DD: The Official "Post What You've Found" Thread (pics!!)

My first "dive", unfortunately it seems today was garbage day, so I really only did one place (Barnes and Noble) Came across some books, mostly cafe trash. Found a Smart UPS 700 that seems to work!
 
Well yeah I did ask one of the IT guys if I could take it...he was like, "Go for it, I didn't see anything" They just let it sit in the open and eventually it gets hauled away.
The only thing wrong with the monitor was a small crack in the housing.
 
Bleh this economy needs to get out of its Funk so we can hear more tales of the good finds. Tho do remember what I said about the pro jackasses who go out and do it for scrap.

I want to quote somthing from years ago for those who are not familiar with the pre recession USA.

My local Wal-Mart had a "computer recycle day" (TOTAL BULLSHIT-- the workers there would not let me take a monitor, found out later that they sell everything they get to either recyclers or companies). After they turned me away from the semitruck-trailers I went back at 2am, when no one was there. The parking lot has cameras, so I drove in, headlights off, in my black car, at an angle the cameras were blocked from (by the trailers, there were at least 5 of them). The trailers were not fully loaded. I filled my car, with mostly old Dells and such, but I got a TON of decent stuff. Several working monitors, a bunch of P2/P3s and one P4. Also salvaged an AMD 2000 system and removed an AMD 1400+ from another computer. I threw away all the P2s and P3s, after taking all the parts worth anything (most of the computers had dead mobos, or were too old for me to care about). Now I have a shelf full of small hard drives, cd drives, TONS of floppy drives (threw out all but 10, no one needs like 50 floppy drives), fans, a few decent PSUs, etc from the whole incident. Since the AMD 1400+ system was entirely toasted, I will probably be ordering a new mobo for it to use with a GeForce4 TNT2 that I had lying around. Next time they have one of these, I am renting a van and parking nearby. I think I will also go sooner, as I think most of the good systems were already taken (or maybe locked up). It is amazing how many computers soccer moms in a rich area will throw away...

I highly highly doubt you will see such a great find again any time soon. Notice how even then they wanted to sell their "Recycled" computers. These days I wont be surprised if these events hire extra security. It is not us they are worried about. It is the drug users looking for scrap metal (Yes I said drug users because that is who steal computers and strip away the case and metal parts, rip out copper wiring and other unlawful deeds. For drug money)

Also I doubt any of these recycle events will do much good right now anyway. You put a computer out on the street (Don't do it if it is unlawful BTW) Chances are it will be gone before the next day. Also more and more cities use recycling systems to gather recyclables from the street.
 
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neighbor found me a 1.7ghz amd with 4 120mm fans inside of an antec p182 in the trash i cleaned it out and plugged all the wires back in to the board and it worked with no problems. Also found a 27in trueflat phillips with remote. Works perfect. Last month he found a 17in dell lcd missing the power cord. found one on ebay for 7 dollars works great too. Its nice having a tweaker for a neighbor he has found me a ton of good stuff, most of it is good. We together have built about 6 machines from scrap computers.
 
In my first actual one relating to a dumpster (more of a reach in than a dive), I got a 4-pin 1394-> 6-pin 1394 cable, which was something I could use.
 
Bleh this economy needs to get out of its Funk so we can hear more tales of the good finds. Tho do remember what I said about the pro jackasses who go out and do it for scrap.

I want to quote somthing from years ago for those who are not familiar with the pre recession USA.



I highly highly doubt you will see such a great find again any time soon. Notice how even then they wanted to sell their "Recycled" computers. These days I wont be surprised if these events hire extra security. It is not us they are worried about. It is the drug users looking for scrap metal (Yes I said drug users because that is who steal computers and strip away the case and metal parts, rip out copper wiring and other unlawful deeds. For drug money)


Also I doubt any of these recycle events will do much good right now anyway. You put a computer out on the street (Don't do it if it is unlawful BTW) Chances are it will be gone before the next day. Also more and more cities use recycling systems to gather recyclables from the street.

Walmart relay doesnt care to much about the 10cetns a pound theyll get from a scrapper.

