Free (AUS) - World's largest electronics parts collection as seen on EEVBLOG - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: mechatronicsguy
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 08:27:05 am
content: Hi Folks,I’m Gav, I was the lucky winner of ‘The World’s Largest Electronics Collection’, featured in EEVBLOG#737At the time I knew I wouldn’t possibly be able to use all of it, but I just couldn’t pass it up.I’ve taken out a bunch of parts for myself, and a bunch of parts for Robots and Dinosaurs (The Sydney Makerspace), but there is plenty left over.At a rough count we loaded up 2 cars worth, 60 moving boxes. After RnD and I got through with it there are still about 50 moving boxes of stuff left over.Now, I have to be blunt, this isn’t a perfect and new electronics collection. If you saw the video you’ll know how a lot of the parts were hand unsoldered from equipment.There are a bunch of very rare parts, such as valve sockets, delay lines, plugs, sockets, a whole lot of inductors and more resistors and caps than you can shake a stick at.If you’re just getting into electronics, this is not going to be the collection for you. Grab a bunch of arduinos from ebay instead, and start there.However, if you’re restoring old equipment, working with valves or CRTs, or just like the idea of having far too many terminal blocks around the place, then this is the collection for you.To help people make an informed decision, I’ve taken a photo of every single box with a brief summary of the contents.Photos are here:https://imgur.com/a/yRkX8(Laying out all the parts and documenting them took a few hours, btw).So here’s the deal:The collection is going for FREE.If you’re tickled pink by getting a huge slab of electronics, and want to reciprocate, I’d happily accept any donations. (I paid $350 for cardboard boxes just to be able to carry them away) But at the end of the day I’m happy to give them awayThe collection is going as a whole.There’s going to be no splitting it up. If you see a single potentiometer you justneedto have, you have to take the whole thing.If someone wants to take it and divvy up the parts to interested parties, they’re welcome to, and that’d be awesome. But you have to take it away and organise it yourself.The collection is going by this Sunday, 5th JuneIt’s located in North Parramatta.We can organise a time on the phone, but possible times are:Weekday evenings might be possibleFriday during the daySunday during the dayA full van, or small moving truck will be neededNo, seriously. Don’t care how big your car is, it won’t be enough. We filled a station wagon plus a 4WD to capacity getting this moved in the first place. (When I say ‘to capacity’, I mean there was just enough room to decant the driver into the seat and have them move their arms to steer).If all of that sounds OK, send me a PM and we can line it up.Cheers,Gavin

author: mechatronicsguy
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 08:34:59 am
content: The photos in the imgur link (https://imgur.com/a/yRkX8) are much better, but here's a dump of the box contents;Box 1 - Rotary switches & inductorsBox 2 - Big caps, rotary switches, potentiometersBox 3 - Variable capacitors, plugs, capsBox 4 - ResistorsBox 5 - Plugs, phone plugsBox 6 - Plugs & sockets, terminals & tag stripsBox 7 - Resistors, small & powerBox 8 - Old crystals, line filters, resistors, capacitors, coils, rotary switchesBox 9 - Rotary switch, transformers, resistor networksBox 10 - Capacitors, transformersBox 11 - Heatsinks, capacitorsBox 12 - Heatsinks, inductorsBox 13 - Heatsinks, inductors & coilsBox 14 - Inductors, heatsinks, relay bases, relaysBox 15 - CapacitorsBox 16 - BNC plugs, terminals/tag strip, plugs/sockets, capacitorsBox 17 - Capacitors, transformers, terminal blocksBox 18 - Inductors, transformers, line filtersBox 19 - Heatsinks, capacitors, delay linesBox 20 - Capacitors, baluns, thermostatsBox 21 - Capacitors, line filtersBox 22 - Inductors, transformers, variable caps, capsBox 23 - CapsBox 24 - CapsBox 25 - PotsBox 26 - CRT & Valve sockets, misc plugs & socketsBox 27 - PotsBox 28 - PotsBox 29 - Resistors (loose)Box 30 - Resistors (loose), RCA socketsBox 31 - Resistors (loose)Box 32 - Valve hardware, plugs & socketsBox 33 - Resistors, pots, capsBox 34 - CapsBox 35 - Fuses, fuseholders, knobs, DB plugs, switchesBox 36 - Pots, switchpots, knobs, terminal blocksBox 37 - Pot knobs, pot scales, pot couplings & accessoriesBox 38 - PCB edge connectors, DB connectors, valve socketsBox 39 - Industrial relays, dials + lamp holdres, temrinal blocks, tag strips, PCB edge connectors, plugs & socketsBox 40 - IEC line filters, plugs & sockets, RF plugs & sockets, Mil plugsBox 41 - IEC sockets & line filters, DB plugs & socketsBox 42 - Pots, cable glandsBox 43 - Switches, buttons, relaysBox 44 - Caps, CRT tube/sockets, valve socketsBox 45 - Keyboard switches & keys, pushbuttons, PCB pots, switchesBox 46 - Relays, transformers & inductors, fuse holders, heatsinks, capsBox 47 - ResistorsBox 48 - PCB edge connectors, DB plugs & socketsBox 49 - Carbon film resistors,Three boxes of 1000 qty 10 ohm resistors, laptop card holders, HDD caddyBox 50 - SMD resistors (MELF), bulk through hole resistors (200 ohm)Box 51 - SMD resistors (MELF)

