Forgotten Gadgets From The Past…Everyone Wanted

[@aaronlopez492]

I still have a pocket transistor radio. Seeing a really young person react to it, is rather amusing. And the only remote that we had at home was me, the youngest of five!

[@freedomrings1420]

We only had 2 channels living in the boonies. So there wasn't much channel changing. Sometimes we would have to go up on the roof to turn the antenna to get a better picture on one of the channels until we got one of those antenna turning contraptions. LOL 😂

[@lovly2cu725]

😂

[@jameskearney4100]

The kid that had the pliers changed the channel on ours.

[@freedomrings1420]

@@jameskearney4100 LOL 😂, after the plastic wore down and out comes the pliers. I remember that now. LOL 😂

[@rogergreiling4249]

Although a different model, I listen to mine for hours every day. Can be taken almost anywhere.

[@dxradioman6351]

I remember receiving a pocket transistor radio for Christmas. When I had to go to bed at 8pm, I loaded my robe pockets with cookies and listened to Wolfman Jack until I went to sleep! XERB, the mighty 1090! circa 1957. Still have the radio.

[@Ronkirk433]

I bet you have cookies nearby and a robe with pockets

[@dxradioman6351]

Cookies were in the kitchen, the robe was spread over me like a blanket, with the pockets up of course.@@Ronkirk433

[@BakedRBeans]

"I Heard It On The X" by ZZ Top.

[@Nomad1025]

And dr demento

[@thomasschwarting5108]

I do remember Wolfman Jack!

[@journeytothemosthigh5021]

Being a child of the 1970s I had the privilege of seeing all these things. Those were the best times! I still have my Walkman and cassette tapes!

[@markplott4820]

going to Japan in 1986 spoiled me , I bought a Discman in Japan. later I upgraded to mini Disc RECORDABLE media .

[@thorenshammer]

I wouldn't trade the way I grew up in the 60's and 70's, with today's kids. Seeing my dad's face when he messed up a series of pictures using a Polaroid land camera, when he forgot to pull the bellows out for the shots, was one of my most enduring memories of one of our summer vacations to the mountains. Listening to the Indy 500 on transistor radios during our annual family reunions in a small town where most of my mom's family came from. and the hours of play on the back of a Schwinn bicycle on streets that we never had to worry about riding on, unlike today. No, times have changed, and not necessarily for the better.

[@starmnsixty1209]

👍👍👍

[@MarinCipollina]

"Shots" plural? That happened more than once with him? Not the brightest bulb, was he?

[@BigOldCarChannel]

Your experience with instant film cameras is obviously limited to the One-Step cameras, which are more or less idiot-proof. But prior to that, peel-apart film was the order of the day, and required multiple steps to be taken in the right order and with specific timing in order to make it work. Then the print had to be coated with a liquid that you'd brush on from a little tube in order to seal it. Maybe be a little less quick to throw insults around when dealing with things you have limited or no knowledge of, hm? @@MarinCipollina

[@twinkletoes110]

The days of innocence are officially over

[@keensoundguy6637]

For the "Polaroid land camera" it's correct to capitalize "Land" as it's a proper name. The camera could be used, for example, on a boat at sea or in an airplane in flight, so it's not a "land camera." The camera is named after Edwin Land.

[@EstaPeters-hv9mx]

I don't mind saying I am hard core old school, I sure miss the simple, care free way of life and those gadgets.

[@robsemail]

It was really a balance. Yes, ordinary days were more care-free or, one might say, disconnected, but emergencies were much more frightening. For example, you’d hear news of a horrible accident on the freeway and have no way of calling anyone you knew who might have been on that section of road at that time, and it could drive you crazy. Or no way to contact a loved one you know who is in crisis but can only be contacted when both you and they are near telephones. Or getting lost in your car in an unfamiliar neighborhood that seems possibly dangerous, especially at night or when it’s cloudy (that’s because back in the day we were all taught how to tell direction by the sun, so at least in sunny conditions we could find our way around at the most rudimentary level). Or even something as simple as the weather. We were much more vulnerable to things like tornadoes before Doppler radar was made common for forecasting. When the weather turned bad suddenly, all you had was radio or TV to keep you informed, and the information was MUCH less specific and more vague. Nowadays you can go online and track the storm, and know your level of danger pretty exactly. Events do seem to race by much more quickly these days, but we must admit that some things are actually less stressful than they once were.