My brother in law, Steve, is a scapper. The only way anybody gets money from a scapper is if they

1. Have Skids of what is in question. (Hundreds, If not thousands of pounds)

2. Sperate out the CPU/MOBO/RAM

FOr example, Cermac 486/Pent Pros cpus are 80$/pound.Cermaic Pentiums are 70$/pound. Plastic CPUs are 15$/pound. Memory is 12$/pound.Mobos are 3.5$/pound. Computers in general are 10 cents/pound. Makes sense to seperate that out.
 
He could also look for vintage mechanical keyboards. Old IBM Model Ms go for ~$20-$40 on Ebay, a Northgate Omnikey will probably get $60, an Apple Extended II around $20, a rare IBM M15 $500-$1600, etc. They aren't that uncommon in trash.
 
Not a dive per say, more of a curb rescue. :)
dresser.jpg

Thanks to all the Cars(movie) stickers on it at first I thought it was a tool box. But it turned out to be a dresser. The search for a 2nd dresser for our son is over. All that is wrong with it is a little bit of water staining on the bottom from the rain that morning.
 
Found This at the dump electronics section while getting rid of a couple of older computers.
37 inch polaroid TV, was making a really loud sound from the speakers and wasn't detecting inputs(video of it here. I opened it up, and found 2 blown capactiors, and 1 buldging ones. I replaced them with higher voltage ones, and it works perfectly now.
jjLYs.jpg
 
Found This at the dump electronics section while getting rid of a couple of older computers.
37 inch polaroid TV, was making a really loud sound from the speakers and wasn't detecting inputs(video of it here. I opened it up, and found 2 blown capactiors, and 1 buldging ones. I replaced them with higher voltage ones, and it works perfectly now.
jjLYs.jpg
Oh man........that's got to be the best find in the thread.
:eek:
 
well were on the subject of random things while on a walk near a cannibus dispensary i found about 6oz in the dumpster just sitting there. Looks like the throw out clippings and shake. I was affraid to grab it but say hey its in the trash. its not bad either :p
 
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Pretty slick. I've been diving a couple of times. My only haul was when I picked up a bunch of stuff out of a CompUSA store (before they announced they were done). I snagged a bunch MCSA study books (front cover ripped off) and a Lian Li case that I am still using today. It had a badly dented cover which I banged back straight. some screws were missing, but other than that, I got my $100+ score of the night! Woot!

I've been around to Best Buy at times, but nothing there. I'd imagine the best time to dive would be after black Friday when they dump the broken and/or returned stuff.
 
Live across street from a thrift store, lady who runs it knows I am a retired pc tech. Came over and asked if I'd like some computer stuff they got. Scored 3 monitors, a beige 17" viewsonic, a 15" black dell and a small HP. All CRT's sadly though. All work great, going to use the Dell and HP with a couple of old PC's to fix up for donation to needy families and keep the 17" for a workbench monitor.
 
Rules.

(1) Absolutely NO FLAMING, NAME CALLING OR PERSONAL ATTACKS. Mutual respect and civilized conversation is the required norm.

(2) No OFF-TOPIC posting will be allowed with the exception of the SUBSCRIPTION FORUM area (General Mayhem). If general conversation is what you are looking for, you have found a new home http://www.hardforum.com/payments.php

[snip]


(17) Posting is to be in ENGLISH only. Non-English posts will be locked or removed.

(18) You will not discuss, suggest, engage, or encourage any ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES. Links provided to locations that deal with any such activity are also expressly forbidden.

Hey if he is in a place that it is legal and he has a card its ok to post :p
 
OK. Where do I start.

At work;
8 DVI cables from new Dell monitors. IT uses VGA cables only.
Complete Senfu water cooling kit, unused left next to my car with a note to take, but no name of giver
2 used red LED cooling fans. work great.

