If you look at the electrical recycling company in my link you'll see that they do just as we do - strip off chips, etc from pcbs and resell. Our focus is just in a different area.
Yes Fran, the feeling of building something from other peoples throwaways is rewarding especially when it works and even better when it sounds excellent.
John
Yes Fran, the feeling of building something from other peoples throwaways is rewarding especially when it works and even better when it sounds excellent.
John
Hi Jkeny,
Sorry I never got back to your email - lifes been busy.
Heres a thing that no one has really mentioned yet.
Old PC switch mode power supplies are great for low value current sensing resistors (less than 1 ohm), they also give up great 200V high quality caps which can either be stacked to get 400V or used in preamp circuits. I have used these extensively and have yet to have a failure.
They also have great low voltage diodes, voltage regulators and Mosfets.
They also give up useful little heatsinks for CCS's.
If these can't be extracted from the recycle centre then the PC repair man will have a stack.
MOT make excellent plate and power supply chokes - I have done it and it works. Big and ugly though. I have also used the compact flourescent ballast's, I have used them in preamp circuits, but would have some doubts about their use in higher current applications. They are not designed for DC and i would feel that they will probably saturate to readily.
If you have an old TV repair man in your area then they usually have bits and pieces for salvage. I got a whole bag of old valves from mine. He also has a shelf full of PL36's and PL509 as well as a range of TV damper diodes. All for the asking if I really could be bothered to build another amp just for the sake of it (i keep trying to convince myself I have arrived at audio heaven).
Shoog
Sorry I never got back to your email - lifes been busy.
Heres a thing that no one has really mentioned yet.
Old PC switch mode power supplies are great for low value current sensing resistors (less than 1 ohm), they also give up great 200V high quality caps which can either be stacked to get 400V or used in preamp circuits. I have used these extensively and have yet to have a failure.
They also have great low voltage diodes, voltage regulators and Mosfets.
They also give up useful little heatsinks for CCS's.
If these can't be extracted from the recycle centre then the PC repair man will have a stack.
MOT make excellent plate and power supply chokes - I have done it and it works. Big and ugly though. I have also used the compact flourescent ballast's, I have used them in preamp circuits, but would have some doubts about their use in higher current applications. They are not designed for DC and i would feel that they will probably saturate to readily.
If you have an old TV repair man in your area then they usually have bits and pieces for salvage. I got a whole bag of old valves from mine. He also has a shelf full of PL36's and PL509 as well as a range of TV damper diodes. All for the asking if I really could be bothered to build another amp just for the sake of it (i keep trying to convince myself I have arrived at audio heaven).
Shoog
Thanks Shoog,
I knew you had "the knowledge" from your previous posts - this is great info, thanks.
Hey life is more important than DIYA, afterall the whole point of this hobby is to get a great sounding system that enhances the enjoyment of music - not takes over as the sole focus.
Just half time in the Ireland V England rugby match - final score should be 33- 6 to Ireland , I reckon.
John
I knew you had "the knowledge" from your previous posts - this is great info, thanks.
Hey life is more important than DIYA, afterall the whole point of this hobby is to get a great sounding system that enhances the enjoyment of music - not takes over as the sole focus.
Just half time in the Ireland V England rugby match - final score should be 33- 6 to Ireland , I reckon.
John
Hi Jkeny,
I have just arrived home from the pub where I watched Ireland stuff England. Brilliant game !!!!
I should be upset been at least 50% English, but the way that England have played for the last 6 years they don't deserve dog S**t. If it wasn't for Johnny Wilkinson they wouldn't have a game at all. This is the strategy they have played for years and it makes for damn boring Rugby.
On another grip - I am still on dial up. Have you noticed how Eircom have hung us out to dry. Service has declined over the last few months to the point where I am barely getting 500 bits per second. I was looking at broadband today, and with the time slicing and download restrictions I might only expect to get 20kbyts per second. Thats worse than I should be expecting from 56K dial up. In the North of Ireland they are promising 5meg download speeds - which in the real world probably equates to 1meg. What the hell are they doing in the richest economy in Europe (ha ha wait until the Germany economy picks up and interest rates become a bit more realistic).
