How decomissioned GPSDO is treated.

[tkamiya]

I am very curious.

The story goes, decommissioned old technology cellular base station (TMDA, CMDA, PCS, etc) gets decompressioned.  All that previously expensive equipment gets pretty rough treatment and makes their way to china.  Then Dumped somewhere.  Dismantles buy these and take them apart, and what's sell-able makes their way back to the United States.

What I see on eBay looks anywhere from pristine to ran over by a dump truck or a threw against a wall.  Rained on, rusted, etc, etc, etc.  These are precise equipment.  Distorted case might change internal geometry and adversely affect precision.

Does anyone have first knowledge in this kind of thing?  Is this the way it is?  How much of this is fabricated for whatever reason.

[edpalmer42]

Just go to Youtube and search for <electronic recycling china>.  There's lots of videos on the problems and techniques.  I saw a video somewhere of a guy in China who was harvesting components by putting the board above a fire and heating it until the solder melted.  Then he grabbed the board, flipped it upside down, and smacked the board to knock out any components that would come out!  I think the fire was a wood fire in a steel drum!

It's interesting to see how they're learning.  For example, the HP E1938A quartz oscillator initially showed up on ebay minus the circuit board that it was attached to.  But that includes the processor and oven controller.  Word got back to the 'pickers' and they started keeping the board together with the silver 'puck' that contains the crystal and oven.

Ironically, I've heard that if you buy a Rb standard from China, it's illegal to send it back to China, maybe for a DOA refund, due to the ITAR regulations!

Ed

[ejeffrey]

Ironically, I've heard that if you buy a Rb standard from China, it's illegal to send it back to China, maybe for a DOA refund, due to the ITAR regulations!

That is true of anything that is ITAR or EAR restricted.  Doesn't matter where it originally came from, it is always illegal to export it without a license or exemption.  That said, AFAIK, most rubidium clocks have ECCN classification EAR99 which means they aren't generally export restricted.  Export to embargoed countries or restricted companies or groups is still limited, including to an organization that intends to re-ship to an embargoed nation. 

ITAR and EAR also often get confused: ITAR deals with "munitions" -- this includes things like stinger missiles, but also military radar, nuclear technology and items that are primarily intended for military or similar applications.  A standard rubidium clock wouldn't fall under ITAR unless it had some specific defense related feature or certification.  EAR deals with dual-use items which have ordinary commercial applications as well as potential defense (or other restricted) applications.  The vast majority of electronics fall under EAR, not ITAR.

And of course you still have to deal with import tariffs, trade restrictions, documentation and paperwork declarations and so forth, but that kind of thing has nothing to do with ITAR or any other defense/national security related restrictions.

[tkamiya]

I thought GPS needs to meet certain criteria, such as height limitations and velocity figures, before it could be considered munitions.  I also thought civilian GPS are not the same as military version that has features unavailable to civilian kind.  (I'm not talking about SA)