-1575-FR (4)

Simplex 2901-9833
Simplex 2903 Strobe Plate
Simplex 4051 Pull
Simplex 2099 Pull

SAE 2DCD Horn

And smoke detectors, (222 of them!) I'd like to see a detector with a Luxeon in it.


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## MrTwoTone (Mar 17, 2006)

Class 3,and a guy who likes to shoot a lot.


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## paulr (Mar 17, 2006)

This book.


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## farmall (Mar 18, 2006)

I have a "real" human skeleton. And yes it hangs in the closet.


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## LEDMaster2003 (Mar 18, 2006)

Also no, I cannot be irradiated or am not planning to make a dirty bomb with my smoke detectors. I read a study from the Nuclear Regulatory Commision that said you'd need at least 10,000 ion chambers from smoke detectors to make a dirty bomb.


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## GalvanickLucifer (Mar 19, 2006)

drizzle said:


> A Curta Handheld Mechanical Calculator. This is a prize posession of mine, the best present I have ever received. My dad bought it for a small fee (I have never learned exactly the amount and haven't asked) from the son of a distributor. I believe the distributor died and these were just lying around so his son sold them to friends and co-workers.
> 
> The pictures don't do it justice. It is a mechanical marvel and works very well. It will add, subtract, multiply and divide very large numbers. The multiplication and division is done by a very clever implementation of multiple addition or subtraction.


Nice! I learned of those a couple years back when an article describing their history came out in scientific american. The article was in the October issue, and with Christmas coming up, everyone and their brother (including me) started looking for them on ebay. Average sale price went from an average of around $800 up to something like $2k or more. I still occasionally check on on ebay, but the fever to acquire one has lessened (thank goodness.) Not quite sure what I'd do with it if I got one though - maybe use it once a year to prepare my taxes. Using it might take some of the pain out of the process.


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## sunspot (Mar 19, 2006)

This is a soviet army hatchet that my son picked up overseas.




A bottle of air given to me in Coral Gable, FL. It’s never been opened.




A solid iron tape dispenser with wrinkle paint salvaged from the trash at work.






A DC Milliammeter from a surplus box at work. From circa late 50's. Works great.


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## drizzle (Mar 19, 2006)

GalvanickLucifer said:


> Nice! I learned of those a couple years back when an article describing their history came out in scientific american. The article was in the October issue, and with Christmas coming up, everyone and their brother (including me) started looking for them on ebay. Average sale price went from an average of around $800 up to something like $2k or more. I still occasionally check on on ebay, but the fever to acquire one has lessened (thank goodness.) Not quite sure what I'd do with it if I got one though - maybe use it once a year to prepare my taxes. Using it might take some of the pain out of the process.


I love it but it's definitely a "shelf queen" to use the CPF term. In fact, it spends most of the time in my gun safe. It's fun to take out and show to engineers. 

Thanks for the heads up on the Scientific American article. I will look for that one and at least make a photocopy from a library source. Maybe I can buy a back issue. It would be worth it.

I forgot to mention that I received this gift in the late 70's. That's why it was so inexpensive. Fortunately, I understood the value of it as an outstanding work of craftsmanship, and one that would never be duplicated since electronic calculators had already taken over by then. It is truly in "like new" condition with original box and paperwork.


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## GalvanickLucifer (Mar 20, 2006)

drizzle said:


> I love it but it's definitely a "shelf queen" to use the CPF term. In fact, it spends most of the time in my gun safe. It's fun to take out and show to engineers.
> 
> Thanks for the heads up on the Scientific American article. I will look for that one and at least make a photocopy from a library source. Maybe I can buy a back issue. It would be worth it.
> 
> I forgot to mention that I received this gift in the late 70's. That's why it was so inexpensive. Fortunately, I understood the value of it as an outstanding work of craftsmanship, and one that would never be duplicated since electronic calculators had already taken over by then. It is truly in "like new" condition with original box and paperwork.


Oops - cited the wrong issue. Was in the January 2004 issue, which probably came out in November '03. Article is "The Curious History of the First Pocket Calculator" by Cliff Stoll.
If you ever get the urge to sell, shoot me a PM!


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## chmsam (Mar 21, 2006)

Drizzle -- get the Curta added to your homeowner's insurance policy! I know of several people in the road rally crowd who have one (or more), and they really are getting to be very hard to repair and/or replace. And they are worth a lot. They're a mechanical work of art. I put them in the same league as a Bugatti or pre-war Alfa. They are engineering marvels and beautifully designed.


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## TaschenlampeMann (May 1, 2006)

Some of you guys must own an oscilloscope. I've got an old analog Hitachi 2 channel.

Also a home made Tesla coil driven by a 12KV 90ma transformer which also makes a great Jacobs Ladder.


