Vanguard News Network
VNN Media
VNN Digital Library
VNN Reader Mail
VNN Broadcasts

Old May 21st, 2014 #1
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,751
Blog Entries: 34
Default Any use for (huge, thick) old computer monitors?

Is there any value that can be got out of these old ones?
 
Old May 21st, 2014 #3
varg
...
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 9,739
Default

Don't think you'll get much interest in them. Ten years ago I saw some at Good Will, though they're probably so antiquated now that even they'll probably turn them away.

I had a massive one from my first computer, ended up just leaving it with my ex to lug around as payback.

You can get decent, more energy efficient lcds now for 100$ or less, so there's no reason to keep those things anymore, huge waste of space.
 
Old May 21st, 2014 #4
cillian
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 6,377
Default

You can turn it into a fish tank.


or a plant pot.



or a bed for a cat
 
Old May 21st, 2014 #5
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,751
Blog Entries: 34
Default

yeah, i've investigated, seen some interesting videos. not much in them of value, not without putting nearly as much in to liberate any trace quality metals
 
Old May 21st, 2014 #6
Nick Collings
Junior Member
 
Nick Collings's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Way Up North
Posts: 199
Default What Electronics Recyclers Don’t Want You To Know

Lots end up here, 80% from the US




Quote:
CRTs piled more than 4 meters high in an imported e-Waste smuggling depot in Hong Kong's New Territories area. e-Wastes are brought here in sea-going containers from the port and offloaded, sorted prior to loading into trucks heading into mainland China. Guiyu, China.
http://www.hesstech.com/news2009_10_02.htm





Quote:
A view inside the burn houses where women sit by the fireplaces and cook imported computer parts. Guiyu, China




Quote:
This migrant labor family lives in a shelter made from bags of imported electronic waste with a tarp over it in the burning village. Burn houses are a stone's throw away. The air everywhere is thick with the smoke of burning computer parts. Guiyu, China.
 
Old May 21st, 2014 #7
Nate Richards
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,431
Default

The crt's, if they don't vibrate quite right, you get x-rays sneakin out of there

The new flat screens won't shoot those rays at you no matter how you abuse them.

Nobody wants the crt's anymore. Old poison needs to be gone.
__________________
No time for the old in 'n out, love. I've just come to read the meter.
 
Old May 22nd, 2014 #8
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,751
Blog Entries: 34
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nate Richards View Post
The crt's, if they don't vibrate quite right, you get x-rays sneakin out of there

The new flat screens won't shoot those rays at you no matter how you abuse them.

Nobody wants the crt's anymore. Old poison needs to be gone.
Less space and electricity too.
 
Old May 22nd, 2014 #9
Samuel Toothgold
Charachature incarnate
 
Samuel Toothgold's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Already in accordance with the future Repulsive Tapir Avatar Mandate
Posts: 4,068
Default

That copper winding which has a transparent insulation film is worth plenty more when you melt it down. Devaluing copper to the extent they do is a scam.
What's worthwhile for Europeans, who are now subject to an E.U. ruling which lowers the lead content in solder, are those circuit boards, if they're the old ones which aren't machine soldered in solder baths. Manual soldering is more generous. I salvage old solder, instead of trying to use the new stuff which is a pain. You have to watch out though. When you overheat those boards to get the solder, toxic fumes get emitted. So, do it in a well ventilated area up wind.
 
Old May 22nd, 2014 #10
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,751
Blog Entries: 34
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Samuel Toothgold View Post
That copper winding which has a transparent insulation film is worth plenty more when you melt it down. Devaluing copper to the extent they do is a scam.
What's worthwhile for Europeans, who are now subject to an E.U. ruling which lowers the lead content in solder, are those circuit boards, if they're the old ones which aren't machine soldered in solder baths. Manual soldering is more generous. I salvage old solder, instead of trying to use the new stuff which is a pain. You have to watch out though. When you overheat those boards to get the solder, toxic fumes get emitted. So, do it in a well ventilated area up wind.
yeah...been watching some vids on scrapping. pretty interesting, i like that sort of stuff. there's a whole process they go through to get the gold plating off some of the teeth, but it involves not-cheap chemicals and a fairly long process.
 
