Old computer bits and spares offered for upcycling

[omphe]

I am doing a big clearout of old technology from the cupboards and
have a heap of stuff to get rid of.

Much of this stuff is incredibly outdated, but I figured there might
be some useful things like laptop displays, wifi/bluetooth adaptors
and arcane plugs that could really make someone's project fly. There
are no Arduinos in there, but maybe a hidden gem.

I have posted a list of everything available on my blog (http://
omphe.com/blog/2011/12/29/help-me-upcycle-my-old-tech/) and I'll list
the items below.

If I don't hear back within a few days, I'll get trundle this lot off
to the big workstation in the sky.

All the best for 2012. Keep up the inspiring projects.

Branden

Black Epson Stylus C42UX/C42+/C44UX print cartridge
Color Epson Stylus C42UX/C42+/C44UX print cartridge
512 MB PC133 Laptop RAM
128 MB PC133 Laptop RAM
Morphy Richards White “Digital Messenger” answerphone
Belkin N1 USB Wireless Adaptor
Dell Inspiron 1150 Laptop: No HDD, Screen in good order, MOBO
overheats
Aiwa MniDisc Recorder: AM-F80 includes battery pack
2 x Parallel cable
USB power source from wall adapter to two USB sockets
6 pin to keyboard and mouse splitter cable
4 x RCA cable
1 metre 6 pin extension cable for mice/keyboards/etc
Bag of assorted server rack nuts
Parallel cable male-to-male adapter
2 x UK telephone to modem RJ45 cable
Microsoft PS/2 mouse
Digital camera adapter for Sony Ericsson mobile (Communicam MCA-25)
Modem to Modem (US style RJ45 cable)
3 x 2 metre parallel printer cable
PS/2 to Serial Mouse adapter
Uniross X-Press 1000 battery charger
Linksys Bluetooth USB dongle w/ integrated antenna
4 x Walkman
PS/2 to USB mouse adapter
Garmin Etrex GPS handheld: Sadly cracked/leaky LCD, but unit in
perfect working order
ATI AGP Graphics card
BT R70 Answerphone
Blackberry mini-USB wall charger
QuickCD PCMCIA External CD drive
2 x iomega ZIP Drives
Netgear MA401 802.11b PCMCIA wireless card
4 x 2 pin plugs
AT to PS/2 keyboard adapter
2 x Parallel to 9 pin serial adapter
US to Australian Phone adapter
Thinkpad 365X Laptop: No HDD, screen in working order
LinkSys WPC11 PCMCIA 802.11b wireless adapter
Altec Lansing PC speaker set with Subwoofer and 2 desktop speakers.
Beige and ugly but lend tunes to a busy workshop
6 x Kettle plugs
Solwise SAR110 ADSL router

[Billy]

I'd say drop it all off, and we can chew through it at leisure.

The minidisc recorder and the walkman's would be great for the music
hack group.

The kettle leads/pplugs can go in the power leads box.

The Thinkpad, could go to Ben for his touch screen table. Either that
or the Inspiron, depends on what spec he needs.

The speakers could be either another set in the main room, a built-in
set for the quiet room video projector, or the music hack group will
find a use for them.

Depending on the specs, either lovelace or difference could use the
graphic card...

We'll find a use for almost all of it, and the things we don't use,
we'll put in the three week bins so people can hack about with them.

Thank you.

[Jim MacArthur]

I have to disagree with you here Billy. The three-week box is a tool to help us move things out of the space. Things should not be brought in with the intention of being put into that box. 

Omphe, it's very generous of you to offer these parts, but I think only things that have been specifically requested (including the items Billy mentioned) should be brought in.

Thanks

Jim

[Mark Steward]

Without wanting to seem ungrateful, I don't think most of this is worth the effort of bringing to the space.  We're highly unlikely to need the following:

  Print cartridges

  PC133 RAM

  ZIP drives (although Jonty might still want one for himself)

  Huge amounts of parallel cable

  A laptop that's known to have a cooling problem

  A PCMCIA CD drive

  A Thinkpad 365X (seriously, were these even Pentiums?)

  A very old ADSL router

  US to Australian phone adapter

The following are two-a-penny, and therefore not worth hoarding:

  Any phone or modem cables

  PS/2 to USB mouse adapter

  Really old USB wifi adapters

  RCA cables

I can't say either way for the Communicam, MD recorder and battery charger, but I suspect they'll end up getting chucked if nobody shows interest on the mailing list, and I'd be cautious of filling the 3-week box with answerphones again.

The Walkmans have a certain kitsch and hacker appeal, and the GPS might have a decent interface.  And while they're not a scarce commodity, I think we might be able to use some kettle leads and rack nuts.

Cheers,

Mark

[dave.l...@gmail.com]

A

Sent using from a tiny keypad.

---

From: Mark Steward <marks...@gmail.com>

Sender: london-h...@googlegroups.com

Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:39:51 +0000

To: <london-h...@googlegroups.com>

ReplyTo: london-h...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: [london-hack-space] Re: Old computer bits and spares offered for upcycling

[Billy]

On Dec 31, 12:39 am, Mark Steward <markstew...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Without wanting to seem ungrateful, I don't think most of this is worth the
> effort of bringing to the space.  We're highly unlikely to need the
> following:
>
>   Print cartridges
>   PC133 RAM
>   ZIP drives (although Jonty might still want one for himself)
>   Huge amounts of parallel cable
>   A laptop that's known to have a cooling problem
>   A PCMCIA CD drive
>   A Thinkpad 365X (seriously, were these even Pentiums?)
>   A very old ADSL router
>   US to Australian phone adapter
>

Like i said, the laptops are fine, if they're of a suitable spec. Ask
Ben Blundell if he needs them.

