best cheap/free scores 1.1

[c_hegge]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

As I said, the HDDs are all WD REs, but they were supplied to HP, which means no warranty.

The thin client is a HP t5135 (like )

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

i have one of those - i think it's that model.
they are real good.
you can install linux on it,
and you can fit a CF-card slot on the board,
and you can pull the flashdrive & fit a harddrive instead (ATA type) or an ide-cf adapter.

they are very flexable.

edit: no, i have a 5730
be interesting to find how upgradeable yours is though.

[Behemot]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Yeah but it is worh fixing more than buying new one good, stable, non-cheap ebay PSU with low ripple?

[C152Heavy]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Hi Fellow Scroungers

Decided it was time to unlurk and sign up so here we go with the recycling finds. Not dumpster but I've done pretty well without resorting to the dumpster, well, except for the cast aluminum hub caps for a set of VW Teardrop alloys....

So, at the office the Samsung monitor I was using died and after IT came around and said they had a few more dead ones I made the site manager an offer he couldn't refuse; give them all to me instead of dragging them to the recycler and I'll "see what I can do with them". Deal was "if I can fix any of them", I get first dibs for home and the next one comes back to the office (I was running 2 monitors and I figured they wouldn't replace the one that failed).

So, I scored a Samsung 225BW, a SA300 (LED backlight) and took the other Samsung back to the office so I had a matched pair. Cost me about $10.00 at my favorite electronics supermarket, Digikey, for some caps to fix 2 and the SA300 came back to life with a quick firmware update, I'm looking at it right now. We have a bunch more of the same Samsungs, I'm plotting the MTBF......

Then there was the MSI/Athlon 1200 at another office that died, more caps and it's my workshop computer.

So, a few have mentioned yard equipment, there's the power washer that a neighbor put out to the curb, he let it freeze & cracked a fitting so a little lathe time and shazam, new fitting!

And finally there's the lawn mower. I was looking for a new deck (would have been #3 for the engine) and the neighbor around the corner put a mower out to the curb for spring cleanup. It looked too new to be a tosser so I asked, the lady said take it, it doesn't work well so they got a new one. Got it home, tried it out, seemed to run OK, checked the blade, recently sharpened but........it was put back in backward! Score! Sold the old one for $75

Oh, and then there are the fluorescent lights in my workshop, freebies from the office shop renovations. Junked the 377VAC ballasts, put in new T8 electronic ones and instant energy saving industrial quality light for peanuts.

Just can't abide wasting perfectly good (or repairable) gear!

C152Heavy

[ratdude747]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Hi Fellow Scroungers

Decided it was time to unlurk and sign up so here we go with the recycling finds. Not dumpster but I've done pretty well without resorting to the dumpster, well, except for the cast aluminum hub caps for a set of VW Teardrop alloys....

So, at the office the Samsung monitor I was using died and after IT came around and said they had a few more dead ones I made the site manager an offer he couldn't refuse; give them all to me instead of dragging them to the recycler and I'll "see what I can do with them". Deal was "if I can fix any of them", I get first dibs for home and the next one comes back to the office (I was running 2 monitors and I figured they wouldn't replace the one that failed).

So, I scored a Samsung 225BW, a SA300 (LED backlight) and took the other Samsung back to the office so I had a matched pair. Cost me about $10.00 at my favorite electronics supermarket, Digikey, for some caps to fix 2 and the SA300 came back to life with a quick firmware update, I'm looking at it right now. We have a bunch more of the same Samsungs, I'm plotting the MTBF......

Then there was the MSI/Athlon 1200 at another office that died, more caps and it's my workshop computer.

So, a few have mentioned yard equipment, there's the power washer that a neighbor put out to the curb, he let it freeze & cracked a fitting so a little lathe time and shazam, new fitting!

And finally there's the lawn mower. I was looking for a new deck (would have been #3 for the engine) and the neighbor around the corner put a mower out to the curb for spring cleanup. It looked too new to be a tosser so I asked, the lady said take it, it doesn't work well so they got a new one. Got it home, tried it out, seemed to run OK, checked the blade, recently sharpened but........it was put back in backward! Score! Sold the old one for $75

Oh, and then there are the fluorescent lights in my workshop, freebies from the office shop renovations. Junked the 377VAC ballasts, put in new T8 electronic ones and instant energy saving industrial quality light for peanuts.

Just can't abide wasting perfectly good (or repairable) gear!

C152Heavy

FYI, there is another thread for scores not from curbs/dumpsters/trash piles... it's stickied too.

Nice scores anyway...

[C152Heavy]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

OK, so ratdude747 just pointed out to me that we have a non-dumpster score thread, go figure it was just below where I posted this:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showpo...&postcount=398

Now that I think of it there's another rescue from the office, a "Clevo" P4 laptop, no HD, good genuine XP Pro sticker though, picked up an "experienced" 80G for $20 and instant garage laptop/code reader.

Post 3 complete.

C152Heavy

[stj]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

and you have a lathe - damn i'm envious!

[C152Heavy]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

and you have a lathe - damn i'm envious!

LOL! I wish, it was at the office, a previous office.......so I still want a lathe. None of those in the recycle pile.