Local CompUSA as they were cleaning out the place;
7 USB printer cables
Reman toner for HP LaserJet 4. Sold on ebay for $25

Co-Worker gave me;
4 Dell Dimension P4 boxes, one dead.
3 LCD monitors; 15" Dell, 17" Hyundai, 19" Dell. All working and given to family members

Another Co-Worker gave me a box of "junk";
IBM T41 that works great w/ docking station
Working NES and games
Working SNES and games
Working Sega Genesis and games
working 780VA APC UPS
2 Dell D610 lappys that work
9 Dell D600 lappys some working and some not
crap load of Dell power bricks

Walking in my neighborhood;
36" folding table that I use for working on other peoples rigs.
Gibson tube amp.
Dell printer with new cartridges + unopened cartridges.
XBOX Live headset sealed in box with expired Live card
Broken Snap On screwdriver. Got new replacement.
36" pipe wrench in the middle of the street along with a hammer drill.
$35 on sidewalk in front of public school
2 gigs of DDR2 667 in a busted PC case
 
In my first one involving an actual dumpster I got a 6-pin 1394 Firewire to 4-pin 1394 Firewire that the school was throwing out. They were actually throwing out several brand new ones along with some C++ textbooks and other stuff.
 
Just got a brand new vent back, leather seat office chair that was missing a wheel (I had a couple extras that fit) and one that was missing an arm (so I left both arms off). They retail for $190 & $99 respectively and can't beat the price.

Also scored dozens of smaller items recently (Document shredder x 3, USB Car-AC charger, USB-MicroSD card reader, electric pencil sharpener, Keurig machine, software, Dayrunners, etc...) that have either been snagged by my family or sold on Ebay. Gotta love turning trash into cash! :D
 
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I am lucky as I live in a complex that has a specified area for the "Big" stuff and I go there almost everyday to check it out :D It is amazing what people trash as almost all of my finds were working

Technics SB-2565 (Works 100%, A litle dirty though)

SB2565-2.jpg


SB2565.jpg


I also found a pair of working KLH b-pro6 speakers (Works 100%)

Panasonic SA-CH60 (Works 100%)

Panasonic_SA-CH60.jpg
 
Here's the best chair I've found by far; coming home and sitting in this thing is like slipping into something nice and stylish (if you know what I mean).

s0410085_sc7.jpg


http://www.staples.com/Staples-Eastcott-Top-Grain-Leather-Executive-Mid-Back-Chair-Brown/product_923280?catalogId=10051&fromUrl=home&cmSearchKeyword=eastcott&cmArea=SEARCH&langId=-1&storeId=10001&ddkey=http:StaplesSearch

It had two small blemishes on the back, had one retainer on bottom of chair broken and was missing bolts. I just took the manual to Home Depot, bought the metric bolts necessary and a new insert retainer for the bottom. Was able to get it all put together for the low low price of $3.10
 
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Everything by me has gone to compactors. I used to love to score free trash! :p
 
Everything by me has gone to compactors. I used to love to score free trash! :p

Free trash? Free CASH! A lot of the stuff thrown out there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Just someone changing their mind or the packaging is damaged. Even if some of the stuff does have something wrong with it, you may be able to fix it. Heck, even sell it as is on Ebay. :)


As far as compactors go; keep looking. There are stores around that don't have the space to install compactors.
 
Boatload of software recently......anything from anti-virus (2011) to Audio/Video production stuff. Ebay it goes; payed for a set of tires, septic tank maint. and a weekend getaway. :D
 
Some kid in my complex scored big time recently. Wife got all pissy about all the "stuff" I had stored so I was throwing away a box with about 20 older games. (quake 3/4, crysis, psychonauts etc..). He was playing near there and I gave them all to him.

There was lots of other stuff a DD would love to find too. He took a lot of it.
 
Not really a dumpster dive. but in the last couple of months I have found 2 4gb thumb drives and 1 8gb thumb drive sitting in parking lots.

All 3 work like a charm.

I remember when a 1gb drive was over $100 and people would SEARCH for a lost one, now people just don't seem to care if they loose one or not.
 
Mostly small food items but a few of those expensive coffee makers. I am testing one right now to put on ebay. I'm excited because I see them going for like $100 each!
 
