Welcome to Boardsort™ - Learn - Sell - Profit -

I love to buy a bargain, even if I don't know what it is, how to use it, or if it has any value. So today, I bid and bought a vintage Dictaphone 5500. cursory glance at ebay doesn't show any of this type offered.
You are probably thinking a little desktop thingy that you talk into. Not this one. It is a dictaphone in a phonebooth size cabinet. 6 ft tall, and 24 x 24 inches. Got some nice tape reels, but can't tell much else from the auction photo.
No idea if it has any collectors value, or if there is any recyclable value. But I got IT.

It’s an old r2r system. Quarter inch tape if memory serves.

I know they had them in some radio satiations for recording interviews.

Not all that much of a collector’s value. Not novelty enough for a large market. Too heavy for random buyers.

It’s an analogue platform inside. So lots of switches and capacitors and wire. Lots of copper. If your lucky some silver wires for relays, or bare silver.
Generally my guess is about $20 scrap. Wild guess.
But get one with some replacement or repair work, later 70s, and you get a good amount of silver; maybe another $20 over that.

I know some later codes players like VTI and Beta I repaired boards can bring in 15-30 in silver but hats surface level.

_________________
42 6F 61 72 64 73 6F 72 74 2E 63 6F 6D

Hope the shipping costs don't kill your wallet.

On the other side and i wouldn't know how to monetize it but a cellphone privacy booth would be a cool feature for any business location.

You know, back in the day when Nintendo was trying to find it's way, they opened up a chain of "Love Hotels" for discreetly meeting up with folks.
You could have yourself a "Love Booth". Just add a bill acceptor and slap it outside of your local bar, just make sure it's cheaper than a motel room and you'll be Scrooge McDuck in no time.
I'd hate to be the guy to have to go in and clean though....

Front plate on some units I got from airport . Question is about the large connector ends with the broad gold plated slot.

Make everything heavy plastic like in a porta-john and then have a drain collection at the bottom. Then its just hose down and collect the water in a tank for sewer disposal.

You’re best off pulling pins from these. Much like early scsi connectors. The end goes as gold pin connector, but those pins are heavy enough to usually be more valuable alone.

_________________
42 6F 61 72 64 73 6F 72 74 2E 63 6F 6D

Hey, it’s not a booth. It’s the size of one.
This is an old reel to reel machine.
If you fit inside your the smallest person in history… or missing a few parts. Like your body.

_________________
42 6F 61 72 64 73 6F 72 74 2E 63 6F 6D

IDK you'd be shocked at the lengths folks are willing to go to discreetly meet up, body or no body.

At UTC in the early 70s, one of the old buildings had hallways with only a token light, and the most popular phonebooth in the city. With two people inside, and dark even in daylight, a whole lot of communication was going on.
Back to the dictalogue: two sets of these boards