How To Scrounge Parts
Or... How to homebrew on the cheap
A well-stocked junk box is a
requirement for any homebrewer. Keeping an ample supply of
electronic components & old PC boards will provide parts to
build just about any project you can think of. While the XYL may
see it as junk, we see it as treasure.
Actually "scrounge" isn't the best word I could think
of since it seems to bring up negative connotations. I guess a
better word would be "scavenge" or "salvage,"
since that's effectively what we're doing. Just as a auto junk
yard has a wealth of parts, a junk box full of old radios will
provide us with the parts necessary to complete our projects. And
it takes up less room than a yard full of wrecked vehicles.
True, new components such as resistors, capacitors, and such
aren't very expensive. You can order just about anything you need
from supply warehouses such as All Electronics, Mouser, and
Digikey. But let's say that you have just about everything you
need to finish a project except for one or two components. Do you
really want to pay a $6 shipping charge or have to meet a minimum
order requirement to get a couple of capacitors? Not only that,
you'll have to wait a week for the item to be shipped. This can
all be avoided if you have an ample supply of parts on hand.
I will admit that using old components isn't always a good thing.
First off, there's no guarantee that the component is still good.
If you get a PC board with the component you need, there's always
the chance that the component you need is the one that made the
PC board fail in the first place, causing it to go from a piece
of electronic equipment to a piece of junk. However, the chances
of this happening are slim, and it's always wise to check out the
component after removing it from the PC board. If it's a common
item such as a resistor, capacitor, or transistor, they can easily
be checked using a modern multimeter. If it does turn out to be
bad, you can always look for another one that will be good.
However recycling does have its limits. Never ever use old wax
capacitors from old radios, since the wax dries out over time and
they easily fail. Since the caps are probably already 50 years
old or more, it's smart to just toss them. However, for the most part, used components will work just as well as new ones.
Let's say we are a new ham just starting out in the hobby who has
an interest in homebrewing but doesn't have anything in his junk
box. How & where do we get started?
The first good place to look is at a hamfest. Depending on where
you go and what the economic conditions are, you can get a bunch
of junk cheap to free. Some hamfests I've been to have been
bargain bin bonanzas with very cheap stuff for sale, while others
had lousy junk at high prices. Sometimes it seems that you'll never know whether a hamfest will be a feast or famine when it comes to bargains, but it's always worth a look. You're always guaranteed to find electronic junk at hamfests.
Flea markets are another good source of electronic junk. I picked
up a computer power supply and an old zip drive for 50 cents
each. The power supply was turned into a 12VDC 4 amp power supply
for my QRP rigs. The zip drive was disassembled and the parts
used for various projects. At another flea market, I picked up an old, working bag cell phone (which consists mainly of a nice, small rectangular aluminum case) for $2.00. However, I've also found that any
radio gear at flea markets may go for higher prices than what you
might find at a hamfest. People who sell their stuff at flea
markets seem to think that since it's old, it's valuable. I also
haven't seen much CB junk at flea markets here locally, but other
locations may yield better results. Garage & yard sales are
about the same as flea markets when it comes to looking for
electronic junk. Don't forget to check out estate auctions,
especially if the estate belonged to a ham or CB'er but be prepared to bid.
Discount stores are also worth checking for cheap electronics.
One store had cheap, portable shortwave receviers for sale for
$8. I also found old cell phone rechargable battery packs there.
At another store, they have decorative tins that are just the
right size for homebrew projects. At one time they also had A/B switch boxes for switching a computer between two printers that were the right size for QRP homebrew projects. They were $1.00 apiece and I picked up several of them. Not only would the cases come in handy, they were full of hookup wire.
Dumpster diving can yield good results if you live near plants
that produce electronic equipment. Some places dump very nice
blank PC board scraps every day. A friend of mine found numerous
rolls of magnet wire in the dumpster of a plant that produced
them. Apparently they were rolled wrong so were tossed out. He
drove a truck and used the wires as portable shortwave listening
antennas when he parked. If you do go dumpster diving, make sure
you first have permission from the property owner to take
whatever you find. I don't recommend going to dumps to find stuff
since most states have laws against taking anything out of dumps.
Also, anything you find will likely be full of dirt, and the
smell is a killer while you're looking for stuff.
