mwtilden@watmath.waterloo.edu (M.W.Tilden, Hardware) (08/28/90)
As an undergrad I supplemented a good part of my electronics needs
by jumping around dumpsters outside various University technical buildings.
Found some really good stuff and it's not half as disgusting as you might
think (so long as you took care not to bust any of the closed glad bags).
Got terminals, modems, various optics, switchboxes, ect. Helped out
quite a lot for a poor student.
I got to thinking though, just imagine what the dumpsters around silicon
valley contain and would they be accessible to, say, a group of guys
on a 'crawl' from place to place with a small U-Haul. Just think of
the components you'd find outside of SUN, IBM, NEC, DEC and (insert
three-letter techno-based anachronism here). You could tile your bathroom
with dead SUN 3/50 boards (make a great back-scratcher), make a
room lit entirely through the phosphor of dead 19inch video-tubes,
take cpu/monitor casings and make the wildest robot Halloween costume,
install about 30 fake keyboards around your desk to *really* impress
visitors, experiment with throwing wall current through the Vcc of
your most favorite CPU board (just like you've always wanted to)
and get it on video for slow-mo playback again and again.
Wow.
The question is though, is such a crawl possible, or do such companies
have locks and guards and policies to prevent such things? Has
anybody grown up in the area having done this as a kid? Are there
really big 'junk sales' in the area or do people just wander through
the city dump with a hose?
Just curious.
Is all.
--
Mark Tilden: _-_-_-__--__--_ /(glitch!) M.F.C.F Hardware Design Lab.
-_-___ | \ /\/ U of Waterloo. Ont. Can, N2L-3G1
|__-_-_-| \/ (519) - 885 - 1211 ext.2454,
"MY OPINIONS, YOU HEAR!? MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"hbg6@citek.mcdphx.mot.com (08/29/90)
In article mwtilden@watmath.waterloo.edu (M.W.Tilden, Hardware) writes: >The question is though, is such a crawl possible, or do such companies >have locks and guards and policies to prevent such things? Has >anybody grown up in the area having done this as a kid? Are there >really big 'junk sales' in the area or do people just wander through >the city dump with a hose? Speaking only of Motorola here in Phoenix, all of the good stuff is disposed of in one of two ways; all of the circuit boards (that we build here) and the scrap components are saved and sent to a precious metals reclaim place. It's upsetting to think of all of that stuff being ground to powder. :-( The junk terminals, scopes, and other equipment goes to public auction. (In Phoenix, check the Republic classified section 5200 for auctions on Grant street, the ads do not say Motorola. I think ones comming up on Sept 8th.) John Schuch ..................................................................... reply to 'from' address; hbg6@citek.mcdphx.mot.com NOT the 'sender' line address! Someday my sysadm will decide this is a 'real' problem. :-) ..................................................................... All opinions expressed are mine and not Motorolas, their loss. .....................................................................
logajan@ns.network.com (John Logajan) (08/29/90)
mwtilden@watmath.waterloo.edu (M.W.Tilden, Hardware) writes: >As an undergrad I supplemented a good part of my electronics needs >by jumping around dumpsters outside various University technical buildings. > >I got to thinking though, just imagine what the dumpsters around silicon >valley contain and would they be accessible to, say, a group of guys >on a 'crawl' from place to place with a small U-Haul. Ah, the difference the profit motive makes. Where I work (a for profit company) all scrap is collected and sold to scrap dealers. Paper, dead PC boards, obsolete PC boards and equipment -- everything. They only get pennies on the pound for it, however. -- - John Logajan @ Network Systems; 7600 Boone Ave; Brooklyn Park, MN 55428 - logajan@ns.network.com, 612-424-4888, Fax 612-424-2853
grege@gold.GVG.TEK.COM (Greg Ebert) (08/29/90)
Dumpster crawling, eh ? We used to call it 'shopping'. We were also called 'jawas' [the silly critters in Star Wars (1977?)] because *anything* left out overnight would be cannibalized by the next day. There were a couple hi-tech firms where I grew up, but most of the good stuff was liberated from old equipment sitting outside instead of picking through coffee grounds and used Kleenex (yukkko!). Mostly got nuts/bolts, wire, copper-clad board, and wire lugs. The biggest place (Hughes) had their bins behind the guard-gate. Arrggghh! The occaisional jackpot was some switches, relays, and maybe some indicator lamps. And then there was 'heavy item pickup'. The city would pick-up large appliances, etc for free. Every year, like clockwork, hoards of scroungers would materialize after dark. Like vultures, we would grab the good tidbits and leave the carcass for someone else. TV's, washers/dryers, stereos, engines, you name it. By morning, about half of what was put out remained. Ahhhh, youth!
