old pc boards? modems/video ect...

[LoKi6922]

i have a warehouse full of old pc boards... sound cards, modems, video boards, expansion boards and mainboards of all kinds..

is any of this stuff usable in DIY stomping? the old boards are loaded with diodes, caps *lots of tantalum and electrolytics* and transistors of all different values...

should i bother spending a weekend removing components or am i better off just buying new stuff?

there is soooo much of it here... i can't help but wonder if i'll find a gem of a transistor or something hiding somewhere....

[MartyB]

Pre '70's stuff (before consumer computing) like radios might give you some good germ trannys and diodes.  Answering machines and phones from the '70's and '80's often will have good si trannys and opamps.  The film and ceramic caps might be useful, as well as the resistors.  But from your list alot of the stuff you're likely to be dismantling will be surface mount and/or difficult to recycle into pedals.  I have built several pedals with scrounged parts - new caps and resistors are pretty cheap OTOH. How much is your time worth?  How many pedals are on your 'to build' list?

[niftydog]

time vs cost should be your main concern here. Only take the components that are REALLY worth the time.

This is probably some op amps, maybe darlington arrays, possibly some opto-isolators, DC DC convertors, crystals (if you're into that kind of thing), DIP switches etc.

Unless you are really short and need them yesterday, ignore all caps. Electrolytic caps are by far and away the least reliable of all electronic components and I wouldn't trust them at all, especially given that old technology is just that, old technology. Things have come a LONG way, even in the last ten years.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Modems are best, because early (steel case) modem boxes make nice BIB stompbox cases for the more (shall we say) 'experimental' fx with lots of pots.
And modems usually have ferrite beads, easily got by snipping the bit of wire they are mounted on.
But most stuff isn't worth pulling stuff out of, in my opinion.

[KORGULL]

I got some good relays from older modems.

[LoKi6922]

i'm thinking maybe i'll scrounge for some trannies and switches, and definately anything i can make into a cool enclosure!

as for caps... i was thinking if it was sort of like the old amplifier syndrome.

people buy a vintage amp, and it sounds GREAT! but during regular service, notice that its got old, starting to leak filter caps, and once they are replaced, their warm 'vintage' tone gets a little lost...

i dunno how this could apply to say, a little tube distortion box or something... probably not a great idea, and i'd probably spend more time debugging or trying to find working old parts... NOS would be good, but as you guys said, caps are cheap and readily available.

[jjs]

I found it to be almost impossible to desolder components from my old mainboard because the solder they used is somehow much harder than "normal" one. It just didn't want to melt. So I gave up.

[petemoore]

You gotta figure something 'may' have gone wrong, and that's why it's staring at you.
 Electrolytics...newer IS better for sure.
 I mostly go for old monitors, because they sometimes aren't even all that old. I pull 'm off the curb, plug 'em into a circuit breaker type plug I have outside...I've gotten good monitors this way, around apartments, finding a good 15'' monitor isn't that uncommon...they get a 17'' replacement and Have to get rid of the other one.
 I have seen whole sections of boards with blistered caps, of course I don't mess with that!!
 I can report that 99% of the parts I get from old stuff seems to work, I generally try to keep those items in sockets on the boards. Caps, Diodes, ...TRImmers...lots of these...pull the 'arrowtip' lug of the trimpot first, bend too hard and it's done...lots of trimmers to be had...test 'em with the DMM.
 For a circuit I'm certain I want just so, I'll not use any old caps in it....say like a phaser.
 Smaller circuits with sockets is where I stick these used caps...I'm not saying to try it, just I've had PD Good luck with them.

[Johnny G]

man if your in the UK and you have large amounts of old computer equipment id be happy to take it of your hands to put it to its intended use lol.  :lol:

[Johnny G]

DOH, Double post sorry

[RLBJR65]

I found several NJM(JRC)386 IC's on old modems.

jjs probably silver solder, it has a higher melting temp.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

The reason it is difficult to desolder stuff from old computer motherboards, is because there are plated through holes, and sometimes the boards are up to SIX layers!! so there is a lot of thermal inertia, think blowtorch if you are serious (and I don't encourage that, I suspect computer board fumes are worse than cigarettes!!! even.) Of course the plug-in boards are only 2 layer.

[loscha]

very old soundcards, AdLib, early sound blasters and other types have discrete Yamaha synth chips, some are even through hole (I have an AdLib clone from Amstrad that is), these are worth keeping (to me, anyway, cause I have a raging obsession with FM synthesis in all forms).

I'm happy to give old yamaha chips a home. It is my intention to one-day make a synth module using lots of FM chips.

[toneman]

there's gold in them-there boards!!!
take/sell them to a recycler.