520's Scrap Finds

**520** · 10-15-2018, 01:46 AM

Finally had some free time to get to this VHS (recording?) equipment. If you thought a normal VHS player was a pain try breaking a few of these down.

They have some interesting boards. Besides the boards loaded with IC chips they have low grade power boards with a bunch of (orange) epoxy dipped tantalum capacitors. I guess this means I need to start a tantalum collection since I don't see the point of throwing them with low grade power boards. Time to get out the precision side cutters.

Nice heavy cast aluminum decks that will go as breakage because no way am I cleaning them.

Oh and I put some new sides on my trailer because I have 310 computers to pick up tomorrow!

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**msmoorad** · 10-15-2018, 04:30 PM

those boards are an anomaly--one one side they look like telecom grade(the green one) but the other side is lower grade.
what does your buyer accept them as?

**520** · 10-15-2018, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by msmoorad

those boards are an anomaly--one one side they look like telecom grade(the green one) but the other side is lower grade.
what does your buyer accept them as?

I'll find out a week from now when I go see JJ in Las Vegas!

**520** · 10-15-2018, 10:41 PM

Well that is what 310 computers looks like. 2 loads equaling 6 hours of driving and 3 hours loading/unloading and haven't unloaded the last trailer load because I have no room in my "receiving" area.

Now I just need to break them all down before this sunday. Shouldn't be too bad. I've been averaging 10 an hour.

Doesn't my wall look pretty? (insert joke about a big wall in southern AZ...MAGA)

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**DakotaRog** · 10-16-2018, 12:34 AM

Looks like more than a side gig now.

Do you have a payroll job as well or are you "semi-retired" with outside revenue sources and do this as side/hobby gig?? Weren't you the one when someone was talking about the '08 economic crash, you had been a stock broker?

Not that I'm trying to pry but just in e-scarp, that's more than I'll probably do in my lifetime of dinking around. Even with a power screwdriver, 6 minute take down of a desktop, over multiple hours seems to me a fairly hard core pace. Then again, I can't skin a coon in 6 minutes either but there are plenty of people who can. Have fun!!

**520** · 10-16-2018, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by DakotaRog

Looks like more than a side gig now.

Do you have a payroll job as well or are you "semi-retired" with outside revenue sources and do this as side/hobby gig?? Weren't you the one when someone was talking about the '08 economic crash, you had been a stock broker?

Not that I'm trying to pry but just in e-scarp, that's more than I'll probably do in my lifetime of dinking around. Even with a power screwdriver, 6 minute take down of a desktop, over multiple hours seems to me a fairly hard core pace. Then again, I can't skin a coon in 6 minutes either but there are plenty of people who can. Have fun!!

In 08 my first business went under as it was closely tied to new construction. I made a post a couple weeks back about how I got into scrapping. It answers your question.

Here is the link to that. https://www.scrapmetalforum.com/day-...m-members.html

To be completely fair the 10 computers an hour time I mentioned does not include cd/dvd drive board removal or hard drive board removal.

If you have several of the same computer to break down you will find their secrets with tearing down the first few and after that they go fast.

**DakotaRog** · 10-16-2018, 08:57 PM

More power to you buddy!! If outsiders read SFM, perhaps some of them would come away with just how resourceful and willing people on here are to make honest money form mostly hard work. There are no "safe spaces" in the real world, although that doesn't mean a person has to be ruthless to their fellow citizens to thrive. It seems like that solid middle ground of hard work yet being a decent human being to others doesn't get talked about in the news media or entertainment world much any more. I think the elites would probably be surprised how common it still is in this country but most of them probably don't really care.

P.S. How did you "code enforcement" situation turn out with the county peps...?

**520** · 10-16-2018, 09:40 PM

Originally Posted by DakotaRog

More power to you buddy!! If outsiders read SFM, perhaps some of them would come away with just how resourceful and willing people on here are to make honest money form mostly hard work. There are no "safe spaces" in the real world, although that doesn't mean a person has to be ruthless to their fellow citizens to thrive. It seems like that solid middle ground of hard work yet being a decent human being to others doesn't get talked about in the news media or entertainment world much any more. I think the elites would probably be surprised how common it still is in this country but most of them probably don't really care.