[@NASCARFAN93100]

It's absolutely fascinating all these legendary gadgets left a lasting legacy and set the foundation for how we live today and beyond

[@vindivergilio3482]

I miss cameras with film although still around. Problem is getting film developed today costs a fortune and a half! And that is if you can find somewhere to get it developed.

[@freedomrings1420]

Having a transistor radio was the best. What was better was having your own b+w TV in your bedroom.... which I never had. 😢 Kids today don't appreciate what they have today. But I'll take my life back then to any young life today.

[@summerrayne42]

Kids today are extremely spoiled! 🫤

[@freedomrings1420]

@@summerrayne42 Yes they are..... wait until SHTF and their cellphones don't work. Reality kicks in real fast.

[@samanthab1923]

No TVs in bedrooms at all growing up. One TV in the den. No remote till cable. Then that box with the long cord.

[@JeffSproul]

Still have my 1964 Plata transiter radio in its original box and it still works. Made in Japan with a leather case and an ear plug with the original price tag $9.99. I took it to work one day in 1980 to track a hurricane at that time and one young guy ask me what it was he never saw one.

[@DarkElfDiva]

Isn't that the point, though? For our kids to have the things we never did?

[@UN33kWabb1T]

Watching this video brings back memories of my youth. We were not a wealthy family, but options opened up to my family through a traveling salesperson. She and her husband made their rounds weekly and would call on my mom and dad. It was by her weekly calls that my parents were able to afford the first transistor radio for me and my siblings. Yes, amazingly, we all got our own radio and my mom & dad paid weekly installments of $1 to $2 at 0% interest!!! Back then you would hear songs like, "Yellow Ribbon;" "Knock Three Times;" also "Crimson & Clover." These were all popular back then and our local radio station played them daily. Artists like the Shondels, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Osmond Brothers, the Partridge Family...I could go on and on! It was a wonderful time to grow up!

[@emarr3720]

Don’t forget the radio personalities & their skits before everything was about PC & not offending Snowflakes!! Radio was entertaining back then instead of the sterile morass we have today. For ex, I grew up in SF Bay Area & use to listen to The Lobster in am, 1610, Perry Stone on KSJO (the equal opportunity offender), Sennis Erectus on KOME( had a bumper sticker that said,” I KOME while I drive.” There were cliques for certain radio station or styles of music you liked.

[@SueDell-dk7dv]

You are speaking my language! Love growing up back then! We were outdoors playing and staying fit and much more social with neighborhood kids & school friends who lived close by - played kickball in someone's backyard, went bike riding = no helmets - when we fell off our bikes it was our knees that got scraped up and our hands sometimes - OMG - we had a tougher mentality and knew if we went rode too fast or crazy, of course we stand the chance of falling off - but we learned to deal w/it and ride w/some sense! We learned it's best to listen to your parents when they warn you! Loved tv shows back then and the fact that we only hand a handful of channels, starting with 3! Love watching Tony Orlando and the 2 Dawns! The whole family would sit together and enjoy shows together! Fun bonding times! So, what if we had to get up and change the channel - OMG... we were thrilled to have a floor model television! And the big wood floor model stereo table size radio with record player! Loved the Osmond family especially Donny Osmond! Wanted to marry him - ha, ha And Marie was so pretty - loved their songs & funny skits and guest appearances of the different actors & actresses that we enjoyed! And I loved Donny & Marie's prayer song they sang at the end of every show! May tomorrow be a perfect day, May You find Love & Laughter along the way! May God keep You in His tender care - til He brings us back together again or til we come back together again! Need to see if I can find it somewhere and get that last part right! Bud Come ON - what a wonderful blessing to hear and think about all week til the show came on again! Quality programs back then that the whole family could sit down together after dinner and spend quality time til bedtime - for the kids! Life was sweet, more simple, more peaceful, more connected with your family and neighbors! Loved that time - and up North in OHIO!!!! Love the North, years later and to experience life in the South with all their ridiculous hateful thoughts and sick way of thinking - The South was no joke - OMG.... and had the nerve to have churches on every corner.... aka the "Bible Belt" what? WTH did the really mean by that? Worst place I ever lived - the whites were crazy with their God awful mess - had the nerve to use God's Holy Name and have their foolish sayings.... God Bless her little heart - if they said that to you _ Look out they do not like YOU! Talk about double talking, heathens!!! Yet there are always some sweet loving people - and they were truly Christians who loved like Jesus & read the Word, the Bible and lived according to the truth of it! Wonderful people, loving, kind, hospitable - Definitely felt like I was in a time warp!!! And found out the stereo types and reputations of the South - OH man were so TRUE! So many disgusting idiotic adults full of hate for another Human being! More devilish & demonic activity than a little bit! Hated going to school & high school years there.