Shoog
I have just arrived home from the pub where I watched Ireland stuff England. Brilliant game !!!!
I should be upset been at least 50% English, but the way that England have played for the last 6 years they don't deserve dog S**t. If it wasn't for Johnny Wilkinson they wouldn't have a game at all. This is the strategy they have played for years and it makes for damn boring Rugby.
On another grip - I am still on dial up. Have you noticed how Eircom have hung us out to dry. Service has declined over the last few months to the point where I am barely getting 500 bits per second. I was looking at broadband today, and with the time slicing and download restrictions I might only expect to get 20kbyts per second. Thats worse than I should be expecting from 56K dial up. In the North of Ireland they are promising 5meg download speeds - which in the real world probably equates to 1meg. What the hell are they doing in the richest economy in Europe (ha ha wait until the Germany economy picks up and interest rates become a bit more realistic).
Shoog
Glad you enjoyed the match - I was a bit out in my prediction - didn't expect to stuff them so comprehensively. Agreed, England's style of rugby is so boring & predictable - reminds me of our style form years back - except we had spirit.
I use broadband so haven't noticed the dial-up slowdown. Typical of Eircom - they sit on broadband for years, hampering it's introduction & then when they are forced into opening up their network, find other ways of ripping off consumers.
John
I use broadband so haven't noticed the dial-up slowdown. Typical of Eircom - they sit on broadband for years, hampering it's introduction & then when they are forced into opening up their network, find other ways of ripping off consumers.
John
OTT I know, but Shoog, I've had pretty good experiences with utvinternet for BB connection. Have the phone with them as well. Its meant to be 2mb connection but in the real world I get 50-100 kb per sec. That said you must remember I live in the sticks in Kildare and would be say 5km from an exchange. Get the always on variety, otherwise its a pain.
back on topic - theres great stuff in PC power supplies. I've opened up one or two here and got great caps (220uF/200V) - which was ideal for a voltage doubler circuit. Also as mentioned above heatsinks, small caps, resistors, inductors, etc etc etc. A great source of stuff.
Fran
back on topic - theres great stuff in PC power supplies. I've opened up one or two here and got great caps (220uF/200V) - which was ideal for a voltage doubler circuit. Also as mentioned above heatsinks, small caps, resistors, inductors, etc etc etc. A great source of stuff.
Fran
I'am on UTV dial up. Was looking at the UTV broad band. They all use the same exchange infrastructure though so apart from time slicing (multiplexing) all the companies should perform very similarly.
I to live about 5K from the exchange out in rural Roscommon. I knew they wouldn't be offering anything like the promised 1-2megs.
Ireland always played with spirit, but for a time they always fell into the also ran class. Since the new blood really took hold things have improved a lot - especially since Ronan O'Gara has settled down into consistent performances.
Shoog
woodturner-fran said:
I've found some pretty good tonearm wire in the cable set for a sony portable cd headset...what is more it is colour coded!!
Keep looking in the long acre...never know what you might find. Over the past year I have picked up 3 fishing rod carriers which have come unstuck from cars. As I losst one of my own I feel ok about keeping them.
Brianco
I thought I would chime in...
Last week I was looking for stuff we need to dispose here in the office, among many power supplies, motherboards, I came across these Australian made "Classmaster" KVM switches we used in the past (now we use software called NetOP). And look what I found-
LEDs LEDs and LEDs!!!
It also has lots of small NEC relays, a pair of LM7812, LM7912 for every board (about 12 boards).
And as a bonus, there's a 100VA 2 x 25V toroidal.
