Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a word used in place of the actual technical term for a mechanical device.

1991

E. Raymond New Hacker’s Dict. 182: gonkulator /gon’kyoo-lay-tr/ n. [common; from the 1960s ‘Hogan’s Heroes’ TV series] A pretentious piece of equipment that actually serves no useful purpose. Usually used to describe one’s least favorite piece of computer hardware.