[@nananluvin]

holy crap.just listened to knock three times. its a song about stalker!!!!!!

[@MarinCipollina]

@@emarr3720 KFOG 104.5 "It's not the size, it's the FREQUENCY !" proclaimed an ad on the MUNI bus.

[@barrybence4555]

As a YMCA camp counselor, I took a transistor radio with us when we went on back country hikes. It was great to know what the weather would be, and you could listen to news or music which made the miles seem faster. I also had an Instamatic camera to record family reunions, canoe trips, and nature shots. What a time to be young!

[@glennso47]

I remember being taken to a professional baseball game. I had never been to one before and I thought I would hear the announcer on the radio give a play by play description of the game. I was disappointed because it was not so. Without the play by play I had no idea what was happening. So the next time I went to a game I took a portable radio with me and I enjoyed the game more than I did the other game.

[@myheadhurts1927]

A Sears transistor radio was (and still is) the best Christmas gift I ever got.

[@fjcrod]

The reason I'm so attached to the music of my youth, is because of the various transistor radios I owned, growing up. Still have such wonderful memories of my transistor radios.

[@alfredo7843]

I worked at Radio Shack from 1983 to 1985. The Armatron was a huge Christmas Item for us. If Fort Worth sent us 20, we needed 25. There was never enough to satisfy demand.

[@jamesslick4790]

Another RS "veteran" here. Yep. They did not stay on the shelf long. They were a MASSIVE HIT for Radio Shack.

[@kneel1]

Yup i picked the Armatron out for Xmas that year as each year my grandmother would take my brother and I to Plymouth Meeting Mall (PA)'s Radio Shack to pick out whatever we wanted,. My brother picked the $100 Audi Quattro R/C car that same year. We were both elated.

[@danielknepper6884]

Downtown fort Worth Tandy Tower 1 Tandy Tower 2

[@johndemeen5575]

@@Omar_Zazzle At least he lived in America, and had a job! St.Paul,Minnesota.

[@Daehawk]

Never wanted that thing. Wasn't good for anything, didn't move well, and it broke easily.

[@josephgaviota]

3:45 Walkie Talkies are still a valuable tool. In the '70s we used them at swap meets to communicate with one another ... but even now, in an emergency, when the cell towers are inoperable, walkie talkies still work.

[@wakkowarner8810]

Walkie Talkies are used on movie sets now-a-days, so that film crews don’t need to pay a large cell phone bill.

[@trish5556]

I keep some on a charger just in case. I had to turn them off though because I kept hearing neighbors use theirs as they drove by.

[@chrisfitzchrisfitz5182]

Yep, but ya have to have someone that has the other one or a CB(don’t know if anyone has one anymore! Are short wave radios, the same thing?)

[@chrisfitzchrisfitz5182]

PS: I meant HAM radios

[@dawnelder9046]

We have one. My husband uses it when he is working on the lane. Half a mile long threw the woods. It has come in handy a few times. Also when our granddaughter wanted to drive the small tractor.

[@martindavid388]

The "Verti-bird" helicopter on a short wire was one of my favorite toys back in the 70's

[@fob1xxl]

As a kid, I received a pocket transistor radio for my 10th birthday in 1955. It was a "Zenith". So much fun ! I still have my SONY "WALKMAN" headphones and all ! Still have my "GAMEBOY" too !

[@paulbourgeois4491]

Pong by Coleco Vision! Got one for Xmas of 76, me and my brothers went nuts when we opened it on Christmas morning! Bring back the 70s... Miss Mom & Pa, and my aunts and uncles!

[@juneyshu6197]

I miss those, and Pong also😢

[@Patco11]

Bought my pong at Sears for $99. It was cutting stuff.

[@tonyperek7292]

I cherish those times of the 60’s and 70’s. We need to get back to those days.

[@susanbowman6652]

The 1960’s was an extremely tumultuous, and divisive decade in US history. The Vietnam War, racial and anti war protests, which caused hundreds of deaths. Assassinations of MLK, John and Robert Kennedy. The abortion rights debate further fragmented our nation. Women could not get credit in her name without her husband’s approval. In the 70’s, we experienced Watergate, an energy crisis, inflation that lead to a recession. Nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island. Neither one of those decades were idyllic. People tend to believe only the positive, which is why when couples remarry their ex spouses, they are hit with the reality of why they split in the first place. I would rather not wait hours in line to get gasoline, or experience the reality that my own government murdered unarmed students at Kent State University.

