EEVblog #1134 - Dumpster Diving Teardown Tuesday

[EEVblog]

Dave got a tip-off on a dumpster full of instruments, so raced off to check it out, what will he find?

[mikeselectricstuff]

Looks like mostly ancient junk - surprised you bothered taking as much as you did ( do you have an easy way to dispose of stuff?).
I too can't resist a dumpster but have got a bit more selective in my old age...

[aqarwaen]

Looks like mostly ancient junk - surprised you bothered taking as much as you did ( do you have an easy way to dispose of stuff?).
I too can't resist a dumpster but have got a bit more selective in my old age...

why should he have any trouble with disposing this old stuff.i mean he could just dump all into his lab office dumpster,where he normaly findsstuff like monitors and photocopier etc.i dont see any reason why he cant dump his stuff there if he wanted.

[johnh]

Look like a lot old telcom equipment.

seen simalar 50v supplies in, when they introduced suite power systems. Instead of centralised power/battery room in telephone exchanges

[Deodand2014]

I was watching the teardown of the power supply at the end and I'm surprised that there was no attempt to find out if it still worked or not. Oh well it might make the subject of a repair video. I'd certainly be interested in seeing if the dodgy earthing has shorted out the transformer.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Looks like mostly ancient junk - surprised you bothered taking as much as you did ( do you have an easy way to dispose of stuff?).
I too can't resist a dumpster but have got a bit more selective in my old age...

why should he have any trouble with disposing this old stuff.i mean he could just dump all into his lab office dumpster,where he normaly findsstuff like monitors and photocopier etc.i dont see any reason why he cant dump his stuff there if he wanted.

Yes, forgot about that. In some countries it can be hard to dump  anything regarded as commercial waste without paying. I generally go to the local council "dump" at lunchtime when nobody is around to notice the carcasses of wierd ex-teardown items.

[5YNAP5E]

Did a little dumpster diving myself today, found an old rocket testing system, documentation, and a small rocket engine on a display stand.

I took the panel (might do something cool with it eventually) but the rest of the unit seemed antiquated to the point where it  would be cheaper to replace it with a modern micro-controller based system than the refurbish it (for reference, the thing still had Amperite timing relays).

The Rocket Test System was originally installed in the 60s, used until the 90s, retrofitted with complete computer control to run one last time in the early 2000's, and hasn't been used since.
There was also a report from the last run detailing the repairs and retrofits that were done to get the system to run again, but the report from more than 15 years ago, and even back then the people who wrote the report suggested modernizing the equipment.

It's a shame that the unit is being thrown out, as the infrastructure (namely a small rocket test cell) is still here (the room was re-purposed) and it seems like a very fun and educational opportunity.

[station240]

That 0-500V Power supply is just my sort of project style, and something I legit need.
I don't mind fixing the odd missing wiring around the transformer, or even rewinding it.
No schematic, but I'll make one to go with it.

Will have to see if I can horse trade with Dave.

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

You couldn't resist, could you? And they want Fran to move to a pinypon house...

[EEVblog]

I was watching the teardown of the power supply at the end and I'm surprised that there was no attempt to find out if it still worked or not.

I shot that in the bunker and didn't have a meter in there to test it.

[SinsBird]

What's the model number of that Battery Fighter?

[Bud]

Someone should be sent to jail for throwing out that Marconi 1.5GHz millivoltmeter...

[N2IXK]

That Marconi looks to have one of the "handwarmer" probes with a vacuum tube diode inside it.

[Mr. Scram]

Yes, forgot about that. In some countries it can be hard to dump  anything regarded as commercial waste without paying. I generally go to the local council "dump" at lunchtime when nobody is around to notice the carcasses of wierd ex-teardown items.

Wasn't hiding your behaviour one of the classic trademarks of an addict?

[Bud]

That Marconi looks to have one of the "handwarmer" probes with a vacuum tube diode inside it.

It most likely is and the vacuum diode may have been long dead as they did not have large lifespan. However substitutes or NOS parts still can be found.

[snoopy]

OK own up. Who got the Tektronix TDS scope ?

Where there is a manual there is usually the hardware somewhere around

cheers
david

[snoopy]

Looks like mostly ancient junk - surprised you bothered taking as much as you did ( do you have an easy way to dispose of stuff?).
I too can't resist a dumpster but have got a bit more selective in my old age...

As they say one mans junk is another mans treasure. Dave can sell some of this on ebay. You'd be surprised at what gets sold these days

cheers

[HerbTarlek]

Wasn't hiding your behaviour one of the classic trademarks of an addict?

The cans of beer floating in the various toilet tanks around my house say, "No."