Vintage General Radio 1933 Impedance Bridge Type 650-A
I guess I have always loved the appearance and "feel" of the tools, machinery and kitchen appliances that were around when I was growing up. Things had strong metal or even wood cases or housings. Things were still made to last a long time. Knobs clicked firmly into position. I am from Detroit, where planned obsolescence became the norm in the automobile industry before we knew what was happening. It spread quickly throughout the manufacturing industry. Suddenly kitchen mixers had nylon gears which would easily strip under too great a load. We didn't think that much about the plastic cases that replaced wood and metal, I guess because plastic was still something of a novelty and the word plastic had not yet taken on the meaning it has today when we use it metaphorically to speak derisively about something poorly made.
When I took Physics courses in college we still used well-made meters and frictionless air-tracks. The Physics lab was one place where I could still enjoy quality equipment, even if it was often not the latest technology.
I am something of a theoretician I guess. While I like playing with equipment, a big part of why I like it is because I love being able to make measurements which inform me how well the equipment is in agreement with theory.
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