Vintage microwave oven

[TERRA Operative]

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.....

Good question, I do remember the chicken though, we forbade my mum from trying it. She agreed.

But National is(was) a Panasonic(Matsushita) brand name.

The now defunct National brand name was used by Panasonic (Originally Matsushita) to sell appliances until the late 80's or so in Australia.

[pamperchu]

I have a RR-4 from 1971.

[james_s]

I have a RR-4 from 1971.

Wow, that's exactly what my grandparents had, I recognized it instantly from the picture.

My grandfather loved gadgets, he had everything. The first color TV in the family, the first microwave oven, all those silly widgets they sell at the county fair. Electric carving knife, crepe maker, waffle iron, sandwich maker, soda maker, hand mixer, electric knife sharpener, electric can opener, automatic apple peeler, you name it, he probably had one.

[exit_failure]

Except for the colour, that's the one my parent have been using for the last 35 years or so (Siemens Mikrowelle Plus).

Even the rotary encoder on the top right under the VFD (which yet hasn't dimmed visibly) still works a treat.

[free_electron]

Think about how many cancer-causing microwave popcorn bags have been popped in these old units!

oh yeah. that olestra stuff is very nasty ... especially the fake butter flavor.

[Halcyon]

Think about how many cancer-causing microwave popcorn bags have been popped in these old units!

oh yeah. that olestra stuff is very nasty ... especially the fake butter flavor.

I've never understood microwave popcorn. Just buy the kernels for a fraction of the cost, heat a little oil and/or butter in a saucepan, add corn, cover and shake. Much healthier and takes hardly any more time.

[james_s]

It never occurred to me to make popcorn in a saucepan, that's probably true of most people. When I was a kid we had a hot air popper that worked really well. These days I usually use the microwave stuff although I don't have it often. Toss it in the microwave and hit start, 2 minutes later with zero effort there's a bag of popcorn. If I had to get out a saucepan, get out oil, put it on the stove, heat it up, find something to cover it and then stand there shaking it I probably wouldn't bother. Yeah it's not like cooking a 3 course dinner but it still seems like a lot of work for something like popcorn where I could take it or leave it. I have it so rarely that the cost of microwave popcorn is a complete non-issue.

[rdl]

Ever tried "Jiffy Pop"? Comes in a pan with a handle and expanding foil cover. Turn on the stove and heat it until popped. Pour the popcorn into a bowl and toss the disposable pan.

[Rolo]

Except for the colour, that's the one my parent have been using for the last 35 years or so (Siemens Mikrowelle Plus).

Even the rotary encoder on the top right under the VFD (which yet hasn't dimmed visibly) still works a treat.

I know that series. I Owned the Siemens branded model with all foil buttons. Great machine. Ended with a big bang after many years of use.

[james_s]

Ever tried "Jiffy Pop"? Comes in a pan with a handle and expanding foil cover. Turn on the stove and heat it until popped. Pour the popcorn into a bowl and toss the disposable pan.

Oh yeah, we used to use that stuff on our sailboat when I was a kid, no mains electricity to run a hot air popper or microwave even if there was space for one and microwave popcorn wasn't really a thing back then. It's still a lot more work and even more expensive than microwave popcorn, although it's also more fun.

[Don Hills]

No problem there. Linux is famous for supporting old hardware. ...

Which 4 bit distro do you recommend for my old microwave?

[exit_failure]

No problem there. Linux is famous for supporting old hardware. ...

Which 4 bit distro do you recommend for my old microwave?

How about Mandrake/Mandriva? Its so old, it probably hasn't been updated since they cracked Enigma at Bletchley Park.