Dumpster Diving

[WA3VJB]

I found a 57 Chevy in a dumpster one time

Yeah but it was all beat up. I left it there.

You MISSED the new-in-box 57 Studebaker right next to it, same Dumpster.

[WBear2GCR]

Oh wait!

There was my most dissapointing dumpster dive...

I went to my favorite dumpster, and sitting on the ground was a complete, known to be working ok fine,  Hammond A-3 (iirc) organ, with footpedals, in blonde wood! Slightly banged, but not too badly. Looks exactly like the B-3, fyi.

Absolutely could not find anyone to help, nor get a truck. No way the thing was getting into my Subaru sedan. 

Arrrrgh!

Still bugs me to this day. It went to the FRIGGIN DUMP!! Geez.

              _-_-WBear2GCR

[KC4ALF]

Here on the mountain we have a trash dump where the locals left all kinds of goodies and you coul'd take what you wanted, we called it the Shenandoah Mall Hi,Hi.
I found three things there over the years A Viking Ranger w/manual, a little rusty but ok. A Zenith floor model w/turntable in nice shape and a 1941 vintage Milwaukee table lathe (w/all accs and belt driven) some moron through out. The other two were no problem. The lathe had to be dismantled to load in the truck.
Sadly you can no longer leave or pick up goodies as the county has installed a "trash nazi" who sees to it that nothing but domestic trash is left and the rest goes to the dump.

[WA1GFZ]

Hey Paul, I have a friend who still races his '57. I remember one morning driving around Burbank Ca. with the Air cleaner off the Super charger.   

[W2JBL]

while we are on large items from the dumpster- there was that ' 68 Torino GT
i rescued literally from a towtruck on it's way to the bone yard back in '82. rusty, but had a fresh Sears and Roebuck rebuilt 335 HP 390 (remember those!) and 3:50 geared 9". scary fast, and rusted to the door handles. the early Kelsey Hayes disc brakes didn't work worth a crap. it was one of the quickest cars i ever had. got Tboned by a drunk in a Buick and junked it a year later.

[WA3VJB]

Shenandoah Mall

I LOVE IT

Hey we are coming out your way this weekend for Dulles Airport Day.
Stop by if you're around -- will be running an odd little two seater in the car show

[W1ATR]

Well, it's not electronics, but the best dumpster find I've had (actually 'next' to the dumpster find), was an 80 gallon SpeedAir compressor that was on it's way to the scrapyard. I was out late at night doing a couple of 'no heat' service calls, and I spot this thing on the curb. I loaded it into the truck, (thank God for the lift gate, that sucker is heavy), and brought it home. Cleaned it up and checked it out the next day, all it needed was a new pressure switch. $31.00, and a set of belts, 8 bucks each. So for $47.00, I landed a nice 8hp, 2 stage compressor that I still use all the time in the garage and it runs FB.

My price, $47.00 and a couple of hours time troubleshooting.

Graingers sell this thing for $2300.00

I didn't think it was a bad deal.

[WA3VJB]

I went to my favorite dumpster, and sitting on the ground was a complete, known to be working ok fine,  Hammond A-3 (iirc) organ,

I hear ya, buddy, why just the other day I was sporting two of them beasts at the apartment, and wish I had either of them today.

[Vortex Joe - N3IBX]

Yeah Joe you NEED to find a back door treasure like this that won't fit in the Dumpster.

Talked with Skip last night on 75m, he says he will light the filaments and apply E_p Saturday or Sunday, and has pushed ahead with work to make his 21E a tri-bander, 160-75-40.

Can't wait to hear Wynona on with THAT kind of footprint, whee !

Paul, I got MAJOR WOOD from looking at those pics!
                                                                        Joe N3IBX

[W8KHZ]

Ok,

Thought I'd add my story...

Not actually a dumpster dive story but close...

First, I have to take you back to about 1988 when I was attending electronics courses at the local community college.  The building where the electronics department was located had a unused second story level that became a vast dumping ground for all sorts of things ranging from unused office furniture to obsolete electronic equipment that was often donated from such places as the local airport....  Well as a student I had a one time opportunity to go upstairs..... a place that was always under lock and key.  I was amazed when I was up there.... an incredible treasure trove of interesting things... far too many to mention here, however one thing caught my eye. It was a large transmitter of some sort... big and black.... the front panel covered in pretty dials and meters and a window to allow you to peer inside.... beautiful!!  Of course my time in the presence of this beast was short but I never forgot it. I graduated later that year and went on with life........ now jump ahead to about 1999.... I caught wind of the fact that the old electronics building was going to be torn down.  I began to wonder if all that stuff was still up there in the attic and what was going to happen to it all if it was.  Well, it took a lot of phone calls but I eventually got permission to go take a look.  Well things had changed a bit in the 11 or so years since I had been up there last... still lots of junk up there but it was obvious that a lot of the things I remembered had disappeared.... Well I began to look for the big old transmitter that I remembered. I didn't see it at first.... it was a big area up there... but then as a rounded a corner, there it was.... still pretty much intact!!  Permission was obtained to remove the transmitter along with some other stuff before the building came down.  Since then it has had a home in my garage. It is too big to fit through any of the doors on my house. It is a longwave aviation beacon transmitter designed to operate between 200-400khz. It was built in 1940 and one is featured on the cover of February, 1946 Radio News Magazine.  Still not sure what I'm going to do with it however, if someone has a real nice BC-610E they would want to trade, who knows!   Cool Transmitter... Just glad I was able to save it from the wrecking ball!

73,
Brian - W8KHZ

[WA1GFZ]

looks like a cool rig to put on the new 500 KHz band

[Ed W1XAW]

At Hosstraders I noticed that some folks prefer to dumpster dive.  I had a couple of boxes of odds and ends that I had marked $1 first and later marked free.  Around noon on Saturday I walked over and put them in the trash (several trips) and I noticed the stuff was gone before I made it back to my site (about 75 feet away).  At home I stopped taking stuff to the dump because I discovered I can put it on the curb with a "free" sign and it will be gone within an hour or so (on a dead end street).  I'm not immune to this syndrome myself.  When Cape Elizabeth has its heavy trash pickup I'm always looking for electronics and music gear. 

Best find-  a large antique train set at age 10 or so.  No radio stuff yet. 

I'm greatly trying to reduce my junk after helping my dad sift through 40 years of "saving stuff" when he sold his house. 

Best, 

Ed  W1XAW