EEVblog

105yo Ted Wale still builds FM bugs in his lab, and carves his own PCB's (none of this etching rubbish!)
Dave caught up with him in his backyard workshop in Cabramatta in Sydney.
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[@dyingangelo]

the longer you talked to him he is getting better at talking. i hope hes not alone living somewhere and no one to talk to. i miss my grandpa :{

[@EEVblog]

+NeATaNDtURdy It takes him some time to get used to new voices in the hearing aid.

[@azmanabdula]

+EEVblog What does he have FM bugs for?

[@azmanabdula]

rock doctor That makes heaps of sense... It had me thinking!

[@BarriosGroupie]

+NeATaNDtURdy Good point, which is why people who live alone should give a running commentary to themselves while they do things, just to exercise their voice.

[@azmanabdula]

***** not the answer im ;looking for...

[@Thesignalpath]

I just returned from Shannon's birthday celebration at Bell Labs. This man was born before Shannon. Hearing him talk about his passion brought tears to my eyes. One of my favorite videos from you so far Dave.

[@bkupiec]

+The Signal Path Blog It's Nokia Labs now? :(

[@Thesignalpath]

+bkupiec No, it is still Bell Labs, just part of Nokia.

[@Arek_R.]

+The Signal Path Blog Bro, make few vids about repairing stuff from ebay, pls!

[@Thesignalpath]

+Arek R. There are many repair videos on my channel ranging from simple to advanced.

[@Arek_R.]

I finished all of them xd I want more :d I have few uses from these repair videos, first I see how lab EQ is made, second I learn how to repair them and third its just fun to watch that kind of vids. Especially I like to see repair videos of PSU, because Im making one at this time so I can use some solutions used in them.

[@kevinroscom]

He saw the rise and fall of the vacuum tube, the birth of the IC, and the rise of computers. to see the things this man has seen.. it's just wild. He saw TV being brought to the market AND being replaced by KZbin. And WWII..

[@airthrow]

My mind is blown...such an amazing span of life!

[@spacegarnaal]

This guy saw so damn much. But the fact that he's still this sharp at 105 is damn impressive. I've known people who were in their late 60's who were in a much worse shape then this guy. Its beyond amazing

[@stevencotton6507]

+Kevin Roscom And everything from Man's first flight, the space race, through the moon landings, the Shuttle and ISS. I doubt we'll see as much progress in our lives.

[@kuhrd]

+Steven Cotton Actually many of us may see just as much if not much, much, more.

[@TheMovieCreator]

+Kevin Roscom Heck; he saw the birth of commercial broadcast radio as well.

[@PointReflex]

What the hell?, 105 years? his older than electronics itself!. Massive respect for this man (._.)7

[@electronicsNmore]

Incredible. Still able to get around and do things. Only way to be when you get that old. His mind is still very good.

[@BMack37]

Food for thought about this gentleman: He was born the same year Titanic sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic. He was 17 when Motorola was founded, the same year sliced bread was introduced. He was 34 when WWII ended. He was 36 when the transistor was invented. He was 58 when we landed a man on the Moon.

[@Jedda73]

+BMack37 He was around the same age as Dave's kids when the ANZACS were in Gallipoli

[@cnegrea]

+BMack37 nice!

[@Z80Fan]

+BMack37 Actually, he was born 2 years before the Titanic sank (he says this year he'll be 106; 2016 - 106 = 1910; Titanic = 1912)

[@BMack37]

Yes there is a defined date when sliced bread was introduced. We are not talking about the idea of slicing bread but the production of a pre-sliced loaf of bread for retail sale INTRODUCED into market.

[@ethanpoole3443]

+Z80Fan Just to tie it into his hobby a bit... In 1912 (at age of 1 or 2) the very first regulation of the radio spectrum went into effect in the U.S. (and likely Europe as well) as part of the response to the Titanic disaster, marking the end of the spark gap era and the dawn of the tuned frequency CW (continuous wave) radio for Morse Code (and similar) on designated frequencies, including the 500KHz Medium Wave band for distress at sea. Not terribly long after, came AM radio followed by the SSB derivatives and FM after awhile. Nearly the entire history of radio, save for the earliest infantile 20-30 years after initial discovery of RF, played out in this gentleman's lifetime -- including the very first electric amplifiers and vacuum tubes (a la the Audion)! In those first years of regulation, at one time everything above 1.5MHz (all the way to daylight) was deemed "useless and of no economic or military interest" and assigned to Amateur Radio -- oh what bandwidth we had!