(We have 6 units of these Classmasters)
1. Does anybody know on top of their head what's the current rating of these small LEDs?
2. How do I know if those are common mode chokes in the power supply?
Last week I was looking for stuff we need to dispose here in the office, among many power supplies, motherboards, I came across these Australian made "Classmaster" KVM switches we used in the past (now we use software called NetOP). And look what I found-
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
LEDs LEDs and LEDs!!!
It also has lots of small NEC relays, a pair of LM7812, LM7912 for every board (about 12 boards).
And as a bonus, there's a 100VA 2 x 25V toroidal.
(We have 6 units of these Classmasters)
1. Does anybody know on top of their head what's the current rating of these small LEDs?
2. How do I know if those are common mode chokes in the power supply?
The only problem with salvaging parts is that you never know when you are going to pull a bad part.
You have to know that the donor equipment was in working order, or you have to have some reliable means of testing the parts you pull. Otherwise, you may find yourself troubleshooting a new project right off the bat.
Personally, with new components being cheaper and better than at any point in history and being widely available surplus at discount parts houses; transformers, wire, tubes, and some scarce radio parts are the only parts I would bother with salvaging, and I can reliably test all of them before they become part of a project.
Your mileage may, of course, vary.
You have to know that the donor equipment was in working order, or you have to have some reliable means of testing the parts you pull. Otherwise, you may find yourself troubleshooting a new project right off the bat.
Personally, with new components being cheaper and better than at any point in history and being widely available surplus at discount parts houses; transformers, wire, tubes, and some scarce radio parts are the only parts I would bother with salvaging, and I can reliably test all of them before they become part of a project.
Your mileage may, of course, vary.
Good info on the litz wire - I've thrown out lots of these in the past - must check to see if there are any still lying around in daughters rooms.
W5jag, I think you will see pattern in this thread - most posts are from Ireland, Scotland or Wales with a few from further afield. This is either because we are skinflints, environmentally aware, or parts are more expensive here than in your neck of the woods. You'll probably find that it's a combination of these factors.
Keep up the postings & tips for parts salvage - I'm finding it very useful - hope others are also.
John
W5jag, I think you will see pattern in this thread - most posts are from Ireland, Scotland or Wales with a few from further afield. This is either because we are skinflints, environmentally aware, or parts are more expensive here than in your neck of the woods. You'll probably find that it's a combination of these factors.
Keep up the postings & tips for parts salvage - I'm finding it very useful - hope others are also.
John
Join up to Freecycle (Google search)-
I got a Stereo Radiogram (Console to those of a North American persuasion) with an EL84 SE Pentode amp (with 2xEL84, 12ax7,EZ81 and two AM tuner tubes) and a record-grinding autochanger from there- I plan to use the transformers, volume pot, tubes and full-range speakers to make an RH84 amp with OB speakers. I may separate out the tuner as well.
And all for £0. There was another, later radiogram, but I missed that one. The MOT as a PSU choke might have to find it's way into the RH84, too.
I also got a pair of VCRs, and the head drumfrom one is currently the Horizontal bearing on my DIY tonearm.
James
I got a Stereo Radiogram (Console to those of a North American persuasion) with an EL84 SE Pentode amp (with 2xEL84, 12ax7,EZ81 and two AM tuner tubes) and a record-grinding autochanger from there- I plan to use the transformers, volume pot, tubes and full-range speakers to make an RH84 amp with OB speakers. I may separate out the tuner as well.
And all for £0
. There was another, later radiogram, but I missed that one. The MOT as a PSU choke might have to find it's way into the RH84, too.I also got a pair of VCRs, and the head drumfrom one is currently the Horizontal bearing on my DIY tonearm.
James
Thanks James - good info. When I searched I found these sites for Ireland:
http://www.jumbletown.ie/forums/index.php
http://www.dublinwaste.ie/free_trade.php
Can't find any more & to be honest my local recycling centre seems to have more to offer.
John
http://www.jumbletown.ie/forums/index.php
http://www.dublinwaste.ie/free_trade.php
Can't find any more & to be honest my local recycling centre seems to have more to offer.
John
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