I Love Trash!

[captainmoody]

The scrappers are real bad here, they get about 20 bucks for 40 pounds of cords. So that almost guarantees that any appliance or electronic item will be stripped of them.
You see at least 3-4 trucks full of anything metal drive by on trash night around here and they always slow down and look when going by my place.
They won't get much from me though, I remove the yokes and any wire before throwing tv's out!
I take the scrap copper in and trade for nice items at the yard. People drop off nearly new mowers and washers/dryers there with hardly anything wrong with them!

[Whirled One]

Originally Posted by Adam

Another one! That's yet a different kind of base, does it swivel on that one? Seeing all these is making me want to start working on the one I have.

Yep, the base swivels.

Originally Posted by Adam

I don't know what it is with the removing of the power cords, I've seen that around here, too. Maybe they want to use them in other stuff.

Perhaps, but I've seen this guy clipping cords, and he doesn't seem to be terribly picky in that sort of way. I actually encountered this guy a few weeks ago on the spring-cleanup day in a different neighborhood. I stopped to pick up an old Friden STW mechanical calculator I spotted on the curb. Good thing I got there in time, or the power cord (detachable with a non-standard connector) for this thing would have been gone! Just as I'm loading it into the car, this guy rolls up in his truck, and then walks around and *very* quickly and efficiently clips off all the power cords from all the other AC-powered appliances on the block, including snatching the detachable cord for a later-model adding machine that had been sitting right next to the Friden calculator I just picked up. Then I spotted some old typewriter cases in the pile of trash across the street, so I walk over there to investigate just where the guy and and a woman (who I assume is his wife) are leaving. As I'm checking the contents of the typewriter cases (both were ordinary Royal portables; I didn't bother taking them), the woman says to me something like "You kin have the typewriters; those are made uh steel, so we don't want 'em" So, I tend not to think he's not taking all the power cords for any sort of actual use... It is annoying to us 'collector'-type of scroungers though.

[RetroHacker]

I've noticed a lot of devices with missing cords too, and typically it'll be in a pattern of everything along a street will have missing cords. But I've never actually seen anyone in the act. It's not normally a problem, except when they clip off monitor video cables and the like - those are a royal pain to patch back on, and make it so not worth it to pick up a monitor like that. But AC cords aren't _that_ big of a deal, but it is kinda annoying. I do, however, tend to clip cords off vaccuum cleaners, the really beat-up, cheap junky ones that I know nobody will want. Vaccuum cleaner cords are nice and long, very flexible, and work great for test cords, speaker connections, etc. I use them frequently.

-Ian

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by andy

You'd be surprised how many PCs are thrown away because of spyware. Most people have no idea how to reinstall windows even if they figure out what the problem is. I guess they just assume it's running slow because it's old.

Reminds me of the story of the man who sold his car simply because the ashtray was full.

As to the ones who discard perfectly good computers simply due to spyware, I think some may know full well how to reinstall Windows, but they cringe at the sheer amount of time it takes to do it. On my ancient (technologically) IBM Aptiva 595 (bought new almost seven years ago and was already obsolete after six months--grrr) it takes a good 45 minutes to install the operating system. I've only done it twice since I've had the computer.

About spyware: Have these people never heard of system maintenance programs that delete this harmful stuff from your hard drive? (Apparently not, if they put the system out for the trash at the first sign of spyware and/or adware.) The software isn't cheap, but it's a small price to pay for peace of mind, and it's a lot cheaper than buying a new computer. I have AdAware SE and Spyware - Search and Destroy on mine, plus a registry repair program and System Mechanic v5.0, all of which (except Spyware S&D, which is redundant) I run regularly. Seems like every time I run AdAware I find at least some spyware on the drive. With identity theft being such a huge (not to mention dangerous) problem these days, it is very, very important to have and use some kind of spyware scanning scheme on your computer.

To discard a perfectly good (and likely very expensive) system that may be only a couple of years old simply because of spyware, though--sheeeeeesh! Finding TVs, radios and stereo gear in the trash which may have only minor problems (even as minor as dry-rotted line cords[!] or consoles, table sets, etc. that don't match the decor of the owner's home after times and styles change) is bad enough, but when we start finding computer systems on curbs and treelawns . . . again I say, sheeeeesh! Today's world practically runs on computers; because of this, more folks should learn how to maintain their own systems. If more people would obtain, learn to use, and above all else use regularly programs such as AdAware, et al. (not to mention firewall software) we could conceivably find far fewer perfectly operational computers headed for the landfill.

