What if I told you that there is a crap-load of electronic and mechanical components that one would normally have to buy available for FREE?
My last post on circuit analysis was more theoretical, this time we’ll delve into the practical and talk about salvaging electronic parts, where to find them, and how to do it effectively.
We’ve become a throw-away society over the last several decades. Big business’ never-ending thirst for more profits has pushed consumers in that direction — sometimes against their will. While there are a lot of negative consequences of living in a throw-away world (like environmental impact and shoddy-made consumer products), there are positive consequences for makers, hackers, and electronics enthusiasts.
This positive impact is the availability of a variety of free components that would normally cost you. Some of these components can be on the expensive side. Others are just plain cool to experiment and play with. And, if you salvage components from tossed-away electronics, you’re helping the environment by recycling and repurposing them. It’s a win-win.
Let’s talk about some items people commonly discard that are chock full of goodies, but first a quick word on safety.
Some of the components (and methods to obtain them) in this post can cause injury or death when used improperly, which can totally ruin your day. High voltage is very dangerous. Strong magnets can pinch your flesh and can be very difficult to release. Trash compactors can smush you. You get the idea. Be careful! I will not be held liable or responsible for any damages or injuries resulting from obtaining or using any of the things listed in this post. If you attempt to obtain or use any of things I mention you take complete responsibility for whatever happens. If you don’t feel comfortable with something, don’t do it!
Salvaging Electronic Components
Sources of Free Electronic & Mechanical Parts
Where do you find equipment from which you can salvage parts other than your basement, attic, or those of people you know?
Though all the above are good places to start there are other, perhaps better, places to look. Let’s go over a few.
- The curb side on trash day. As you drive or walk around be aware of any goodies that your neighbors are disposing of. We’ll talk about exactly what these “goodies” are in a minute, but I have a feeling you already have a few good ideas.
- Garage sales, yard sales, estate sales, etc. Okay, so it may not be 100% free, but you’ll still find things that contain parts which would cost you much more if you bought them somewhere else.
- Thrift stores. Ditto on the low cost.
- Dumpster diving. It’s time to put your pride aside and hit the dumpsters. Good places to start are big box stores, auto parts stores, and home improvement centers. Be careful, many of these places use trash compactors!
- Craig’s List free section. People are dying to get rid of their old antiquated technology but also want to be green and help others who are less fortunate. Let them help you, too.
- Trash bins in apartment buildings. Live in an apartment? Is there an apartment complex near you? If so, you’ll have lots of people throwing lots of things away, especially before they move out.
- College campuses, especially near the end of the Spring semester. Similar to apartment buildings, students who are going home for the summer or graduating may not want to move all their old electronic junk with them.
The above items are common places to find discarded electronic equipment, but I’m sure you may be able to think of others. After all, there is so much e-waste that it’s starting to become a real issue. Do your part and help remove some of it. And next time something you own breaks and you don’t feel like fixing it, ask yourself if there are any good parts inside before you toss it in the trash.
Now let’s talk about some of the things you should look for and what you get from them.
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Salvaging Electronics – Desktop Computers
Though they’re still the most powerful and expandable computer you can buy, they’re just not as cool as they used to be due to the more recent proliferation of mobile devices. That’s ok, because that means people will be disposing of an electro-mechanical goldmine when they toss that old desktop PC.
Trust me, I’ve been in the computer repair and consulting business since 2007 and have amassed my own private collection of computer parts
Let’s start with the power supply (assuming it works). Obviously, these can be used to power a variety of projects. In my video How to get Started as an Electronics Hobbyist, I mention one possible use of an old PC power supply — using it to create a benchtop power supply. I don’t get into specifics of how to build one, but Make: magazine does here.
If the power supply is dead, you can take it apart and get some board level components such as capacitors, power resistors, small transformers and more.
