✅ SOLVED Test your skills on this one! Spent years trying to ID this.

[musclecar]

I found this in Alaska about 10 years ago, and have never been able to ID it. It is an aluminum piece, about 3 inches square. It has 15 teeth and is numbered 1-15. There is a stop preventing it from spinning freely. The back has two tabs that may have been used to mount it. ANY GUESSES?

Thanks,

MC

PS The quarter used for size was found yesterday! 1935S Yeah!

 

[ivan salis]

15 days --humm fits onto an animal cage -- what animal ? and why 15 days ? think brain , think !!

aha!!!! accord to data for testing purposes rat fetus up to 15 days can be removed for "testing"with "no pain" shown due to lack of development nerve wize but after the 15* day peroid a differant method is to be used --
also golden hamster have a 15 day to birth cycle -- so a rat / hamster -- cycle counter -- if it was found in alaska maybea part of a old lab rats cage from the near by military out post bases out there in the 50's as part of the early warning radar system ---

 

[James57]

I don't think that it is a counter. A mechanical counter has a 'carry' tab to increment the next digit by 1 after it makes 1 full rotation. Each digit wheel in a counter is free to rotate 360 degrees and each rotation increments the next digit. This thing just stops at 15 and you would have to rotate it all the way back to reset it to 1. I don't see how it could be used as a counter if you have to turn it backwards to reset it.

I used to work for NCR in the 70s and while I mostly worked on electronic machines, I did some work on the old mechanical cash registers, bank machines and hotel machines. These machines were full of complicated mechanical counters that would save totals for various departments.

I think that this thing is used to indicate the position or setting that something is adjusted to. Full scale is '15' and minimum is '1'.

For example, maybe it indicates how far open a valve is. When you crank the valve wide open, the indicator and the valve wheel stops at 15. When you close the valve all the way, the indicator would rotate until the arrow was below 1. If you wanted to open the valve to '4', you could very accurately set it to 4 by watching the indicator wheel. The teeth on the wheel would be mechanically coupled to the valve adjustment through a gear reduction.

Could it be off an old steam-powered machine for mining or farming?

 

[ivan salis]

its a manual (hand operated ) counter -- it goes on the lab rats cage -- it counts 15 days gestion time for rats -- then its "harvest time " -- so then its its manually reset to zero for the next use --- Ivan

 

[trikikiwi]

I still don't know what it is and I've suggested many guesses before,

does anyone else here agree with me?
it counts to 14, then it stops, so how can it count to 15?

I see the number 15
(in my nightmares, eh BioP?) but the 15 is small
as in, insignificant

so the important period is 14 days

I'm for a Lab Rat type timing thingy

I reiterate my promise of a fine New Zealand wine

if you can convince me

Cheers, Mike

 

[ivan salis]

look at the post a couple of post above above the tab spacing is two inches -- inch size type spacing is normal wire spacing for a cage ----- nice and neat - the top prongs fit and sllide on the bottom tabs bend outward to hold it in place -- 15 days is the gestion time for "lab rats" 14 days from mating to birth on day 15!! thus on day 15 they are moved to birthing bins and the counter reset manually --to start all over again --it easily movible from cage to cage -- not subject to heavy duty wear so it can be made of soft metals -- and with modern el cheapo digital type counters and such --no longer made most likely for many years now --- their were old early warning radar stations in the 50's up in alaska --they might have been doing some "medical" research to see what the effect of radar radation had on humans via lab rats ---those old radar sites were fairly nasty emitters of radio waves type stuff -- it might be a counter from their cages --- just a though-- I can taste the wine now -- just trying to find one -- old out of date medical lab gear --- hummm -- oh I hope and pray that I have found the key to killing the beast

 

[dg39]

From an automated pill counter bin.
That's still my guess.
DG

 

[Jagdpanther]

15 days is the gestion time for "lab rats" 14 days from mating to birth on day 15!! thus on day 15 they are moved to birthing bins and the counter reset manually --to start all over again

Rat gestation: 20-22 days - even for "lab rats".

I do think you're on to something with the device attaching to a wire cage.