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## mossyoak (Jun 14, 2006)

- damascus alaskan ulu knife
- titanium fibula replacement (de-sterilized before surgery)
- 6ft oak and cherrt trebuchet
- 60k dollar harley-davidson softtail very custom
- box of 600 scalpels (anyone need any?)
- a single speed titanium and carbon fiber mountainbike


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## Dawg (Jun 14, 2006)

Anyone have any of these?


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## leukos (Jun 14, 2006)

a CIS1500 Integrating Sphere


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## bexteck (Jun 14, 2006)

Dawg said:


> Anyone have any of these?



My parents have a good number of glass insulators like yours as well as somewhere around 250 antique bottles. One of their hobbies used to be bottle digging and they ended up with some interesting stuff. They once found a 24ct gold and sterling silver salt dish from tiffanys when digging for bottles.


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## bexteck (Jun 14, 2006)

Just a few of my more interesting posessions,

Part of the casing from a Trident D5 missile guidance system, 
Piston from a 1500HP V10 marine engine, 
Several 2in diameter ball bearings from M2 Bradley tank transmissions


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## fasuto (Jun 14, 2006)

paulr said:


> This book.



You really have it?


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## The_LED_Museum (Jun 14, 2006)

Dawg said:


> Anyone have any of these?


I used to have a lot of rare, valuable, and colorful insulators when I lived in Seattle, but my former downstairs housemate sold them all behind my back - didn't tell me about it or even ask me first.
 :green: :sick2:  :sick2: :green:


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## benh (Jun 14, 2006)

3 foot segment of 600 pair telephone cable
old analog pushbutton phone
1000 foot spool of direct burial rated fiber optic cable
5 old style blowtorches like you'd see in cartoons
fallout shelter sign
Billy Beer cans
i used to own an old Paradyne telco mux, but got rid of it
old analog pedometer
old Japanese glass fishing float, was my dad's
all of my email back to 1989 or so

Nothing really odd, but certainly random.


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## RadarGreg (Jun 14, 2006)

The most useless thing (in my wife's eyes) that I own is a 2 foot diameter parabolic mirror. It was a part of a decomissioned Runway Visual Range(RVR) instrument used to measure cloud height. I've always wanted to take it out on a really sunny day and roast things with it, hehe. However, as I normally live in Germany, sunny days are few and far between.


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## [email protected] Messenger (Jun 14, 2006)

dcarch8 said:


> Use you imagination. *Brokeback Mountain.*
> 
> *dcarch8 :devil: *


LMAO!!!:lolsign: :laughing: ...sorry, i just had to laugh


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## bexteck (Jun 14, 2006)

benh said:


> Billy Beer cans
> 
> .



I forgot the billy beer. Got one or two unopened cans my father picked up years ago.


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## PhotonWrangler (Jun 14, 2006)

Several feet of outdoor tactical fiber optic cable. This stuff has a unique outer jacket that is VERY difficult to cut and is sort of self-healing when it gets a small scar. ESPN uses it when they have to run camera cables near racetracks or on golf courses where the cable might get run over by a golf cart. The military uses it also for obvious reasons. Amazing stuff.


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## Aaron1100us (Jun 15, 2006)

A few old wood and plastic radios from the 40's and 50's. A Pink and purple Cadillac Neon sign. A torn apart very old National Cash Register with marble on it.


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## benh (Jun 15, 2006)

I've also got 6 bikes, including a fixed gear conversion and a track bike, but they're not really odd, IMO. I've got a pretty well stocked bike shop in the basement, but that's an artifact of riding a lot and fixing my own stuff.

Oscilloscope, good DMM, various AC and DC power supplies, high end network hardware, high end laser printer, but that's all just job related, so not weird. 

Well over $5k in stereo equipment, but I don't consider that odd either. And that's low end compared to some folks.

Hmm. Not much that's really odd. A nice Uniden Madison CB/SSB base station , a 250mw 2.4ghz amp, an old Colecovision.

Oh, I do have a fossilized spinal bone from something. I guess that's a bit obscure.


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## Alloy Addict (Jun 16, 2006)

drizzle said:


> I love it but it's definitely a "shelf queen" to use the CPF term. In fact, it spends most of the time in my gun safe. It's fun to take out and show to engineers.
> 
> Thanks for the heads up on the Scientific American article. I will look for that one and at least make a photocopy from a library source. Maybe I can buy a back issue. It would be worth it.
> 
> I forgot to mention that I received this gift in the late 70's. That's why it was so inexpensive. Fortunately, I understood the value of it as an outstanding work of craftsmanship, and one that would never be duplicated since electronic calculators had already taken over by then. It is truly in "like new" condition with original box and paperwork.



Drizzle, you should read the book "Pattern Recognition" by William Gibson. The Curta calculator plays a small but pivotal role in the story. Though Gibson is a science fiction writer, I'm more inclined to say this book is a tech based mystery. It took me a chapter or two to get into it, but I really enjoyed it after that.

I've always wanted to handle a Curta in real life. I'm no engineer or mathematician, but I really appreciate well crafted things. The early Minox cameras hold a similar interest, though I keep talking myself out of buying one.


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