A while back I did a YouTube video of me dissecting a desktop hard drive. In it I find a small flat motor and some very strong, super-cool magnets. The older 5.25” drives are hard to find but also contain strong magnets.
The mother board itself probably won’t be of much use to the average hobbyist, but the things attached to it can be.
First, you’ll find a nice big heat sink. Then you can take the RAM off the board and maybe upgrade your own PC or use it for something else, in addition to the processor. Next, be sure to get the 3 V lithium coin battery which you can use to power other devices that take such a battery (i.e. garage door opener) or your projects.
On the motherboard you’ll also find a fan along with at least one other fan which will be attached to the chassis.
CD drives and floppy drives contain stepper motors. In addition, CD/DVD drives and burners also contain a laser diode and a rack and pinion set. I know floppy drives are getting harder to find, but they’re out there.
Salvaging Electronics – Printers
Ink jet printers have become a throw-away commodity as replacing all the ink can sometimes be more expensive than a new printer!
If you’re lucky, you’ll get an all-in-one which contains a printer, scanner, and even fax machine.
These are a great source for robot builders and contain DC motors, stepper motors, optical sensors, gears, smooth rods, belts etc.
Also, keep your eyes peeled for laser printers where you’ll find motors, gears, rollers, rods, high voltage components and more.
Salvaging Electronics – Appliances
Appliances both big and small can be great sources of parts. This can mean anything from a blender (AC motor) or toaster, microwave oven, and even bigger appliances like dishwashers, refrigerators, and stoves.
Let’s start with microwave ovens.
Figure 1 depicts a magnetron tube, the part of the appliance that generates the microwaves.
Figure 1: typical magnetron tube.
While it may not be a good idea to try to hook this up (high voltage, microwave radiation) and cook yourself, these are interesting to study and also contain strong circular magnets.
Inside a microwave also dwells a high voltage transformer, which we can see in figure 2. Use extreme caution if you attempt to wire one of these up! The voltage/current output combo can easily be lethal.
Figure 2: typical microwave over transformer.
Next, you’ll find a high voltage capacitor. Have a look at figure 3.
Figure 3: high voltage capacitor.
And the fun doesn’t end with high voltage components. You’ll also find small motors and a control board loaded with relays, resistors, capacitors and other small parts.
When I bought my house in 2013, the oven had some issues. It was fairly modern (made in 2007) and the control buttons had a touch interface. The problem was that the off button usually didn’t work, and the zero button didn’t work at all. This made cooking safely a challenge.
Luckily for me, it was still under warranty. They sent me a new control board along with the whole top section where the display, controls and burner control dials are. See the section enclosed by the red rectangle in figure 4.
Figure 4: the “brains” of my oven.
I was going to toss the old control module until I looked at it and saw relays and other goodies attached to it.
Figure 5: the back of my oven control panel. We can see a transformer on the right and a bunch of other potentially useful parts.
And let’s not just limit ourselves to kitchen appliances.
If you find an old VCR grab it. You’ll get linear actuators, springs, DC motors, and more.
CRT TVs are getting harder to find, but contain flyback transformers, which are another type of high voltage transformer. Projection TVs contain a huge Fresnel lens and some smaller lenses in addition to the electronics inside.
Even old receivers contain motors, heat sinks and other useful parts.
Salvaging Electronics – Toys
Many of today’s toys are full of useful components.
Remember the Power Wheels vehicles?
You’ll find powerful motors, a gear box, and perhaps a battery that still may be good.
Radio controlled toys are another great source. You can hack the remote and use it for things like triggering an Arduino or your microcontroller of choice. The chassis of these toys can also make a great base for a robot.
Children’s toys often contain motors, springs, speakers, microcontrollers and more.
Figure 6: toys for tots. Toys for children age infant through teenager and beyond often contain a wealth of electronic/mechanical goodies.