[@brenthaymon280]

​@@susanbowman6652My life was good growing up in the 60s and 70s. We lived near a Shell service station in the 70s and never had to wait in any line. We just drove up to the pump and got gas.

[@iamplaymaka]

So cool. I remember going to my grandma’s house and watching the Andy Griffith show through black & white on the Sony portable TV. She had that thing up til the last couple years. What a classic piece of history. I wish I would’ve kept it for now. 😢

[@ValleyoftheRogue]

I had a portable BW Sony for many years. I wish I still had it.

[@Robert-fl9co]

The Sony 13-inch Trinitron picture tube television was the best . It was good enough and had a great picture . And it did not dominate the living room because of its size.

[@Capohanf1]

FUNNY THING, I think I have had and still HAVE versions of EVERYTHING in this video! I have lived in the same place for almost 70 years and do NOT like to throw things out!

[@johnwalko1483]

These are great memories! A very well put together documentary. Thanks for posting this video.

[@fr2ncm9]

I remember taking my transistor radio with me when I went to sleep away camp. After lights out, I'd listen to Jean Shepherd's radio show on WOR 🙂

[@jamesslick4790]

I have a transistor pocket radio that I just bought last year. Of course it has AM but also FM and Shortwave. I have NEVER been more than a few feet away from a radio for all of my 61 years, LOL.

[@chrisnevergrowold330]

I had several of these. My Dad drove me out to a military base, CanEx, in the early '80's to buy a walkman. They were slightly cheaper at the military base. I was so excited to get it. Our first remote control was an addon box for the tv, long cable and the box was big and long, had a separate button for every channel. Born in 1971!

[@badapple65]

I purchased the very first Sony Walkman, it played Cassette tapes in 1981. It blew everyone’s minds. Up until then I carried a pocket sized transistor radio with a single wire ear bud. Nowadays Bluetooth wireless blows my mind keeping up with the advancements

[@juneyshu6197]

O mi gosh that thing changed my life, waited years for portable music!

[@masoodgha6765]

❤❤❤❤❤ Thank you for this video ❤❤❤❤❤

[@patrickdurham8393]

I'm only 59 but I'm a thousand years old in tech years. Back in my day, I was the remote control, the household robot vacuum and the automatic dog food dispenser.

[@ValleyoftheRogue]

Through eBay I bought a still-working Zenith Royal transistor radio that is almost identical to the one I had as a kid. It is in very good condition and in the original box.

[@Rockhound6165]

I had a pocket transistor. Used to listen to it after going to bed. I remember on some nights being able to listen to the late Ernie Harwell doing Detroit Tiger games from my bedroom in South Jersey.

[@emarr3720]

I was my dad’s remote!! He was a news hound & watch 3 hours in the evening everyday & never ate his dinner at the table. He was into photography & hi fi so we always were among the first to experience the advent of those things. I remember having 1st crack at color TV. It’s was a Marantz that looked like furniture with carvings in the panels inlayed with some red velvet fabric.

[@samzach2057]

Having a transistor radio was exciting as a kid. Sometimes I could pick up stations from hundreds of miles away. I lived in South Texas and remember listening to WGN radio out of Chicago. I could only pick it up in the winter time.

[@wellesradio]

I still remember my grandpa listening to Dodger games on his transistor radio. That was in the past decade!

[@d-mack-ga5340]

In 1973 my best friend and I got Sears Walkie Talkies for Christmas, we had a blast. A lot of great memories indeed!

[@socksumi]

Don't forget the Polaroid camera. I remember desperately wanting one for Christmas. I also loved walky talkies as a kid and used to go to Radio Shack and drool over the deluxe HQ ones I couldn't afford.

[@slim-oneslim8014]

Another great trip back in time. I get lost in these every episode. Walkie-talkie. There's a title I haven't heard in so many years. I loved the ones my brothers and I had. We'd use them for hours.

[@vanessadobbins2963]

I just enjoy watching Recollection Road!!! Many gadgets and other items I don't recall (before my time), but it seems to put me back in time and those are fond memories I'll always treasure. Thank you for the beautiful memories 😊 God bless you🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@cabbitkisser2620]

i was 16 & in high school when the gameboy came out. i bought mine thru a pawnshop for $80 & they let me pick any game i wanted. it was the best thing that nintendo ever came out with at the time. so many fond memory's playing with the gameboy over the years.