P.S. How did you "code enforcement" situation turn out with the county peps...?

They would tell me I needed to clean up items, I would get it taken care of then they would come back with other things. It lasted for about 2-3 months but I haven't heard anything since March. If they came by tomorrow they would probably complain about the computers but if they came back next week the computers will be gone.

I've never backed down from hard work and I am chronically self employed. As long as I keep this up i'll avoid having to work a real 9-5 job when my daughter starts school next year.

**520** · 10-19-2018, 07:10 PM

I don't know how many threads I have read where people talk about buying computers and other E-Waste from their local scrap yards with varied resultd. It seems that most yards still don't do much with E-Waste even though they really should. I guess it is probably too much of a hassle when they already make decent money just dealing with metals.

I guess it helped that my wife has done business with the owner of my scrap yard for years before I started scrapping. It also helped that my first month going to this scrap yard I did 150k+ pounds of steel and had the owners personal cell number from day one.

Anyway long story short I just picked up my first load of computers from my scrap yard and it looks like very soon I am going to be working with them to get pricing categories for complete/incomplete PC's, laptops and servers.

After I get settled in with this yard I will start approaching other yards but for now I am supper happy with just the 50 computers I picked up today.

**520** · 10-21-2018, 11:29 PM

So I should have been on my way to Vegas with a big load of boards right now but I had a curve ball thrown at me Saturday afternoon. Good news and I will share more details later once the deal is finalized.

But for now here is Saturdays pickup of 70 vintage computers and today's pickup was 11 servers along with other misc. electronics.

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**DakotaRog** · 10-22-2018, 12:27 AM

I don't know where I'd put them about now but I'm still drooling....

**matador** · 10-22-2018, 08:05 AM

An old Micron- I haven't seen one of those things in almost 15 years. Before you scrap them all, talk with some of the buyers here about vintage CPUs and things like that- I doubt they'll all have value, but out of that many vintage computers, you're bound to have something so old it's desirable in there. I know a guy who scrapped about 50 486 motherboards and CPUs and ended up basically losing about $400 in doing so

**520** · 10-22-2018, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by matador

An old Micron- I haven't seen one of those things in almost 15 years. Before you scrap them all, talk with some of the buyers here about vintage CPUs and things like that- I doubt they'll all have value, but out of that many vintage computers, you're bound to have something so old it's desirable in there. I know a guy who scrapped about 50 486 motherboards and CPUs and ended up basically losing about $400 in doing so

I've been selling the CPUs to a forum buyer for more than scrap. But if you know who might be interested in the vintage mother boards send me a PM.

And I have been setting aside the more collectable stuff like Packard bell, Mac and a few others that seem to have some value according to the sold listings on ebay

**matador** · 10-23-2018, 12:45 AM

Ironically, sometimes you want to leave the motherboard with the processor. Especially if you want to sell the RAM out of them- a little trick I've done many times (And I'm sure others have too) on vintage stuff is to find a working machine and use it to test the parts from the other stuff. Offhand, I don't know if EDO and SIMM modules have much worth (I buy vintage stuff sometimes, but it's not really my area of focus), but if you can test them, you can tell what you have at least. As for complete systems, desktops are bulky and hard to ship, so you have to find the right buyer for the right system, and often there's no rhyme or reason for that. Case-in-point, I had a guy come in looking for an old Gateway 2000 desktop in the style of one he used when he was a little kid. Selling vintage Gateway stuff isn't as easy as some brands, but I happened to have what he needed and it netted a nice payday. Saving "the usual suspects" is usually the best you can do though, since you can't store everything forever. Ironically, Apple and Packard Bell stuff are liked for polar opposite reasons. Apple was (is) known for making super-nice, quality products. Packard Bell is like the Yugo of the 1990's computer market- they're so awful that they have a little value on that ground. I have a Packard Bell that I use in my business, albeit very little. Don't discount novelty items like that- people will pay more for a Packard Bell than the good systems of the time

