objet d'art électrique le plus désiré

[Opcom]

What electric, electromechanical, or electronic items do you most desire?

Could be considered industrial art, or not.

Something you like, or just llke the idea of.

Does not have to exist commercially or be completely practical.

Something you have already and cherish, or do not have and would like to.



mine:
Telharmonium
Theremin - had to add it after hearing the skillful playing.
Mumble Tub (see UNIVAC)
Glass Ignitron
Cyclotron
Laser pistol (small balloon-popping YAG prototype in the works)
Whimshurst machine
Induction-Repulsion motor, reversible
Repulsion Coil resonance engine (poptronic electronic experimenters handbook fall 1965)
large-size electric-powered 3-axis tourbillon (for its art enjoyment)
rail gun
Berkeley EPUT meter/counter (have one, need complete restore.)

[WB2YGF]

I dunno, sounds like a recipe for needing a steel building put up on the back 40.  I am at the point where I need to get rid of some stuff before I can even consider new desires. 

I give your list an A for eclectic-ness though.

[w3jn]

A '41 Packard 180 Darrin (hey, it's electromuchanical!)

[W3RSW]

Personal anti-gravity transporter.  quiet, stealthy, and probably impractical in a world with 100,000,000 guns by trigger happy jealous types.    

A dream since early teens.. oh, to sail past desired girl's house.  "uh, Hon.., how 'bout a quick spin in my "NoEarth'd'thon?"

Would be interesting to see the FAA's traffic controllers faces when a slew of these hit the air'waves.'

Would give a new spin to hanging an antenna though. 

********

Opmeister, is this like one of those neat binary nixie tube rate meters?

Berkeley EPUT meter/counter (have one, need complete restore.)

[w3jn]

I had one of those Berkeleys, got it free at a hamfest.  Kept the cabinet and sold the electronics on eBay - I think I got a hundred bux for it.  It was the one with the 10 neon bulbs in a vertical row for each digit, and it had a mixer so it could count up to 50 MHz IIRC.

[W3RSW]

Yeah, that's going back.  Seems like the ones we used at Marietta (physics) were neons in binary.  ..but you know how memory is.

Birdwell's rate meters oth were oscilloscopes (great customer interface along with the audio; they loved 'em.  Made them bend over more with the bucks in the oil patch.)  Then the signal was "conditioned," integration of ticks to an analog meter circuit. (hopefully before avalanche)   GM tubes were expensive.

[W1EUJ]

KLH Model 21 FM Receiver.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Dat's a cool ride!

A '41 Packard 180 Darrin (hey, it's electromuchanical!)

[Opcom]

I had one of those Berkeleys, got it free at a hamfest.  Kept the cabinet and sold the electronics on eBay - I think I got a hundred bux for it.  It was the one with the 10 neon bulbs in a vertical row for each digit, and it had a mixer so it could count up to 50 MHz IIRC.

Here's one like it that someone has shamefully debauched.
http://www.selectric.org/tubeclock/

[w3jn]

Dat be de one, except mine was kind of lime green.  Bottom was a PS, middle was the mixer, top unit was similar to that.  Sat in a 4' rack, which I still have, it's kind of a lime hammertone green

[W2XR]

A Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1 electric locomotive in Tuscan Red or Brunswick Green. A classic from the art-deco school of industrial design of the 1930's. The Tuscan Red variant is shown below.

Styled by the famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy, who also, coincidently, designed the Coke bottle.

73,

Bruce

[W3SLK]

Bruce said:

A Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1 electric locomotive in Tuscan Red or Brunswick Green.

Oooo, oooo, oooo! I'll take the Brunswick Green!!!! I only ever saw either running twice in my lifetime. What a work of art!

[W3RSW]

and they can run both directions.. 

Last time I saw some was in the Susquehanna yards north of Harrisburg , forgot the name of the town, but it was one continuous yard between US 15 and the river.  The GG's had either been relegated to yard duty where the catenaries still existed or were just mothballed.  That's been about 20 years ago.

I have the Lionel model , green but found that the front end horn compartment had the usual corrosion from some kid leaving in the old "D" cell for years.

[Carl WA1KPD]

A fully functioning PT boat. Includes TCS radios etc.

Or a DUKW


Carl

/KPD

[W9GT]

A '57 Chevy!

73,  Jack, W9GT

[Ed/KB1HYS]

Almost Any Warbird from WWII or a Cessna 195

As for trains, a "Streamliner" steam power... ooh artdeco.

Farnsworth Fuzor(SP) built one some time ago, but had to give back the 10KV DC power supply so it got scrapped. 

A BIG tesla coil (really big)

Radio wise:

One of those old art deco BC transmitters...

finally,

The Money, time and space to actually use these things!!!

[W1EUJ]

this. but now I have it.

[W1EUJ]

and this...

[W1EUJ]

and finally this...

[K3ZS]

and they can run both directions.. 

Last time I saw some was in the Susquehanna yards north of Harrisburg , forgot the name of the town, but it was one continuous yard between US 15 and the river.  The GG's had either been relegated to yard duty where the catenaries still existed or were just mothballed.  That's been about 20 years ago.

I have the Lionel model , green but found that the front end horn compartment had the usual corrosion from some kid leaving in the old "D" cell for years.

Enola, PA is the place.   I was just there this weekend staying at my sons house.  Had the window open in the bedroom, you can hear the eerie sounding squeals from the train wheels as they jockey the trains around.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

And this.

[W9GT]

Almost Any Warbird from WWII or a Cessna 195

As for trains, a "Streamliner" steam power... ooh artdeco.

Farnsworth Fuzor(SP) built one some time ago, but had to give back the 10KV DC power supply so it got scrapped. 

A BIG tesla coil (really big)

Radio wise:

One of those old art deco BC transmitters...

finally,

The Money, time and space to actually use these things!!!

A good list indeed Ed!

I didn't know anyone else knew what a Farnsworth Fusor was!  (I probably misspelled it too), but I actually heard the QRN created by Philo T. Farnsworth on 40 meters when he was experimenting with his Fusion device here at ITT in Fort Wayne.  I didn't know that anyone else had tried to duplicate his experiments!  Seems like he was using some really huge amounts of power and creating serious RFI in the process, but he may have really been on to something in his work.

I also would like one of those art decco BC transmitters, like the 20V2, but I don't know where I would put it.  I would, most likely have to build an out building to house it.  Then I wouldn't be able to have it in the shack where I could admire it. 

73,  Jack, W9GT

[Ed/KB1HYS]

There are some people messing about with fusors. Not many can actually achieve fusion, so they are mostly used as really cool plasma displays.  The technology is used for medical radiation sources commercially.

once I used to like to experiment with all sorts or things.  Made my own x-ray tube once. Was neat but a little spooky.

[NE4AM]

IMHO, the purtiest little tractor ever made...sold mine in 2003 when we moved to town.

73 Dave

[Ed/KB1HYS]

Nice!  I liked the look of the ones with the front wheels closein (ford?) deathtraps though...