Scrounging for Fun and Profit 145
Guinnessy writes: "According to Toni Feder on Physics Today, scrounging used equipment is worthwhile if you can avoid the pitfalls of wasting time and compromising scientific goals. Feder interviews experimenters who have dug up everything from dewars to nuclear reactors."
Re:look smart (Score:2, Informative)
Local universities. Ours sells everything from office furnature to autoclaves(sp) and there's plenty of power cubes and misc cables for free or cheap.
Self storage companies: Many of the local ones have auctions on a regular basis to sell off the stuff from the storage lockers that wern't paid up. With both a jail and University near by there's lots of interesting unclaimed stuff:)
The local thrift store is pretty worthless though since wife of another local geek works there and grabs all the good stuff right away.
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Ray
Go check out your physics dept's unused rooms (Score:3, Informative)
Little tip to junk lovers everywhere: Every physics department has a room or two that they don't use for anything. What happens is that equipment that no one needs gets stashed there and forgotten. I've dug up everything from high precision mirrors to fiber optic by the yard, and bits of machined metal I couldn't identify but thought looked cool. It helps if your department hasn't redecorated and refurbished its digs in a long, long time.
Sumbitted for your approval... (Score:1, Informative)
guarenteed goatse free : http://dir.yahoo.com/Recreation/Hobbies/Dumpster_
Warning about scrounging (Score:4, Informative)
When I was in high school me and a buddy of mine helped the chemistry department head "inventory" the stock during a big move. We got everything under the sun. Unfortunately, we found out that some of the containers were mislabelled, and nearly blew our heads off opening a can of ether.
Just a warning that scrounging isn't risk-free.
Re:Sometimes I think... (Score:3, Informative)
Electronic Goldmine [goldmine-elec.com]
Re:Trashing? (Score:2, Informative)
"Don't ask." -The best response when asked how you scrounged a particularly difficult to find part.