Went three times this weekend and found about 3 dozen current date cokkies still in package, 14 bags of salad still cold dated the 19th, 36 rolls of yarn for my wife, three boxes of fall leave ivy from a craft store also for my wife, a working dehumidifier, box of old credit card machines and plugs, a bag of used spices, a weather vane, an unopened box of mints, and several other misc items. This is just over a few day period. Since I started I have found several things and sold them on ebay most recently being a keuirg coffee maker that I found in the dumpster! Nothing was wrong with it! We truly live in a very wasteful society but I am more than happy to take from the rich If they are that dumb to throw away perfectly saleable items! :)
 
I was doing my daily trash bin hunting and there it was a JVC/NIVICO 5003 Solid State Stereo Receiver I hooked up a pair of crappy speakers (Just in case something was amiss inside as I did not want to ruin a decent pair of speakers) and I have sound from both channels W00T!!!! :D it sounds good too Someone Else's loss I guess as there was a box from an RCA Home theater in a Box type setup (Read: BPC)

Anyway anyone know more information about this? WPC Year etc?

I guess I found it just in time before it got ruined the wood case it is in is what I call good condition (Minor gouges only one on the back where it was resting on the pavement :eek: )

Anyway

JVC1.jpg


JVC2.jpg


JVC3.jpg
 
Great finds guys; thanks for sharing.

PDS those Keurigs are kind of tempermental and some people would rather just call the company to get a new unit than try to get it working. I've found several myself that worked great or required a little finesse to get the going again. I sold a couple and gave a couple as gifts.

Format_C that receiver looks fantastic! Awesome find man. :D

I've been on kind of a dry spell lately but am looking forward to XMAS returns and old merchandise being tossed out. Great time of the year for DDers!
 
Found a Kirby g7 (kirby ultimate g non-Diamond) Vacuum. It was just dogged out. I think it's a 2002.

Broken Belt
The beaterbar was just full of hair, could not even see the brushes. The belt pully was also wrap with hair.
Bag was dirty and smelled, do to the fact they made a hoover bag fit with tape.

Cleaned it up, wash the bag. Got 3 belts and 3 bags off ebay for $10. And it's been running great. I went back on ebay and got g5 full attachment set for it. At lease our 1986 rainbow can be use for lite work now.
 
at work they toss things out near the inventroy guys

DD for monday

2x 3.2ghz socket 478 cpus
512mb ddr2
512mb ddr1
usb cable (charge the ps3 controllers YAY)
usb wall charger for blackberry
5port hub works
40gb wd works noisey

All of them work but the wall charger i was going to buy some of this stuff but now i dont need too.
 
If I were you I'd either just throw that hard drive away, or open it up, use the platters as coasters, and have some fun with the magnets. Its only 40 gigs, and if it's noisy, it's likely on its way out

at work they toss things out near the inventroy guys

DD for monday

2x 3.2ghz socket 478 cpus
512mb ddr2
512mb ddr1
usb cable (charge the ps3 controllers YAY)
usb wall charger for blackberry
5port hub works
40gb wd works noisey

All of them work but the wall charger i was going to buy some of this stuff but now i dont need too.
 
Pretty good score.

Dell AT101W Mechanical Keyboard.(Works)
001.JPG


Intel Pentium 2 333mhz Slot 1 CPU(Havent tested yet)
SCSI HDD(Havent tested yet)
4 sealed Microsoft Windows NT Workstation licenses with book, CD and boot disks.
 
I went dumpster diving yesterday and I guess I was at the right place at the right time because I found a perfectly working Panasonic LCD TV Model TC-32LX70 in a different box (I guess they got a newer model and did not want the "Old" one any longer so I now have me a nice LCD HDTV

TV3.jpg


TV2.jpg


TV.jpg
 
Good score Format.........

Gotta wonder why in the hell someone would throw out a $300+ t.v. instead of giving it to a friend, relative or donate that.

A couple recent scores I got:

A Broken PS3 - red light of death. Checked a few things then bounced it right to Ebay. Went for a $50.00; guess someone wanted the Harddrive or Blueray drive.

Case of DVDs blanks. Was getting low so now I won't have to buy any for another year or so. Just days before I found about 100 new DVD cases.

New plastic chair mat. My other was getting cracked so this came at a good time.
 
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