**520** · 10-23-2018, 03:52 AM

Originally Posted by matador

Ironically, sometimes you want to leave the motherboard with the processor. Especially if you want to sell the RAM out of them- a little trick I've done many times (And I'm sure others have too) on vintage stuff is to find a working machine and use it to test the parts from the other stuff. Offhand, I don't know if EDO and SIMM modules have much worth (I buy vintage stuff sometimes, but it's not really my area of focus), but if you can test them, you can tell what you have at least. As for complete systems, desktops are bulky and hard to ship, so you have to find the right buyer for the right system, and often there's no rhyme or reason for that. Case-in-point, I had a guy come in looking for an old Gateway 2000 desktop in the style of one he used when he was a little kid. Selling vintage Gateway stuff isn't as easy as some brands, but I happened to have what he needed and it netted a nice payday. Saving "the usual suspects" is usually the best you can do though, since you can't store everything forever. Ironically, Apple and Packard Bell stuff are liked for polar opposite reasons. Apple was (is) known for making super-nice, quality products. Packard Bell is like the Yugo of the 1990's computer market- they're so awful that they have a little value on that ground. I have a Packard Bell that I use in my business, albeit very little. Don't discount novelty items like that- people will pay more for a Packard Bell than the good systems of the time

Man my problem is that I don't have much room to store stuff. But I have been testing/saving a few of each type of vintage mother board along with the processor and ram together as a unit. I am hoping to pick up a shipping container within the next month or 2 so i'll have a place to store things that have more than scrap value as well as store computers until i can test/scrap them.

**520** · 10-23-2018, 02:01 PM

I was thinking I was going to take the week off of breaking down ewaste but I couldn't pass up 20 vintage Dell's on Craigslist. I got a bunch of extra goodies since I bought every computer he had for sale.

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**msmoorad** · 10-23-2018, 04:08 PM

well done.

**520** · 10-26-2018, 08:31 PM

Ok well like I mentioned before I was planning a trip to Vegas. What I hadn't mentioned was that I was selling them to the forums newest buyer PHarbison of Red Rock Recycling.

I was supposed to be there on Monday this week but Saturday morning I was dropping a load of computer cases at my local scrap yard. I asked the owner if he could do anything with all my power supplies. He contacted his non ferrous buyer. I guess his buyer was interested in who had so many power supplies because they also deal in e-waste.

So I talk with my yards non ferrous buyer Saturday afternoon as I am getting my load ready to leave for Vegas on Sunday. They wanted to do business with me but because of AZ state law they can't buy from the general public because they are not set up to deal with the regulations that come with being a buyer who is open to buy from someone without a business license.

So my local yard doesn't want to buy my e-waste but they will be a broker for me and ship my material for a very small fee. Basically I load my stuff onto the local yards semi truck and they charge me only a couple cents a pound to ship/handle my material.

This is a big step for me because now I don't have to travel any further than my local scrap yard to sell my e-waste at great prices. I am already there 2-5 times a week so it's super convenient so even when I do get my LLC set up and can deal with the buyer directly I will probably still use the local yard to ship my stuff to the buyer in Phoenix.

While I am not doing business directly with the forums newest buyer PHarbison I am dealing with the parent company of Red Rock Recycling! So I don't think he is too bummed about not having my business.

**520** · 10-27-2018, 04:55 PM

Stacking boards and doing a final check for any batteries I missed. I'm at 600 computers for the month and hope to do 800 next month if I can acquire them which is always the big challenge. But it's looking good so far. Having a local buyer doesn't necessarily mean bigger margins. For me it means I can pay more, work more and be ok with slightly lower margins.

Finalized the numbers with my local yard today. They are shipping and selling my e-waste for a flat fee of .05 per pound and I get to use their IBC totes. Since boards have a lot of volume and not much weight I could probably only haul around 1500 pounds myself at a cost of .02 a pound.

I would never make the 3 hour round trip drive for something I am only going to profit .03 a pound on so for me it's a killer deal!

500 boards in the pic

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**DakotaRog** · 10-28-2018, 12:29 AM

WoW!!!

Just curious how much you paid, if you want to tell, for those 20 Dell desktops and other stuff you got in the past few days. I usually don't look to buy puters for scrap but sometimes it pops up.

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