16 Gadgets Everyone Used in the ’70s That You Almost Never See Today

The 1970s were a critical period for consumer electronics, a time when a number of technologies finally made their way into ordinary homes. There were things like Betamax VCRs, rotary phones, eight-track players, Pong consoles, transistor radios, CB radios, slide projectors, and portable TVs. They were all a bit revolutionary at the time. But change is always afoot in tech. The next thing you know, cassette tapes are replacing eight-tracks, touch-tone is replacing rotary, computers are replacing typewriters, and smartphones are replacing all of those other gadgets by bundling several of them into one small package.

1. Betamax Home Video Recorder

Betamax suddenly landed in living rooms in the mid-1970s and changed the way we watch television without anyone really noticing. Sony introduced Betamax in 1975 and promised families they could record their favorite shows and watch them later. It was just plain magical. Before this device, television shows were only broadcast once unless they were on a channel that showed reruns. If you missed your favorite show, you had to wait months or even years to see it again. Betamax allowed users to simply place a cassette into a front-loading device, press record, and capture a television broadcast right from the television signal.

2. Rotary Dial Telephone

The rotary phone was an integral part of conversation during most of the 20th century and remained ubiquitous in homes through the 1970s. It had a round face with holes corresponding to numbers 0 through 9. To make a call on this phone, you would place your finger in one of the holes corresponding to a digit and turn it until it latched onto a stop. Releasing your finger would make the dial move back to its resting position while sending pulses down the line. It may have been a slow method of communication, especially when it came to large numbers, but it is perhaps one of the most iconic sounds of home technology.

3. Eight Track Tape Player

The eight-track tape player dominated the soundscape of the 1970s, particularly while driving. It had this clunky cartridge that had a continuous loop of magnetic tape, divided into four programs of stereo sound. You would insert this cartridge into the dashboard, and the music would play immediately, going up through the speakers of the car. People enjoyed this product because it made driving feel personal, like you could bring your favorite records along for the ride. Companies like Ford and General Motors actually installed eight-track players into their car dashes. Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones had records designed for this kind of player.

4. Pong Home Video Game Console

In the mid-1970s, one of the first electronic gaming gadgets was introduced into homes and quickly became the center of attention for many families across the United States. Pong was introduced as a home console with a stripped-down arcade experience for families to enjoy in front of their family TV set, courtesy of Atari. Pong was essentially a simulation of a digital game of table tennis with two paddles and a moving square representing the ball. Users controlled the paddles with rotating knobs connected to wired game controllers. The ball bounced around the screen in stark black and white with the TV set humming in the background with soft electronic beeps.

5. Portable Transistor Radio

Portable transistor radios were ubiquitous in the 1970s, found in parks, on beaches, and even buzzing away on busy streets in the city. These small, portable radios enabled their owners to carry their music and news with them wherever they went. Prior to the advent of the transistor, radios were equipped with cumbersome and heavy vacuum tubes and wooden cabinets. The transistor technology revolutionized the radio, making it smaller and more durable. By the middle of the 1970s, Sony and Panasonic were producing pocket-sized radios powered by simple batteries. Some models had a retractable metal antenna, which could be pulled up to receive better reception.

6. Home CB Radio Base Station

In the 1970s, CB radio started to be used as an ordinary means of communication at home and on the highway. It allowed sending voice messages over short distances through radio waves with large-sized microphones and antennas installed at homes. People selected channels and communicated with each other using call signs rather than names. For truckers, CB radios were a major means of receiving news from the highway, updates on traffic, and weather updates. The fad of CB radios was also fueled by popular media, such as movies like Smokey and the Bandit and songs like Convoy. Soon after, thousands of CB enthusiasts would talk to strangers during the evenings.

7. Film Strip Projector

For many in the 1970s, it was not uncommon for the film strip projector to be used in the classroom to help bring lessons to life. A film strip was a long strip of transparent frames with photographs displayed in sequence. It was fed into a small projector, and each frame was lit and displayed on a screen for everyone in the room to see. Often, it was not uncommon for there to be sound associated with the film strip as well. It was often accompanied by soundtracks on cassette or vinyl format. When a cue tone was heard, the teacher would advance the film strip to the next frame with a knob or button. There were many film strip programs published by various companies covering all areas of study.

8. Home Slide Projector

Family gatherings in the 1970s ended with a small, almost ritualistic practice that is not seen so commonly today. After a family outing, holiday, or special celebration, the family room became a mini theater for viewing photo slides. Cameras using 35mm slide film had taken small, crisp photographs contained in square plastic slides. These slides fit into a circular tray on top of the projector. When turned on, the bright lamp lit up the room and projected each image onto a white wall or screen. A small remote control or button allowed the presenter to cycle through each slide individually. Pictures of travels, birthday gatherings, and holiday events cycled through on the screen, along with the presenter’s accompanying story about each image.