C152Heavy

[C152Heavy]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

FYI, there is another thread for scores not from curbs/dumpsters/trash piles... it's stickied too.

Nice scores anyway...

Noted, go figure I hadn't seen that.

Linked.

C152Heavy

[ratdude747]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

I've also had bad luck with WD 10K drives... I'm 4 for 6 on used 74GB's (There is one revison all 4 worked, and another where both died w/o warning). Go figure.

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

is that raptors?
if it is, you need a fan blowing across them or they cook extremely fast.

i did a good trick with one the other day,
i put it in the top of a mini-tower with a pair of 51/4>3.5 rails,
then put a sheet of cardboard across the case running from under the psu to under the drive and left the front plastic out.

the psu pulls it's air in across the drive now.

it's a very bad ghetto-bodge - but it's only temporary while i play wih the software & stuff.
once i get it going how i want - it's all going in a better case.

[ratdude747]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

is that raptors?
if it is, you need a fan blowing across them or they cook extremely fast.

i did a good trick with one the other day,
i put it in the top of a mini-tower with a pair of 51/4>3.5 rails,
then put a sheet of cardboard across the case running from under the psu to under the drive and left the front plastic out.

the psu pulls it's air in across the drive now.

it's a very bad ghetto-bodge - but it's only temporary while i play wih the software & stuff.
once i get it going how i want - it's all going in a better case.

Yup, they're raptors.

They don't have a fan but they're in a case designed for said drives (supermicro EATX). they have plenty of ventalation and run at acceptable temps.

This build predate's your return to the forum, so I'll provide a link:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=29851

edit- skip ahead for the build; the first 75-100 posts or so are headbanging over stupid issues... heck, a RAM quirk wasn't solved until post 65...eventually the kinks were worked out ant it's been stable since (minus the update to be posted, which took some firmware hackery to get working). Post #105 has a good summary on the HDD issues.

Looks like I never posted an update I made to it... so it will be bumped!

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

hmm - just red from post 100'ish
i'm not sure about the airflow pattern being all that good.

if you didnt have that fan bottom-front then air would get drawn in across the drives by the rear fans.
but the lower-front fan will bypass that.

reminds me to get some more as5 too.
forget the ceramic - it's not as good and is intended for stuff like chipset sinks with a large surface-area.
i have both.

[Compgeke]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Yesterday I picked up an Optiplex 780 SFF tower for $5. 3.16 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4 gigs ram, dead 320 gig hard drive. Threw a 1 TB hard drive and 8 gigs of ram into it from a dead inspiron I had around (bad motherboard and not caps) and reinstalled Windows 7 Pro.

For another $5 I got a Sony TA-AX390 in horrible shape, a couple 1 gig DDR2 modules, B&K 3050 audio signal generator and a HP JetDirect 610N.

Also got a Motorola X31A radio, works fine after a cleaning of the battery contacts.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

I have a GE Super 6 radio that is similar in style to the Motorola x31. It also works but needs cleaning. The back cover straps have worn off (still have the snaps) but the rest of the leatherette covering is in great shape. It's a cool little radio and has actually fun to use for a change when there are extended power outages. The little dude is heavy for its size too. Big honkin' magnet on a 4" speaker.

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

another engineer i know was updating his tools.

so he gave me this for free!
http://www.totalsuppliesuk.co.uk/dur...-box-188-p.asp

[splur]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Not the college I go to. I already asked the so called "Property Management" and they said they collect and auction all of the school's electronics, broken or working, to 3rd parties.

That said, I always use the back door on our engineering building, because that's where they have the dumpsters. Occasionally, they will have really old APC UPS back-up supplies, cables, wires, transformers... and probably the best I've found there yet - a beated up and broken down HP 6286A adjustable power supply. It was in sad shape, but the analog meter on the front still works and it has a huge transformer inside. Unfortunately, the huge capacitor inside (when I say huge, I mean the size of a large 2.5 L soda bottle in diameter) was removed. Lots of nice vintage parts inside, though.
They had some rheostats the last week of school, but I forgot to take them the last day and left. I'm guessing they got thrown away by now. There was also some weird box with about 30 relays in it. I was going to take that as well, but it was too big so I said to myself, "a little later maybe".

I looked into this more without directly asking, and that's totally the case for my university too. I think you're allowed taking, but there's a metal scrapper who comes in to take stuff that's basically given to him on a silver platter. Unfortunately, they throw out perfectly working equipment and components that we typically and otherwise buy new. Not super efficient system.

[Compgeke]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Whoops, wrong tab. Seems I can't delete my own stuff.

[Compgeke]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Today wasn't half bad.

For $5 I got:
Gateway MX6450. 2 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2, 1.5 gigs ram, 80 gig hard drive.
ATI TV Wonder 650 card
Old keyboard with click white Alps SKCM switches
IDE to CF adapter
Imation USB Floppy Drive
and a random 16-bit ISA card that looks like it might be an I/O controller of some sorts. Haven't looked up the model or anything on it.

[ratdude747]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Not exactly a cimputer score, But I did score a peltier cooling/heating thingy for the car, big enough for a 6 pack, for $3.5... it works too