Mike

 

[ivan salis]

sorry my goof --I shold have said * under "medical" guide lines the rat fetus's can be removed from the mother at up to 15 days without "pain" to the unborn* rat fetus according to medical stuff I read -- after 15 days a differant method is used for rat fetus's used for test reasons -- thus the need for tracking the 15 day time frame -- full "lab rat gestion to birth is as you stated 20 to 22 days --sorry for the mix up - (hamsters are 15 to 17 days however ) ---- hummm might be used as a "breeding timer" -- ie put say 2 "minks" in a breeding cage for 2 weeks /15 days to ensure "mating"--- it was found in alaska so I trying to think along the lines of what animals cages it might have been "attached" to and why --- running with the cage counter idea for now--- Ivan

 

[thepoolguy]

could this be close? was it found near a farm? this one counted to 1000 but a 15 count wheel could be used on the left to make the unit go to 1500. im sure there were many variations of this.......i hope i didnt spoil a great mystery item lol

 

[ivan salis]

yes in alaska close to a farm !! what is that thing your showing? --looks like a hay bale counter!!!-- see if you can find the photo of the 15 counter wheel that made it count to 1500 ---lets see a hay bale counter on a farm --- oh lord let it be --die you foul monster !!! robber of sleep and racker of brains !!-- Ivan

 

[Loosemoose]

It's a golf score counter. It counts up to 15 for people like me who might take 15 shots to sink the little white ball. The tabs on the back enable it slide onto your cardboard scorecard.

There, it's done, all you good people can sleep tonight!

 

[BioProfessor]

I guess since Alaska is know for its many golf courses, these things would be all over.

Daryl

 

[Loosemoose]

You ever seen snow skis in Florida Daryl?

 

[ivan salis]

things travel from place to place quite true (snow ski's in florida) but taking in account the location alaska / farm is not a bad thing as far as best bet probilty goes . -- a farming type item would be very commonly found a farm -- where the odds of a golf counter being there would be less -- thus its more likely to be farm related than goldfrelated on a % of chance basis --not saying it can't be a golf counter --just that the odds are better for a farming item. in my veiw.

 

[BioProfessor]

LooseMoose

Snow skis being used?

Ahhhh......no.

Daryl

 

[ivan salis]

now wouldn't water skis be a better bet to be found in fla than snow skis ? -- ( P.S.) I live in florida

 

[Loosemoose]

Yeah, you must be right, after all, you'd never find a coin from another country while you're mding, would you now?

 

[Loosemoose]

Check out number 1!

Heres the link, http://www.golflink.com/top-golf-courses/state.asp?state=AK


Best Alaska Golf Courses
Rank Golf Course Location
1 Moose Run Golf Course - Creek Course Fort Richardson, AK
2 Eagleglen Golf Course - Eagleglen Course Elmendorf Afb, AK
3 Anchorage Golf Course - Anchorage Course Anchorage, AK
4 Tanglewood Lakes Golf Club - Tanglewood Lakes Course Anchorage, AK
5 Russian Jack Golf Course - Russian Jack Springs Course Anchorage, AK
6 Chena Bend Golf Course - Chena Bend Course Fort Wainwright, AK
7 Moose Run Golf Course - Hill Course Fort Richardson, AK
8 Settlers Bay Golf Course - Settlers Bay Course Wasilla, AK
9 North Star Golf Course - North Star Course Fairbanks, AK
10 Palmer Golf Course - Palmer Course Palmer, AK
11 Mendenhall Golf Course - Mendenhall Course Juneau, AK
12 Fireweed Meadows Golf Course - Fireweed Course Anchor Point, AK
13 Fairbanks Golf Course - Fairbanks 1 Course Fairbanks, AK
14 Kenai Golf Course - Kenai Course Kenai, AK
15 Birch Ridge Golf Course, Inc. - Birch Ridge Course Soldotna, AK
16 Cottonwood Country Club - Cottonwood Course Nikiski, AK
17 Black Diamond Golf Course - Black Diamond Course Healy, AK
18 Bear Valley Golf Course - Bear Valley Course Kodiak, AK
19 Sleepy Hollow Golf Course - Sleepy Hollow Course Wasilla, AK
20 Valley of the Eagles Golf Links and Driving Range - Valley Course Haines, AK
21 Mount Fairweather Golf Course - Mount Fairweather Course Gustavus, AK
22 Bird Homestead Golf Course - Bird 1 Course Soldotna, AK
23 Kachemak Bay Lynx Par 3 Golf - Kachemak Bay Links Par 3 Course Homer, AK
24 Muskeg Meadows Golf Course - Musking Meadows Course Wrangell, AK

 

[PBK]

Okay, guys...

Points made.

Let's get back to the gizmo itself or let it go.

 

[Montana Jim]

could this be close? was it found near a farm? this one counted to 1000 but a 15 count wheel could be used on the left to make the unit go to 1500. im sure there were many variations of this.......i hope i didnt spoil a great mystery item lol

thepoolguy -

That was as good as any other guess here... and frankly, it was very brave of you to attempt an ID in this topic as your first post!

Let me be the first to say "Welcome to TreasureNet" and keep on posting.

I don't think it's part of a bail counter - the original whatsits size is too big in my opinon...

Jim