Long time computer hobbyists- what do i do with my tub of cables?

[wirednuts]

I demand pics.

i agree, i want to see some pics of all these piles people are claiming. so far mine is a mountain compared to whats shown so far.

 

[KlokWyze]

Every time I throw out stuff I end up needing it a week later, even though I haven't needed it for the past 10 years.

:thumbsup: Always.

 

[Drako]

Depressing

I feel like a hoarder now. D:

I need clean out our spare bedroom closet, and the attic full of electronics and cables.

 

[RossMAN]

Depressing

I feel like a hoarder now. D:

I need clean out our spare bedroom closet, and the attic full of electronics and cables.

Can I throw my original ReplayTV, my newer ReplayTV, TiVo series 2, VCR, VCR/DVD combo, etc. into your pile-o-trash?

Is ReplayTV still even in business?

 

[lykaon78]

Every time I throw out stuff I end up needing it a week later, even though I haven't needed it for the past 10 years.

QFT - Hate this.

 

[TXHokie]

I just moved too and dumped 3 bags full of cables and adaptors and various old tech (modems, walkmans, vcr, computer parts...) to the local recycler place. Hate to see usable stuff like this fill up the landfill. Hope they recycle or put to good use. I need to declutter more but still kept one bin.

 

[rasczak]

1 tub?

Try making it a couple boxes worth then get back to us

I have mine organized. More than one box of laptop adapters, a box for video cables (VGA, component, HDMI, RCA, etc.), a box for earbuds, a box for power cables, a box for IDE cables, another for SATA...

Haha! I just recycled 3 full storage boxes worth of cables, laptops and other stuff. It feels good not having those boxes around anymore.

 

[NuclearNed]

Last year I put mine in a yard sale - $0.25 per cable - and sold a bunch of them. Funny thing, though - the cables that sold were the crap ones (i.e. old phone cables). The USB/Firewire/other useful cables came back home with me.

 

[JoeyP]

Do you have a local PC shop that would take it off your hands? We have a few that do custom builds, so I wonder if they might pay $40 for the whole thing.

 

[slag]

I have one just like that. I use it for exercise because it's always in the way and I have to move it a lot.

Ditto.

 

[clamum]

I'd either donate them to Goodwill or St Vincent de Paul (if they take that sorta thing), or just throw all that shit out.

 

[OutHouse]

find a dumpster in a apartment complex and get rid of it.

 

[bguile]

If you've got some cat5 in there you could make a cat o nine tails.

 

[PingSpike]

I have a lot of this junk but I've pared it down a ton. Things that are small like ram sticks or adapters or old CPUs I'll usually save and try to sell for a few bucks. But old computer cases and drives I just toss them in the garbage and save a single spare now. Its not impossible that I might need an IDE cdrom again for something in the future but I'm not going to need two.

Large stuff is a priority to get rid of, but I still have a lot of cables that I have to tackle. I have a whole box that it just filled with nothing but PC power cords. WTF am I doing? And another box is just filled with ribbon cables. Its time I admit that both boxes are pointless. I should save 1-2 IDE cables, 1-2 floppy cables and perhaps 4-5 of the best power cables and send the rest to the dump. I mean, a lot of the IDE cables are the really old ones that are only ATA33. I'm never going to use those!

 

[bfdd]

You could take them to like a hackerspace and donate them?

 

[IronWing]

"Hey man can you spare a couple bucks?"

"No, but here's a printer cable."




Edit: Any Garmin four prong serial cables in there?

 

[Sheep]

Ignore all the hoarders who say to keep the whole bin for a rainy day--the odds are ridiculously small that you'll need a parallel printer cable or an S-video cable ever again.

Weed through it and find the stuff you might actually need...it will be a very small percentage of what's in the bin. Keep that stuff. Get rid of the rest.

 

[CZroe]

You could take them to like a hackerspace and donate them?

What is a "hackerspace?"

I have a lot of this junk but I've pared it down a ton. Things that are small like ram sticks or adapters or old CPUs I'll usually save and try to sell for a few bucks. But old computer cases and drives I just toss them in the garbage and save a single spare now. Its not impossible that I might need an IDE cdrom again for something in the future but I'm not going to need two.

