EM education | useful electronics junk

What is Electromagnetic Education?

– deconstructing junk: useful electronics parts –

ONE reason for taking something electronic apart may be to try to fix it. Though if it is broken, there may be many parts that still work, and thus while a larger device may be considered junk, its parts may remain useful if salvaged.

IN particular, the book Junkbots (BEAM robots) advocates this approach and has several helpful hints to point one in a productive direction of what is worth taking apart and why, and what to stay away from. Going at a TV set with a screwdriver, and not knowing what you're doing, could be a deadly encounter, so it is advised for novices to start (and stay) in the realm of battery-operated devices, and besides making sure there is no power in the device, to prepare for handling toxic materials (chemical burns from circuit boards, lead on chips) and to general be careful, wear eye and breathing protection if need be, and wash up after handling and operating upon such devices. Toolkit needs are fairly basic, including a set of small electronics screwdrivers and a pliers. If reclaiming parts, a soldering iron and desoldering bulb or plunger or wick is also needed. At least for the very beginner, and would could then potentially add 'security' bits for proprietary screws, etc.

5-inch computer floppy drive motor. flip-side pictured above.
©-free, photography by electronetwork.org, 2004.

MOTORS are one of the most prized possessions to be found in highly efficient portable electronics (Walkmans), which use battery power to drive a motor at low current (1-6 volts) which can be reclaimed from taking apart cassette decks, microcassette records, and the like. Surplus stores sometimes sell such assemblies still intact (without their original plastic shell) for this very purpose.

Motors salvaged from various computer drives.
©-free, photography by electronetwork.org, 2004.

MOTOR reclamation is also a reason why computer floppy and other drives are valued. Interesting motors can be located in old tape drive, hard drive, and floppy drives, as those above and below.

FOR hobbyists it can often be worth the time to take apart a broken device so as to get parts from it. Printer stepper motors are another such example, and vibration motors in pagers are yet another. Though motors are just one of many electronic components that can be recovered and reused from electronics junk, they are highly valued for hobby experimentation and testing.

Audio speaker circuit board with external interface elements:
including power 'on' and bass pushbutton switches (left, right), and
two rotating potentiometers for volume and speaker balance (middle).
©-free, photography by electronetwork.org, 2004.

OTHER components are also available and make 'desoldering' cost-effective. Such when a broken pair of computer speakers yields various buttons and switches and potentiometers (variable resistor) which can be reused in other projects. When a circuit board is taken out of a device such as the knobs and buttons and (LED) lights for a computer speaker 'interface' can be seen in a more full context.

WHAT is interesting to notice is how much different electronics devices have in common, in their internal design, even if they are completely different types of devices (a calculator and a pager) or look very different in terms of style. A lot of standard electronics components are commonly found on very different kinds of circuit boards, and so learning about these components can help one learn more about how other things work, as they appear to be quite universal.

WHILE there are many things that can be taken apart, it has been remarked by 'circuit benders' that battery-operated children's toys (especially musical) can be especially useful, in that the circuits can be rewired to make other instruments. Roboticists tend to find use in motors and electronics components as a way to build up a resources of components, and to have multiple options when making something. Others may find no practical use for taking apart a broken device, other than what can be gained from learning more about it, which is a significant amount, both about whatever is being taken apart, and how its principles may relate to how others things work. Such a process will yield, with a little effort, a new view of items used and discarded everyday, and may result in the re-evaluation of the value embedded in particularly ingenious designs.

ALL of which, at some time, started out as an original idea, experiment, or invention. Which is all the more reason to learn the basics of electromagnetics. (bc 9.12.2004)

-= What is Electromagnetic Education? =-

<-the-Electromagnetic-Internetwork->