[@peterfreak71]

"FM is alright but it's not what it's cracked up to be." Words of a true oldie

[@martinkuliza]

LOL.............the good ol AM hey LOL typical Old Kodger

[@KaidoFujimi]

Last spotted on his ROOF fixing an antenna!? This guy is all sorts of kick ass!

[@sepertude]

DAVE you could donate one Fluke 87V to this man! We could make $5 donation to buy one for him...?

[@macdonalds1972]

+sepertude But he doesn't like rotary switches.

[@Ano_ny]

+sepertude I think if you gave it that he doesn't use it. He likes what he has and it just works !

[@Flymochairman1]

Dave, I've been thrown this 5 year old video link and although we may not have the good fortune of having Ted Wale around, I enjoyed this video so very much. Thanks for making it. I wish Ted Wale best wishes wherever he may be. I hope someone's around in 60-70 years time to interview you, sir! Cheers Dave.

[@spoderman15]

damn he was my age in 1929...

[@EEVblog]

+Spoder Man THAT'S scary!

[@mwildish]

+Spoder Man He was my age the year I was born. I guess I have no right to say I feel old lol.

[@thoughtyness]

+Spoder Man He was my age in 1923. Here is what happened that year--->www.onthisday.com/date/1923

[@deadfreightwest5956]

+Spoder Man - and he moved into his current digs when I was born!

[@athhud]

It is hard for me to even fathom what it must be like to experience the exponential change in technology that this man has experienced. I'm jealous that he could start learning about electronics from its beginning. I would imagine that it is a heck of a lot easier to digest that much information when you can learn as each component is first introduced!

[@Tuttomenui]

Amazing. He is old enough that he could have shot the shit with Nikola Tesla back in the day.

[@cnegrea]

...and Edison, too

[@Tuttomenui]

***** Shoot the shit means talking about random awesome stuff. It is a much more epic version of shooting the breeze.

[@In3xorable]

Tesla didnt invent anything. He is not in any electronics book for the curriculum. He isn't even mentioned. Not a single equation or invention came from Nikola Tesla that worked. He didnt invent ac. He made a machine that pulsed DC on an off and made it look like ac. You can still see his design and that's just what it does. On off DC. So tesla is a sham no matter how many books come out about him. He isn't in the curriculum for a single sentence. I dont know how he got involved with the creation of ac. A French engineer had the first ac generator in existence. The tesla coil is just a discharge of electricity into the air. We already had that... there are a bunch of fools that talk about him like he invented somthing. Then they cant find the real documentation. Funny huh.

[@yaghiyahbrenner8902]

Most of us today wont even live long enough OR have enough time in our lives to get to this point. highest respect.

[@makeoscopy9060]

I wonder if my multimeter will look that cool in 90 years...

[@tastymacification]

how's on earth could you dislike this video?!

[@SootySweep22]

I'm always humbled when I see old timers like this. They're satisfied with anything; what you've got is the best tool for the job.

[@RinoaL]

this guy is awesome! from the shorter clip you posted i had no idea he was into electronics too!

[@NeoVoodooTech]

Mr. Wale, you sir are a legend.

[@youtubasoarus]

Lego needs to change that age range on the box. 105+ is the new play age hahaha. So awesome this guy. Would love to hear that mans stories! I'm amazed how sharp he is for his age. My grandfather started to lose his memory around 90 and passed away last year almost 93... he wasn't far off the century mark. Miss him.

[@EEVblog]

+youtubasoarus Yes, he is still very sharp. His main problem is hearing now.

[@astralbraintentacles1212]

+youtubasoarus If only we all could be so lucky to reach 105!

[@youtubasoarus]

+Astral Brain Tentacles My thoughts exactly! :)

[@youtubasoarus]

+EEVblog My grandfather had the same problem. Seems to start happening in old age the hearing starts to go. :/

[@Mosfet510]

+youtubasoarus First, my condolences on your grandfather. I agree about the sharpness, and especially what you said regarding the stories this man must have! And Im sure he is a deep well of knowledge,

[@TheRadioShop]

One of the best videos I ever seen you do Dave. It is great to see this older gentleman talk about his electronic stuff. A 105 years old he has forgotten more stuff than most will ever learn.

[@shaunbensemann2652]

wow 105. I wouldn't have guessed he was that old! as someone else said I know people in their 70-80s and they struggle more than he does

[@EEVblog]

+Shaun Bensemann Yep, amazing. He still mows his lawn and gets up on his roof to fix the antenna!

