Old computer technology

[ZXT 2,401]

Excellent, everyone! I'd quote everyone but the post would be a mile long! 

 

Eric, I have an 80s (I believe) Technics stereo with a record player, tape player, tuner, and equalizer. I'm not sure if it's considered "high powered", but I know that people can hear it down the street if I turn it up all the way up! 

 

bcgold, I was aware of the gold in a computer, I've just never taken the time to separate it and melt it down. I have plenty of old junk computers so I probably should! I've used Linux a time or two, but I've never gotten into it. Seemed a bit too finnicky for me. For everyday use, I use typically use Windows XP or Windows 7, which I both consider excellent operating systems. I used to mainly use Windows 2000 (My favorite operating system, installed on a PC that came with 7 from the factory) with modified drivers, but that computer got fried in a power surge. Are tin whiskers a form of oxidation or?

 

Tom, I believe mainframe computers will be a thing for as long as I am around. I'm not sure there is another way that is as efficient or reliable. 

 

Alex, that TI computer is very cool! It is a shame that the monitor and keyboard got trashed. It would probably still work if it had those! 

 

Steve, I'm not sure what a 485 is (who made it?), but I do know that Windows 97 was never a thing . I have a Windows 95 laptop stored somewhere (that i haven't been able to get online via WIFI) that I use when I find a 3.5" floppy that I want to look at. 

 

Mike, that's great! I've built a few computers, but never anything exceptional. I've always been cheap when it comes to computer and have used older hardware that I could get a deal on. Never got into Linux, but I might try it out again sometime.

 

8ntruck, that's cool! I'm sure it'd still boot up if you pulled it out. As for Dot Matrix printers, there are a number of people on YouTube who use those and 3.5" floppy drives to make music with. Just look up "floppy drive music" and you'll find a ton of videos. Pretty cool what they can do with them.

 

When I voted here in a local election a few months ago, the "new" machine (which I believe will be used in the upcoming presidential election as well) featured what sounded and printed exactly like a Dot Matrix printer. The older woman running the equipment said "isn't it great to have new equipment, and not using the same equipment that has been used for 20 years?" I responded "Weren't you alive in the 80s? The new equipment actually seems older than what they had before!"

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by ZXT

[ACman 7,618]

@stevasaurus that’s probably 486k . I remember our auto tech. / shop teacher had us order all the parts to piece together four of them  from  2” thick catalogs with math coprocessor to run AutoCad11 and AutoSketch . Seems to remember parts coming from over the Country . They blew our regular computer lab 128’s outfits outta the water . Many of computer nerds were jealous they didn’t take shop . This was 1992.

Edited December 14, 2019 by ACman

[MikMacMike 479]

9 hours ago, bcgold said:

 

Any problems with tin whiskers.

 

https://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/

 

Hmmmm I think I should have made a double or triple...my whisker tastes weak!

[MikMacMike 479]

16 minutes ago, MikMacMike said:

Hmmmm I think I should have made a double or triple...my whisker tastes weak!

Not normally.....well ok I lied, if there going down too good then yes the next day. Whisker hang over !!! hehehehe

[bc.gold 3,403]

33 minutes ago, MikMacMike said:

Hmmmm I think I should have made a double or triple...my whisker tastes weak!

 

Modern electronics assembled with lead free solder actually have a self life, boxed unopened merchandise still grows those nasty whiskers that short out components on the board causing failure rendering your prized device useless.

 

Most modern electronic failures are due to whisker growth.

 

Zinc is another metal that grows whiskers, one data center had installed galvanized expanded flooring then after a few years the whiskers had grown then became air born passing through the cooling system which contaminated the whole data center. A disaster.

 

Those twenty year old electronics we cherish have an indefinite shelf live and lead does not grow whiskers you'll be lucky to see five years of service from a device manufactured with lead free solder.

 

IMO this is consumer fraud.

Edited December 14, 2019 by bcgold

[MikMacMike 479]

2 minutes ago, bcgold said:

 

Modern electronics assembled with lead free solder actually have a self life, boxed unopened merchandise still grows those nasty whiskers that short out components on the board causing failure rendering your prized device useless.

 

Most modern electronic failures are due to whisker growth.

 

Zinc is another metal that grows whiskers, one data center had installed galvanized expanded flooring then after a few years the whiskers had grown then became air born passing through the cooling system which contaminated the whole data center. A disaster.

 

Those twenty year old electronics we cherish have an indefinite shelf live and lead does not grow whiskers.

Might be somthing to look into also is......if they grow those whiskers because there using no lead solder, years ago they banned us from using lead solder on water lines and rightly so, but whats got my goat is.....yes we use no lead solder now for water lines....do those whisker grow also when water is present? And yes when they grow it sounds like what its doing is shorting or changing the current /amperage or what ever it might be....could those whiskers be harmfull if ingested through the water or by inhalation?

[bc.gold 3,403]

45 minutes ago, MikMacMike said:

Might be somthing to look into also is......if they grow those whiskers because there using no lead solder, years ago they banned us from using lead solder on water lines and rightly so, but whats got my goat is.....yes we use no lead solder now for water lines....do those whisker grow also when water is present? And yes when they grow it sounds like what its doing is shorting or changing the current /amperage or what ever it might be....could those whiskers be harmfull if ingested through the water or by inhalation?

 

To answer your question, Water is one of the worlds best known solvents.

 

I use distilled water which is free of foreign salts when rinsing a precious metals precipitate to free it from unwanted metal salts.

 

Most of you are familiar with the use of the use of a sacrificial anode used to protect your boat, there are several types of anodes.

 

Zinc anodes are used when a boat is used mostly in salt water, but should you moored your boat in a bay that has an incoming river of fresh water. And that boat spends more time tied up in diluted ocean salt water than cruising you would use an anode made from aluminum.

 

Aluminum and Magnesium anodes are used for fresh water service, your domestic hot water tank could be equipped with either but I suspect the manufacture would use the less expensive metal available at time of manufacture.

 

Hot water tanks with longer warranty used a brass drain tap while the cheaper tanks use a plastic one.

 

Both of these metals in excess have adverse health affects.

 

If your concerned about the use of lead free solder, use a cadmium free silver solder.

 

The list below is the reactivity series of metals, using the list and where each metal resides on the list will asssit you with you selection of fasteners etc.

 

From the list you'll note that zinc is very high up, what this relates to is that zinc will react with every metal below it and none from above.

 

In the list tin is above lead, so tin is more apt to leach. Historically we have learned that lead is a health hazard which was suspected of bringing down the Roman Empire.

 

Google, Plumbing discovery reveals the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/08/plumbing-discovery-reveals-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by bcgold