# Need advice on PC electronics salvage



## Spooky Dave (May 12, 2011)

Howdy all,

Sorry my first real post in here is asking for help, but hey... I need some help! Heh. 

I was checking out the LED spotlight tutorial in here (TOTALLY going to make some), and noticed that computer power supplies are great to run the things. So, I contacted the IT manager at the company I work at to see if they had old parts I could scrounge. He told me my timing was great. They had a big ol' pile of electronics ready to send off, and I could have my pick.

Well, I went down and grabbed about nine old PC towers complete with all the stuff inside. They all have power supplies in them, so I'm certainly going to salvage those. Beyond that... I was hoping for some help. What else could be useful?

To clarify, I'm just barely getting into the electronics side of haunting. I'm learning about picaxe/prop controllers (everything before was triggered by hand), and I'm thinking if I can find the PC relays, those would come in handy. Anything else? What should I try salvaging from these old PC's?

I'm guessing the actual PC's don't work, so anything like video card or whatnot probably won't be useful. But things like cables, pins, connectors, that sort of thing might be nice to have around. Any advice would be most appreciated!

Dave


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Check out this thread here - several responses on useful items to pull from an old computer:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=22650

And here's a tutorial on how to make a connector for a 4RPM motor from a computer power supply, in case you are so inclined:

http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=23705


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## hedg12 (Jul 6, 2008)

Before you write all the PCs off as parts, take a little time and check them out. If you can find one or two that work, save them and put them to work. Neither VSA or Vixen need much in the way of computer resources to run, and can be used to control everything from sound and lights to animatronics.


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## stagehand1975 (Feb 22, 2010)

It only takes.1 pc power supply to run a decent about of leds in an average haunt. The cooling fans can come in handy as well.


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## Dead Things (Apr 4, 2009)

Here's a link for converting the power supplies
http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.batts/ps/POWERSUPPLY.HTM


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## Spooky Dave (May 12, 2011)

Holy cow, awesome info everybody. Quick question for anybody who knows. I've tried all the PC's, and most of 'em are dead as far as any computing capacity, but several of the fans also sound fairly slow, or inconsistent. Does that mean the power supply itself is also toast, or just the fan motor?


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## Spooky Dave (May 12, 2011)

p.s. Forgot to say THANKS! for all that awesome info. So, officially, THANKS!


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## hedg12 (Jul 6, 2008)

There are some modern power supplies that regulate the speed of the fan to help control noise level, but they're pretty rare. If the PCs they came from are more than a few years old there's a good chance the fans are just bad. While the fans aren't absolutely necessary if you're not loading the power supply heavily, it's probably a good idea to have one. You can open the power supply up and replace the fan without too much trouble - check the computers you're stripping to see if any of them have case fans you can use.


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