[@paschalconneely2374]

+EEVblog Like a Boss! This was a great video. I would bet there isn't much he couldn't improvise in a pinch I really loved the battery tester!

[@leisergeist]

+Shaun Bensemann I know people in their 30-40s who struggle more than he does!

[@Mark19960]

Please keep tabs on this gentleman and update us and if you can do another video that would be great too.

[@sparkdoctor5773]

www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/macarthur/tribute-for-australias-3rd-oldest-man-and-true-local-legend-ted-wale-107-following-his-death/news-story/5343c7969343fd54bc60d80e7ca346f0

[@Teth47]

Damn, you look good for 105. I know 70 year olds who look way older.

[@burnzy3210]

crazy to think this guys lived my life more than 3 times over and he seems pretty healthy too

[@SoddingaboutSi]

That will be you Dave in 20 years!

[@pixelpatter01]

+Simon Spiers In 60 years I'm guessing.

[@Nairbspace]

This is amazing. To find someone over 100 years old is hard enough, to find one into electronics is a feat in itself, but to find one that's also an artist is unreal. He is indeed still sharp as a tack. They say inhaling lead solder is bad for you, but I think they've been lying to us! They just didn't want us to know it gives us the fountain of youth. Ted is living proof of that! Thanks for this Dave.

[@GsysLinuxWorm]

+EEVblog 24:19 Click Here for the extended video, not showing link :(!

[@tubical71]

Way cool....What a Hero...! Thanx for sharing!!

[@FrozenHaxor]

How did you find this guy? o..O

[@EEVblog]

+FrozenHaxor One of my viewers knows him.

[@FrozenHaxor]

+EEVblog Well, I would never expect that in my life. I honestly don't think another person like this exists!

[@tubical71]

+FrozenHaxor I know one who is in his end 80s....and still restoring tube radios made around the 1920...not these modern post WW2 1950 and up crap...as he´s always sayin´ ;) But beeing 105 years old...he had seen the whole electronic industry born and risen all by himself....!

[@alexmackuk]

+FrozenHaxor *Why* did you find this guy?

[@CedarCoveTigerPark]

Fantastic share, Dave! What a gem of a human!

[@beingatliberty]

Thank you for documenting this old fella and sharing him with us, what a fantastic individual, I hope he has shared his knowledge to many others over his lifetime, so much of his knowledge is made on practical experience it seems, of building tools as well as using them, I wonder how many students build their own tools? This gentlemen's generation are greener than this which acclaims recycling prowess, war time generation never forget how to save things for re-use, I follow their example even though I'm a 70's model.

[@jomac2046]

A box of plug-packs and never the one you want,how very true is that.

[@EmmanuelIstace]

After a quick look at the comments, I'm sure I'm not the only one realizing that, that kind of environment for a young child is paradise if allowed to play and dismantle/look inside whatever he wants (more or less), no wonders most of us ended up in a technology hackish-minded life, we had great mentor from our youth

[@tracyrreed]

I enjoyed the artwork hanging in the back of his closet at 17:23. This is a man of fine taste! :) I sure hope to live as long and be so sharp!

[@kaydog890]

+Tracy Reed He's some-what of a collector. 13:40

[@rentAscout]

+kaydog890 Those pictures might be older then any of us. He's a fine art historian...

[@Tutoelectro1]

Good video! 105 and look more alive that many that have 30 ... Good on you Ted. By the way, anyone notice the little distraction at 17:25? haha

[@JonathanBydendyk]

Hope I’ll still be around and tinkering at that age. Cool video!

[@brunofonseca9686]

This old chap truly lived his passion to the most. A true hobbyist

[@JMaldonado64]

This is so inspiring. I wish I could get to his age and still enjoy electronics. Thank you Dave.

[@kevinheimann7664]

show him your lab

[@JeffsTagtripp]

Amazing! Keeping active and doing stuff is the key. It's never too late get started in electronics!

[@56kflyingtoaster]

Unfortunately Ted passed on in 2017 at 107. I could only hope to live as long and accomplish such accolades.

[@spectrumto8521]

@@rarRoarrar same :(

[@nobytes2]

😔

[@Scyth3934]

How'd you find out?

[@ACElectrode]

I know you're not religious, but God bless him! May his knowledge live forever and his soul be forgiven! Great video!