[@TheBaldr]

Gameboy and Walkman are still very collectible and easily available. Pagers/Beepers are still use in most Hospitals because they run a different network than cell phones and are better in emergencies. Hospitals have thick wall that can block cell phone signals.

[@jeffwatkins352]

Surprised you missed the 8-track. But a great list anyway. I remember all those gadgets. How quickly things have changed.

[@benvincent24]

Last year I bought a Panasonic transistor radio at a swap meet. It was one I used to have in the 70s. It has better sensitivity, selectivity and audio than any other radio I have ever had.

[@bonwatcher]

In the 70's my sister had the 110mm mini-Instamatic film camera which was such a small negative when you developed the film which was in cassette form. Since my dad worked with mainframe computers, he decided to buy the first portable desktop in the early 80's from Compaq for $5k, a fortune back then. It was heavy and was like toting around a sewing machine. It had two 5 1/4" floppy disk drives and there was no such thing as hard drives yet, so you had to load the program from a floppy disk.

[@jameskearney4100]

The TRS 80.

[@chrisnevergrowold330]

My Dad bought us a TRS-80 computer from Radio Shack. It came with 2k memory but my Dad bought the upgrade which doubled it to 4k. the memory chip came pushed into a piece of foam in a cassete tape case. I used to spend hours with my Rainbow magazine entering code for the "free" game that came in the middle of the magazine. What a great time to be a kid!

[@BELCAN57]

That transistor radio for "only" $50.00 in 1955 is over $550.00 today. I don't think Junior would be taking it out on a bike ride at that price.

[@salemslotandmore8278]

Thank You for the List and Video 😀

[@montanamountainmen6104]

I still have my transistor radio, still works too. Got it when I was 9 back in '78. I'd listen to it at night till I fell asleep... I carried a beeper in the late 80's thru the 90's , along with a pocket full of quarters for pay phones.

[@RobertHowe-f5z]

The clock-radio I got for Christmas in 1961.

[@mikelevin4044]

I use to have a pair of those Sears Walky Taikes, and I still have a walkman.

[@CatladyinFL]

I enjoyed watching this video!! Thank you for the upload!!

[@josephschuster1494]

I’ve always felt that the invention of the transistor was THE most important item EVER, as it paved the way for future inventions of all the wondrous items mankind uses and enjoys today. 🎉

[@delibakerytravel]

That Was So Fun To Watch. Thank You So Much.

[@mikehughes4969]

My Dad loved any kind of gadget, and he had both of the pagers, the brick phone and a car phone. He even had the earliest model camcorder, that plugged into what looked like a VCR, that was battery powered and was fitted with a shoulder strap for portability. I myself had that exact same walkman, and I wish I still did.

[@BakedRBeans]

The original "car phone" was called that because it could only be used in a car. There was a huge unit that took two people to lift,and was mounted in the trunk. The phone section looked exactly like a desk phone. and mounted on the transmission hump.

[@juneyshu6197]

I have the giant camcorder, which is also a vcr to play movies!

[@BakedRBeans]

Back in the day (around 1978) my father had the camera/vcr in one unit- big bulky thing!- and my brother had the 2 separate units. I was happy with my top-load single-speed vcr at home. @@juneyshu6197

[@caffeineaddict8929]

I miss the simpler times.It’s so complicated with smart phones,smart TVs etc..When the grids break down back to landlines and Ever Ready batteries.Back to manual.Future generations will be like Idiocracy the movie.YIKES!

[@lagodifuoco313]

And if that never happens? Technology is amazing. Innovation makes life much more enjoyable. Just imagine having to ride a horse to get anywhere. Washing clothes in barrels by hand. No electric lighting. No medicines. No eyeglasses. It would make life much much worse.

[@davidpearson3304]

And here you are on your smartphone, connected to the internet

[@dawnelder9046]

When the hurricane cut power in Nova Scotia our phone, a combination between a land line and cell worked. But only so long. About 30 minutes of useage. Had to recharge every day when running the generator. We just kept it plugged into it. The cell phones did not work at all for about 6 days.

[@blandrooker6541]

Our current times are making Idiocracy a documentary about MAGA.

[@bellah8393]

I loved my little red transistor radio. One Christmas, I got a little black and white tv for my room. I couldn’t believe it!

[@3DJapan]

I certainly remember having no remote for my TVs. I also remember a VCR I had with a wired remote.

[@lagodifuoco313]

What a coincidence. I just got my first smart watch today. I just got it charged and set up. I have been considering it but thought I had to spend hundreds to get a decent one. My friend said she got one for $40 and was totally pleased with it. Mine was $59 plus tax at Target, and it's awesome!!! Now I regret not getting one sooner. What a great little gadget.