Large stuff is a priority to get rid of, but I still have a lot of cables that I have to tackle. I have a whole box that it just filled with nothing but PC power cords. WTF am I doing? And another box is just filled with ribbon cables. Its time I admit that both boxes are pointless. I should save 1-2 IDE cables, 1-2 floppy cables and perhaps 4-5 of the best power cables and send the rest to the dump. I mean, a lot of the IDE cables are the really old ones that are only ATA33. I'm never going to use those!

I bought a bin full of 50 on eBay about 9 years ago and not a single one was an 80-conductor. It still came in invaluable in the shop when I'd find an old device that needed a CS cable or had a keyed pin or seemed flakey and it turned out to be the cable. I've actually found ATA33 devices that did not work properly with 80-conductor cables (still have a few, like my Dr. V64).

 

[r3dsh1ft]

I keep telling myself "i'll need something in the box eventually" and the pile gets bigger and bigger.

 

[wirednuts]

Ignore all the hoarders who say to keep the whole bin for a rainy day--the odds are ridiculously small that you'll need a parallel printer cable or an S-video cable ever again.

Weed through it and find the stuff you might actually need...it will be a very small percentage of what's in the bin. Keep that stuff. Get rid of the rest.

I did! like i said, most of what i have IS stuff i might use again... i mean its unlikely ill actually use most of this stuff, but all of it has relativity to todays tech. and i think i counted 3 serial cables. i dont think i have anything thats more then 10 years old.

im not done either guys! i just went through my computer room and there was more crap there i forgot about. im pushing the brim of the tub now! i found an xbox gaming adapter, li-ion battery chargers, and an arctic 7 heatsink/fan for 1156 motherboards

theres no way i can get rid of it. theres so much good stuff in there... ugh.....

 

[coloumb]

Sort out the duplicates and any other components which you are willing to accept that it's not worth it to keep a "spare" on hand.

Craigslist, ebay, Trade forums, garage sale, donate [to friends/charity] the rest.

 

[JamesV]

Dump all the AC adaptors (have you ever reused an AC adaptor from something old?), and drop identical pieces like power cables (see a bunch in that screenshot) so that you have 2-3 for backups.

I keep a legacy box with things like PS2 adaptors and VGA cables (never know when you might throw together a legacy box, or some aunt might need a VGA cable for her aging machine). Newer items I keep 2-3 sets and dump the rest.

 

[Ichinisan]

What is a "hackerspace?"


I bought a bin full of 50 on eBay about 9 years ago and not a single one was an 80-conductor. It still came in invaluable in the shop when I'd find an old device that needed a CS cable or had a keyed pin or seemed flakey and it turned out to be the cable. I've actually found ATA33 devices that did not work properly with 80-conductor cables (still have a few, like my Dr. V64).

I've also found ATA33 ribbon cables to be useful for cutting and using with 10-pin or 20-pin headers from Fry's. I've used them to extend and re-locate my motherboard's front-panel header and to make a JTAG cable for a friend.

 

[wirednuts]

Dump all the AC adaptors (have you ever reused an AC adaptor from something old?), and drop identical pieces like power cables (see a bunch in that screenshot) so that you have 2-3 for backups.

yes, i use old ac adapters all the time. i either lose the ones i have for my current devices or the tips break or something... and i can always find a similar ac adapter in the bin and solder the lead on.

i do a lot of electrical/hobbycraft work too. thats a whole other bin. but thats where i hack a lot of these computer parts together and make new things. i live in an apartment right now though, so there no garage for this stuff.

 

[PingSpike]

What is a "hackerspace?"


I bought a bin full of 50 on eBay about 9 years ago and not a single one was an 80-conductor. It still came in invaluable in the shop when I'd find an old device that needed a CS cable or had a keyed pin or seemed flakey and it turned out to be the cable. I've actually found ATA33 devices that did not work properly with 80-conductor cables (still have a few, like my Dr. V64).

I could see that happening, but I don't have any ATA33 devices lying around either!