[@EEVblog]

+ACElectro Alex Neither is Ted BTW, none of that religion rubbish for him!

[@EgoShredder]

+师巫 Forget the semantics, just concentrate on the sentiment which is positive and good hearted.

[@OfflineSetup]

+blitzwing1 come on. it was a comment made in friendliness no need to go over the top in your reply. even if the post was poorly worded.

[@Dave30867]

Dave Im sure he really enjoyed your company , Will you stay in touch with him . i like that he keeps his mind active with what he loves to do .

[@johndrachenberg2254]

Hey Dave, offtopic, but I wonder if you could do a short video on the 12E+ Fluke multimeter. Apparently it's only $75 because it's designed for the Chinese market. It's fairly feature-rich, making it quite possibly the best multimeter in existence. (?) The only downside is there's no warranty if it's sold outside of China, and the box is in Chinese, but the instruction manual and the unit itself is in English. The AvE channel did a video on it recently, titled "the BEST sub $100 multimeter you've never heard of? It's the FLUKE we're not allowed to know about." I like the guy and all, but your opinion is worth much more in digital electronic matters. Thanks!

[@eraycanli]

105 yo and hands not shaking, great!

[@NightMareOSU]

Looks like the REAL trick to living over 100 years old and still being extremely sharp is being an EE :). Fantastic video!

[@rwbishop]

Great visit Dave, thanks for sharing! You should have him over to your lab sometime!

[@Zetex2000]

Where can we donate for this little guy?

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

Jesus, the memories he'd have. Lucky man! Lived in the age of progressive technology.

[@renekenshin6573]

If I had a grandpa like that, I would probably enjoy doing my electronic projects with him.

[@thomasleerriem6872]

'Condensor' instead of 'capacitor'... "You're a bit old school, aren't u Ted?" ^^

[@BlackDragon-xn2ww]

Still got his wits about him a saying from long ago another sharp as a tac man knows what he talking about make a great teacher "A"! Really enjoyed your video should do more .

[@DeathToCockroaches]

14:39 naked woman right there behind him lol Oh shit he is an artist and a good one too

[@markusfuller]

great video Dave, Ted still hobbying in electronics at 105. that is truly amazing. what a wonderful guy :-)

[@SuspiciousAra]

I would like to meet this guy and shake hands when he's about 150 years old (I'm 50 now ) :)

[@SirBunghole]

Tinker with electrons for 105 years and you won't die young!

[@mehmehabd81]

Subtitles please? I cant understand anything..

[@beingatliberty]

+meh mehabd its ok we understand, i doubt anybody will have time to put subtitles on it

[@circletech7745]

+meh mehabd youtube has subtities. Just click the cog wheel in the bottom left-hand corner and there will be an option for subtitles in the settings menu.

[@mehmehabd81]

Dylan 873 Those are auto generated. If you cant understand something youtube definitely wont.

[@circletech7745]

still better than nothing

[@mehmehabd81]

+Dylan 873 it made it worse!

[@ksathara]

This is so touching not only for all of us electronics aficionados but for any human being. Thanks for bringing this video, Dave. Long live Ted. Its a life worth living.

[@grolek01]

Respect and congratulations! Greetings from Germany for You!

[@quark5285]

Amazing man! All respect and love to him!

[@MWest-ry9gw]

My hat off, gentlemen !

[@crusaderanimation6967]

How he's doing in 2020 ? He still alive ?.

[@questionminecrafter]

sadly he passed away in 2017, he was 107years old. what a legend, mad respect.

[@martinkuliza]

what i want to know is .... how does anyone Dislike this video..... it's an EEV Blog, so... the people that are here are into electronics......................and 30 people disliked this What????? i mean.. WTF ....... clearly we have some fucking idiots among us. how can you be into electronics and dislike this... i just don't get that.

[@martinkuliza]

@@AverageUnixGirl i know... if he was alive WE SHOULD FUCKING BOW DOWN TO HIM AND SAY THANK YOU FOR SHARING WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED IN YOUR LIFE WITH US i just don't get how people can hate this

[@redtails]

I appreciate this video a lot. Thank you, Dave for taking the time to meet this old fellow and talk to him. The institute I work for has the motto "healthy aging"; I believe this man envisions that belief entirely.

[@flarpification]

I love how he has a postcard with a naked woman on it on the wall amongst the bric-a-brac, but it's drawn, like something on the side of a WWII bomber.

