Identification - please help me

Hi guys,
First of all, happy new year !
I have been absent for a long time, I had so many things to change in my life!
Now it's done, I have got some free time to spend to scrap and refine PM, and I am back on the GRF.
Today, I will ask you to help me to know wether the following e-scraps contain or not PM: gold, silver, tantalum, palladium or platinum!

Thank you in advance for your help, guys!

u ciocciu-

The relay points (the small metal bar or contact point on the switch's arm that make contact with each other to pass current through them) will contain values.

You can lookup the data sheets on the manufacturer of the relays, as well as other electronic components, datasheets will give you some details of the metals involved(using the number and the company's logo on the part).


The top hat metal can type transistors often have gold bonding wire or gold plated legs.

Heat sinks copper value.

Black box metal film capacitors

I am a bit disappointed, I would have say those relays are fully gold plated (look at the color).

Anyway, thank you so much Butcher

Uciocciu said:

I am a bit disappointed, I would have say those relays are fully gold plated (look at the color).

Anyway, thank you so much Butcher

Click to expand...

Those relay pieces are more than likely just brass, usually the only PM's in those are in the contact points.

Ask yourself: Why would manufacturer put gold plating where it's not needed for any purpose?

I would not be too disappointed, the small bars (Contact points) look like the type used in low voltage applications like telephone-type relays that normally contained palladium in the alloy, although without seeing the datasheets for these particular relays or having some other indication beside looking at a picture the only thing I can say is the small contact are very likely to have some value as a precious metal, the bar the contact is brazed to is made of a metal (normally copper or brass based that will be springy enough to function as a switch to open and close reliably and rapidly and able to carry current or data through them.

First picture, silver plated RF filter components. I've seen silver on brass, silver on aluminium and silver on iron. Easily sorted by magnetism and weight.

Second picture, probably film capacitor. Only aluminium foils and plastic.

Relays, my guess is gold plated silver contact points. They are tiny so a lot of work for a small amount of precious metals, but if you don't have any better to do. Easy to test, cut some off, put in a test tube, add a few drops of nitric acid and observe the reaction. Thick gold foils keeps their form while thin foils breaks up. The liquid could then be tested with salt to check for silver and eventually with DMG for palladium.

And as others have mentioned, older transistors contains gold bond wires and possible plating inside.

Göran

Hi Goran,

Thank you so much.

Really pleased to chat with you guys

You should test the contact points of the relay.

Traditionally, that sliding contact reed style is required for Ag/Pd alloys to wipe appropriately. It makes no sense to use Ag/Pd alloy otherwise.

At the same time, I have seen that style sliding contact used in gold plated silver as well.