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 09:19:50 am
content: I was wondering when you'd get around to this

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 09:33:45 am
content: Great effort. Thanks for the photos. I was getting growls in the background just looking at them.I think I'd better pass.....

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 09:43:35 am
content: This is what my hall cupboard looked like until last year albeit on a smaller scale. Just got rid of the lot to the tip and on ebay and started again. Now trying to keep it to a couple of shoe boxes.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 09:55:23 am
content: I DID NOT SEE THIS NOTICE...I DID NOT SEE THIS NOTICE...I DID NOT SEE THIS NOTICE...YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM DAVE...YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM DAVE...YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ROOM DAVE...

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 09:59:53 am
content: That's why my wife would say

author: sleary78
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 10:24:30 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 31, 2016, 09:55:23 amGo on Dave. Just have the chips.Shame I didnt see this before I left Sydney. I had a 50Kg luggage allowance on the return trip and I only used 10.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 11:09:57 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 31, 2016, 09:55:23 amBoxes and boxes of MELF resistors.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 11:25:46 am
content: Quote from: Fungus on May 31, 2016, 11:09:57 amI'd say so, hasn't Dave got a fetish for them?

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 11:33:52 am
content: Quote from: Brumby on May 31, 2016, 09:33:45 amI know that feeling. I better close the browser window with Ebay then the one with pron when my wife walks in.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 01:32:57 pm
content: Quote from: Brumby on May 31, 2016, 09:33:45 amClever dog!

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 02:09:12 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on May 31, 2016, 11:33:52 amI got rid of the partner, makes my eBay browsing much less stressful.

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 02:23:02 pm
content: FOOOOK !! We had a similar huge give-away a year or so ago, definitely not this big though. Sure was sad to see it go, but things end.Still have much more to go as well, one day, including old test gear ..www.pbase.com/digsys/garage_salesI really hope it goes to a useful home.20 years ago, I'd have traded all 3 of my nuts for them :-)

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 02:40:38 pm
content: Ha ha, lucky my storage shed is full (and overdue for a cleanout.)That stuff would be as good as a new video game - hours of fun going through it, no productive outcome whatsoever.Otoh, I have a wall of boxes like that (not quite as many) which contain the technical papers archive from an abandoned industrial site. Couldn't bear to see them bulldozed. I should throw _them_ out, and replace them with these. Would be more interesting. And quite a few items that would be good to keep. But a lot of trash.Hey, what about that thing where people make up a box of random bits, and serial-mail it? Each recipient takes what they want and replaces with other random stuff. This pile would be perfect for zero cost box-stuffing.Is that really $350 worth of boxes? $5.80 per box? Hmm, it's almost worth the 2 or 3 trips to Parramatta just for the boxes. I'm always short of good boxes.Quote from: digsys on May 31, 2016, 02:23:02 pmDouble FOOOK. Of course you are in Melbourne, so I won't be enjoying your garage sale/giveaway either.I'm going to have to stop reading eevblog, it's too stressful.

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 04:45:32 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 31, 2016, 09:55:23 amThe bunker cries out for boxes of parts...

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 06:39:19 pm
content: Quote from: TheSteve on May 31, 2016, 04:45:32 pmThe couch feet are starving for company!!!!!