[@royvanstraeten3215]

Funny ..23.00 on the back wall...and old playboney haha

[@skycarl]

Man Dave, I know you had fun on this adventure. What a treat eh mate? Really good stuff. Thanks. Carl

[@vaidhyanathan]

Please give him guinness world record or some honorary award. He deserves more. Wish i could be like this when I get old.

[@Drforbin941]

Really guys. Where is the extended version?

[@awyeh1234]

Wow amazing it's men like him who have made America great

[@kieferonline]

Make Australia Great Again!

[@furrydog7341]

Dave for president!

[@sinreparostv]

Ted is great, I like this video David, thanks from Spain.

[@jtveg]

That man is a living legend. He deserves a medal. Good on him.

[@AmRadPodcast]

Absolutely amazing. There's a guy whose seen it all.

[@smiechu47]

6:21 the most important part of every workshop

[@l3p3]

Its art.

[@Popart-xh2fd]

14:25 Nudity on the wall!!! I will have to report this video for indecency... LOL

[@ethanpoole3443]

There is an exception for art in the KZbin rules, so Dave is safe. :-) To be honest, I am glad Dave did not edit out the gentleman's art as it is beautiful in its own right and not worthy of censor in any way.

[@1989rbrown]

A bit more respect when interviewing old people please

[@1toneboy]

eighty six thousand views and not one comment regarding the pictures of ladies in the background, what a classy bunch of blokes electronics enthusiasts are.

[@EEVblog]

He sketches life models, he's a well known local artist.

[@ahpadt]

Incredible man.

[@VandalIO]

He’s still smart and I’m sure he must have used lead based solders

[@michaelkaliski7651]

Condensers, haven't heard that since hearing old guys talk about radio in the 1960s. Lovely to see valve construction techniques adapted to transistor technology. Mind you, the ammeter on my home brew 12 volt power supply is printed with a War Department logo dated 1944. Still works perfectly after 70 years and still in calibraton!

[@makeoscopy9060]

+Dylan D Fire Alarm I am 16 and I have a similar love of CRT's and Nixie Tubes.

[@tiemebrekveld3388]

he likes other things to in his spare time ;) above his hat 13:43

[@laloguerra6084]

Sorry, where is the extended video? thanks

[@diegodonofrio]

EEVblog is epic, but this is probaby it best video ever.

[@janinefawcett2077]

He's a warming inspiration to hobbyists with a true passion for electronics.

[@rsattahip]

He got to see the best days of electronics, I started in the late 60's early 70's and it was a lot more fun back then.

[@justin.campbell]

I was not around then, but from reading old electronics magazines i can tell it was much better. Making complex devices from logic gates and the bare parts, much better. Now its just arduino crap

[@GrandsonofKong]

More power to you Ted!!! I have to show my wife this so she won't get on me for all the stuff I'm collecting at 60...I'll be fiddling with it for the next 40 years if I follow the Ted formula....Lord willing.

[@vk3hau]

BC617..... Dave just got schooled !! Ted has a Fantastic memory , Love this video Dave.

[@Drforbin941]

Where is the extended video?

[@TradieTrev]

What a top old bloke!

[@Mixbag]

The knowledge this guy must know...lots of life experience and know how....makes you wonder about life...big shame we all dont life forever

[@koool56]

Is it possible to somehow support him?

[@kolhatkarchinmay]

Great great...really a Great time he spent with electronics and Radio's...Thanks Dave

[@jrherita]

Much respect! Great video and awesome story!

[@gwc1410]

A great video. He's still doing electronics! Dave you must print out all the KZbin comments and give them to him. As plexuss said you should bring him to your lab.

[@ithakra]

Amazing! Glad he continues to do what he loves at his age. We can only hope to be so lucky when the time comes.

[@jeffreybaker8467]

Hi Frank Mathis, i am with you he is a great man and just imagine the knowledge he has. I love the old school people coz they dont tell lies, i am 61 now and i miss my grand father coz i never got to talk with him, very clever man also building wooden bridges with the broad axe and many other things.

[@roberthorwat6747]

Oh the pleasure of hearing words like Condenser, Carborundum and Zener. Beautiful!

[@power-max]

He was in his youth in the 1920's!!! Incredible!!!

[@terawattyear]

I just love how much stuff Ted has built himself to fit a specific need. Amazing to think this man was born before any commercial radio station ever broadcast a single electron. And he still knows exactly what each little creation he made does. A great man indeed and a good interview you had with him David. Thank you and Ted for this vid.