also look at the iRecycle app to find buyers for all sorts of stuff you currently pay to get rid of!


1).
Yes, there are boards that are valued at $0.00.
They’re bare unused breadboards. Meaning nothing on it, or in it. Depending on if it’s an actual breadboard or an etch/prototype board: it may have value on ebay though.
Bare breadboard can usually fetch a few dollars online. Etch board can get up to $10 or more.

Boards with mercury or radioactive materials will cost you money. They will deduct or charge for recycling them. Don’t send them.

2) 3) TLDR
take a look at my what’s inside it photo blogs to see random crap take. Apart. Or the video series on my YouTube. Click on my subscriber tab to see other boardsort members with far more educational videos. But do take a scroll through the what’s inside it index. It’s mostly requested breakdowns asked for by users here.

2&3:

The most valuable computer stuff out there is from the late 70s and early 80s.
Big heavy chips. Gold caps. Silver and gold legs. The transition to silver solder. Gold etching boards.

I’ve long been a champion of [last resort] recycling old A/V equipment.
Old 70s tuners can bring $50-$100s in scrap.
The TQ series radio receiver amps from the early 70s and their competitors have over $50 in silver alone. There’s a thin solid gold cover over the amplifier section worth about $15.
The whole shell is extruded Al
The base is a heavy rolled Al block.
The wires are all solid copper except for the GOLD I/O connector wires and their gold plated ports.
This follows for most of like equipment from this era.


OLD vhs players, as you mentioned, can be a nice quick payout, scrap wise. And yes, with serious informed cleaning you can strip enough to get to the peripheral levels. Even on the main boards.

But why? VHS is still a strong format with a rabid fan base.
A dead player pre-90s will fetch mid double digits.
Working ones can get around $100 or more.
Keeping my decks working is a constant effort in salvage! This is not 2005 where vhs players are $5 thrift. Even most of those places set prices at $20 or more! I recently dumped $39 on a plastic JVC 2008 deck at GoodWill!
Which was less then the two belts I stole from it would have cost on eBay!
Take the time to learn the parts and sell them online and there is big time cash in it. Forget scrapping.

That goes for all old A/V equipment! No matter what you read or hear or watch… a quick look at eBay’s sold results shows parts are expensive, and working units are not for the thin wallets.
Equalisers can get to $200+
Amps, up to $250! Thousands for tube amps.
Tuners can fetch thousands for some units from known brands.
Old speakers can run hundreds or thousands.

Just look at the cost for record players from the 70s and 80s for retirement funding!
VHS and Beta from the 70s is the same.

And here’s the real bonus!
That stuff is all large and so old tech wise every component is standalone. Finding and replacing parts is a great hobby that could pay more than many jobs. There’s virtually no surface mount stuff in there. So simply heat the solder on the pins. Pull the old part out and solder a new part in. Components are usually well marked and easy to find.

The single most common cause of failure and the most expensive single part in tape players, belts. Get the length and width. Look outside the box.
I’m using a small motor belt from an electric mini-chain-saw to drive my 8-head SVHS deck.

The most common in tuners and receivers is the primary capacitor. Don’t match the physical size. You can use a smaller modern one. Just make sure all the specs are the same.

Video game systems, 8- and 16-bit computers? Batteries and capacitors. Same deal.
There’s whole sites dedicated to replacing batteries in old equipment with modern ones. Even disposable! Cut the traces for inbound feed and solder a bracket for the battery. Use C or D cells. Lol.
2 1.5 volt half N batteries can replace a 3.1 volt.

It’s easy to find this stuff in garage sales and curb side trash.
Some not-textbook ingenuity and you have a gold mine.

You have it already. Open it up and look. Some 9 times in ten, the problem is visible. Damaged traces. Loose parts.
You’re gonna take it apart to scrap it, right? Look around.

Use Bing to search for parts. Not Google. It’s less moderated in how it ranks.
If you have a radio shack or microcenter around, or often even Best Buy: you’d be surprised what these places can order for you if you ask nicely and pay.

And if you need a part you can’t find. Post here (business side) or email me.

In the very end: scrap everything.
Look at my lightbulb. I made money from that. Speed comes with practice. Never toss or recycle whole anythings. Always take the top off and look!