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 03:55:46 am
content: * I've gotta stop coming back to this thread ...... *

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 04:17:51 am
content: I could take them just for the fun of it and making another video about it, but the time, effort, and cost involved in getting and then disposing of it all just doesn't make it worthwhile

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 05:20:23 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 01, 2016, 04:17:51 amNot even for increased membership, supporters, Youtube audience and more DMM sales?Just think how you could pilfer some Melfs.Go on, you know you want to.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 05:25:00 am
content: Wasn't it an Australian who ate a bicycle? Maybe someone could get in the record book by eating this stuff (I think it has to be ground up)

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 05:46:39 am
content: There's going to be quite a lot of stuff in there that you won't want anywhere NEAR your mouth!

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 05:47:43 am
content: I wonder if there's a record for the longest chain of components soldered together?

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 06:11:34 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 01, 2016, 04:17:51 amI don't see how you can pass the parts up - get the truck, get the parts, load the bunker. Then you can make a few videos over the next year about wild and crazy cool stuff you've made from the parts.Just think about how fun it will be to make something and then just comment in passing how you happened to find all of the required parts in your "junk box", at which point you casually pan the camera past the wall of parts.

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 06:59:24 am
content: Not worth it, unless you are in the business of repairing old anologue scopes. It has all being picked through for any thing of interest by a hackerspace.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 07:47:18 am
content: Quote from: tautech on June 01, 2016, 05:20:23 amAnother video on this will create pretty close to zero additional subscribers or views above my usual daily natural increase.Practically guaranteed.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 01:50:54 pm
content: Quote from: Towger on June 01, 2016, 06:59:24 amI still see some interesting stuff on the pictures like mains filters and heatsinks but the really useful parts are already gone. The electrolytic capacitors can go straight into the bin. Perhaps you can make a few bucks by hauling it to a hamfest and sell parts individually. I don't need 10 mains filters but I'd probably snatch up 2 for $1 each.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 02:11:49 pm
content: Cart it to a hamfest or maker fair and mark the boxes a surprises. Make it better by shuffling the contents a bit. Sell them for the cost of a couple of gallons of petrol each. You will be amazed how rapidly they sell. You will cover your cost for the boxes and maybe even the petrol you used getting them home.Mystery boxes always seem to disappear.

author: knks
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2016, 10:05:40 pm
content: Quote from: digsys on May 31, 2016, 02:23:02 pmNice pictures. Looking forward for your next garage sale

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2016, 05:21:23 am
content: mechatronicsguy, PM sent.Yeeess... I will take it if no one else has yet. Thus proving to everyone I am nuts.But really, all the stuff I'd want to keep can be merged into my existing storage crates, so taking up little extra space.And it will be fun to sift through. The rest can go to one big junk box, possibly in a rolley bin.Besides, I may have to move in the next year or two (damn the government and their stupid excessive immigration policy leading to claimed need for increased city density, hence rezoning my area as high density housing. Seehttp://everist.org/no-rezone/)So the boxes have value to me too.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2016, 12:53:10 pm
content: Off topic, but I have to ask. In Oz when your area is rezoned you have to comply? Or are you just saying that you will want to move because of the new neighbors?

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2016, 02:09:02 pm
content: Quote from: CatalinaWOW on June 04, 2016, 12:53:10 pmNo, you don't HAVE to comply. But it works like this:New rezoning will be for 4-story, high density housing, plus a 6-story high commercial center just a few houses away. Currently neighborhood is 1 & 2-story residential.After rezoning, the land value goes up a lot. Doubling perhaps. You pay land rates (yearly fee, for something you _own_outright, and that sucks) on the assessed value. So after rezoning you typically can't afford the land rates.Also, developers want to buy the land. They use various dirty tricks to ensure you leave. This has already been happening for a while - crap rental tenants with noisy dogs, mysteriously raised crime rate, etc.But if you hold out, then you end up with property surrounded by high, multi-lot apartments. Now your land is worth much _less_, since developers would prefer to buy multiple lots, and no one wants to live in a canyon.Anyway... colour me severely pissed off. Built a big new house here only in 2000, plus owner built a nice workshop (as large as permitted under local regs, but still too small for me), expecting to spend my retirement here. And as you'll read in my online article, it's all for entirely spurious and corrupt reasons. Plus my ex-wife & I have been separated for years and so when the property is sold we each get half. Whether half will be enough for me to rebuild a suitable place out in the country somewhere secluded and quiet, but with good net and parcel delivery...who knows. Hopefully, it's a huge block, right next to a station and shops.Though I could really do without the loss of a couple of years or more sunk into relocating.I'm considering somewhere in the Border Ranges area (Nth NSW.)Btw, picking up the parts collection Sunday morning. In the rain.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2016, 04:55:03 pm
content: Your story is what I suspected. Works the same here in the states, but the timeline is usually longer. In many places here it would be a good bet to plan on dying in place and letting the heirs deal with it. One area I once considered was rezoned as you speak, and it was 25 years before anything really happened. I didn't pursue that and as it turns out, other things would have forced me to move long before the rezoning thing happened Of course another area I considered (and declined) came when the land agent swore nothing would ever happen on adjacent vacant land. I happened to know that there was a long planned freeway planned for the vacant land. While it had been planned, with no action for nearly 20 years at the time I looked at it, the freeway was up and running with full noise and fumes just a few years after I passed on both the property and the land agent.

