Welcome to Time Machines, where we offer up a selection of mechanical oddities, milestone gadgets and unique inventions to test out your tech-history skills.
Today the world can easily be captured in 1s and 0s for our viewing pleasure. The hardware behind this capability all started as a DIY lab project in 1974 to test out some new gear, and the result was a Frankenstein-like device that would eventually lead to world-changing advances in photographic technology. Head on past the break for the full story.