[@waltonwarrior7428]

I got a beautiful transistor radio that came in a leather case for a Christmas present in 1962. Man I wish I still had that today.

[@pjesf]

In the 70s there was the bicycle-mounted radio. Mine was made by Tandy Co (Radio Shack) and I thought I was so cutting edge. Never mind the fact that you could hardly hear unless you were riding at a snail’s pace or the fact that you had to take it with you before leaving your bike or the fact that getting caught in the rain wasn’t good 😂

[@freedomrings1420]

I always wanted one.

[@pjesf]

@@freedomrings1420 Trust me, you didn’t miss much

[@pjesf]

@TerryCloth I wouldn’t stray more than 5 feet from the bike without taking it off. It was like a ball and chain

[@maifantasia3650]

If you had that radio mounted on the handlebars of a 3-speed dragster, with banana seat, sissy-bar and reflective, rectangular mirrors, you would have been at the height of cool.

[@pjesf]

@@maifantasia3650 By then it was a 10-speed but that’s the bike I had before. I guess I was cool back then 😉

[@michaellazor5667]

Every time I went to school, or a trip, I always brought my trusty Walkman with a carrying case of cassettes. It was a powerful and personable experience

[@markplott4820]

I saved up $35 bucks for a Yellow water proof Walkman and used it everyday for school & college. when I went to Japan in 1986 , I bought my First Diskman there. never looked back.

[@gwarluvr]

My wife told me about this channel and it was an instant sub. Thanks for all the memories.

[@randalmayeux8880]

Actually, Kodak brought the first portable hand held camera for everyday people in the late 1800s. By the 1910s, everybody had one.

[@susanjoyce-yq2mg]

I remember receiving my first transistor radio. We were making our yearly shift to our beach house at the Jersey shore. My Pop asked if I had everything. I said I did. He produced that radio and told me I would need it for the beach. Loved that radio & loved him.

[@004Black]

One important innovation in portability was the portable stereo. My very first one was not stereo but it was cutting edge in 1973. The AM/FM radio had a diffused light panel that triggered red, green and yellow lights off of the amplitude of sound. I had to wait until 1980 to get a proper boom box with cassette.

[@trish5556]

I had a portable record player in 1971. Thought I was so cool!

[@CreatingwithWinglessAngel]

I remember all of these gadgets. Loved them all.

[@thecrafteaneighbor5177]

For my 12th birthday, I received a Kodak Instamatic. That was 1972. I loved that camera and became the family photographer. Of course you had to be careful what pictures you took due to the expense. Certainly nothing like the digitals we take today, where you can take 100s without it costing anything but the upfront price of your camera or phone. That technology was definitely an improvement I'm sure we can all appreciate in this current generation. 😊 And I remember playing with the Sears Walkie Talkies with my brothers. That was lots of fun, too! Another great video! Thanks!

[@mewregaurdhissyfit7733]

What about the Polaroid camera with instant developing photos? Or the Commadore PET personal computer? Or the Magnavox Odyssey gaming system? Or even the Betamax? And don't forget the TV phones! LOL

[@JillWhitcomb1966]

At the end of 1984, my Dad bought a Commadore 64 computer. All of his friends at work (all math teachers at the local university) had purchased Commadore 64's as well. Looking it up now, the full Commodore 64 package was just under $600 in 1984, which is just under $2000 in 2023 dollars. That was a lot of cash back then.

[@davidb2206]

@@JillWhitcomb1966 And no internet, so what they do with it besides spreadsheets?

[@AllenUry]

I used some of my bar mitzvah money to buy myself a set of walkie-talkies in 1967. Just thinking about opening the box containing the two huge handsets gives me the chills more than 55 years later. I remember not just the size and feel of the devices, but the SMELL of new electronics. (My Sony reel-to-reel tape recorder had the same "new electronics" smell when fresh.) I don't know what that smell was, but I miss it.

[@misterwhipple2870]

It's mostly thermoplastic insulation, and the solvents used to make them. It's a great smell! When I get to Nerd Heaven, I want it to smell like that.

[@stimpy_thecat]

Ditto on the smell, love it!

[@luisreyes1963]

My father got me a set of walkie talkies as a birthday gift in the 70's, me & my brother had fun with them. I also owned various transistor radios throughout the years, in addition to a Nintendo Game Boy.

[@shibbymiyah6614]

They paved the way for todays amazing technology

[@madmike2624]

as always, Fantastic content!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@kentw.england2305]

Now I know why I never had these -- the cost!

