Author Topic: Vintage microwave oven  (Read 7705 times)

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Offline HalcyonTopic starter

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Vintage microwave oven
« on: July 02, 2018, 06:06:01 am »
I know, not strictly a computer but I came across this old microwave oven at an office I was visiting. No idea when it was made, model number or specs, but it's quite old and still works!
 

Offline chris_leyson

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2018, 06:28:40 am »
The "Rank Arena microwave oven cookbook for Australians" was published in 1982. The styling looks like it's 70's, 80's.
« Last Edit: July 02, 2018, 06:43:13 am by chris_leyson »
 

Offline Ampera

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2018, 06:52:58 am »
No dials, booo.
I forget who I am sometimes, but then I remember that it's probably not worth remembering.
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Offline HalcyonTopic starter

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2018, 07:19:55 am »
One of the "roast" functions is whole fish. I'm not sure how well that would go in a microwave. I suspect the smell would be like a punch in the nose.

Curiously the VFD still looks reasonably bright.
 

Offline Whales

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2018, 09:55:31 am »
"RADIATION SAFETY TIP"

Offline amyk

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2018, 04:42:22 pm »
Late 70s/early 80s.

It probably has a microcontroller, so in a way somewhat relevant to this forum...
 

Offline SeanB

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2018, 05:25:03 pm »
Saw a Sharp Carousel microwave last week, still working perfectly. our family had one circa 1977, the Carousel convection microwave, with 2 mechanical timers and a separate power level and temperature setting for the built in convection oven that formed the top of the microwave cavity.

it's failure mode was the self cleaning inside of the cavity, where the self cleaning top ( and the convection fan impeller) were made from steel, and this corroded away to nothing within 5 years. Dad's solution was to remove the rusted steel and fabricate a new top, made from some 3mm stainless steel filter mesh ( overkill, but it was free) and make a new stainless steel impeller for the fan, and the oven ran for another 2 decades of use after that. Only reason it was replaced was we moved to a smaller place, and it was too big to fit the kitchen.

Myself I have a KIC microwave, made in around 1984, and it still is running perfectly well.
 

Offline dexters_lab

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2018, 08:15:13 pm »
that's not vintage!

i remember our first microwave, a Tricity branded one, no turntable, big push buttons to make it come on and a dial timer... no power control, we won it in a prize draw around 1980

it's interesting to see the Rank logo on a microwave though!

Offline Silveruser

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2018, 11:00:32 pm »
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1305716

My first microwave was a cousin of the above. Different paint, one button, mechanical timer. No turntable.
 
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Offline Ampera

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #9 on: July 03, 2018, 02:06:11 am »
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1305716

My first microwave was a cousin of the above. Different paint, one button, mechanical timer. No turntable.

That looks absolutely awesome.
I forget who I am sometimes, but then I remember that it's probably not worth remembering.
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Offline HalcyonTopic starter

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #10 on: July 03, 2018, 05:31:09 am »
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1305716

My first microwave was a cousin of the above. Different paint, one button, mechanical timer. No turntable.

That looks absolutely awesome.

Interesting form factor.
 

Online ebastler

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #11 on: July 03, 2018, 06:00:03 am »
Cory Heisterkamp's collection starts with a 1963 model, it seems:
https://www.radarange.com/

High tech!  ;)
 

Online helius

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #12 on: July 03, 2018, 06:20:11 am »
Think about how many cancer-causing microwave popcorn bags have been popped in these old units!
 

Offline TERRA Operative

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #13 on: July 03, 2018, 01:25:14 pm »
Here's one for you. The first Microwave my parents purchased is still going strong. Predates Panasonic and they still have the original user manual. :D

This thing is a beast of a science oven.


Where does all this test equipment keep coming from?!?

https://www.youtube.com/NearFarMedia/
 

Offline Cyberdragon

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #14 on: July 04, 2018, 07:08:13 pm »
Wait a minute...where's the number keypad?
*BZZZZZZAAAAAP*
Voltamort strikes again!
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Offline TERRA Operative

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #15 on: July 05, 2018, 08:49:31 am »
Ha, the 10/1/10/1 buttons are 10/1 minute increments and 10/1 second increments.

Want 5 minutes and 30 seconds? Press the left most '1' 5 times, and the right most '10' 3 times.
Where does all this test equipment keep coming from?!?

https://www.youtube.com/NearFarMedia/
 

Offline rrinker

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #16 on: July 05, 2018, 03:48:31 pm »
 I still remember the first microwave I saw - 1975 in a hospital waiting area. They had an automat sort of thing to purchase various food items and it was marked where to set the microwave to cook it - just a dial sort of thing on the microwave. seemed like magic to me at the time that you could cook a hamburger in 2 minutes, and it kept me occupied checking it all out as a distraction from what was probably the most horrible day of my life.

 

Offline noidea

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #17 on: July 05, 2018, 04:06:05 pm »
Here's one for you. The first Microwave my parents purchased is still going strong. Predates Panasonic and they still have the original user manual.
My parents had one of those too, it then got handed down through three kids as we grew up and moved out of home. I think it was still going when my younger brother got rid of it in the end.
Do your parents have the recipe book that came with it as well?  I think I'm scarred for life from one of mums experiments with a "roast" chicken.....
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #18 on: July 05, 2018, 05:27:33 pm »
That's early 80s, I once had one exactly like it, somebody gave it to me because it wasn't working, I couldn't find anything wrong with it and sold it to someone else.

I remember my grandparents had an early Amana Radarange from the mid 70s, it had a pair of large incandescent backlit dials. When I was a kid my family had an old Litton Minutemaster from the late 70s, it was a gigantic 1200W oven with an electromechanical timer. My aunt and uncle had one of the first Amana microwaves that had digital controls, late 70s to very early 80s, they bought it new and until they remodeled their kitchen a year or two ago it was still in daily use.
 

Offline exit_failure

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #19 on: July 05, 2018, 05:35:40 pm »
I think the point you're all missing here is: Have you tried running Linux on it?  ;D :P
« Last Edit: July 05, 2018, 05:43:20 pm by exit_failure »
 

Offline Whales

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #20 on: July 05, 2018, 10:14:55 pm »
I think the point you're all missing here is: Have you tried running Linux on it?  ;D :P

No, you'd need the right 2.4GHz drivers.

Offline exit_failure

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #21 on: July 05, 2018, 10:44:11 pm »
No, you'd need the right 2.4GHz drivers.

I don't see your point. Linux support for WIFI and bluetooth chipsets has been pretty decent for the last couple of years.
« Last Edit: July 05, 2018, 10:46:28 pm by exit_failure »
 

Offline Whales

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #22 on: July 05, 2018, 11:28:23 pm »
I don't see your point. Linux support for WIFI and bluetooth chipsets has been pretty decent for the last couple of years.

This is a very old chipset, remember.  It probably connects over a parallel port.

That and you have to fool/trick the firmware to get anything above 200mW of cooking power.

Offline exit_failure

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #23 on: July 05, 2018, 11:40:41 pm »
This is a very old chipset, remember.  It probably connects over a parallel port.
No problem there. Linux is famous for supporting old hardware.

That and you have to fool/trick the firmware to get anything above 200mW of cooking power.
See, that's a common misconception. Its not about the power a device can put out, its about the time you are willing to wait.
 

Offline chris_leyson

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Re: Vintage microwave oven
« Reply #24 on: July 05, 2018, 11:46:12 pm »
Quote
Predates Panasonic and they still have the original user manual.
But National is(was) a Panasonic(Matsushita) brand name.
 


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