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2016, 07:33:57 am
content: Here's the collection in its new (temporary) home.Despite dramas like extremely heavy rain, and the power going down while mechatronicsguy's car was inside the storage depot, hence unable to get his car out till nearly midday.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 05, 2016, 08:34:07 am
content: Great to see it has gone on to someone who can appreciate it

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 05, 2016, 01:49:39 pm
content: I was really tempted -reallytempted - but it would have ended up as landfill .... on top of my coffin.

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2016, 10:32:07 am
content: Well, I've had a first pass through all of it, and as expected this has been very entertaining.Also pleasantly surprising - I had the impression it was almost all 'used' ie desoldered components. But there's a nice amount of brand new components too. Which I suspect may have been missed by earlier sifters, since the creator of this collection had a habit of putting bags with old desoldered parts on top of bags of new parts. So unless you took the lid off each container and turned the contents over, you wouldn't know the container held mostly new stuff. Many containers are like that.There were definitely enough gems that the trip and work of sorting and culling it is totally worthwhile. Wish I'd seen it all originally, before all the really juicy stuff was creamed off. All the semiconductors for instance. Would have been fascinating. I was kind of hoping there might be some mil-connectors among it, but no. So still no luck with a power connector for my HP 5061A.It's an interesting psychology exercise too. I think it must have started as something like stamp collecting, or maybe Pokemons... An attempt to collect and catalog every known kind of resistor and everything else. In bulk. Then as he aged it got a bit out of hand. I can totally relate to that.Anyway, I'll post highlights to this thread as I progress. That first pass was just to get an idea of what's there, and condense the worst of the space-waste by repacking boxes to better group types, combining container sets that were inefficient, and pulling out stuff I can immediately merge into my own stock storage.There'll be a few more cycles needed, before I have it grouped into three sets:* Stored away as stock,* Offer to give away (falls into 3rd set if no one wants them),* 'Art materials' aka one big bin of junque, to dumpster when I get sick of the space-drain.Actually, if anyone wants a lot of valve sockets and rotary wafer switches of various kinds, just ask and they are yours. Pick up only though. And I'm keeping the cardboard moving boxes.I think I just doubled my volume of assorted terminal blocks. Ditto for power resistors.So far there's only one mystery. A full roll of large J-lead ICs, with a part number that the online sources recognize as an IC, but none have data. Does anyone know what this is? Made by Alcatel in 1999, shipped in 2000. The part number, such as it is, seems to be "IPCU 1C02".Marking: 28409917 IPCU 1C021AB 0493 ABAAIPCV - AAAP836016 AMReel label: (P) 1AB04093ABAA IPCU 1C02(1T)P836016 (Q)250Bag labels: One label same as on the reel, plus:(P)Customer Prod. Id 1AB04093ABAA IPCU 1C02 STS Alcatel(K)Trans Id OP442832 (S) Delivery Id E90994(1P) Suppl. Part Id PIPCV PCT 01 (Q)Quant. 250(1T) Lot Id P83601607 # of box PP 3 of 4 (4C) Ship date 7APR00

author: RogerRowland
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2016, 11:36:55 am
content: Quote from: TerraHertz on June 07, 2016, 10:32:07 amWhich, according tohttp://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1217952/000089161803003021/f87384a3exv10w19.txtwas one of the parts acquired by AMI when STM sold part of Alcatel to them in 2002, if that's any help? Press release at the timehttp://investors.st.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=111941&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1454700.AMI was then bought up by ON Semihttp://www.onsemi.com/PowerSolutions/content.do?id=16667in 2007.Good luck finding a datasheet now!