[@AdrianWright6363]

In the late 1980s the Electronic Organiser became a must-have for many working people. The main 2 were the Psion Organiser and the Sharp IQ (I had the latter). Before cellphones added this kind of functionality, these devices were the digital version of the Filofax. With their small monotone LCD display they included calendar funtion, calculator, contact storage, basic games and other text-based functionality. Mine had RAM cards that allowed expansion of storage.

[@lindah6954]

My dad had a really good set of CB walkie talkies. They had 32 channels and a 5 mile range. My brother would sneak them out while my dad was at work. I could talk to my brother when he was 6 blocks away perfectly clear. It was in the late 70's.

[@charliejoson9145]

I am proud that found that exact Kodak Instamatic camera inside my grandma's decades old two door wooden cabinet. I was born in the 90's but I recognized the camera (and some of the older Polaroid camera that I discovered including The Swinger) but I only managed to salvage the Instamatic and had to painstakingly wash the strap on the camera to remove the decades old smell of something similar to damp wood

[@rick5793]

I remember when the radios started coming from out of Japan, we'd make holders and attach them to our bikes, then about 5-6 of us would have all set on same channel and riding around town. Good peaceful memories sadly most of my biker buddies are gone now 😢😢

[@markplott4820]

I had a Radio Shack am-fm Bike Radio and it had a Amplified PA system.

[@JimDog794]

I had a 9 volt transistor radio when I was in high school in the 1970's. Used to listen to it at lunchtime. It only picked up AM stations.

[@masudashizue777]

I was a salesman when the first Walkman came out. In spite of costing $200, we couldn't keep them in stock.

[@Timinator62]

Digital Watches, Pocket Calculators, Microwave Ovens, VCR and Video Cameras were things I would classify as Gadgets. That's a STUNNING price for that Transistor Radio at $49.95 in the late 50's.

[@Chris_at_Home]

I had an Instamatic camera. I took pictures on a trip from Ct to Yellow Stone Park in 1965. I also used it at the worlds fair in Montreal called Expo 67. I took slides and still have them. They have all been scanned.. I also had the brick phone in the early 90s that came with my job. It was huge but tough.

[@trish5556]

I also had an Instamatic in the late 1960's. I too went to Expo '67! Our class went there on a class trip. I lost a lot of my negatives from before 1974 and some pictures but I can remember a lot of them in my mind. I wish I still had that camera. I gave it to my mother-in-law when I got a better camera and she had it for years. Seeing the one in this video made me feel sad I don't have it.

[@L.Spencer]

My dad says he found if you jammed a wire in the pocket radio and tuned it up to the end he could listen to the police. AM radio, he says. I enjoy how your videos make for some good conversations with my dad. Now he's explaining what a vacuum tube and transistor are, and going down a rabbit hole. 🤣 The world is such a fascinating place, so much to learn. (I was just reading a bit about the premolars, because I just had a crown and a root canal, and they found I had 3 nerves. Dentist had never seen that.)

[@samanthab1923]

Had a friend whose mom was on the volunteer EMT. She used to sit & have her coffee listening to the police calls.

[@RetroMMA]

Did the dentist indignantly state that you have a lot of nerve?

[@samrumohr2691]

​@@RetroMMA😂

[@L.Spencer]

@@RetroMMA He said I'd be easy to identify if I was ever in a plane crash! (Which led me to later wonder, is there some kind of national tooth database?)

[@RetroMMA]

@@L.Spencer Yes, it's a TSA subset called TFA; Tooth Fairy Administration.

[@juliepoolie5494]

I still have my Kodak instamatic. Loved the magic cube flashbulbs. I won it in a coloring contest and took it on a kindergarten field trip to a farm. Most of the pictures (still have them) were of barn cats half way out of the frame.

[@mayorb3366]

A few memories... In the early days of cable, the remote also was hard wired to the cable box on top of the TV. The coax cable itself was a continuous line that started at the pole outside, to the house, down the wall, through the wall and connected to the cable box. At the pole, there were different inline filters to unscramble the signal for HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax. They were frequently stolen. Before cell phones, people used walkie talkies to communicate between cars caravanning on a road trip. When pagers became commonplace in the 80's it wasn't unusual to see several people waiting in line at a pay phone. Because each pager had its own number, additional area codes had to be implemented by the phone companies. These things sound like they came from an ancient history book, but it was daily life only 40 years ago!

