“Space age electronics”: Inside a GE thin-film paperweight from the 1960s

Re:“Space age electronics”: Inside a GE thin-film paperweigh... by mustacheemperor on Friday July 02, 2021 @05:30PM (#27717155)

Thanks for the great write up!

Any chance this thing still works? I imagine it may require some modification either way because of the oldschool battery.

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Re:“Space age electronics”: Inside a GE thin-film paperweigh... by kens on Friday July 02, 2021 @05:46PM (#27717330)

The paperweight worked after I fixed a broken wire and powered it from a power supply, and it generated the beeping sound. However, after I re-assembled it, it switched to an annoying fast-beep. I don't know if a component failed or I messed something up during assembly.

You can hear the beeping here: https://twitter.com/kenshirriff/status/1411032440534028289

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Re:“Space age electronics”: Inside a GE thin-film paperweigh... by tyingq on Friday July 02, 2021 @07:15PM (#27718010)

>I imagine it may require some modification either way because of the oldschool battery.

It's a 22.5v ANSI/NEDA 215, and they still make them. Alkaline now instead of Zinc-Carbon. They are kind of expensive, at $20+ USD, but available.

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