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What the heck is this thing? $0.50 flea market find.

CZroe

CZroe

Lifer
3c7e10864d3a648cb6eb58cae0573607.jpg

Gallery:
https://imgur.com/gallery/jRAOLyf

I thought it had something to do with an electronics rework station heat gun, but... nope. Still, the construction is quality so I figure it might be worth identifying.

It’s got a 3-pin DIN with a 180° DIN5 arrangement. It’s all metal construction on the outside except for the obvious (cord; rubber O-rings). The metal cap on the back unscrews and you and then you can unplug the cable, which only has two terminals despite the 3-pin DIN. There is clearly a motor of some kind in there but it does not appear to be a blower despite the vents.

It’s impossible to show in the pictures but there is a metal piece at the base inside of the hollow metal protrusion with slopes ramps and flat sides/drops. Probably meant to engage with whatever it turns without requiring precise alignment. Reminds me of the ratchet mechanism inside a click pen.

f312f687c437e4fe17d6abd70f874617.jpg

We’ve obviously got some kind of adjustment back here, hidden under the plug and metal end cap.

I doubt it’s vaping-related since the cable clearly tethers it to something (vapes stress portability).

No, the protrusion with O-rings is not a TRRS-style connector. It’s one metal piece.

I get the impression that maybe it was meant to be a drink mixer with different mixing attachments or something but it can’t be very strong: there’s nothing to anchor the attachments and keep them from spinning under high torque. Even then, it wouldn’t be a stand-alone device thanks to that connector. Not sure what base station would have such an attachment.
 
PJFrylar said:
Looks like a 3 pin dmx to trs adapter, something similar to this:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/STX110M--hosa-stx110m-10-foot?mrkgcl=28&mrkgadid=3303548660&rkg_id=0&product_id=STX110M&campaigntype=shopping&campaign=aaShopping - SKU - Accessories&adgroup=Cables - Hosa - stx110m&placement=google&adpos=1o3&creative=285723449921&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0rKdjNjO3AIVkoCfCh1ZlgetEAQYAyABEgKxKfD_BwE
Click to expand...
That's kind of what I was thinking too, like an XLR to Something adapter, but I can't find an a/v component that uses that large of a male attachment. That things like a 1/2'' version of traditional jobbers. Those little ringlets around it sure make me think of an A/V connector though.
 
IronWing said:
Looks like a musical amp hookup of some sort. Are you sure there is a motor and not a fuse?
Click to expand...

Yeah, similar XLR (Microphones) and DIN (MIDI) connectors are very common there, but DIN is also common everywhere else and this is DIN. It’s definitely a motor of some kind. I can see through the vents and the piece at the bottom of the protrusion definitely turns.

Thebobo said:
Your fingernails need cutting.
Click to expand...
No way! They’re borderline too short. Seriously!

I constantly use my fingernails in the electronics and mod work I do. Only reason to go shorter would be to avoid the need to clean crud at the expense of having useful fingernails. Sorry, but I will continue to proudly clean my nail crud to preserve the usefulness of having fingernails. 🙂
 
[DHT]Osiris said:
That's kind of what I was thinking too, like an XLR to Something adapter, but I can't find an a/v component that uses that large of a male attachment. That things like a 1/2'' version of traditional jobbers. Those little ringlets around it sure make me think of an A/V connector though.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that barrel struck me as quite large. I haven't seen one bigger than the 1/4 inch that guitars/amps use.
 
PJFrylar said:
Yeah, that barrel struck me as quite large. I haven't seen one bigger than the 1/4 inch that guitars/amps use.
Click to expand...
What's curious is it's clearly intended to move around, given the cord, but not far.. closer to like, a phone handset -> base distance. Could be something medical I guess. I'd say it was a vibrator attachment if it was wireless 😛
 
PJFrylar said:
Looks like a 3 pin dmx to trs adapter, something similar to this:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...MI0rKdjNjO3AIVkoCfCh1ZlgetEAQYAyABEgKxKfD_BwE
Click to expand...

I thought it was some enlarged/custom TRRS connector at first, much like the ones used in the TS-100 soldering iron (JBC style with the heating element in the tip). Nope. The protrusion is all one piece with a couple grooves to fit O-rings. Tested with a continuity meter too.

[DHT]Osiris said:
That's kind of what I was thinking too, like an XLR to Something adapter, but I can't find an a/v component that uses that large of a male attachment. That things like a 1/2'' version of traditional jobbers. Those little ringlets around it sure make me think of an A/V connector though.
Click to expand...
The pics are from over a month ago. I quickly verified back then that the protrusion wasn’t a TRRS connector like a headphone or AV jack. That’s exactly what I was thinking at first which is what got me thinking it could be from a hot air station with a slip-on heating element, but it’s not. The advantage of JBC-style soldering iron tips done this way doesn’t really translate to hot air stations anyway, since they don’t need to rapidly recover from direct contact sinking heat like a soldering iron. Turns out that the plastic visible through the vents is a vented motor shroud and not blower fins.
 
