Author Topic: Been awhile since a good dumpster grab (Read 5473 times)

pbj · « **on:** March 31, 2015, 03:56:04 pm »

Wandering the area has resulted in a motley assortment of garbage that mostly resides in my filing cabinets.

Today, I had the biggest strike I've had in years. A dusty electronics lab was ordered to clear out....

I offer a sampling of the mound that now occupies my office:

Most of that stuff is brand new. Unfortunately the maintenance guys showed up so I had to split with what I could carry.

One of those "wait, aren't you gonna to let us go through that cardboard box, too" guys got the Craftsman toolbox full of stuff.

bfauska · « **Reply #1 on:** March 31, 2015, 04:01:29 pm »

Some of it looks like the kind of stuff that sits and sits and sits until you need just one and then the Fluke and the Weller soldering iron are particularly nice scores.

yotsuya · « **Reply #2 on:** March 31, 2015, 04:03:51 pm »

How much for the Fluke shipped to 85015? Or you can bring it to me when I see you at ZapCon.

opt2not · « **Reply #3 on:** March 31, 2015, 04:04:45 pm »

Hey now, those should come in handy. Nice haul.

pbj · « **Reply #4 on:** March 31, 2015, 04:21:06 pm »

Quote from: yotsuya on March 31, 2015, 04:03:51 pm

How much for the Fluke shipped to 85015? Or you can bring it to me when I see you at ZapCon.

$500 - I think it's got some unreleased code on it.

Most of these tools are nicer than what I own....

yotsuya · « **Reply #5 on:** March 31, 2015, 04:23:13 pm »

Quote from: pbj on March 31, 2015, 04:21:06 pm

Quote from: yotsuya on March 31, 2015, 04:03:51 pm
How much for the Fluke shipped to 85015? Or you can bring it to me when I see you at ZapCon.

$500 - I think it's got some unreleased code on it.

pbj · « **Reply #6 on:** March 31, 2015, 04:46:24 pm »

pbj · « **Reply #7 on:** March 31, 2015, 04:57:41 pm »

Okay, I'll stop now.

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #8 on:** March 31, 2015, 05:10:51 pm »

^ used to have that exact hole punch, used it to make leather belts when I was a kid. Heh

Slippyblade · « **Reply #9 on:** March 31, 2015, 05:18:29 pm »

Holy crap. Total score! Nice haul.

pbj · « **Reply #10 on:** March 31, 2015, 05:21:31 pm »

Between this and other hauls, I've probably got 4 leather punches now. I guess everyone buys one to tweak a belt and never needs it again. Need to quit picking them up.

I went back and checked the bin, I knew there was another roll of wire I could fish out. Completely piled over with old books and files now so that was pure dumb luck I ever saw any of this.

And here I was sad because I didn't crash any conferences today...

Nephasth · « **Reply #11 on:** March 31, 2015, 09:42:40 pm »

Hell of a haul!

Ken Layton · « **Reply #12 on:** April 01, 2015, 12:49:21 am »

Boy did you luck out! Looks like you struck the mother lode there.

SavannahLion · « **Reply #13 on:** April 01, 2015, 02:45:01 am »

Damn, that is one hell of a haul there.

Vigo · « **Reply #14 on:** April 01, 2015, 10:30:07 am »

Dag yo! And here I was feeling pretty good about the 20" IPS that I dug out of my office dumpster.

yotsuya · « **Reply #15 on:** April 01, 2015, 10:32:37 am »

Still waiting on a quote for the Fluke shipped to 85015.

pbj · « **Reply #16 on:** April 01, 2015, 10:43:08 am »

Why does anyone actually need a Fluke?

yotsuya · « **Reply #17 on:** April 01, 2015, 10:47:24 am »

Because I like to test stuff. Do you want money or not?

Nephasth · « **Reply #18 on:** April 01, 2015, 10:58:50 am »

Sell that ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- and go to zapcon...

Generic Eric · « **Reply #19 on:** April 01, 2015, 11:03:45 am »

Ya thats a good haul. Flukes and wellers bring me back. The only office that would close in this building that has cool stuff is mine. Don't want it to close.

Mr_Numbers · « **Reply #20 on:** April 01, 2015, 01:57:47 pm »

Very nice, I once found a complete set of Craftsman wrenches and screwdrivers next to the trash. They were a bit rusty but cleaned up easily.

jennifer · « **Reply #21 on:** April 01, 2015, 03:20:52 pm »

OMG, That's like awesome PBJ, Now you can fix games again

... Jenn does have to ask about the hatred for Fluke all of a sudden though, Ive used them forever.

pbj · « **Reply #22 on:** April 01, 2015, 04:56:27 pm »

No hate, just curious what the Flukes can do that the free ones from Harbor Freight cannot.

This is actually the second Weller station I've yanked out of the trash. The other one has adjustable temperature and an LED readout, but this one came with a 700 degree tip so it's good to go.

None of this is quite as cool as the 48" plasma with the popped fuse (friend has been using it daily for 2 years now...) or the 4-wheeler, but treasure is treasure.

