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These are from my grandfather's (Pre-1970) time with the Bell System. He originally had three, my mother has the other one.

Both still work after years of sitting in his barn, being covered with sawdust from the airplane he was building in retirement, although the one on the left does need to be cleaned up so the dial turns freely.

These are from my grandfather's (Pre-1970) time with the Bell System. He originally had three, my mother has the other one. Both still work after years of sitting in his barn, being covered with sawdust from the airplane he was building in retirement, although the one on the left does need to be cleaned up so the dial turns freely.

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[–] • 1 pt

There's still a lot of it at hamfests and such, but it's getting rarer as it ages.

[–] • 1 pt

That makes sense, I wonder what will be left of old tech in 100 years.

[–] • 1 pt

Modern tech? Probably not much other than some preserved, non-working examples in museums and pictures, with perhaps a working device made from new equipment.

The devices from the vacuum tube era? As long as there are tubes (The USA is still quite flush with them) and we haven't gone to something that isn't component electronics, probably quite a bit. We're already running on 100 years for some electronics, and they can usually be brought back to life with some effort. That ASIC in a modern device? Nope.

You can put a tube on a shelf for 60 years and it will still work, assuming the envelope hasn't leaked.