And finally, electronics can be found around the house. Don't
just toss that old VCR, remove the electronic components from it
first, then toss it.
What to look for:
Old CB's
At one hamfest, I picked up a box of junked CB's for free. The
price was right so I took it. I will say that partwise, old CB's
are a great thing to find. Regardless of whether they work or
not, they are always valuable for the homebrewer. Not only can
you use the cases as project enclosures, but they also are chock
full of things like switches, potentiometers, meters, crystals,
lamps, LED's and such, not to mention common components such as
resistors, capacitors, transistors, and diodes. They usually also
have a lot of IF cans. The final transistor will also come in
handy in an HF transmitter or transceiver project. And last but
not least, the knobs & buttons from an old CB will make any
homebrew radio project look professional. Never, ever pass up
free or cheap CB junk.
Transistor radios
Another good source of parts is old transistor radios. They have
those nice little variable capacitors in them that always come in
handy for homebrew radio projects, not to mention the speakers
& other parts. Newer, cheap AM/FM radios will be just as good
as the older ones and will also have things like 3.5mm stereo
jacks which come in handy.
Old junk radios
At another hamfest, I picked up an old antique radio for free. It
was junk & not worth restoring, however it had a nice
variable capacitor inside, and I saved all the tubes for my
Hallicrafters S-38B shortwave receiver. I now have almost a
complete set of replacement tubes. However, the rest of it I
threw out since it was in pretty bad shape.
Loose components
Usually at hamfests one can find boxes, sacks or other packages
of loose electronic components. Depending on what you need, these
usually are good sources of parts. Usually you can find grab bags
of different pieces.
Rolls of wire
Depending on what type of wire it is, it will always be useful
for homebrew projects. 16 or 18 gauge insulated wire makes good
antenna wire. I picked up several 500' rolls at a local junk
store for $5.00 a roll. Magnet wire is also a handy thing to have
since is needed to wind toroids. It also may be found in old
transformers or electric motors. Another thing to look for is old
computer ribbon cables. I use the wire from these for wiring up
homebrew projects. It is easy to peel the different strands of
wire apart and the uniform grey or blue coloring of all your wire makes a
project look neat.
PC Board
Any time you find PC board fairly cheap, it's a good idea to pick some up. PC board is not very cheap when you buy it from electronics supply houses. Getting it cheaply or even for free is a plus. All the scraps come in handy, especially when building things Manhattan style. Even used PC board with holes drilled into it can be recycled. If you find board that has large areas of copper, you can use it by first removing all the components, then removing the green finish with steel wool or fine sandpaper until the copper is shiny. You can then cut pieces out of the board and use them as lands when building Manhattan style. Or if you have a small board to build, you can cut a grid pattern of grooves into the copper and solder the components to the different squares.
OK, now that we have a bunch of electronic junk, what do we do
with it? Obviously, a good place to store it is a must.
Preferably some place dry. I've found that cardboard boxes are OK
to store old electronic junk in, but plastic storage boxes are
better. They don't fall apart like cardboard does and they stack
easier. I've found that stacking heavy cardboard boxes onto other
cardboard boxes tends to crush the ones underneath and the stack
ends up looking like the leaning tower of Pisa after a while.
One thing that is important is to get organized. It doesn't do a
lot of good to have a bunch of electronic components laying
around if you don't know what you have. Once you get a few PC
boards, it might be a smart idea to note what components are on
the board. A notebook with a short description of the board and a
list of components might come in handy, then when a component is
removed, a line can be drawn through it on the sheet. If that's
too much trouble, then it may just be easier to remove each
component piece by piece from each board. You'll need a good
soldering iron and a lot of solder wick as well as several hours
to kill, but at least you can put all the resistors together, all
the caps, & so forth. One thing that has come in handy for me
is a cabinet of plastic drawers that I can keep all my components
in. I made labels for the drawers by printing them out onto a
sheet of paper & taping them to the drawers. I also have
components in small plastic compartmented boxes that go into
tackle boxes, and larger pieces in shoebox-sized plastic storage
containers. At any rate, it's a good idea to make sure you know
what you have & where to find it when you need it.
Overall, you still might have to order electronic components to
finish a project, but having a junk box full of components will
come in handy especially if you have some components that are
hard to find. And tracking down parts is half the fun.