Test Equipment auctions with cut power cords?   - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2015, 09:19:54 am
content: I've been seeing more and more used/vintage test equipment on ebay with their power cords cut off (pre-IEC plug stuff) - just snipped of with a pair of shears.Who is the monster doing this? The company dumping the equipment? Or the auction house buying up pallets for $1 per pound?What's the conclusion? That if you find something with a snipped power cable does that say it's trash and don't bother? Or it is a good buy, just the auction house is a butt-head?

author: Tandy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2015, 09:42:12 am
content: It is a liability issue, the product is not sold as usable but for scrap. Removing the plug renders it unusable by an average idiot so they can legitimately say it was sold for scrap value not as a usable item, therefore anyone kills themselves or burns their house down by plugging it in can not make any claim against the seller.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2015, 10:15:20 am
content: +1 for liability issue

author: KJDS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2015, 10:20:38 am
content: The only time I've seen it in the UK is when the equipment had been hard wired into a test setup

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2015, 10:31:24 am
content: I would expect:Cut long, right at the plug or plug pins cut off = liability issues or rendered US to write it off.Cut to a random short length = probably stolen.Cut flush = BER or arseholes!Old non-standard power in socket + matching plug with lead cut flush = seller knows that sort of power connector is inherently unsafe - rewire at your own risk.

author: Deathwish
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 11, 2015, 10:40:26 am
content: I used to see it all the time down our local reclamation yard when i bought their old kit, then the clever sods got nasty and used to smash the back of the CRT tubes off to be spiteful, you would buy it for £20 and find it useless when home, I only got caught the once and i realised what was going on. H&S had been at them.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 11, 2015, 11:25:35 am
content: I recall someone saying the back of old tubes was good to reclaim for?some trace elements . I have seen old TVs get "trimmed" out at hard waste around here.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2015, 12:02:55 pm
content: Likely cerium on the cathodes.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2015, 06:43:21 am
content: They're always after the yoke, because its copper wire.It's faster to smash the tube neak than to undo it properly because it's often the same plastic piece which holds the alignment magnets and is glued on pretty well

author: Sigmoid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2015, 08:11:54 pm
content: I believe there's also the legal definition of "destruction" of equipment, which recycling houses are contracted to do. In certain fields such as military, government and finance, equipment has to be "destroyed" as mandated by law. (Something along the lines of "rendered unusable for its intended purpose".)Cutting the cord is a legal trick to certify valuable devices not containing classified information as "destroyed", and then be able to sell them almost whole.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2015, 08:22:29 pm
content: I cut the cords on old/broken gear which I deam too dangerous to use.

author: mtdoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2015, 08:30:40 pm
content: I bought a "for parts" HP 6236B power supply with a cut cord on eBay for cheap a few years ago. The only issues was a burnt trace that was easily bypassed.

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2015, 08:51:20 pm
content: For outfits which deal in clearance of equipment - the sort of place that just shifts boxes, with relatively little expertise in the boxes that they shift it can be that a captive power cord it just a pain for them to deal with.

author: jadew
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 01:00:54 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on June 12, 2015, 08:22:29 pmI do the same thing.

author: wagon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2015, 11:28:57 am
content: All that scrap copper = lotsa grog for the end of year pissup.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 04:59:48 am
content: I hate that we live in a world that if something goes wrong, it's the fault of everyone else except for the person who plugged it in/used the device.If it's a second-hand piece of equipment, then one would assume they would take some kind of care and do their homework before putting into use.Same deal if I sell something on ebay; It's not my responsibility if someone plugs it in and neglects to check the 110/240v switch, or fails to do their research properly or the gear isn't suitable for their environment. Once the item reaches the intended destination in the order it left in, my responsibility as the previous owner ends there.

author: Neganur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 10:34:30 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on June 14, 2015, 04:59:48 amI don't think it's that simple.Of course you can't help the bloke who drinks drain cleaner because he wanted to, but if the drain cleaner was in a Coca Cola bottle there is probably someone you can blame.When I was an electronics technician apprentice, the company I worked for cut the cords of items that were 'beyond economical repair' simply to put a first layer of accident prevention and not only to mark an item as scrap. The main issue being that you cannot always assume that the next person who wants to use the item (or see if it works) knows electric safety.So it is maybe not just a blame everybody else thing, it is also a responsibility* issue. If you know that the item has a fault it's a good idea to mark it broken. If then someone absolutely wants to plug the thing in and gets hurt, I will probably agree with you. But I am not sure what the laws say about electronic equipment in different environments. You are probably supposed to be safe to assume that an item won't kill you.On a last note, I think 'to blame someone else' it is definitely something certain cultures are cultivating, i.e. one is raised to seek blame elsewhere.*: responsibility, not as in "I know I am liable if ppl get hurt" but more like "I don't want people to get hurt and I know this item is unsafe".

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 10:45:59 am
content: What's wrong with a label or a note scribbled on it with a marker? I think if the device is good enough to be given to someone else in its current condition, then fine, but make it known without damaging it. If it's that dangerous, then destroy it and dispose of it.In a previous job, if it wasn't binned, it was clearly marked as faulty (with the reason if known).

author: Neganur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 11:13:01 am
content: nothing wrong with labels or marker, totally agree.Do note my comment regarding the environment though - items inside a company are generally safe from unauthorised access.The original poster referred to items sold on ebay (so someone takes that pile of broken stuff and sells it on ebay as "pulled from a working environment" "unable to test, power cord cut" )The apprentices were allowed to take broken items for personal use (and re-selling them was strongly forbidden). Later, items were scrapped by contractors and if you were taking things/scrap outside of the building it was considered theft.

author: wagon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 14, 2015, 11:38:08 am
content: Dumpster diving after hours FOR THE WIN!

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 02:11:34 am
content: Quote from: Halcyon on June 14, 2015, 10:45:59 amGlue or markings can be harder to remove than replacing a power cord...

author: wagon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 02:23:43 am
content: You're probably fulfilling your obligations under the law if you just use one of the big 'Danger, do not operate' tags and attach it to the flexible cord.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 02:58:19 am
content: A lot of the old instruments with fixed power cords had cords that didn't hold up to 20+ years well anyway. They are sometimes all stiff and cracking and dangerous looking. Having to replace those old cords is probably a good thing.

author: jadew
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 03:48:52 am
content: A device without a power cord can't be plugged in by a kid that can't read the sticker or by someone who doesn't understand what it says on the sticker.

author: bitwelder
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2015, 06:07:36 am
content: Hopefully the power cord is always cut so short that the potential Darwin-award candidate doesn't consider the possibility of just peeling the end of the remaining cord and stick the wires to the mains socket (while keeping the treasure in a precarious position).