• Viking_Hippie@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      34
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      10 months ago

      Modern? I’m pretty sure this one is older than me and I turned 41 the day before yesterday 😄

      That being said, the sunbeam looks brilliant and if I could afford one I’d much prefer that to the one I have!

      • Cheradenine@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        10 months ago

        Well, if it is just the knob you can try gluing it back, cut up toothpicks might help. If you are confident with electrics you can replace the potentiometer.

        Toasters just really go by time or temperature, except the Sunbeam which actually goes by if the toast is ‘toast’.

        I never let anything die, I just keep fixing it. Hardly an auspicious start though.

        • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.worldOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          13
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          10 months ago

          After some swearing and trial and error, it turned out that putting it back on was actually quite easy without having to use any glue or anything, making it fulfill the “mildly” part of the community name lol.

          Thanks for all the helpful advice nonetheless though, I really appreciate it 🙂

        • dandu3@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          10 months ago

          Not true, I had a Philips toastsensor that apparently sensed the toast.

          It was good only to burn said toast. That toaster is now in the garbage and has been replaced by a regular one. Good riddance!

    • KSP Atlas@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      Didn’t Technology Connections make a few videos about it?

      Edit: ah they’re linked

      • fossphi@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        10 months ago

        The article mentions that they costed about 22 USD when introduced and it’s around 260 in today’s dollars. Pretty darn expensive

        • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          10 months ago

          That’s actually better than I expected, but yeah, I’m guessing that was the issue.

          Now, a pressure sensor and microcontroller would be pennies at scale, and most toasters already use solenoids. I’m less sure about the temperature sensor because of how much heat it would have to tolerate, but I doubt it would be more than a few dollars, and manufacturing a slightly different board would be a one-time cost.

          This would make a pretty good startup. The YouTube videos have done some of the marketing already, even.

          • fossphi@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            10 months ago

            I think some of the fondness for devices like these also comes from the subjective beauty/elegance of mechanical stuff over the modern microcontroller approach with electronics. But yeah, it still would be very interesting to see stuff like this available again at a cheaper price

            • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              10 months ago

              I get that too, but this is a concept that’s actually relevant (in toast-making terms) outside of any academic or aesthetic considerations. It’s just better.

              • fossphi@lemm.ee
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                10 months ago

                Indeed, no disagreement there! By the way, Technology Connections (the YouTube channel referred in the article) has a video on how an old microwave is miles ahead its modern counterparts. You might like that, too

        • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          10 months ago

          Hmm, I guess it might have been pretty complex for 40’s manufacturers. Hopefully someone gives it another try.

    • Squizzy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      10 months ago

      I have a kitchenaid toaster that matches my KitchenAid…I hate it , it manages to burn one edge on either side of every slice of every bread. It beeps before it makes a loud pop to so the beep is annoying and superfluous. It’s first setting is warm bread and second is just passed acceptable, 3 is burnt. I’ve never used the remaining 4 -6 settings. If you put bread in at 2 and then another batch when it is done it will burn the second lot.

      Utter piece of shit for the price we paid. You’d get, and in fact I have, a better toaster for a tenth the price doing your grocery shopping.

      • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        10 months ago

        These days, any purchase you make is a gamble without research. And even with research, it’s hard to tell the difference between a reviewed version and the one you’re looking at sometimes.