[@williammoseley17]

Great memories of my Dad sitting for hours at the kitchen table listending to St Louis Cardinal games. Miss ya Dad

[@flyingo]

I loved our walkie talkies! Also, I remember clearly the day in the early 1960s when my late father brought my older brother, sister and I each one of the very first hand-held calculators ever produced - the Commodore calculator. I might still have mine somewhere.

[@vela0854]

My first Walkman was a CD player. my kids call them “Dino times tech”. But I brought my 23 year old down a few pegs when I told her that she had her own “Dino times tech” iPod, Nintendo DS, a Wii, and a flip phone 😂

[@vela0854]

@todelete739😂 she’s a babyface tho. I can tell her it’s the 5G 😅

[@buickinvicta288]

Discman. I sold my Walkman and discman on ebay a few years ago. 😊

[@davidsradioroom9678]

How about Garloo, a green robot that would go forward or backward, bow, and even carry small objects. It was my favorite Christmas gift as a child.

[@80sforever3]

1992 we had a 14 inch tv. One day my brother came home from college. The moment he saw the tv, he said, Ahhh so glad to watch big coloured tv and immediately parked himself on the sofa smacked dab in front the tv. Apparently in his college rental home with 14 boys there was only one tv, the small portable black and white tv. All 14 of them would huddle together to watch a programme

[@Quince828]

Don’t forget that before the pocket transistor radio the kids played with the crystal, or sometimes called the rocket radio, because of its shape. You had to clip the wire to a phone line or similar wire on the side of the house and listen with an ear plug

[@MomentsInTrading]

In the late 70s, we had a. Zenith TV with a remote. You pressed a button and the dial on the TV would rotate one channel.

[@isaiahwinbrone]

They need to bring all those gadgets back

[@davidb2206]

But made in USA. Not cheap China copies that break in one week.

[@albinklein7680]

In remember playing Atari in my cousin's house on a Zenith color TV with a round tube. Got my first transistor radio for my 6th birthday in 1976. What an event that was! Those were better times, then.....

[@scottmcwave9479]

Wow 50 bucks for the transistor radio was a lot for a teenager!

[@Bluzmn]

I still remember seeing my first Walkman. A friend of mine brought one back from his trip to CA (we lived in IA). Within a few months, they were everywhere.

[@Alan-lv9rw]

Walkie talkies were the best Christmas present.

[@paulring4267]

Thank you 😊 😊

[@carlavision6143]

I miss the Sony Walkman because, I had one. That, and the disposable camera is all I remember but, in 1994 my stepdad had one of those phones. Thanks for the memories!

[@ThomasQuigley-b1b]

I remember Grandma being thrilled when she got a polaroid camera.

[@gilladamson3722]

Oh goodness, I had the transistor radio, later the camera with the flash bulb! All bought with “ green shield stamps” the loyalty rewards in those days from supermarkets, petrol stations etc as we couldn’t afford them outright. I’d forgotten about those😂

[@motnosniv]

My mom saved up her Blue Chip stamps and got us an above ground swimming pool.

[@paulne1514]

Our remote control was our dog. She had a chain collar, and when she would play on the floor, the rattling of the chain would change the channel.

[@roncaruso931]

Always enjoy your videos.

[@footballlvnlady]

We had a small b/w TV that I had in my room as a kid. I remember watching the first moon walk on that TV. I got my last transistor radio in 1972. It was circular on a chain. They came in multiple colors. Had a Kodak camera in the 70’s with the cartridge film. So easy to load. My dad always used an electric razor. I remember the Christmas commercial with Santa riding on the electric razor. Had a Sony Walkman and later the cd version.

[@Ronkirk433]

Did you cry when they landed on the moon?😅

[@footballlvnlady]

@@Ronkirk433 I was just so excited and proud. The TV didn’t have the greatest antenna so kind of a fuzzy screen. Still so amazing!

[@trish5556]

I miss those Norelco commercials they used to show each year with Santa Claus!

[@nobodynoone2500]

I had an armatron! They were an engineering marvel! How they worked is 3x as complex and many modern robotic arms.

[@stevenlitvintchouk3131]

By the late 1950s, Zenith had invented a clever TV remote control that was wireless and didn't even need batteries. It was called "Space Command." When you pressed a button, it struck a metal rod inside the remote that emitted an ultrasonic sound. Each button struck a different metal rod with a different ultrasonic sound frequency. It worked very well--except that your pets could hear it. Every time I pushed a button, our pet parakeet went crazy.

[@stimpy_thecat]

I just posted about that! I found I could change the channel by coughing at the tv 😂