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Vintage Test Gear and Workshop Equipment For discussions about vintage test gear and workshop equipment such as coil winders.

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Old 27th Sep 2020, 7:58 pm   #21
factory
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Default Re: Recycling

Ebay is the best place to sell if you want it seen by the biggest audience, hence you will have a higher chance of selling it, some test gear from the 60's, 70's & later can go for a good price on there.
The local auctions & club auctions will have far fewer people seeing items, especially if they don't have online bidding.

Even stuff that looks like it shouldn't sell does so eventually, this HP 3722A with stuff growing in it is one example.
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I've bought a drowned HP item myself that became a foot & side frame donor.

David

Last edited by factory; 27th Sep 2020 at 8:06 pm.
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Old 27th Sep 2020, 8:39 pm   #22
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Default Re: Recycling

I'd suggest a day's 'give away'. This has been done before successfully by forum members. You will have people more local to you who cannot get to BVWS events or not be members. Things which do not attract many bids at said auctions may be of value to some - I have found this. The auctions are flooded with stuff and people there may have been going for ages and run out of storage. There are however people starting up who are not members who value the 50's woodie or signal generator, etc, and others like myself who just like things for free! Just choose a day, post it here, and ask if there is interest. A photo of the heap may help. It should be possible to run such a day and maintain social distancing.
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 1:12 am   #23
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Default Re: Recycling

Thanks to everyone who responded - some good ideas there. However Paul Stenning’s view is one that I am rapidly coming to accept. The items for disposal are truly no-hopers and although they may contain some items that others might crave, the chances of interested parties being any where near mid Powys are pretty remote. The other pile of what I referred to as “whydidIbuythats” may well find some interest on eBay, but when they find out how much it will cost to ship, the interest may evaporate. I have a number of Avo valve testers and wartime communications receivers that I will not live long enough to ever restore and or calibrate. I couldn’t bring myself to put them in the skip, but frankly can’t face cataloguing them and sticking them on eBay. But that’ll be another quandary to solve once I have ditched these two piles!
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 1:14 am   #24
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Default Re: Recycling

Oh and scores of Avometers too!
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 10:00 am   #25
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Default Re: Recycling

Forgive me if repeating summat from earlier posts, but avo valve testers and valve characteristic meters are sought after and people will pay hard cash for them.

As regards Avometers, Anthony and Andy on this forum, amongst others, are interested in these (as am i but i don't have any more room or funds!)
A growing problem with avometers is the tendency for naughty boys to make them into retro look desk lamps, for selling on to fans of the industrial look. This is making genuine aficionados and collectors very cagey about selling them on, as they often have a conscience about what is going to happen to them. Now is the time to wantonly spread a rumour that in the event of a massive EMP, digital meters won't work any more!

I suppose a lot depends on how quickly you want to dispose of your stuff.

Dave
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 10:06 am   #26
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Default Re: Recycling

A series of photos of what you have got may reveal some items that are worth a tank of fuel and a day out to someone.
I may even be tempted.
Last time I did that I got loaded up with more stuff to fill the remaining vehicle space.
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 10:41 am   #27
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Default Re: Recycling

As Dave says, the Avo valve testers and characteristic meters will sell regardless of condition. List them with a lot starting price, for parts or not working, collection only. They are worth holding onto and trying to sell.

Avometers should sell to people who want them for their intended purpose if complete, tidy and working, but won't fetch much. For delivery they would need to be well packed. Non-working or broken there is no real interest.

Scopes, sig-gens, LCR bridges, frequency counters and other similar stuff you will struggle to give away. An open day is an option but as you say, how many people will want to travel to mid Wales to collect that sort of thing even if it's free?

Right now, with Wales in danger of going into full lockdown again (nearly two thirds of the population are already in local lockdowns), is not the time for anyone to come and collect anything. If you are in a hurry to get it all cleared then a skip may still be the best option, and just hang onto anything good that you can store until things return to nearer normal.
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 4:09 pm   #28
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Default Re: Recycling

I have an acquaintance that at one time worked for a skip disposal company. Items do get sorted, and as they have to pay handsomely for "landfill" not much suffers this fate. It won't be sympathetically treated of course, no one would expect that.
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 5:21 pm   #29
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Default Re: Recycling

Quote:
Originally Posted by Refugee View Post
A series of photos of what you have got may reveal some items that are worth a tank of fuel and a day out to someone.
I may even be tempted.
Last time I did that I got loaded up with more stuff to fill the remaining vehicle space.
I'll echo that. There must be quite a few of us who, like me, aren't too far from Powys - about an hour in the car wouldn't be a huge stretch.