Old May 23rd, 2014 #11
Samuel Toothgold
Charachature incarnate
 
Samuel Toothgold's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Already in accordance with the future Repulsive Tapir Avatar Mandate
Posts: 4,068
Default

If one puts aside the reality that one will not even earn a minimum wage from salvaging, when enough people start doing it, this would put a dent where it counts: the middle man in commerce who profits the most from international ̶d̶̶u̶̶m̶̶p̶̶i̶̶n̶̶g̶ "trade".
I'm indirectly in the salvage business and am trying to build a career on such. As it is right now, it could only be profitable through government subsidy such as recruiting unemployed persons or the handicapped. If it wasn't for modern commerce turned loose on us by corrupt politicians getting lobbied by manufacturers of junk in half-plan economies exporting to half-market and market economies using sea transport of whose fuel is priced artificially way below what we get to pay at the pump, or to be more exact, what we pay at the pump is artificially too high, it wouldn't be feasable for such countries to dump their junk here. A law requiring a tarif to compensate 1:1 for the discrepancy of such labor costs like medical insurance, pension accounts and unemployment insurance which don't exist in those places would seal their fate. Sweden had such a law. I'm not sure if they still do though.
The way it is now, it's less expensive in the short run to buy some object Made in China, rather than to buy a Made in Germany (whatever that is anymore) or in U.S.A. and have it repaired if it ever needs to be.
Over here, we have certain clubs where members can trade their services for other services, according to their skills: http://www.selbsthilfegruppen-freibu...ls.php?gid=224 . This following link pertains more to the topic. Scroll down to page 5: http://www.zas-freiburg.de/pdf_archiv/ausgabe157.pdf . The idea originated here: http://repaircafe.nl/info/ (see video below). For example, if one member is good with electronics, he could repair the washmachine of another member by replacing a couple condensors on the circuit board without that member forking out a fortune for a brand new or repaired circuit board with the house call added to the bill. That club member repair would cost a certain amount of credits which would get traded for some other service like maybe restoring a table or painting a room. This way, no taxes get collected and no cash changes hands which is aimed at where it hurts a regime most.



Last edited by Samuel Toothgold; May 23rd, 2014 at 06:11 AM.
 
Old May 23rd, 2014 #12
Clancy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 555
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nate Richards View Post
The crt's, if they don't vibrate quite right, you get x-rays sneakin out of there

The new flat screens won't shoot those rays at you no matter how you abuse them.

Nobody wants the crt's anymore. Old poison needs to be gone.
I don't use a CRT, but the video quality on CRTs actually looks better on standard definition feeds than digital TVs.
 
Old May 23rd, 2014 #13
Nate Richards
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,431
Default

Yeah noticed that too. I'm not a video guy but vaguely remember an explanation having to do with "interlacing", where the crt's only draw half the image at a pass. Odd lines, then even. Digital stuff is what they call "progressive" now, drawing it all in order. The lcd's can really look terrible depending on what's fed into them.
__________________
No time for the old in 'n out, love. I've just come to read the meter.
 
Old May 23rd, 2014 #14
Samuel Toothgold
Charachature incarnate
 
Samuel Toothgold's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Already in accordance with the future Repulsive Tapir Avatar Mandate
Posts: 4,068
Default

On the same token, music played by cathode ray tube amplifiers still sounds better than that emitted through solid state electronics.
 
Old May 25th, 2014 #15
Alex Linder
Administrator
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,751
Blog Entries: 34
Default

I don't know if you can make a living by scrapping, but every time I go to the redemption center to turn in aluminum cans, I see trucks full of metal. It's clearly making some money for some. I'll post some videos next time I get into that but you can find lots of stuff on youtube.
 
Old May 26th, 2014 #16
N.B. Forrest
Senior Member
 
N.B. Forrest's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Virginia, CSA
Posts: 11,145
Default

I've got 2 of them I need to get rid of, including this one. I want either a laptop or one of those new tablets with a detachable keyboard, so I can relax in a comfy chair.
__________________
"First: Do No Good." - The Hymiecratic Oath

"The man who does not exercise the first law of nature—that of self preservation — is not worthy of living and breathing the breath of life." - John Wesley Hardin
 
Old May 27th, 2014 #17
Samuel Toothgold
Charachature incarnate
 
Samuel Toothgold's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Already in accordance with the future Repulsive Tapir Avatar Mandate
Posts: 4,068
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Linder View Post
I don't know if you can make a living by scrapping.
Not so much from the scrap itself. But, from what you could do with it. The Discovery Channel has plenty of episodes of people salvaging cars and motorcycles.
We got an old Miele washmachine cheap from the mother-in-law's friend. A Miele is the Mercedes-Benz of washmachines meaning that nobody just discards them. I figured that an old lady, who lived alone during most of the machine's service life, couldn't have put that many service hours into it. Therefore, I didn't bother testing the machine before buying it. When we got it home and plugged it in, I noticed that it was running somewhat peculiar. But, didn't think twice, after that, until the machine stopped spinning. At that point, I had to act and decided to tear into it. I suspected the timer was defective, until I found a solid state circuit board which I never expected to find in a 1988 built machine. Since the circuit print was still in the machine, it was more than likely nobody had ever serviced it which was good news that a repairman didn't screw something up along the way. But, before I tore into the machine to find the circuit board, I had already viewed the following video:


