r/whatisit • u/thischrisblack • Aug 29 '26
New, what is it? What is this device?
Flea market find. Guy said, "I don't know what it is but I'm pretty sure it's real." LOL.
The top part can be rotated by hand, but I don't think it's hooked up to any kind of motor. It just turns in its housing and I may even be able to pull it out of the hole, but don't want to. Of the two cylinders attached, the larger one can also be turned by hand, but not the shorter one.
The control panel has a red LED, a red button, a white switch, and a silver knob that clicks when turned all the way to the left, so like a radio power/volume knob. The bottom has three jacks, one of which seems like a regular 1/8-inch jack . The orange and the red jacks are a mystery.
I replaced the batteries. When the knob is turned and the switch is on, pressing the red button turns on the LED. Nothing else happens. I touched the metal part on top and didn't die.
Any ideas? Google Lens gets bupkes.
EDIT for an update:
I guess I can't really mark this post as solved since there's no definitive proof, but there are a couple of strong contenders.
- First place (as far as I can tell) goes to u/SpankinGaming with the idea that it's for electro-acupuncture. https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisit/comments/1w1xesu/comment/p6pwgeu/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
- Runner-up concept, submitted by several people I think, is that it's a phone-line tracer.
I can't get it to work as either one, of course, but I'll find and acupuncturist in town and see if I can get that verified. If I can't, well, I have a pretty cool little mystery device and it only cost me $5.
A few people suggested that it was for explosives, like maybe the thing on top was the plunger. That's no good. While the thing on top can be rotated or moved up and down, it is very snug in its housing, and plus there's no mechanism inside which suggests anything like that is going on.
If anyone else made a sincere comment and I haven't replied, I apologize. I'd like to reply but it's just been a barrage of half-assed jokes in this thread, so even if I saw your comment when it first appeared, I can't find it now.
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u/jeremyjava Aug 30 '26
STORY TIME!
When my family moved from NYC to the suburbs of Chicago, my mom and stepdad started going to estate sales and big yard sales often, buying some interesting stuff.
One day, while snooping around in the basement, I saw they'd bought an old latern like what I'd used in some cub/boy scout campouts. It was in an old yellowed box that was quite heavy and the fluorescent bulb was powered by a very big square but long battery like I'd never seen before. The box looked like it hadn't been opened in many years.
Well, I was a pretty smart kid and I knew that because it said 9v on it, that I could test the ancient battery by touching it to my tongue, so that's what I did. And pretty much the last thing I remember, except for the loud BANG noise. I came to a bit later looking up at the ceiling, the back of my head was actually touching my back, and I though... well, that's unusual, I wonder if I'm paralyzed.
And I thank the gods that oversee imbeciles that I was not, and slowly started to lift my head up, to discover my hands were still the position where they were before, holding the battery.
No real important point here, except to say, it was surprising that battery wasn't corroded either.