The RAM i can use on one of the old servers i've got.

> The following are two-a-penny, and therefore not worth hoarding:
>
>   Any phone or modem cables

Do we have any spares here?

>   PS/2 to USB mouse adapter

This is useful, as we continually run out of USB mice and keyboards.

>   Really old USB wifi adapters
>   RCA cables
>

Any of the leads are useful. We can sort them as to what's good to
keep and what's better for salvage.

> I can't say either way for the Communicam, MD recorder and battery charger,
> but I suspect they'll end up getting chucked if nobody shows interest on
> the mailing list, and I'd be cautious of filling the 3-week box with
> answerphones again.
>

I, personally, can use the battery charger, the mini-disc recorder,
the Bluetooth dongle, and the walkmans. I thought that if i'd use them
for analogue recording, then other members of the music hack group
would also be interested. There's also a lovely design for
frippertronics-style reverb units and analogue sampling synths that
could use the electronics.

> The Walkmans have a certain kitsch and hacker appeal, and the GPS might
> have a decent interface.  And while they're not a scarce commodity, I think
> we might be able to use some kettle leads and rack nuts.
>

Kettle leads we are always short of. Yes, we had a decent stock, but
they've either evaporated, been borrowed by members, or been eaten by
the kipple-monster.

Nuts, bolts, screws, and other things of that ilk, are always useful,
stick them in the box of random screws, or if they're already packed
and grouped by size, put them in the appropriate section of the bolts
and screws drawers unit.

> Cheers,
> Mark
>
> On Sat, Dec 31, 2011 at 12:07 AM, Billy <bi...@billycomputersmith.com>wrote:
>
>

Like i said, it depends on the specs of the stuff. We have a limit of
space, and we cannot accept lots of old computer equipment. This has
been stated very clearly in the wiki.

However, if it's going to involve him sorting the stuff out and
dropping it off, then since he's just giving us the kit, then it's
polite for us to do the sorting, hence the "drop it all off" comment.

Drop me a line off-list, to arrange when you want to sort this stuff
out, and i'll take care of it.

If it means that i don't have to spend 20 minutes searching the
workshop for a kettle lead, like the last 4 times, then it's time well
spent.

[omphe]

OK. Great response.

First, apologies if the offer breaks the "no unsolicited donations
rule". There was some interest on Twitter, so I thought I'd make a
detailed offer.

Second, I live 40 miles outside London, so will be delivering by train
or a long bike ride. I'm not interested in schlepping in anything
that will just get recycled anyway. So here's the list of items that
I intend to drop by:

- MiniDisc and Walkmen
- Kettle plugs & 2 pin power leads
- Both laptops (I reckoned these were only of interest for keyboards/
displays. They are otherwise outdated or knackered. Please confirm if
unwanted)
- Graphics card
- GPS (This can be wired up to a serial or other interface and tied
into a laptop. The display is knackered)
- Rack nuts
- The 2 sticks of RAM (These are for laptops, so unsuitable for a
server)
- PS/2 to USB mouse adapter
- Bluetooth Dongle
- Battery Charger
- The Communicam (This is a matchbox sized camera that clips to the
bottom of an old Sony mobile. Only of use if someone can rip out the
CCD)

If there's any interest for other stuff. Just drop a line.

It sounds like Billy is the man to arrange a drop off through. I'll
look to drop things off either early, or late in January as my wife
and I have a baby arriving somewhere in the middle.


Branden

[Sam Cook]

On 31 December 2011 11:09, omphe <brande...@googlemail.com> wrote:

First, apologies if the offer breaks the "no unsolicited donations
rule". There was some interest on Twitter, so I thought I'd make a
detailed offer.

 You've asked on the 'list, it's certainly not unsolicited. The reason for that rule is to stop people using the space as a dumping ground for rubbish. 

I would point out that there is a stack of Dell laptops in the quiet room. I'm not sure of their state but it might be worth checking these before adding more laptops to the space. 

S

[christin...@gmail.com]

If they've not been taken, can you put the parallel cables and eTrex
in my box please.

GLen

On Dec 31, 12:15 pm, Sam Cook <sam.lindenrat...@gmail.com> wrote:

[DieselDragon]

Sorry I'm a bit late with this one, only just came across the thread!

omphe wrote:
> I am doing a big clearout of old technology from the cupboards and
> have a heap of stuff to get rid of.

> ...

> Linksys Bluetooth USB dongle w/ integrated antenna

> Garmin Etrex GPS handheld: Sadly cracked/leaky LCD, but unit in
> perfect working order

> QuickCD PCMCIA External CD drive

If you still have them and they havn't been asked for by someone else,
I'd be interested in the Bluetooth dongle, Etrex, and the PCMCIA CD-
ROM.
The latter especially as I have a few laptops with only PCMCIA
interfaces, and trying to install anything on them from a CD (I.E:
Just about any OS or software nowadays!) normally involves a
horrendous amount of HDD swapping or standing there for hours with my
mobile IRing it over!

I live roughly the same distance from London too, so if by chance you
are near the Blackwater Valley I could come and pick it up myself.
Otherwise I've still got to sort out my membership & box, but if you
could drop them in an old envelope or something and leave it with my
name on in the mail pile or on the bookshelf, I'll pick them up next
time I'm at the Space! :-)
+++ DieselDragon +++