SAW oscilator?

I can't even recall what I pulled this out of, I'm asuming it's some sort of early surface acoustical wave oscillator for a filter?

Could it be a one-line delay for an old VCR?

Right on the money canadaelk. I found this link based on your response thanks.
File:Glass delay line.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Very interesting!

A long time ago, I found a "delay line" in an old calculator; to this day I "kick myself" for the destruction I did to that calculator taking it apart. It was transistorized (not an IC in sight), and used nixie tubes for the display. The "delay line" unit (for memory, of course) was a metal box (alluminum, possibly) which contained a thin wire in a spiral, and two piezoelectric connections at each end of the wire. Quite possibly, the box was evacuated as well.

At the time, I was a stupid teen looking for parts to salvage; today, I wish I still had that calculator, whole (when I got it, it didn't work - but the display did light - but even inoperable, it would have been wonderful to own).

...sigh...

Piezo based delay lines don't require a vacuum, they're mechanically based. I'm trying to understand the construction of the rectangles though, are those black blobs piezo material or what?

I believe these are precission mirrors bouncing the signal around to get the desired delay time. E

cr0sh: my first calculator, about 1950! E

canadaelk said:

I believe these are precission mirrors bouncing the signal around to get the desired delay time. E

Click to expand...

The black rectangles are heavy pads for guiding the signal in the class surface. Probably lead. The signal is supposed to travel between the pads and make a "criss cross" shaped path from input to output.

It's not optically based canada, it's based on vibration

I am aware of that. Reflector would have been a better word to use