Since I could now rule out the timer as the culprit, I then narrowed it down to an electronic problem of which I found a forum link to the repair: http://www.justanswer.de/haushaltsge...ert-nicht.html
They instructed on warming up a transformer with a hairdryer. To do that, I had to isolate the unit to an external location through adding wiring between the harness and the unit. I was relieved, as soon as the machine spinned. I therefore went out and bought both defective condensers at my local electronics store for just 1.14€ (less than $1.50) and thus saved hundreds. Miele will only sell you the entire circuit board for somewhere between 350 and 400€. If you try to buy the part in neighboring Switzerland where the sales tax is only 8% instead of Germany's 19%, the price in Switzerland is jacked up so that only Miele can profit from the difference, since the end price for the same part is the same in both countries. Miele of Switzerland did however offer to buy up my old circuit board for about 77€ or so.
A repairman coming over to your house to diagnose and repair your machine would have pushed the cost well over 500€. So, I guess I can say I earned money from salvaging the machine, because I didn't have to give out big money for repair or a new machine.
The salesman at the electronics store said that the electrolyte in condensors evaporates out after about 20 years. If they do this in a Miele, they will do this in any product meaning that most any appliance or automotive fuel injection control box is repairable, as long as the programable chip is still functioning. In which case, the chip itself is only a 20 cent item to produce. But, the program is copyrighted. Meaning that someone loading a program on your new chip will demand hundreds to do so.

Quote:
Messen Sie dort mal die Kapazität der Kondensatoren (C2 und C3 / C5 prüfen, je nach Platinentyp) nach und machen Sie eine Sichtprüfung. Sie können auch mal versuchen die Platine mit einem Haarföhn etwas anzuwärmen. Wenn die Maschine dann schleudert ist das sicher die Ursache. Achten Sie bei einem eventuellen Tausch aber auf temperaturfeste Elkos (105 ° C), sonst halten die nicht lange.

Last edited by Samuel Toothgold; May 27th, 2014 at 07:16 AM.
 
Old June 3rd, 2014 #18
Samuel Toothgold
Charachature incarnate
 
Samuel Toothgold's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Already in accordance with the future Repulsive Tapir Avatar Mandate
Posts: 4,068
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Linder View Post
I don't know if you can make a living by scrapping.
Since the borders with Romania and Bulgaria were opened (Even before, since France signed the Schengen Treaty and France is infested with Gypsy camps set up mainly for cross-border theft incursions.), precious metals began turning up missing on construction sites, on private residences (Copper gutter pipes are a favorite.) and even from graveyards. They say that the loot gets transported across the border. However, if nobody legislates in meticulous control, who's to say that it isn't processed in Germany itself. Here's a local scrap merchant: http://mourad-schrottundmetallentsor...e/kontakt.html



In all fairness, it's possible that this person is legitimate. However, on an average, these people are primarilly loyal to their own kind. Not surprisingly, nobody was behind the bushes keeping an eye surveilling another nearby scrap dealer called Morad who doesn't have any known website, except me shooting this clandestine photo:



Here are unrelated (As far as i know.) Syrian Morads threatened with expulsion: https://www.google.nl/search?q=famil...l%3B1024%3B532


Last edited by Samuel Toothgold; June 3rd, 2014 at 05:20 AM.
 
Old June 7th, 2014 #19
Samuel Toothgold
Charachature incarnate
 
Samuel Toothgold's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Already in accordance with the future Repulsive Tapir Avatar Mandate
Posts: 4,068
Default Found a local salvage & repair club:

https://www.google.nl/search?q=badis...l%3B1024%3B604

Quote:
Immer am letzten Samstag im Monat kann man solche Gegenstände, an die man sich bisher noch nie richtig getraut hat, bei gemütlicher Atmosphere reparieren
 
Old June 15th, 2014 #20
John from Canada
Banned
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 2,158
Default

There's guys who drive around in pickup trucks on garbage day picking up scrap metal. I've seen the same guy driving by every week for years now so he must be making a living at it. Might not work in rural areas where houses are few and far between. But still worth stopping if you're driving and spot an old fridge on the side of the road. Last time I brought in a load they were paying 8 cents a pound. For a fridge that's about $10-15.

Old cars are good too. The bigger and heavier they are the better. Sell the engine, transmission and whatever else you can locally. Put smaller parts on e-bay. You might get lucky and find someone who owns the exact same car and buys you out. After you've stripped the vehicle of valuable parts continue filling it with metal until you're ready to haul it to the scrap.


Copper and aluminum are worth a lot more but they have to be separated from any other material. An average sized home can easily have a couple hundred dollars worth of copper piping.

But don't view this as a growing business. Years ago everyone had aluminum siding and copper plumbing. Even those cheap garden sheds and above-ground pools were made of aluminum and could fetch a couple hundred bucks. Now it's all plastic.
 
Reply

Share


Thread
Display Modes


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:51 PM.
Page generated in 0.07760 seconds.