Vigo · « **Reply #23 on:** April 01, 2015, 05:09:10 pm »

Not much is finer than picking up thrown electronics and finding they just needed a new fuse.

dkersten · « **Reply #24 on:** April 01, 2015, 05:49:43 pm »

Quote from: pbj on April 01, 2015, 04:56:27 pm

No hate, just curious what the Flukes can do that the free ones from Harbor Freight cannot.

Besides being accurate and reliable, they last and usually have far more features.

When I was installing audio for a living, a cheap multimeter would last a few months at best. Plus you had to select the range for something as simple as metering resistance or voltage. On a good meter like a fluke you simply turn to the ohmmeter or dc voltage setting and probe.. whether it is .01 volts or 1000 volts it just tells you. My fluke, which still works perfectly after 25 years, also has a capacitance meter that works up to 1 farad as well as a frequency meter. I can also do some basic logging if I am looking for fluctuations over time. The only thing I have had to replace is the main fuse a couple times, the 9 volt battery, and after a few years of abuse the leads can finally break.. I have dropped mine from a 30 foot ladder onto concrete too and it wasn't an issue..

Nephasth · « **Reply #25 on:** April 01, 2015, 06:42:26 pm »

Quote from: dkersten on April 01, 2015, 05:49:43 pm

Quote from: pbj on April 01, 2015, 04:56:27 pm
No hate, just curious what the Flukes can do that the free ones from Harbor Freight cannot.
Besides being accurate and reliable, they last and usually have far more features.

When I was installing audio for a living, a cheap multimeter would last a few months at best. Plus you had to select the range for something as simple as metering resistance or voltage. On a good meter like a fluke you simply turn to the ohmmeter or dc voltage setting and probe.. whether it is .01 volts or 1000 volts it just tells you. My fluke, which still works perfectly after 25 years, also has a capacitance meter that works up to 1 farad as well as a frequency meter. I can also do some basic logging if I am looking for fluctuations over time. The only thing I have had to replace is the main fuse a couple times, the 9 volt battery, and after a few years of abuse the leads can finally break.. I have dropped mine from a 30 foot ladder onto concrete too and it wasn't an issue..

You can't talk tool sense into PBJ, he'll never get it.

yotsuya · « **Reply #26 on:** April 01, 2015, 07:44:14 pm »

This cash ain't gonna be in my hand forever, James.....

bfauska · « **Reply #27 on:** April 02, 2015, 12:57:15 am »

Quote from: yotsuya on April 01, 2015, 07:44:14 pm

This cash ain't gonna be in my hand forever, James.....

I don't think he's looking for cash... PBJ, I'll trade you 3 harbor freight meters for the Fluke.

nexusmtz · « **Reply #28 on:** April 02, 2015, 05:13:45 am »

Ok, I'll say it:
It was already Wednesday somewhere when this was posted. Maybe PBJ wanted to be first.

On the other hand, I saw a the same thing (lab cleanout) happen at my place, except nobody saved the goodies (unless we have a corrupt auditor). Sad to see so many unused tools, devices, hardware, and software, that someone just HAD to order, being trashed.

At least PBJ's Fluke and Weller will live happily ever after.

Quote from: Nephasth on April 01, 2015, 10:58:50 am

Sell that ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- and go to zapcon...

Rule #1 of Interdepartmental Reallocation and Liquidation: Don't post pictures of equipment at work, then start selling remarkably similar items. (Especially if your company does anything for the government). I'm going to bet PBJ knows that one.

Nephasth · « **Reply #29 on:** April 02, 2015, 07:31:32 am »

Quote from: nexusmtz on April 02, 2015, 05:13:45 am

Quote from: Nephasth on April 01, 2015, 10:58:50 am
Sell that ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- and go to zapcon...
Rule #1 of Interdepartmental Reallocation and Liquidation: Don't post pictures of equipment at work, then start selling remarkably similar items. (Especially if your company does anything for the government). I'm going to bet PBJ knows that one.

If you think PBJ is a law abiding, play-by-the rules fella... You don't know PBJ.

pbj · « **Reply #30 on:** May 05, 2015, 07:30:17 pm »

Pulled a working shop vac today.

SavannahLion · « **Reply #31 on:** May 06, 2015, 12:14:39 am »

Looks rather..... short....

Is that all of it?

Cool thing about shop vacs is they don't care how big of a bin you can fit on those things. My brother in law uses a shop vac top attached to a 55 gallon drum as the container. Interestingly, he complains it's still too small.

pbj · « **Reply #32 on:** May 06, 2015, 10:21:49 am »

There's a net swiped pic that gives you a better idea of what this is. Worth about $20.

SavannahLion · « **Reply #33 on:** May 12, 2015, 03:57:32 pm »

Hey... that's 20 you can spend elsewhere so it puts you ahead of the game.

pbj · « **Reply #34 on:** May 12, 2015, 05:08:18 pm »

True, instead of spending $20 two to three times a week, I can just pull this out of the closet. Maybe I should put a wig on it to heighten the illusion.

SavannahLion · « **Reply #35 on:** May 12, 2015, 07:14:48 pm »

Quote from: pbj on May 12, 2015, 05:08:18 pm

True, instead of spending $20 two to three times a week, I can just pull this out of the closet. Maybe I should put a wig on it to heighten the illusion.

It's safer I guess. A $20 hummer comes with a lot risks.


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