Figure 6 depicts some of the toys my child (a toddler) owns. The alien in the middle with the cloth mat attached to it senses vibration. It then plays music and has buttons (which you can’t see due to the other toys) that light up in different patterns. The orange monster has a rotating platform in it’s mouth where it spits balls out as it randomly moves around and talks. The bear talks and crawls. The toy in the upper left is really neat. The platform rotates and funnels balls into a hole. The balls then pop up and roll down the red spiral, repeating the process.
All of these toys contain various motors, sensors, switches, speakers, gears and more. When they break (or my child outgrows them) they’ll most likely find a new life in my parts collection if I don’t donate them.
Remember the Robosapien? I once had one that broke. This video is a tear down of the robot and goes over some of the parts inside.
Salvaging Electronics – What Will You Get?
It’s been said that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
In a world where corporations are driven by greed to push consumers into buying the latest greatest [insert gadget] or cheapen their products to death so they break easily, this holds true now more than ever.
The items we covered are just a small sample of the available electronic waste out there. There are many other items that you can salvage and get useful parts from.
Think twice next time before you throw something out or drive by that widget sitting at your neighbor’s curb — there may be a small “treasure” inside!
Comment and tell us about your experiences salvaging electronic parts. Where do you find them? What device(s) do you usually cannibalize for parts?
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Geek guy says
CHildren’s toys are a great source of parts! I’ve gotten plenty of motors and robot bases from them.
michael doyle says
While those magnetron tubes maybe interesting, some contain radioactive elements and should never, ever be messed with. Fracturing the vacuum tube element could release the element and cause serious damage to human tissue.
Brian says
Wow — I didn’t know that and possess several tubes in my home, thanks for the warning! I’ll have to be careful not to break them. Another potentially hazardous thing are ionization smoke detectors which often contain man-made radioactive elements.
robin says
Nice article, thanks. I often collect ewaste to grab enclosures, knobs and parts for audio projects. enclosures have to be the biggest money saver.
i also make sculptures from ewaste:
https://www.artworkfromewaste.eu/
Brian says
I’m no artist but your sculptures look awesome. And it’s great to see you breath a new life into what would otherwise clog up our landfills and poison the environment. Do any of your creations move, blink, make sounds etc., or are they all still sculptures?
Robin says
Hi brian! thank you for your kind words! THEY ARE ALL PASSIVE sculptures. i find that they retain 100% of your imagination potential if they are passive. i feel that if it bleeped, or made sounds, it takes a lot away from your imagination (which stops working at that point) it would also be at least a little bit disappointing if it did not bleep or move how you expected/wanted it to. i’m sure there is a middle ground if explored, though i find the aesthetic to be the most important aspect anyway!
Thanks again for your article! Have you seen the electronic peasant? he is a recycle king!!
Brian says
That’s a really interesting way to view it and one I never thought of. Guess that’s why I’m not an artist Never heard of him, but I’ll have to check him out.
Robin says
Yeah, I’ve thought about it a lot (mostly people say – what does it do? reply: it will enrich your imagination ! also it would just generate even more ewaste if i built in electronics! i have ideas about another project to make the artwork signal information about geometry like: blink an led with pi to 10000 decimal places, converted into hex, using morse code to blink. or he signs it using semaphore flags and actuators ; ) this i think would be a worthy use of resources, ha ha
Brian says
Those sound like cool ideas. Let me know if you do any of them. I’d love to see them!
vangelis says
Upcycling with electronics materials
my projects
https://sites.google.com/site/artrecycledmaterials/
Steve M. says
Sorry Brian, you aRe preaching to the converted.
I have been doing this for years! Started in the mid 1950’s with the toaster and has continued from there, DESPITE mothers hands around my throat, and some serious threats from my father!
Great article though, some of the kidS need to look at this.
Thanks again, off to strip something else down!
Brian says
Glad you liked it Steve! I too was strongly encouraged or completely disallowed from taking old things apart as a kid, mostly by my father. To all the newer parents out there, when your kid shows interest in learning don’t stifle it!