Mike
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 8:51 pm   #30
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Originally Posted by Paul Stenning View Post
Scopes, sig-gens, LCR bridges, frequency counters and other similar stuff you will struggle to give away.
Digital frequency counters & other early digital meters almost always sell and are getting more expensive to buy, I suspect most sell to the wrong people (who just want the rob the displays ).

David
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 9:21 pm   #31
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Default Re: Recycling

Pragmatically, I'm reminded that loads of then-still-current electronica was dumped down mineshafts/crushed-on-beaches-using-tanks in the aftermath of WWII because there was no market for it, and to be honest I can't really think it's economically sane to spend significant amounts of time trying to find a 'new home' for stuff-you've-had-in-a-shed-for-decades-but-haven't-done-anything-with.

I always mentally 'cost' my time - if listing-old-stuff-on-Ebay doesn't guarantee me at least a minimum-hourly-wage repayment, I'm happy to simply sling it in the wheelie-bin and be rid of it.

Don't waste the remaining hours/days/weeks/years of your life worrying about the fate of electronic junk. The Grim Reaper won't care a bit if you plead for an extra few days of life on earth because you saved a broken Avometer or two from the crusher.

Last edited by G6Tanuki; 28th Sep 2020 at 9:43 pm.
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 9:30 pm   #32
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Default Re: Recycling

It's difficult.

I'm sure I'm not alone here in that quite often things crop up here that would be of interest for £x but, by time a personal round trip's fuel is taken into account, that could effectively be triple that and not really viable. Sometimes, there's a museum, sightseeing etc. to be conveniently fitted in as justification but that's a happy coincidence. Old and possibly bulky and heavy kit doesn't really travel well by anything other than well-padded buyer's car- notoriously 'scopes, but radios can have Bakelite cases and dial glasses broken and heavy components can get ripped out of PCBs by the courier handling of being thrown around lorries and depot yards, so there's understandable reluctance there. Arrangement for interchange at vintage events can work out well, but that's out of the reckoning for the time being.
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Old 28th Sep 2020, 10:32 pm   #33
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Default Re: Recycling

I've watched the sentiment in this thread swing from 'It's only old test equipment, just bin it!" round to "Oooh! AVO valve testers!"

It all come down to just what is in the stuff.

There are many things people on here would want spares boxes for. There are people looking for wobbulators in other threads. There is a healthy flow of sig gens both Advance and Marconi grades. People actually use these things to fix radios. Travel is a problem just now and looks like it will get worse before it gets better.

Let's at least try. Let's have some photos, a list, or something.

I have no interest in, say audio triodes, but if I came across a number of them I'd try to get them to people who appreciated them, people with radiograms and grand radios with an expensively empty socket from rhinoceros poachers. I can imagine the fuss if I posted that I'd skipped the lot.

Perhaps the amount of interest won't make a big difference to the pile of stuff, and lots will still wind up being melted down or going into landfill, but we should also consider that maybe a few bits could make big differences if only to a few people.

And yes, I do have a few sought after audio valves. Not many. I didn't collect them for themselves, I just wound up with them as orphaned lots at radio junk auctions many years ago. 50p each, which is hilarious nowadays. Not the sainted directly-heated triodes, but others that occasionally are needed. I'm waiting for someone needing them to show up. Not for building new audio gear, but for restoring some classic old audio gear. I won't say what they are, but when someone needs some, I'll drop them a PM and they can have them. Free to a good home as the phrase goes. I think it's more in line with the ethos of a group about the repair and restoration of classic and vintage equipment than helping someone get trendy hifi on the cheap.

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Old 29th Sep 2020, 10:21 pm   #34
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Default Re: Recycling

Bear me in mind if you get to sorting out and putting a value on the valve testers and wartime recievers, I could be interested in a tester and a reciever.