9. Analog Television Antenna Rotor

Back then, it was not as simple as pushing a button to turn on the TV. In many homes, TV was received via antennas on the roof that received signals from all directions. To avoid blind spots, families used something called an antenna rotor, which allowed them to rotate the antenna on the roof from inside the house. A small control box connected to the TV set in the living room allowed you to rotate a dial and thereby rotate the antenna on the roof to optimize the signal. While rotating the antenna, the TV sometimes got clearer, sometimes got worse, and sometimes stopped working and went to static. People would adjust the antenna rotor until the clearest picture appeared on the screen.

10. Dot Matrix Home Printer

Way back in the late 1970s, as home computing was really beginning to take off, there was certainly a need for something to take digital data and turn it into something you could actually hold in your hand, like paper. One of the first, and certainly most recognizable, solutions to this problem was the dot matrix printer. Essentially, these printers worked by sending a series of small metal pins flying towards an ink ribbon. Each of these pins would strike the paper and create a small dot, and thousands of these dots would come together to form letters and other shapes. They normally worked with continuous rolls of paper, held in place by holes punched in the sides of the paper.

11. Microcassette Answering Machine

During the late 1970s, many families had this little device, which allowed them to leave messages if they were not answered. The microcassette answering machine was placed next to the home phone and recorded voice messages on a tiny magnetic tape. When it rang, it answered the call and recorded the voice message on the tape. Inside, there was a little cassette tape turning slowly as it recorded the message. Afterward, they simply pressed another button to hear the messages they had received while they were away. The popularity of answering machines spread quickly because they allowed families to receive important phone calls without needing to stay next to the phone.

12. Electronic Pocket Calculator With LED Display

Pocket calculators became electronic powerhouses in the 1970s. Before the invention of electronic calculators, students and office workers used slide rules and tables to perform complex calculations. After the invention and popularization of electronic calculators, mathematical calculations became possible in just a matter of seconds. Many electronic calculators had flashing, bright red displays, and the numbers would light up as you pressed the keys. Brands such as Texas Instruments popularized these electronic devices, and they became extremely popular among students and office workers. These devices enabled users to perform mathematical calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in just a matter of seconds.

13. Portable Black and White Television

Families in the 1970s discovered a new sense of liberation with black and white portables that roamed freely from room to room. These neat little packages came with a small screen, a handle, and a telescoping antenna that would stand up and grab the signals. No longer did families have to stay in the living room to watch their favorite programs, as these portables allowed you to watch news, comedies, or sports in the kitchen, bedroom, or even on the patio. Some had to be plugged in, and others had to be battery-powered, making them perfect for a road trip or a camping excursion. The gray-scale picture contained all of the programs of the day, and knobs allowed you to adjust the channels and heighten the picture.

14. Electric Typewriter

Electric typewriters were ubiquitous in the 1970s, and they were found in homes, schools, and workplaces. Electric typewriters were unique compared to their manual counterparts because they had a motor that made typing smooth and eased the typist’s fingers. IBM was at the forefront of producing electric typewriters, which made typing faster and more efficient. In workplaces, people typed on electric typewriters, inserting paper and pressing keys that made metal parts strike an ink ribbon and print a character on the paper. The clicking of typing on the typewriters was typical in many workplaces during this era.

15. Early Digital Alarm Clock With Flip Numbers

The digital alarm clock became a common feature in homes in the 1970s, particularly those with a flip number display. Instead of using hands to tell time, a flip number display uses a panel of numbers printed in a series of panels that flip down with each minute that passes. As a minute passes, a small mechanism clicks into place, displaying a number. The alarm clocks also sang with a soft glow, thanks to a soft-lit display that ensured time could be told throughout the night. The alarm function of a digital alarm clock was also simple, using a buzzing sound to wake up users in the morning, or a radio to broadcast to wake up users. The digital flip alarm clock was a chic addition to a home compared to a traditional mechanical alarm clock.

16. Analog Video Camera Recorder (Early Home Camcorder)

In the late 1970s, families began to bring moving pictures into their living rooms with home video cameras. These home video cameras were almost always two-part affairs: one part would be the camera, which would do the filming, and the other part would be the portable recorder, which would record the video on magnetic tape, such as the U-Matic or the first videotape cartridges, which were developed by companies such as Sony. Because the recorder was so big and cumbersome, the user would often carry the recorder on their shoulder as they filmed the event. Despite the bulk and the hassle, being able to record birthday celebrations, holidays, and family gatherings on video felt like a real breakthrough for the era.

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