Electronics

Museum celebrates obsolete tech and oddball synth creations

Museum celebrates obsolete tech and oddball synth creations
Sam Battle of Look Mum No Computer has gathered together a growing collection of obsolete and experimental technology, and peppered the collection with his own crazy synth creations to form This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
Sam Battle of Look Mum No Computer has gathered together a growing collection of obsolete and experimental technology, and peppered the collection with his own crazy synth creations to form This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
View 13 Images
Sam Battle of Look Mum No Computer has gathered together a growing collection of obsolete and experimental technology, and peppered the collection with his own crazy synth creations to form This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
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Sam Battle of Look Mum No Computer has gathered together a growing collection of obsolete and experimental technology, and peppered the collection with his own crazy synth creations to form This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
Some of the technology at the museum is in static displays, but visitors can interact with a bunch of other gadgets and creations
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Some of the technology at the museum is in static displays, but visitors can interact with a bunch of other gadgets and creations
This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete is laid out like a maze, with forgotten tech treasures on display around every corner
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This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete is laid out like a maze, with forgotten tech treasures on display around every corner
Look Mum No Computer's Game Boy Megamachine is on display, which is a polyphonic synth made up of synced handheld consoles
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Look Mum No Computer's Game Boy Megamachine is on display, which is a polyphonic synth made up of synced handheld consoles
The monstrous 1,000 Oscillator Megadrone synthesizer takes up an entire wall in the museum
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The monstrous 1,000 Oscillator Megadrone synthesizer takes up an entire wall in the museum
The creepy Furby Organ is part of the museum's collection of home-grown oddities
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The creepy Furby Organ is part of the museum's collection of home-grown oddities
The Googol Counter is designed to continuously count to 10100 and is livestreamed on the website of This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
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The Googol Counter is designed to continuously count to 10100 and is livestreamed on the website of This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
A Solartron digital voltmeter from the 1960s is described as a "currently serviced but uncalibrated functioning display item" and is connected to a solar panel to allow for visitor interaction
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A Solartron digital voltmeter from the 1960s is described as a "currently serviced but uncalibrated functioning display item" and is connected to a solar panel to allow for visitor interaction
A R1155 aviation radio from the early 1940s, on static display at This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
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A R1155 aviation radio from the early 1940s, on static display at This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
The museum hosts a number of electronics learning kits, including this one from the University of Cambridge
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The museum hosts a number of electronics learning kits, including this one from the University of Cambridge
A Jennings Univox all-valve synthesizer from the 1950s, which has been restored to working order for This Museum IS (Not) Obsolete
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A Jennings Univox all-valve synthesizer from the 1950s, which has been restored to working order for This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
A Stirling telephone from the 1890s, which has a working bell but the speaker is currently out of action
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A Stirling telephone from the 1890s, which has a working bell but the speaker is currently out of action
A vacuum-tube display at This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
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A vacuum-tube display at This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete
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Over the last year or so, Sam Battle of YouTube channel Look Mum No Computer has been gathering together interesting tech and gadgetry from the past and musical curiosities of his own design for a collection known as This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete, which is now open for business.

As regular readers may already know, the affable tinkerer has real form when it comes to repurposing gadgetry into musical instruments, as we've seen with his Synth Bike (where an old bicycle was converted into a pedal-powered synth), the It'll Kill You 5000 (a synth drum Jacob's Ladder made from microwave parts), and of course the nightmarish Furby Organ (where a popular toy from the 1990s becomes a synthesized choir).

The creepy Furby Organ is part of the museum's collection of home-grown oddities
The creepy Furby Organ is part of the museum's collection of home-grown oddities

He clearly has great enthusiasm for old tech too, and it's these combined passions that seeded the idea for This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete – which actually launched as The Museum of Everything Else, but had to undergo a quick name change. Battle describes the project – which is located in Ramsgate, Kent – as "a museum of experimental, obsolete scientific and musical technologies."

This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete is laid out like a maze, with forgotten tech treasures on display around every corner
This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete is laid out like a maze, with forgotten tech treasures on display around every corner

Within its walls, visitors will find such treasures as Marconi signal generators, oscillators and other equipment; various electronics education kits spanning 50 years; the Jennings Univox all-valve synthesizer; old phone systems and equipment, vacuum tube displays; and a few of Battle's own creations such as the 1,000 Oscillator Megadrone, a synth constructed using a bunch of Game Boy handheld consoles, and of course the Furby Organ. Some displays are static, but others invite interaction from visitors – including Nervous Squirrel's Owl Organ.

Look Mum No Computer's Game Boy Megamachine is on display, which is a polyphonic synth made up of synced handheld consoles
Look Mum No Computer's Game Boy Megamachine is on display, which is a polyphonic synth made up of synced handheld consoles

The museum looks jam-packed with interesting, bizarre and nerdilicious technology, and Battle plans to add to the collection as time goes on. It was funded with the help of Look Mum No Computer's Patreon supporters, and opened its doors to the public a few days ago, though viewing dates are limited for the time being due to the global pandemic. The project is introduced in the video below.

Announcement - The Future And The Museum! - This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete

Source: This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete

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1 comment
1 comment
Grunchy
So cool!!! Well at least now I know approximately where it's located, in Ramsgate. There's another museum there, "the Micro Museum" about obsolete computers I guess.