• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

yes its an extremely early piece of technology .. What is IT ... I am giving you ALL a PUZZLE to solve

inotarobot

inotarobot

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2014
Messages
1,229
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Hi All,
I am throwing down the Gauntlet with a "What is it" I am giving you 5 photos of it as a start, them showing each side and the bottom.

I got it recently at the Clearing Sale of 'Test Measuring Group' here in Clayton south, a Suburb of Melbourne Victoria Australia. I spotted it on a workbench near some test instruments in pieces (tek 465 scope fyi).

I am 98% certain I know what it use was. Cream pouring jug in pic will give you some scale along with ..... mmmn

Is it just a box or is it more ?

Now Aug 15th .. so I will wait till Sept 1 to add more photo's that will just maybe define what it was used for. And I am not going to comment on anyone's responses prior to Sept 1st.

However I will click 'Like' only to acknowledge that I appreciate you responding and have read your reply.

I took a fast paced 18min video walking around of the MASSIVE Clearing sale factory and and then had to take a further 5 min video as I missed an area, and as I was doing this video I spotted this mystery item.

Just got to figure what platform to post and share that on video is approx 600 Mb total with both in mp4 format.

I will be going back for my third shopping-looking trip on Saturday 22nd Aug at 8am and staying till 2pm when it closes

Lots of test gear and even a few older computers like a Cromemo System III .



a.jpga.jpgb.jpgc.jpgd.jpge.jpg
 
Last edited:
It looks like a box for something horribly heavy like a battery. I asked a crap AI site and it agrees. That does not make me more sure, LOL.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20260815_103714.jpg
    Screenshot_20260815_103714.jpg
    86.3 KB · Views: 12
Presuming the wire around the wooden handle is not original, ie. you could comfortably use it as a handle and carry the box, I'd guess a case for an early radio battery: you would carry it to somewhere to charge it (before household electricity was a thing). Perhaps the idea was that you'd keep the box, and just drop the battery off the bottom for charging or replacing. Not sure with all the contacts at the top, perhaps the screws with knurled tops are to thumbscrews, and the plates below rotate to use as a switch?
 
syzygy said:
Obviously an Australian nut cracker.

That place/sale is wicked sick and I am so glad it is very far from me!

Click to expand...

syzygy YOU know you WANT TO come and spend the full 6 hrs wandering around picking up items, building a pile at the front door and going back to look at more you missed seeing that first 30 times you have wandered around.

There is Morrabbin Airport, a general aviation airport for light aircraft, within 10mins so you can fly yourself across the 'Pond', land, look, buy, load, then fly back to USA, NZ,Asia or Europe or where ever you come from. LOL

Bernies Aug 22th .jpg
 
Last edited:
Based on what I've read in the Boy Mechanic books, and the works of Alfred Morgan, Beeler & Branley, etc., I'm guessing the popular guess that it's a battery could be right, but it might be a coil. (No, it's not a detonator.) Probably 1910's. The handle is not original.
 
Hi all,

apologies for not doing as I said of giving any further hints till after end of the month.
Between GRUB corrupting in my desktop Linux and a Funeral to go to it took me a bit to get into VCFED on my laptop, as I had not logged in on it, and password book was no where to be seen in my pile of 'stuff' in my bedroom.
Anyways I am in.

So a clue :- inside the box are 4 equal sized rectangular open topped thick walled glass jars.

Sadly one of the original one is missing and a prior attempt to replace it has been made with a smaller jar.

All 4 glass jars are broken or cracked.

the original glass jars have a wall thickness of is 3mm / 0.120"
and 1.5" internal width, in both directions
and an overall height of 4.37"

the wooden box is 9" height
and 4.25" square

anyways more to follow after I hear back from a few of you here.
 
Last edited:
Egghead said:
Based on what I've read in the Boy Mechanic books, and the works of Alfred Morgan, Beeler & Branley, etc., I'm guessing the popular guess that it's a battery could be right, but it might be a coil. (No, it's not a detonator.) Probably 1910's. The handle is not original.
Click to expand...
well you may or may not be correct in it being a Battery, or Coil. but thank you for responding

The Handle seems to have the same wood varnish stain as the box; so I think its 75% original handle but is lacking the original metal rod with 2 knurled nuts on each end that passed through it.

However I am thinking in my 25% view it is not correct handle as its would more likely gripping surface profiled to a shape more conducive to the human hand finger grip.

There was a wooden handle near it that may have been correct one with similar size through hole but about 1/8" shorter. So I will try it in the coming days to see what it look and feels like on the box.
 
Last edited:
Very early Peltier cooler for milk. ... ;)

Glass jars still sound like old-style rechargeable lead/acid battery. Next clue is metal grate or plates inside jars?
 
jlang said:
Looks like a battery box from a very old radio set. Multiple connections on the top are for plate, heater and bias voltage the early radio sets used.
Click to expand...
This sounds likely - with multiple glass jar batteries wired to provide the proper voltages.
 
Eudimorphodon said:
I don’t think this is what it actually is, but I really want to see a cartoon coyote use it to try to blow an obnoxious road runner to kingdom come.
Click to expand...
that was my first thought lol. but being more real, its likely a battery, capacitor or transformer. Chris Boden @Physicsduck on youtube might know what is it if its electrical.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top