Digital cable boxes as parts sources?
 

Used digital cable boxes are in plentiful supply for about $10 apiece. I've
never had the chance to look inside one. Are there enough usable components
inside one to justify the price, or are they using proprietary or SMT
components that would be hard to use? Thanks.

73,

"PM"

where do you find used digital boxes for $10ea. You have peaked my interest.

--
Rev. Robert P. Chrysafis
Universal Life Ministries [ULC]

88.3 FM Stereo 1000 AM Stereo
100,000 MicroWatts of Community Power!!

where do you find used digital boxes for $10ea. You have peaked my interest.

--
Rev. Robert P. Chrysafis
Universal Life Ministries [ULC]

88.3 FM Stereo 1000 AM Stereo
100,000 MicroWatts of Community Power!!

"Batman" wrote in message
ink.net...
where do you find used digital boxes for $10ea. You have peaked my
interest.

eBay, where else? :

Rev. "PM", ULC

"Batman" wrote in message
ink.net...
where do you find used digital boxes for $10ea. You have peaked my
interest.

eBay, where else? :

Rev. "PM", ULC

Paul_Morphy wrote:
"Batman" wrote in message
ink.net...

where do you find used digital boxes for $10ea. You have peaked my

interest.

eBay, where else? :

Rev. "PM", ULC


Be carefull. You'll burn your fingers with those!

Paul_Morphy wrote:
"Batman" wrote in message
ink.net...

where do you find used digital boxes for $10ea. You have peaked my

interest.

eBay, where else? :

Rev. "PM", ULC


Be carefull. You'll burn your fingers with those!

"Ken Scharf" wrote in message
. ..

Be carefull. You'll burn your fingers with those!

Funny how they never have the remote controls. I haven't bought one yet. I'm
lamely waiting for someone to tell me it's worthwhile to tear one apart.
This must be the lingering effects of all those Lew McCoy articles I read. I
see a TV, I want to gut it and build ham gear.

"PM"

"Ken Scharf" wrote in message
. ..

Be carefull. You'll burn your fingers with those!

Funny how they never have the remote controls. I haven't bought one yet. I'm
lamely waiting for someone to tell me it's worthwhile to tear one apart.
This must be the lingering effects of all those Lew McCoy articles I read. I
see a TV, I want to gut it and build ham gear.

"PM"

"Paul_Morphy" ) writes:
"Ken Scharf" wrote in message
. ..

Be carefull. You'll burn your fingers with those!

Funny how they never have the remote controls. I haven't bought one yet. I'm
lamely waiting for someone to tell me it's worthwhile to tear one apart.
This must be the lingering effects of all those Lew McCoy articles I read. I
see a TV, I want to gut it and build ham gear.

"PM"



I have no idea what's in them, and not even a good idea of their
function (well obviously it's something to do with tv).

Assuming these are for use with cable, I suspect there is less of
interest in them than some other items, at least given the price.
Cable converters (ie they don't do descrambling but convert cable
channels down to where an old tv set getting channels 2 to 13 can
receive the channels) have a wideband converter, usually double
conversion, that have been used in some "spectrum analyzer" projects.
But I find those in the garbage (or did, maybe they have now become
too old).

VCRs have wideband tuners too, though the ones I've taken apart
tune in segments like tv tuners rather than all in one range like
the cable converters. VCRs are plentiful and free, and you can pull
pretty much all the plastic basic purpose transistors you need off
them. As long as it's older, then the components are not surface mount.
They are much cleaner than the TV sets that I noticed when I was a kid.
If I was starting out, I'd be pulling the resistors and capacitors off
the VCRs too.

I once found a satellite receiver waiting for the garbage outside
a repair place. Besides the nifty case, it came with a diode ring
mixer, I think with a known brand on it. I pulled some other things
off it, but it was less than I would have expected (though, I didn't
really have expectations).

Old cellphones, the big clunky kind, tend to have interesting parts,
and since we're talking old they are cheap since nobody wants them
and the parts are less integrated and often not surface mount. TCXO's,
FM-bandwidth crystal filters often in the "roofing filter" range, indeed
complete FM IF strips, UHF prescalers, NE570 companders or direct
variants and if they are old enough, CPUs and their peripherals that
are recognizable and reusable. I've bought old cellphones for as low
as fifty cents, and have paid up to five dollars because I could expect
a reasonable return.

What sort of parts are you looking for? That might help to solve
whether something is worth actually paying for.

Michael VE2BVW