Parts scrounging and Jamicon cap quality

[eKretz]

I have been stripping components from some old devices, and there are quite a few different brands in the stuff. I ran across Jamicon and was wondering if they're any good. I have also got some Daewoo, something I can't quite read that looks like cursive "Lelon," some YEC. I got quite a few out of some old CRT monitors. I figured they might be good to have for future repair work.

I was also wondering what the best sources of parts others have found were in case I should look out for any particular items.

[Anson]

Any computer monitors or tv's have decent parts. Computer power supplies have good parts. Home stereo systems have a bunch of goodies. Car stereos not so much. Any amplifiers have good stuff. I have found that just about everything has something usable in it. Just some things don't have as much as others. I wouldn't pay for anything your intending of salvaging unless you know it has something well worth it. I paid $5 dollars for something just because it had 5 multiturn pots of various values on it. Turns out I used two of them for my power supply. Well worth it.

[eKretz]

I've been getting quite a bit of used stuff that works and doesn't work that people were just going to throw out through family and word of mouth. Got some real nice brushless fans and heatsinks from an old computer.

[Rasz]

You will end up with two rooms full of junk before you know it.

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

Yes I managed to collect junk enough for two rooms but put it into one room.

But often that junk contains the necessary part, especially inductors.

[Anson]

Yeah it may be a good idea to think about storage BEFORE you get too much farther along. I only have maybe two medium size boxes of stuff right now but it's already going to be a real challenge to sort and label and test everything.

Also it may be a good idea to keep any aluminum you find. It sells for about 80 cents per pound and it really doesn't take long to add up.

[ptricks]

Yes I managed to collect junk enough for two rooms but put it into one room.

But often that junk contains the necessary part, especially inductors.

I keep trying to explain that to the other people I live with, they don't understand that one day I may need that old circuit board , or that CRT, or one of those hundreds of cables and wires !

[nanofrog]

I keep trying to explain that to the other people I live with, they don't understand that one day I may need that old circuit board , or that CRT, or one of those hundreds of cables and wires !

You know that when you have to pick between family or parts, you've got a problem.   

Hope it's not quite this ^ bad. 

[Rasz]

we are an equivalent of a cat lady
Myself I have a wall of boxes next to my bed. They are full of stuff I recycled over the years + my projects + few with new parts.
I think I have bicycles in my basement, but I cant remember the last time I saw them because of all the junk I keep there

[lemmegraphdat]

I order new parts when I want to build or fix something. Having a bunch of boards and other stuff around for parts approaches zero usefulness. learning to repair them on the other hand is good training. When they start to pile up they go in the recycle bin. Any more than a shoebox full is to much to me.

[eKretz]

Actually my girlfriend has a problem of the hoarding variety. Her mother's house (3bedroom 2 story) and attached 2 car garage, as well as the detached 3 car garage are so full of junk that you can hardly walk in them at all and when you do you have to worry about getting an avalanche of junk on your head if you bump anything.

I have no intention of keeping the boards and old equipment around; Im just stripping out the stuff that seems like decent quality and common repair part stuff. It goes pretty quick with an adjustable temp heat gun. I usually throw the boards in the dishwasher and then into the toaster oven for preheat and rip the parts off pretty quickly after that with the heat gun. The rest I can order.  I also have no intention of having a house that looks like the one I described earlier. I already have to furtively remove things from my house that my GF and her mother bring home that we don't need and will never use.

I intend to keep my spares in divided bins and those in the big plastic tote boxes. I shouldn't think I will ever have more than a few of the larger boxes, I really only want enough on hand to be able to fix something and then order replacements to replenish the "stock" if you will. I have a good line on equipment from the local school corporation since my mom works in administration there and she has worked it out with their head of IT/maintenance to let me have first crack at stuff before it goes to recycle. 

[Recyclojunk64]

I have found [large] server power supplys to be one of the best sources of quality parts. FETs, current hall-effect sensors, high-precision current shunts, good quality caps, high current diodes (200A), various sized inductors, and a heap of other miscellaneous smaller components. The ones I found were illegally dumped on someone’s front lawn (so perhaps the companies throwing them out may have to pay to get rid of them)
UPSs also contain some of the above parts, not as useful as a server power supply, but much more common though (people throw them out when the lead acid battery dies)

Inverter type microwaves may not seem very interesting but they do contain a largish FET, some Litz wire (for high frequency applications) and other potentially useful stuff (high-voltage diodes)

And also if you come across a large photocopier/printer/fax:
http://www.eevblog.com/2012/07/04/eevblog-303-photocopier-extreme-teardown/
Pretty much any sort of part you want will be in it, too many to list examples off.

[amyk]

Lelon caps have been known to go bad especially on motherboards, so you should beware and check with ESR/LCR meter. Ditto for the YEC. Jamicon might be a bit better but still check to make sure... badcaps.net is worth a visit too.