Why do post-apocalyptic stories have old tube electonics?

[Mr RB]

...
P.S. and my own comment on the OP ... and as others have hinted at. valve radio gear really is immune to EMP bursts that would just kill today's micro electronics.

"More immune", I think is a better description.

Properly designed solid state will be easily immune to EMP if it's in a metal case with attention paid to decoupling inputs and outputs. There's a good reason nobody's really bothering with EMP weapon research.

 

[nsaspook]

"More immune", I think is a better description.

Properly designed solid state will be easily immune to EMP if it's in a metal case with attention paid to decoupling inputs and outputs. There's a good reason nobody's really bothering with EMP weapon research.

The radio might be still working but the power grid would be smoked. The localized effect on a long wire is like a direct lightning strike on the power conductors for a hundred miles at every point on the wire.

**broken link removed**

 

[Dean Huster]

As for the original question, the answer would still be "welcome to Hollywood". Even non-apocolyptic films (Collosus: The Forbin Project comes to mind) feature older Tektronix 500-series on their scope carts even though the newer scopes of the 1970s and 1980s might be available. Why? Usually Hollywood types are attacted to lots and lots of knobs, big boxes, complicated-looking front panels and lots of chrome.

 

[nsaspook]

As for the original question, the answer would still be "welcome to Hollywood". Even non-apocolyptic films (Collosus: The Forbin Project comes to mind) feature older Tektronix 500-series on their scope carts even though the newer scopes of the 1970s and 1980s might be available. Why? Usually Hollywood types are attacted to lots and lots of knobs, big boxes, complicated-looking front panels and lots of chrome.

I wish Hollywood would finally get around to the remake/next chapter of the Colossus series. It's been in production forever.
Colossus Remake in the Works - ComingSoon.net

 

[TiagoSilva]

As for the original question, the answer would still be "welcome to Hollywood". Even non-apocolyptic films (Collosus: The Forbin Project comes to mind) feature older Tektronix 500-series on their scope carts even though the newer scopes of the 1970s and 1980s might be available. Why? Usually Hollywood types are attacted to lots and lots of knobs, big boxes, complicated-looking front panels and lots of chrome.

To give the idea of old fashioned, antiquated, using old technology transports you to the time of those devices.

Ex. Imagine a movie full of old technology stuff, all the costumes were old and all, now, a guy with sun glasses appear with a cell phone... Everyone would guess that he was an alien or from the future...

Movies don't need to be technological... They tend to use technology in a way that everyone understands what device are they using, etc. etc. Other than that...
It depends also on the target audience of the movie... Geeky movies will have plausible tech, but other don't. Because geeks love tech, and know a lot of it all, so, using recent tech makes them go to the movies!!! For others, using "easy to see and relate" tech makes the movie more comprehensible.


Agree ?

 

[Dean Huster]

To give the idea of old fashioned, antiquated, using old technology transports you to the time of those devices.

But Colossus was relatively present-day and didn't need "era" electronic support such as Jacob's ladders, et. al.