I still pick up giant boxes from local stores where I convinced them to collect junk from customers.
Sign says “if it plugs on or turned on”
I’ve gotten everything from old computers and game systems to cell phones, lamps, tools.
It comes with some hazmat concerns (like electric tooth brush or um, toys) but there’s never a reason not to carefully take a look.

So also look at the iRecycle app to find buyers for all sorts of stuff you currently pay to get rid of!

_________________
42 6F 61 72 64 73 6F 72 74 2E 63 6F 6D

Thanks. I needed this reminder.

Lol.

There are very few rules in escrap.

Don’t scrap EDO.
Don’t trash video tape players.
Don’t junk pre-90s tuners.

On the first one there isn’t a reputable computer shoppe out there that won’t hand you $5 for 2MB of EDO. They’ll turn around and sell it for … — … $5!!!!!
It’s the single most protected item in electronics history. Let’s not forget the guy in India that was nearly MURDERED for by a young couple for over-pricing it!

VHS, and BETA, my opinions are biased but accurate as a fan myself deeply into the scene. The fans are rabid! Like EDO it’s a long wait to sell a part.
Unlike EDO there’s no unspoken, or spoken, rules.
You price a head from a 1979 Sanyo BII @$100 and someone WILL eventually come and pay you that rate.

Pardon my butchering of the English name but even the low end Techniqs tuners from the mid-70s fetch $500. Dead at sale. These sell at 5-6 digits working quite regularly!

And again

When all else is out, open it up! See what’s inside.
I’ve sold stuff to boardsort ranging from 1930s video to 1950s audio to 2021 computers.
Always look inside.

_________________
42 6F 61 72 64 73 6F 72 74 2E 63 6F 6D

Thank you.

At one point I did take the time to do what repairs I'm capable of but just got away from it because it just wasn't worth the time. Seeing the current prices of vcrs may be some encouragement to at least test them ... or it will just mean they sit in a pile another 10 years, lol.

edo particularly was a great thing to bring up, since everything I have is untested. But as I started researching I realize I may have a number of memory cards and graphics cards that fetch a nice price untested. Looks like a good project for today since I don't want to go outside in the cold and snow.

Where do organ boards fit into this mix? Especially the ones with gold plated pins and contacts. Most organ boards are brown also.

Usually a custom quote in the telcos range.
Also, pay attention to the metal key brackets if you have them. They’re usually a low end silver alloy.

_________________
42 6F 61 72 64 73 6F 72 74 2E 63 6F 6D

Thanks!

See my joking reply under your post on “anything boardsort doesn’t buy”

But I’ve sent a lot of organ parts to Chris pre-covid.

_________________
42 6F 61 72 64 73 6F 72 74 2E 63 6F 6D

Going to post a small bump here.
2024, and we’re playing with repairing our old Hammond A100.
Tubes for this thing range from a quarter to $200 each!

But what is amazing to me, nearly ALL the wires are silver!! Wow. I had one xrf tested out of curiosity and it comes back as apx 70% silver and 15% copper with tin and iron and a few others in the mix.

A lot of the wire runs are nickel plates. There’s a lot of hazmat here too. Lead and mercury. Asbestos etc.

But we return to the idea of, open it up. I still laugh at the idea of paying the repair company to remove an item from you home.
A power driver ($30) and a bit set ($20) and a few hours of work. Break down that old washing machine. They already left it in the middle of the room right? You’ll get $10-$20 for the scrap motor. Rather than pay them $50 to take it for you. And who knows, maybe you find a gold cap chip in there! ;)

_________________
42 6F 61 72 64 73 6F 72 74 2E 63 6F 6D

Hi lostinlodos,

I've read hearsay some organs made by Hammond have more PMs besides silver wire. But it sounds like you have one which works, and a working thing is usually better than the sum of its parts, especially for the music it can provide!

You mentioned you had a photo blog (a "what's inside this thing?" series), and a youtube channel. Could I ask for a link to these?

Thanks,
bshan

Edit: I found the "What's Inside It" thread! (edit: removed wrong link - bshan)

Edit2: I found one of them, it turns out. LostinLodos sent me to the right place here: https://boardsort.com/escrapforum/viewt ... f=3&t=1851