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What Is It?

What Is It? is a place for engineers to test their knowledge (and sense of humor). Each week the CR4 team will post an unidentified picture. We're looking for your best (or funniest) guesses at what it might be (or could be) in the comments below.
Got an image* that you think would stump the community? Submit the photo to the blog admins and we'll post it!

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20 comments

What Is It? for 10/16/12

Posted October 16, 2012 8:30 AM

Can you guess what this is?

Since JohnDG is so quick on the trigger, here's another image

The answers can be found here!

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#1

Re: What Is It? for 10/12/12

10/16/2012 8:36 AM

Valve (US tube) radio. Variable capacitor for tuning seen lower LHS of picture.

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#8
In reply to #1

Re: What Is It? for 10/12/12

10/16/2012 5:28 PM

I have been puzzling over this one, there are a few unusual features. It is not your average run-of-the-mill valve radio, not at all like the ones I used to play with (or the radiogram in my garage). Obviously the resistors, capacitors and (probably point-to-point) wiring are on the underside of the chassis, as is normal. It is not unusual for audio amps (hi-fi and guitar) to have nothing on top of the chassis but the valves and transformer(s), but I've never seen a valve radio as uncluttered as this. And where are the speakers? Is it actually a stereo receiver (hence the three transformers, and lack of speakers)? But this doesn't seem quite right either. I would be interested to know more.

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#9
In reply to #8

Re: What Is It? for 10/12/12

10/16/2012 6:10 PM

Agree it's quite an up-market job. Maybe part of an early stereogram? It would be good to know.

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#18
In reply to #9

Re: What Is It? for 10/12/12

10/17/2012 12:53 PM

It's hard to tell from the photo, but it doesn't look particularly 'high-end', and certainly nothing like the nice units produced by the likes of Fisher, Saba, etc. In fact, it looks quite old, probably earlier than 1960. But stereo didn't really come to the fore until after this, and if it is not stereo, why does it need nine valves? Puzzling, but I think you're right, an early stereogram seems most likely.

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#11
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Re: What Is It? for 10/12/12

10/16/2012 9:34 PM

Good job! You are right.

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#12
In reply to #1

Re: What Is It? for 10/12/12

10/16/2012 10:39 PM

I concur

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#2

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/16/2012 9:20 AM

Photo 2: a very substantial toe jack?

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#3

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/16/2012 9:24 AM

Second image: Never seen one quite like this one, but looks like the general layout of a railroad track jack. The bar leaning against the jack appears to be part of an equalizer hitch; the two don't quite go together.

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#4
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Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/16/2012 9:37 AM

Could be, though personal experience suggests something a bit smaller for that application. 15T ratchet jacks are a bit more -sized, and the ratchet facility is useful for dropping the jack quickly in the event of needing to use the line for traffic. The beastie in original picture 2 appears not to have that facility and is taller and heavier than it needs to be for that particular task.

The handle in original picture 2 is probably too small to be a pinch-bar, a device used for moving vehicles small distances by hand; agreed that it appears to be from something else currently unknown.

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#5
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Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/16/2012 10:01 AM

Agreed, the available lift seems excessive for a trackjack. I have seen more of the type you posted, but there is this sort of thing:

I've never worked as a gandy dancer, but a number of my acquaintance over the years have worked the rails and their garages are always full of interesting stuff (retired and obsolete stuff I have always assumed).

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#6

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/16/2012 11:16 AM

#2- toe jack of the type commonly used by riggers for machinery leveling & for forklift repair

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#7

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/16/2012 11:40 AM

Device for helping bankers to lift their wallets?
Del

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#10

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/16/2012 9:00 PM

Damn those time zones! i think also that it is a (Hit the road)Jack

Dell, everyone knows that bankers have a Cayman credit card to keep up appearances!

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#13
In reply to #10

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/17/2012 8:59 AM

When you say "(Hit the road)Jack"

Do you mean some king of specialised tamping machine?

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#14
In reply to #13

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/17/2012 9:41 AM

Like this?

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#17
In reply to #14

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/17/2012 12:05 PM

No, I thought it looked a bit like this:-

Especially the foot.

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#15

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/17/2012 9:55 AM

Is the tool leaning against the jack used to align either the holes at the ends of the rails with the fishplates, or is it used to align the baseplates to pre-drilled holes in the ties, or both?

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#16

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/17/2012 10:54 AM

Looks like a riggers jack (note the shape of the handle is much like a spud bar for setting steel).

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#19

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/17/2012 6:23 PM

Photo #2 is a House Jack.

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#20

Re: What Is It? for 10/16/12

10/18/2012 8:52 AM

The first image was a vintage radiola, and the second image was a house jack. Good work everyone!

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Users who posted comments:

Anonymous Hero (1); Anonymous Poster (1); Del the cat (1); Doorman (2); Envelope Guy (1); Epke (1); Holzfeller (2); Jetmxmanager (1); JNB (1); JohnDG (2); Mizuti (1); PWSlack (3); Randall (2); WAWAUS (1)

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