CZroe said:
I thought it was some enlarged/custom TRRS connector at first, much like the ones used in the TS-100 soldering iron (JBC style with the heating element in the tip). Nope. The protrusion is all one piece with a couple grooves to fit O-rings. Tested with a continuity meter too.


The pics are from over a month ago. I quickly verified back then that the protrusion wasn’t a TRRS connector like a headphone or AV jack. That’s exactly what I was thinking at first which is what got me thinking it could be from a hot air station with a slip-on heating element, but it’s not. The advantage of JBC-style soldering iron tips done this way doesn’t really translate to hot air stations anyway, since they don’t need to rapidly recover from direct contact sinking heat like a soldering iron. Turns out that the plastic visible through the vents is a vented motor shroud and not blower fins.
Click to expand...
So, like, does some part of it actually move/turn/vibrate? Does it rattle if you shake it?
 
[DHT]Osiris said:
What's curious is it's clearly intended to move around, given the cord, but not far.. closer to like, a phone handset -> base distance. Could be something medical I guess. I'd say it was a vibrator attachment if it was wireless
Click to expand...
Yeah. I’ve seen very similar DIN connectors on electronics rework stations, like my Aoyue Int745+ and Int866. My DINs have threaded metal pieces to secure them, the gender is opposite, and the cords aren’t coiled, but there is a lot of variety between manufacturers with the same core design:
base station and stand with a flexible cord for operating elsewhere on the workbench

I’m sure some have a coiled cord.

PJFrylar said:
Yeah, that barrel struck me as quite large. I haven't seen one bigger than the 1/4 inch that guitars/amps use.
Click to expand...
Yep. It is larger than any standard TRS/TRRS I’ve even seen... it’s also hollow with a metallic spinny bit inside that is clearly shaped to turn something else in one direction. It all got continuity anyway, so definitely not an electrical connection there (not a TRS/TRRS headphone-style connector or anything similar/custom).

[DHT]Osiris said:
So, like, does some part of it actually move/turn/vibrate? Does it rattle if you shake it?
Click to expand...
It has a motor in the base that turns a small metal piece deep inside the protrusion (all the way at the base). The piece is shaped such that it will interface with another piece to transmit rotational force in one direction (slopes and ramps, much like the ratcheting piece in the back of a retractable click pen). The protrusion has rubber O-rings and is probably as long as it is to make sure that whatever goes into it remains perfectly straight and doesn’t rub the interior wall. I believe the O-rings are just for a friction fit and not for sealing (no lube and no sign that anything is supposed to turn around that shaft).
 
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Hmm, well I've got no clue what that is then. I'd say you got your money's worth just trying to figure out what it is though.
 
PJFrylar said:
Hmm, well I've got no clue what that is then. I'd say you got your money's worth just trying to figure out what it is though.
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Yeah. I bought it thinking I knew what it was and that I’d easily find the model of rework station that it belonged to. The last $0.50 item I bought from that bin was worth hundreds (multifunction control unit for a $1,300 Tamiya-brand remote control tank). Just thought I’d ask in public before giving up and throwing it away. 🙂

Thebobo said:
Could be a device for security to check in on old electro mechanical systems.
Click to expand...
Good guess, but it’s way too new. Anodized cap and well-finished bare aluminum housing. Definitely a modern part and seems particularly high-quality.
 
[DHT]Osiris said:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2PC...nector-Handpiece-35K-35000rpm/2021906777.html
That looks like the same model, based on the little grooves and the lack of any identifying marks. 10000% ROI ain't bad, if you can find a buyer!
Click to expand...
Yep! I see it used in the Marathon III:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/381476762399

Guess it’s not a $200+ dollar find like the last one or the $22,600 find before that, but at least now I can see if there’s a market for replacements that don’t ship from China. 🙂 Thanks!
 
CZroe said:
Yep! I see it used in the Marathon III:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/381476762399

Guess it’s not a $200+ dollar find like the last one or the $22,600 find before that, but at least now I can see if there’s a market for replacements that don’t ship from China. 🙂 Thanks!
Click to expand...
Worst case, it could make a killer little Dremel if you can find a way to create a mating for it. And even if you fail, it'll probably still be a killer little Dremel, just in the wrong way.
 
PJFrylar said:
I would never have guessed that. I wonder if it still works.
Click to expand...
Looks brand new/never used so I assume so. That Tamiya part was also still new in the original package. It seems most stuff from that $0.50 bin ends up being new but the vendor just doesn’t know what any of it is. Found several full shaft 3.5mm GameBit screwdrivers there too. I was probably using one when I opened the $10 NES games to find all that heroin, but I can’t be sure because I already had an identical one from a set.
 
LOL! I just got a message on LetGo about it. One of you guys? I put it up there yesterday hoping their algorithm could identify it. 🙂
 
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