Re-purposing wireless devices, for free ?

Thread Starter

DarthVolta

Joined Jan 27, 2015
521
I know some wireless devices are dirt cheap, but I already have FREE, things like old wireless routers. I bet lot's of people have old wireless routers/modems.

So you can at least take the chips and try to get them working for your own machinations. Without purpose built multi-layer PCB, is there any point to try putting GHz level chips, on a copper clad board ? Like dead-bug style ? Can you do anything fun like that ?

What about just cutting out the section of PCB for each chip ? Does anyone every do that and get anywhere ? Or remove as much junk as you can, and hope the AC works, if your lucky ?

I have "wireless" AM transmitters circuits (with wires), so it's not about that. I just hate throwing this stuff away. And in any post-apocalypse future movie, all this stuff WOULD get re-used/re-purposed.
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,086
It's possible that commodity parts can be removed and re-purposed but just about anyone with the technical knowledge to do this will decide it's not worth the effort in almost all cases unless something is rare or special.

Movie? Oh, you mean that version of Hollywood BS engineering done with plastic, flashing lights and beer cans for time travel machines? I'll tell you a little secret.
It's not real.
 

Thread Starter

DarthVolta

Joined Jan 27, 2015
521
Even if every one says they are useles, I'm still saving the chips, I'll use the generic ones on my own future PCB's I'll order

Where's the hacker spirit ?
 

Papabravo

Joined Feb 24, 2006
21,159
Even if every one says they are useles, I'm still saving the chips, I'll use the generic ones on my own future PCB's I'll order

Where's the hacker spirit ?
Yeah....that's a real knee slapper. I started collecting parts in 1970. In 2019 I took several recycle bins (maybe 20) of through hole IC's to the electronics recycling center. These collections expand to fill the available space, and trust me on this -- you will never, I repeat never, get around to using the stuff, before it becomes obsolete.
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,086
Even if every one says they are useles, I'm still saving the chips, I'll use the generic ones on my own future PCB's I'll order

Where's the hacker spirit ?
Salvaged parts are good to learn with so do it to gain experience in board building, design, soldering, etc .... The true hacker spirit motivates you tinker with the new and unknown like opening a brand-new AWQ to look inside for ways to hack it.
 

Thread Starter

DarthVolta

Joined Jan 27, 2015
521
Well you known what I forgot, all the micro-contorllers, ram, eeprom's, logic, serial interface chips, etc etc

Right now I'm trying to fix a temperature sensor LCD readout run by a STM 8-bit MCU, and a burnt-out out cd4051

I'm hoping to use some 4053's I have from printer's or something I have. I might have toasted the MCU tho, just finding out, I sure hope not, I have a Bus Pirrate to try out, and I see the UART or some similar header.

Lot's of fun.

IT"S ALIVE IT's NOT FIred, at least not Vdd to GND

Also, with this PCB, if the chip works, if I could rig up a rs232 chip from the few things I have with them, I should be able to make my self a simpler Arduino !!!

8-bit MCU with 8 Kbytes Flash, 16 MHz CPU, integrated EEPROM
https://www.st.com/en/microcontrollers-microprocessors/stm8s003f3.html

I bet even if the chip is fried, I have other small MCU in my salvage collection, that will fit this PCB, one way or another. The's also a blank space for another regulator, and op-amp/8pin SOP
 
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Thread Starter

DarthVolta

Joined Jan 27, 2015
521
i'm guessing tthe 4051 was only there to switch the opamp, and it wasn't sold with anm op-amp, so i bet the 4051 was pointless anyways

I tell you what tho too, my new brand name iron, flux, solder, SMD tweer kit, microscope, good PCB holder....made this way easy and smoother, than my old ebay stuff. It's still good for the price, but not for long.
 
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