[larschr]

Most of the stuff i find are working. Actually, all the TVs i have found have worked at first try. People throw it away just because it is old(fashioned). Found a Philips K40 TV today, the cheapest model with only 5 watt audio amplifier, not the "Hifi" sound system and no teletext, but it worked and the picture is great. Philips K40s are almost bulletproof, and they are pretty common, mostly the mid priced ones with 15 watt amplifier and hifi sound system.

[simplynuts]

Talk about street finds. Old baldwin organ with a bank of tubes in the back. The owner was outside and said it worked, but he was remodeling. Took four guys to dismantle and bring it outside. Probably should have pulled the tubes?It was a beautiful piece, but what am I going to do with it? Was on the way home from a boyscout meet with my son who said oh dad, when I stopped to look.

[holmesuser01]

Depending on how old the Baldwin was, it probably had a load of 12AU7 tubes, of if older, 6SN7GT's I've gotten loads of tubes from junked organs. Most of them test nearly 100%!!!

[rca2000]

Form an L-103(I think) Hammond organ.

I have the board(literally) on which is mounted the tone generator (mechanical) including the motor(probably about 35-50 pounds, about 2 feet wide or so),


And the amp/PS chassis. (all tubes).

I picked them up figggering someone here might need them. I would be happy to get rid of them, for shipping cost(and perhaps a small donation to AK). I already tore my pants once bumping into them in the garage!!

[andy]

Originally Posted by simplynuts

Talk about street finds. Old baldwin organ with a bank of tubes in the back. The owner was outside and said it worked, but he was remodeling. Took four guys to dismantle and bring it outside. Probably should have pulled the tubes?It was a beautiful piece, but what am I going to do with it? Was on the way home from a boyscout meet with my son who said oh dad, when I stopped to look.

I made about $1500 selling tubes on ebay that I pulled from an old organ that was at the side of the road. It was full of Amperex 12AU7s all with matching date codes.

[dr.ido]

I think cord clipping is a self perpuating thing. I get so much stuff with cut cords that I cut cords off the stuff I don't want to replace them.

Data and signal cables can be a real pain though. I also collect old computers. I've got several data cables here with big lumps of heatshrink in the middle of them. When you can't find matching connectors there's no choice but to patch the remains of the original cable.

Some of the scrappers around here are real nasty though. They don't just cut the cords, they'll break the neck off the CRT for the yoke and even break transformers off PCBs.

[Whirled One]

Well, the various "Spring Clean-Up" trash days are just about winding up around here, but found a few semi-interesting goodies on Friday.

First up, one of the few tube portables I've encountered in the trash, a rather plain-looking Admiral 19" black-and-white (see attached photo). It had a sticky-note on it that said "B&W / This works / gets 5 channels" Sure enough, it does work, though contrast and brightness are both rather poor, and IF seems weak (which I'm sure is related to the poor contrast).

I mentioned a Zenith stereo table radio in drh's "estate sale" thread, but I also found another Zenith that perhaps doesn't have quite as much character or charm, and isn't USA-made, but it should get points for *something*. See attached photo. I've seen some fairly elaborate Zenith compact stereos before, but I don't think I've seen one that tops this. Note the rebadged B-I-C belt-drive multi-play record changer on top, and it appears to have a Shure magnetic cartidge. It has both cassette *and* 8-Track recording capability, and even has manual recording level controls and meters. The AM/FM receiver section has such features as flywheel tuning, tuning meter, and a detented feel on the volume control.
Question: What year did Zenith get out of the radio/audio business anyway? This must have been from about their last year of such products.

Also, in the non-A/V category, found a few semi-interesting computer related items, including an IBM PC/XT with keyboard and CGA display -- which might not sound terribly interesting, but all three pieces were in nice shape and were complete with their original boxes and packaging, and that's not something you see so often anymore. Also a Kaypro II (not in such nice shape though, and without box).

[Chad Hauris]

Those turntables like on those Zenith are a real pain to fix! We have had to retrofit older BSR units that are still repairable into consoles using these TT's. We haven't had to do one for a while but it seems as though it is impossible to disassemble it to work on it.
Is your Kaypro II working? I remember finding one in the trash too but could not get it to start up.

[whyaskit]

That Zenith was from the same series (minus the 8 track) as my first real stereo. Allegro. The memories. I ran that thing to death! The amps were able to handle low (2 ohm, maybe lower) impedance. I would hook a ton of speakers and use it as a party machine.

YES, I was (am) young and stupid. It never blew up, never quit. It was a warrior. If I had the room I would love to get another. Nice score!

[whyaskit]

Now that I think about it, It may have had a 8 track.

If it did, I never used it. I do remember the smoked glass on the tuner dial and the switches that ben with ease.

[3Guncolor]

As I remember Zenith tried one last time making good stereos in the late 70's even if they were not made here. I would say by 1980 they had given up.
Steve