Once things settle down I need to go to Newport to do some house rewiring for my son, so Powy's is not too far away.
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Old 29th Sep 2020, 11:22 pm   #35
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Default Re: Recycling

Yes, probably best to see if folk are interested. I'm pretty certain that some will be interested in certain items and it's got to be better than the skip. Many years ago I dumped some of my fathers radio and test equipment. This was the early 80's, I was young and of course it was all very old fashioned, of no use to anyone. He was very much an amateur, most of it was of very little value. With it went a US military valve tester, a nice Hioki multimeter and many boxes of valves. Let's just say I regret it.
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Old 30th Sep 2020, 12:40 pm   #36
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Default Re: Recycling

Thanks again for the wise words. Rest assured I am trying to be responsible here - but I have left it very late and am trying to downsize in a planet-friendly fashion and to cover my costs wherever I can - this stuff didn't come cheap.

As I said in my first post, phase one is to dispose of two piles of stuff - no-hopers and really undesirable stuff that I am pretty sure will raise no more than a few quid - far less than the cost to me of cataloguing it, listing it on eBay or anywhere else and having to deal with tyre-kickers et al.

Once I have dealt with phase one, there are a series of I believe valuable collections that I need to sell that I don't particularly want to list publicly for security reasons.

I cannot afford to dump Avo valve testers in a skip, so nobody needs to lose any sleep over that prospect.

Right now we are heading into lockdown again so I have time to work out what to do - I have been approached by several forum members with expressions of interest in specific items, and I will progress them as quickly as I can.

Thanks to the wise counsel received from this forum, I now have a pretty clear idea of what I am going to do. Thanks to all of you who took the time to provide advice and encouragement.

If there's anyone out there with deep pockets who wants to buy 9000 valves, please feel free to contact me! Visitors strictly by appointment ONLY.
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Old 30th Sep 2020, 1:05 pm   #37
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Default Re: Recycling

A few good photos of the low value stuff would be useful.
Just offer on condition that the collector takes a minimum quantity.
When I had to do an emergency move 10 years ago I loaded a couple of cars up with bonus stuff after advertising a few single items.
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Old 3rd Oct 2020, 4:54 am   #38
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Here in Washington State U.S.A. (As opposed to the "Other" Washington on the East Coast).
We have semi-local scrappers that pay for PC boards and electronics equipment depending on the "density" of the parts, and the amount of iron, copper, and brass on them.
TV main and sub boards are lowest board scrap price- but more than just "irony scrap".
Even old tube chassis bring money.

Computer main boards are top dollar boards. The wiring, "clean" (no other metals or plastic materials), aluminum front panels & cases, bring good $$. There is a price difference between cast, extruded (Think heat sinks), and sheet aluminum. I used to take my 1/2 ton van loaded with scrap up and come back with an average of 300-700$ from old chassis, aluminum, copper, transformers, etc.

Check around. I took a pickup load of old steel chassis and a dead freezer out this week and came back with a nice pile of cash. (OK- Well enough for me to buy a nice big sirloin steak for dinner, and pay for my gas to take it to the recycler; a 25 mile round trip). I was surprised at how much I got for the load!

Not sure how things work there. If I take anything to the dump, (Garbage tip) I have to pay by the pound to toss it. Currently $18.00 U.S.D./ 200 lbs. (That's 90.7 Kilos for the Imperially challenged folks). Just took out a load last Monday to the dump. That includes up to 2 tires off rim too!
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Old 3rd Oct 2020, 8:54 pm   #39
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Default Re: Recycling

I would be interested in Cossor test equipment.

Some of this stuff is now quite rare.

Cheers

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Old 3rd Oct 2020, 10:20 pm   #40
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Ref #38. My son in law is what is termed in recycling as a "tip rat", i.e. he works in a local recycling centre so I take heed. One bit of advice. Batteries - don't take them to the tip or take up the offer from the firm selling you new ones to dispose of them. Head down to a scrap metal place and weigh them in. I bought new batteries for my mobility scooter a while ago and headed off to the scrappie with the old ones to get a nice reduction in the cost of my new batteries.
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