author: sean0118
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2016, 05:15:44 am
content: Good work TerraHertz, nice saveSomeone will want those rotary switches for test equipment repair I'm sure.Also, enough capacitors there to do power factor correction for all of NSW.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2016, 12:27:58 pm
content: Guy, going to guess those were some custom IC for a telecoms system, and as they are 16 years old now it would suggest the equipment is now either obsolete or long superseded and replaced with newer.

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 07:16:05 am
content: Quote from: SeanB on June 12, 2016, 12:27:58 pmFrom what I could glean from RogerRowland's links, I think it might be a mixed analog-digital custom ASIC, possibly mask-programmed.So zero chance of ever getting any data, not to mention their age and the absence of whatever design tool they needed. Also, there's no guarantee it wasn't a screw-up batch.Anyway, I'm considering what to do with 250 of them. Something like soldering them together as a sculptural object.A few other highlights:- Tray of panel mount BNCs. The quality machined silver plated ones, not the cheap diecast junk.- New components in bulk: full reels of SMD (0805, the caps are 0.1 and 0.33uF useful, not sure I'd ever need 30R resistors...) The through-hole caps are 2n2.- Tray of antique crystals. I like these, especially the tan coloured one, which is just a few months older than me.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2016, 01:30:55 pm
content: Well, you are sorted now with a lifetime supply of decoupling capacitors, kind of like me with a lifetime supply of 12V and 24V 0.4W zeners.

author: System Error Message
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2016, 12:24:02 am
content: Dave and the chocolate factory.

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2016, 12:57:32 am
content: Some more interesting antique crystals.One is an "AWA Type R 583B". This is the first quartz crystal holder I've ever seen in which you can disassemble it and actually hold the chunky bare crystal slice in your hand, put it back together and it still works.The crystal is held by spring pressure between two flat 'anvil' metal disks, that are also the electrodes.The only mention I can find on the net is here:http://www.club-des-collectionneurs.com/A-vendre-quartz-radio.htmWhich is in French, has a picture of one, but no information. Apart from showing that mine is missing a bakelite knurled thumbscrew.To try it I applied a sig-gen sine wave via a 1K resistor, and looked at the signal on the crystal while manually adjusting the osc frequency though the stated frequency of 1380 Kc/s. The dip is too sharp for my sig-gen to hold at, but it's in the right place.Then set up the sig gen to sweep back and forth around that freq, giving the waveform in the pic. Bottom trace is the FM sweep.There are also a couple more old crystals; "Navy Type CHF-40130".Would be interesting to open one of these too. But the screwed-down lid has a gasket that doesn't want to let go, and I don't want to force it since the lid is molded phenolic (I think) and might break.Incidentally, anyone want 112 brand new, in-box PCMCIA connectors, PN Berg/FCI 92193-050CA ?I'll post the details in buy/sell. More stuff from that haul. I've no use for them as such, though a few of the pins may be good for tiny probe tips. The boxes can go in my stockpile, just mentioning in case someone has a real need for them. Close to free.

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2016, 01:31:04 am
content: Oh wait, this thread is *already* in Buy/Sell.Well here are the PCMCIA connector details.FCI/Berg (Two boxes marked FCI, one Berg. But all have same part number.)Part number: 92193-050CAhttp://elcodis.com/searchparts/pcmcia_connectors.html?page=5http://datasheet.elcodis.com/pdf/52/82/528295/92193-050ca.pdfThere are three original cartons. Each has four trays of 10 units, except in one box the top tray only has two remaining.So that's 40+40+32 = 112 parts. All NIB.PCMCIA is a more or less obsolete system, so it's unlikely anyone wants these. But if someone does, better they are used than they rot in my junkpile.Say $50 + post for them all. Or if you want just a few, free + post.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 28, 2016, 08:21:13 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 01, 2016, 07:47:18 amDo it as a fan request segment or something? "Supporter Saturday"

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2016, 05:15:28 pm
content: Guy, you can also trim that crystal to frequency, though generally just up, by using some polishing grit to remove a layer of quart from the surface to get the frequency up higher, then the pressure on the plates provides a fine tune.