best cheap/free scores 1.1

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Oh well, until I can find some suitable replacements for the small Wendells (22uF) , it's gonna be in a parts bin I have.

Meanwhile, I'm going to look into my EP45T-DS3R build (which is literally $10 total! - board was $6, PSU was $3) and look into a good GPU to pair it with. Already have 4GB of DDR3 (will add more once I can find some) and a Q9400 that was free from a friend who upgraded to a i3 3250/8GB DDR3 combo.

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

i use tantalum for anything under 100uf
i use tantalum sometimes for larger stuff too - it depends on the voltage.

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

A pair of hot tweezers. Not the best quality but for component removal they won't be bad.

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

amazing how a .50 cap can put a $800 washer to the curb !

yupp thats cost cutting at its finest for you! to paraphrase what u said, its amazing how a 50 cent cost cutting measure can trash an 800 dollar machine. all to save 0.0625% of the total cost of the machine!!

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

how much do they want for a new board?
i bet that has a big roll in this.

[dmill89]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

how much do they want for a new board?
i bet that has a big roll in this.

Depending on the model $200-400, add in an hour or so labor for the repair guy (generally the minimum charge even if it only takes 15 min to swap the board) and you are looking at a $300-500+ repair (unless the owner has the ability to fix the bad cap themselves, a repair guy is just going to swap the board) so it is easy to see why someone would junk a 5 year old machine that needed a repair costing half as much as a new one (though ridiculous and wasteful that appliances have gotten to this point of being effectively disposable).

[dmill89]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

An Ariens 8524 2-stage snow blower for $110. It needed the usual tune-up stuff (carb kit, spark plug, belts and sheer pins) but after that the Tecumseh Snow-King fires up on the first pull (has electric start too) and it runs great. This thing is built like a tank, has to be 14-16 ga. steel, unlike most of the new ones that are glorified tin-foil that bends if you look at it wrong, and cheap plastic.

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

An Ariens 8524 2-stage snow blower for $110.

(sigh) I miss snow. When you can choose when to clean the driveway (instead of having to clear it "before work") it's really a fun chore! Also, amusing to watch all the other folks trying to get around in the stuff...

I gave away my 5HP Honda before moving. I don't think I ever used the electric starter, that puppy ran like a champ! I should have pulled the engine and found another use for it... 5HP should have been roughly enough for a 3KW genset!

[dmill89]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

(sigh) I miss snow. When you can choose when to clean the driveway (instead of having to clear it "before work") it's really a fun chore! Also, amusing to watch all the other folks trying to get around in the stuff...

I gave away my 5HP Honda before moving. I don't think I ever used the electric starter, that puppy ran like a champ! I should have pulled the engine and found another use for it... 5HP should have been roughly enough for a 3KW genset!

Since I have a 4WD truck with good ground clearance I can generally make it to work without having to clear the driveway (and if we get too much snow for my truck to make it through the office will probably be closed anyhow). That being said I can't wait too long to clear snow as I have sidewalks (and a large corner lot so a few hundred feet of sidewalk to clear, hence the snow blower) which Township ordinance requires I clear within 48 hours of the end of the storm.

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Since I have a 4WD truck with good ground clearance I can generally make it to work without having to clear the driveway (and if we get too much snow for my truck to make it through the office will probably be closed anyhow). That being said I can't wait too long to clear snow as I have sidewalks (and a large corner lot so a few hundred feet of sidewalk to clear, hence the snow blower) which Township ordinance requires I clear within 48 hours of the end of the storm.

The "rush" to get it done before driving on it was motivated by the near impossibility of removing the snow once it had been compressed under the weight of the tires -- once departing for work and then, again, when returning home. And, the fear that any rain or daytime warming would result in that turning into a block of ice when it refroze.

So, I'd wait until the morning rush was over before even thinking about going outside (I like to sleep late :> ). And, if possible, wait until the plow had been by so his pass wouldn't undo my efforts at the curb!

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

And The Purge continues! One of three boxes of RAM that I recycled, today. Just over 15 pounds, total. (I really need to figure out how to get better pix with that silly phone!)

Yippee! I'm probably well past the 1,000 pound mark, now...

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Today's freebie is a 42" Vizio TV. Satellite provider told them it was shot (over the phone) after a storm fried the dish receiver, they went and bought a new one. I didn't even have to take the back off. Works like a charm, all inputs.

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Today's freebie is a 42" Vizio TV. Satellite provider told them it was shot (over the phone) after a storm fried the dish receiver, they went and bought a new one. I didn't even have to take the back off. Works like a charm, all inputs.

Cool! Once rescued a Sharp TV that was "locked up". Reflashed the firmware and it was good as new (unfortunately, "new" was synonomous with "buggy piece of shit!")

I got a DSO (TDS754D) cuz the metrology lab failed to properly seat the "connector PCB" (think of it as a passive backplane). Open cover, reseat board, close cover -- done!

