Use for old circuit boards

[EK61]

I've got a lot of old boards from electronics, and aside from scavenging components for projects, is there anything I could do with the circuits as they are?

Could be a stupid question, as although I'm fine soldering and building from schematics, I don't really know much about designing circuits or devices, or how they work.

These old boards are from things including:
CRT TV (no tube)
High end CD player (only the board for the controls is broken)
Karaoke machine (CD and tape)
Clock radios
LCD monitor (was dead, likely caps)
Dell touchscreen laptop (dead motherboard, touchscreen probably only item of use)
Many other smaller devices

I was planning on trying to reassemble the tape player from the karaoke machine, but I couldn't piece it back together (I think some parts were missing)

 

[davenn]

the PCB circuit tracks will be too specific to do anything much else with

component recovery is the best thing
done lots of that in the 40+ years I have been playing at electronics

 

[EK61]

the PCB circuit tracks will be too specific to do anything much else with

component recovery is the best thing
done lots of that in the 40+ years I have been playing at electronics

Thought so. Would you recommend mass desoldering everything that looks useful (caps, resistors, etc.) or just leave the boards in buckets to search through?

 

[davenn]

Thought so. Would you recommend mass desoldering everything that looks useful (caps, resistors, etc.) or just leave the boards in buckets to search through?

these days with SMD components, it's better to leave them on the boards ... much easier to search and see component values

I just use plastic bins and separate boards into their types .... audio, RF, digital etc

 

[Bluejets]

We used to run a wood chisel through everything and use the bare board for control horns on model aircraft. Takes superglue like it was made for it.

 

[davenn]

control horns on model aircraft.

??

 

[Bluejets]

Like this............

 

[73's de Edd]

control horns

YEAH . . . . .some of which can get on up into the 122 db ear piercing noise thresholds . . . .are used to ward off nearby aircraft .


Or you might also see a control horn . . . . such as are used on scale models.
Initially, I guess that he just wanted to strip all of the components from the board proper . . . to get an unpopulated fiberglass or phenolic blank to build from.
Then some drilling sanding and filing to create one of what you see as the WHITE unit ( control horn) that is being at the receiving end of the servo-control linkage as is being seen for rudder control on this model aircraft.
It converts the linear direction of the control rod to a rotary action to pivot the rudder . . . . .or aileron . . . . .or elevator . . . . . . or nose wheel steering . . .or throttle control of the engine . . . .or whatever else you need to be done.

73s de Edd

 

[FMC Digital]

I've got a lot of old boards from electronics, and aside from scavenging components for projects, is there anything I could do with the circuits as they are?

Could be a stupid question, as although I'm fine soldering and building from schematics, I don't really know much about designing circuits or devices, or how they work.

These old boards are from things including:
CRT TV (no tube)
High end CD player (only the board for the controls is broken)
Karaoke machine (CD and tape)
Clock radios
LCD monitor (was dead, likely caps)
Dell touchscreen laptop (dead motherboard, touchscreen probably only item of use)
Many other smaller devices

I was planning on trying to reassemble the tape player from the karaoke machine, but I couldn't piece it back together (I think some parts were missing)

Old/Broken PCBs are not worth anything in my opinion. Salvaging components are probably the only best thing you can do with it.
Some PCB contains gold, might be worth it to check if yours has any, you might be able to send it to a company that accepts em.

Cheers,
FMC

 

[Alec_t]

Offer them to your local school/college for coversion to 'works of art'.