dt@yenta.alb.nm.us (David B. Thomas) (08/30/90)
hbg6@citek.mcdphx.mot.com writes: >Speaking only of Motorola here in Phoenix, all of the good stuff is >disposed of in one of two ways; all of the circuit boards (that we build >here) and the scrap components are saved and sent to a precious metals >reclaim place. It's upsetting to think of all of that stuff being >ground to powder. :-( I regularly go to a local salvage auction, and it's AMAZING how high the crates of old circuit boards are bid. We're talking $1000 or so! I think the people who buy them get the gold and stuff out of them. And here I thought it would be a cheap source of spare parts. Hah! David
frankl@xrtll.uucp (Frank Lemire) (08/30/90)
I think your idea is great, but probably unworkable. I'm also a "garbage-
picker" by hobby (found over $700 of unused photographic paper this way
a week ago) but I've found that if you go thrashing around large corperations
(like IBM, DEC, etc) you are inviting trouble. Most of the multi-national
companies that have building here in Toronto usually have fences around the
place, and keep their garbage in large bins until the waste-collection
comapany comes to get it.
I'd suggest hanging around Universities, office buildings, small offices,
that kind of thing, but DONT be caught tresspassing at night at Bell Canada
(like I was, but it wasn't a problem, the guard thought I was a bum..)
Always wear old dark clothes, and you'll want to bring along a swiss-army
knife (nothing bigger).
Enjoy your trashing, you'll find some treasures.
--
._o -- Frank Lemire [zippo] -- zippo@contact.uucp [PREF]
|> -- Toronto, Canada -- frankl@xrtll.uucp
4 --------------------------- !uunet.uu.net!contact!zipporzh@lll-lcc.UUCP (Roger Hanscom) (08/30/90)
>The question is though, is such a crawl possible, or do such companies >have locks and guards and policies to prevent such things? Has >anybody grown up in the area having done this as a kid? Are there >really big 'junk sales' in the area or do people just wander through >the city dump with a hose? Mark-- I believe that the really "high-tech" firms know what they are dealing with in "junk", and sell as much as possible to increase their bottom line. So, one can probably do best crawling in dumpsters where the value of this "stuff" is not as well understood. You will only get a feeling for the big bucks in electronics surplus by visiting places like Halted, Silicon Valley Surplus, Haltek, etc. in the "Valley". These places are truly amazing, and when one sees what sorts of inventory they carry --- and the value of it --, it is easy to see why much of it does not show up in dumpsters!! roger rzh@lll-lcc.llnl.gov rzh@icf.llnl.gov
rbrink@hubcap.clemson.edu (rickie brink) (08/31/90)
From article <1990Aug30.062306.7138@xrtll.uucp>, by frankl@xrtll.uucp (Frank Lemire): > > I think your idea is great, but probably unworkable. I'm also a "garbage- > picker" by hobby (found over $700 of unused photographic paper this way > a week ago) but I've found that if you go thrashing around large corperations > (like IBM, DEC, etc) you are inviting trouble. Most of the multi-national > companies that have building here in Toronto usually have fences around the > place, and keep their garbage in large bins until the waste-collection > comapany comes to get it. > > I'd suggest hanging around Universities, office buildings, small offices, > that kind of thing, but DONT be caught tresspassing at night at Bell Canada > (like I was, but it wasn't a problem, the guard thought I was a bum..) > Be prepaired to do some fast talking, or better yet, have a friend with bail money at home. Most Municipalities are out-lawing the old "trash-can-crawl". They don't want to get sued by someone who gets hurt. There lawers tell them they have an unassumed liability, because they don't outlaw it. But no one bothers to tell the cops who bust you that the law is just to keep you from sueing the county (etc.) I'll never for get the night I was removing some parts from Panel tossed in the trash a Univ. of Miami (FL). The cop flashed a light in my face, then started laughing. He laughed for 2 or 3 minutes and then said "I ain't never seen a white man in a dumpster before!" No racial slight intended, but it's the only reason he didn't arest me, I had broken the quiet of his shift with something "he" thought was funny. I started taking my girlfriend to post a watch... > Enjoy your trashing, you'll find some treasures. > -- Watch out for rats, and for gods sake, don't molest the cats. When they are gone, it will just be us and the rats....not a calming thought. RBrink@Clemson.edu
cgordon@vpnet.chi.il.us (Gordon Hlavenka) (08/31/90)
>The question is though, is such a crawl possible, or do such companies >have locks and guards and policies to prevent such things? Has >anybody grown up in the area having done this as a kid? Strictly speaking, items in a dumpster remain the property of whoever put them there until the disposal company personnel touch the dumpster. Then the stuff belongs to the disposal company. AT NO TIME does that great stuff belong to _you_. Thus, garbagepicking is actually THEFT. The above information came to me, a confirmed, unabashed, incurable garbagepicker, from my father, a cop. Some companies will probably lock their trash. Many reasons, but all of them come down to: keep out. The harder they make it for you to get in, the more they mean it. But not to despair: A lot of outfits don't care. Locally, for instance, there is a third-party repair center run by one of those three-letter outfits. They operate out of a strip mall, and their dumpster is a nightly treasure chest! (Trust me, I know) My experience is Chicago area, but I would imagine the Valley would be similar. My advice: Search out the good places, and good luck! Another option: With all the environmental concern happening these days, new dumping regulations are going into effect all the time. You may find that it's ILLEGAL to discard PCBs, batteries, etc in the trash. It's quite possible that companies are throwing them away anyhow. If you play your cards right, you might set yourself up to be PAID to haul the stuff away for them. This is how some of the best surplus companies started... ----------------------------------------------------- Gordon S. Hlavenka cgordon@vpnet.chi.il.us Disclaimer: Yeah, I said it. So what?
