EEVblog #874 - World's Oldest Electronics Hobbyist!

105yo Ted Wale still builds FM bugs in his lab, and carves his own PCB's (none of this etching rubbish!)
Dave caught up with him in his backyard workshop in Cabramatta in Sydney.

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[dyingangelo]

the longer you talked to him he is getting better at talking. i hope hes not alone living somewhere and no one to talk to. i miss my grandpa :{

[Thesignalpath]

I just returned from Shannon's birthday celebration at Bell Labs. This man was born before Shannon. Hearing him talk about his passion brought tears to my eyes. One of my favorite videos from you so far Dave.

[kevinroscom]

He saw the rise and fall of the vacuum tube, the birth of the IC, and the rise of computers. to see the things this man has seen.. it's just wild. He saw TV being brought to the market AND being replaced by YouTube. And WWII..

[BMack]

Food for thought about this gentleman:
He was born the same year Titanic sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic.
He was 17 when Motorola was founded, the same year sliced bread was introduced.
He was 34 when WWII ended.
He was 36 when the transistor was invented.
He was 58 when we landed a man on the Moon.

[PointReflex]

What the hell?, 105 years? his older than electronics itself!. Massive respect for this man (._.)7

[electronicsNmore]

Incredible. Still able to get around and do things. Only way to be when you get that old. His mind is still very good.

[Flymochairman]

Dave, I've been thrown this 5 year old video link and although we may not have the good fortune of having Ted Wale around, I enjoyed this video so very much. Thanks for making it. I wish Ted Wale best wishes wherever he may be. I hope someone's around in 60-70 years time to interview you, sir! Cheers Dave.

[peterfreak]

"FM is alright but it's not what it's cracked up to be." Words of a true oldie

[SootySweep]

I'm always humbled when I see old timers like this. They're satisfied with anything; what you've got is the best tool for the job.

[KaidoFujimi]

Last spotted on his ROOF fixing an antenna!? This guy is all sorts of kick ass!

[Nairbspace]

This is amazing. To find someone over 100 years old is hard enough, to find one into electronics is a feat in itself, but to find one that's also an artist is unreal. He is indeed still sharp as a tack.

They say inhaling lead solder is bad for you, but I think they've been lying to us! They just didn't want us to know it gives us the fountain of youth. Ted is living proof of that!

Thanks for this Dave.

[TheRadioShop]

One of the best videos I ever seen you do Dave. It is great to see this older gentleman talk about his electronic stuff.  A 105 years old he has forgotten more stuff than most will ever learn.

[athhud]

It is hard for me to even fathom what it must be like to experience the exponential change in technology that this man has experienced. I'm jealous that he could start learning about electronics from its beginning. I would imagine that it is a heck of a lot easier to digest that much information when you can learn as each component is first introduced!

[Mark]

Please keep tabs on this gentleman and update us and if you can do another video that would be great too.

[CedarCoveTigerPark]

Fantastic share, Dave! What a gem of a human!

[ksathara]

This is so touching not only for all of us electronics aficionados but for any human being. Thanks for bringing this video, Dave. Long live Ted. Its a life worth living.

[beingatliberty]

Thank you for documenting this old fella and sharing him with us, what a fantastic individual, I hope he has shared his knowledge to many others over his lifetime, so much of his knowledge is made on practical experience it seems, of building tools as well as using them, I wonder how many students build their own tools? This gentlemen's generation are greener than this which acclaims recycling prowess, war time generation never forget how to save things for re-use, I follow their example even though I'm a 70's model.

[brunofonseca]

This old chap truly lived his passion to the most. A true hobbyist

[RinoaL]

this guy is awesome! from the shorter clip you posted i had no idea he was into electronics too!

[johnpumphrey]

This is one of the most inspirational stories / videos I’ve seen. I want to be Ted when I grow up (I’m in my 50s now).

Just incredible. Thank you for taking the time to create and share this video.