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Scored another free and nice Soyo SY-6BA+IV after my SY-6VBA133 bit the dust. I tried everything to bring it back but it's dead. Oh well, VIA chipsets aren't really my favourite (trying to keep it 440BX as possible) so a Intel 440BX chipset is really welcome, as well as the HPT366 RAID controller. Guess this could compete with a BH6 or BE6-II? :lolsign

Here's a photo. The standby LED was broken off, and it had some pretty bad cut traces that were leading to the RAM slots that I managed to fix by tinning them with a bit of solder. Replaced the long dead CR2032 with a new 2032 that measured 3.02V, and everything's okay now.

As for the Wendell caps on this one, I'm not taking any chances at replacing them for now.

At least the ones around the CPU have a big copper plane that literally sucks up all the heat my 40W iron can put out, so I'm not keen on replacing any of them at the moment. Also, I don't have any good 8x20mm caps at the moment (planning on using 1500uF 6.3v Panny FL caps)

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Another batch of these little "solid state disks". I had assumed they were just DoMs but, apparently, they claim to be SSDs!

https://www.prosoft.ru/cms/f/443843.pdf

Of course, they're too small to really be useful as such. And, the "housing" seems to be a third-party modification...

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Another batch of these little "solid state disks". I had assumed they were just DoMs but, apparently, they claim to be SSDs!

https://www.prosoft.ru/cms/f/443843.pdf

Of course, they're too small to really be useful as such. And, the "housing" seems to be a third-party modification...

Those would be stellar for HTPC's!! If some happen to show up here, I wouldn't be offended!

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Those would be stellar for HTPC's!! If some happen to show up here, I wouldn't be offended!

I've been stuffing them in my t610 thin clients. I run them diskless AND headless!

They normally PXE boot from a server I have in another room. But, from time to time, I misconfigure things and I won't be able to "talk" to it (over the wire). Then, have to drag out a monitor and keyboard to see what the thing is complaining about.

With these SSDs -- small capacity as they are -- I can put a complete BSD on each machine and configure the boot order to be "PXE" followed by "disk". So, if the PXE boot fails, the "disk" can provide an OS that can talk to the outside world without the need for a monitor/keyboard for troubleshooting.

I'm not sure they'd be of much use in an HTPC as you still need a disk to host your content (?). But, I'll watch for the next batch that comes in.

BTW, I've a box for you that's been sitting in the living room (pissing off my other half!) for several weeks that just hasn't made it to the Post Office. I only "get out" one day a week and do so early enough that the PO isn't yet open. On my return, it has been too damn hot (110F) to make a side trip there -- I just want to get back home and cool down as I've been out in the heat up 'til then.

I will try to make an effort to get to it this coming week. Which will cut down on some of the grumbling I'm subjected to... <frown> (I'll PM when I get 'er done)

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

I've been stuffing them in my t610 thin clients. I run them diskless AND headless!

They normally PXE boot from a server I have in another room. But, from time to time, I misconfigure things and I won't be able to "talk" to it (over the wire). Then, have to drag out a monitor and keyboard to see what the thing is complaining about.

With these SSDs -- small capacity as they are -- I can put a complete BSD on each machine and configure the boot order to be "PXE" followed by "disk". So, if the PXE boot fails, the "disk" can provide an OS that can talk to the outside world without the need for a monitor/keyboard for troubleshooting.

I'm not sure they'd be of much use in an HTPC as you still need a disk to host your content (?). But, I'll watch for the next batch that comes in.

BTW, I've a box for you that's been sitting in the living room (pissing off my other half!) for several weeks that just hasn't made it to the Post Office. I only "get out" one day a week and do so early enough that the PO isn't yet open. On my return, it has been too damn hot (110F) to make a side trip there -- I just want to get back home and cool down as I've been out in the heat up 'til then.

I will try to make an effort to get to it this coming week. Which will cut down on some of the grumbling I'm subjected to... <frown> (I'll PM when I get 'er done)

Awesome!!

[dragos2009]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

And The Purge continues! One of three boxes of RAM that I recycled, today. Just over 15 pounds, total. (I really need to figure out how to get better pix with that silly phone!)

Yippee! I'm probably well past the 1,000 pound mark, now...

i wish i had as much ram as there is in the picture

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

i wish i had as much ram as there is in the picture

Memory is insidious. You scrap a machine and you immediately think of pulling the memory (for some dubious future need). And, toss it in a box for when that day comes.

And, you do this over and over again -- sometimes pulling "old" memory from a box to fit some need. But, more often, just letting the pile build (cuz newer machines want newer/bigger sticks).

In order to effectively dig through that pile, it has to be kept sorted: specialty memory separate from more conventional; "laptop" from desktop from server; different technologies and speed grades, etc. So, it takes up even more room than it might, otherwise.

[I keep memory sorted into 10 18"x6"x6" boxes filled with ziploc and "altoid" tin so it's a full shelf "wasted" on memory!]

Cables are almost as insidious. They're easier to sort -- but take up a lot more space.

So... to reclaim space, the cable and memory collections are the first target! (How many spare VHDCI cables does one really need to keep on hand??)