geopi@cbnewsh.att.com (george.p.cotsonas) (08/31/90)
In article <1373@gold.GVG.TEK.COM>, grege@gold.GVG.TEK.COM (Greg Ebert) writes: > > Dumpster crawling, eh ? We used to call it 'shopping'. > > And then there was 'heavy item pickup'... > Every year, like clockwork, hoards of scroungers > would materialize after dark... > By morning, about half of what was put out remained. Ahhhh, youth! a.k.a. recycling these days, respectable and environmentally-conscious. Love that scrounging, love that crawling; done my share, too. -- George P. Cotsonas AT&T BL/CPL att!hocpa!geopi
todd@ivucsb.sba.ca.us (Todd Day) (08/31/90)
Seems that no one mentioned going thru the trash of the company they work for. My boss has made a hobby of this. He did this at Hughes and Northrop and found some very interesting stuff... including classified materials! Here at Applied Magnetics, there are certain business groups that is famous for throwing away choice pieces of equipment. Lotsa stuff we end up using in R&D. This certain business group caught wind of this and even wanted to charge us for the material it had already written off! Yeah, right... well, we won that one. I've even found low tech things like chairs that only needed minor repairs plus casters, and now they are good as new. My boss has several connections in all the right places and people so he knows in advance when good stuff is going in the trash. Sometimes he can get them to not throw it away, but other times, they go through the ritual of putting in the can just so they can legitimitly (sp?) write it off... -- Todd Day | todd@ivucsb.sba.ca.us | ucsbcsl!ivucsb!todd "I believed what I was told, I thought it was a good life, I thought I was happy. Then I found something that changed it all..." --- Anonymous, 2112
jones@optilink.UUCP (Marvin Jones) (09/01/90)
In article <1990Aug29.153224.10538@ns.network.com>, logajan@ns.network.com (John Logajan) writes: > all scrap is collected and sold to scrap dealers. Paper, dead > PC boards, obsolete PC boards and equipment -- everything. > > They only get pennies on the pound for it, however. And then it shows up at HSC, Godbout, or a hundred other shops for $.10/lb. ;-) Also check the computer and ham swap meet/flea markets. It amazes me what shows up at these things! -- === Marvin Jones === Optilink Corp. === Petaluma, CA === 707.795.9444 X206 === === UUCP: {uunet, tekbspa, pyramid, pixar}!optilink!jones ==================== === CIS: 71320,3637 or 71320.3637@compuserve.com === AOL: mjones =============
CHRIS_PATRIC_SMOLINSKI@cup.portal.com (09/03/90)
This may sound amazing, but from what I've read so far, it seems that East Coast trashing is a lot more fun (and profitable) than Silicon Valley trashing. Here in the Baltimore / DC area, there are several major software houses, all of which threw out vast quantities of software, including wrapped packages (in addition to returns). You can imagine the profit margin on sesuch software. You want to get hardware? Forget the manufacturers. Go right to stores. Computerlands around here throw out stuff left and right. Hard drives, logic boards (IBM and Mac), cards, etc. Someone upgrades from EGA to VGA? Goes from an old 20 meg HD to a 80? Out into the dumpster it goes. Truly incredible. We assembled several systems this way. Watch out for the "substrate"! (Trasher term for dumpster goo!)