# Identifying pins part 1



## yetiface09 (Jul 23, 2013)

Here's a little tutorial or more of a show and tell about various computer pins. These pictures may help some folks in identifying some pins. If any of you guys have some insight as to the quality or thickness of plating, please by all means advise us. I'm sure there are more folks than just myself that would like to know some ballpark figures on plating. 

34 and 40 pin IDE connectors. Used to connect the motherboard to various drives. It's usually from a very thin flat gray cable. 



They have pins like this with what appears to be very thin plating.



SAS connector (Serial Attached SCSI (pronounced Scuzzy)) don't worry about what it means. These have a fair amount of gold plated pins.



SAS connectors have pins like this.



Alternate views of SAS connectors



To be continued...


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## yetiface09 (Jul 23, 2013)

More pins!

This is a RAID card connector. They may be used for more than RAID cards but not very often. They mainly come from servers, not desktops or laptops. They can be easily taken apart with a small philips head screwdriver, or ripped apart violently with a pair of pliers. I prefer the more methodical approach. The fewer flying pieces of gold in the garage, the better!



Front view of connector



When it is pretty much fully disassembled, you can see that there are tons of plated pins with a bit of plating on the tips. This, logically, would be better quality plating since it is from a server. But what do I know? I could be wrong there.


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## pgms4me (Jul 23, 2013)

Thanks for the post and great pictures. Those computer drive ribbon cable connectors that you show, come in many colors. the colors dont seem to matter as far as pin quality goes on the newer ones,but on servers and pc cables from the 90's there can be a huge difference. Back then,almost all the blue ones and black ones had fully plated pins right thru to where the ribbon cable connects-you can tell right away by removing the plastic strip at the rear of the connector. You will see the gold ends sticking up past where they connect to the ribbon cable.


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## yetiface09 (Jul 23, 2013)

And yet more pins!

This is a SATA power connector. used to supply power to various devices in more modern computers.



Here's the best way to easily and quickly get what you're after.



And here pins they provide.



Here's a good one. A Centronics cable. They don't use these much nowadays but they have way more than your usual connector.



Parallel pins. Pretty decent amount on these. Not sure of the actual yields. Anyone?



Ok ok. My quarter is being a Diva and needs a break from all the photography. It must be tough working that hard. LOL! (sorry I'm full of lame jokes) I'll post more at some point.


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## yetiface09 (Jul 23, 2013)

pgms4me said:


> Thanks for the post and great pictures. Those computer drive ribbon cable connectors that you show, come in many colors. the colors dont seem to matter as far as pin quality goes on the newer ones,but on servers and pc cables from the 90's there can be a huge difference. Back then,almost all the blue ones and black ones had fully plated pins right thru to where the ribbon cable connects-you can tell right away by removing the plastic strip at the rear of the connector. You will see the gold ends sticking up past where they connect to the ribbon cable.




That's good to know! Thanks man! I work in the IT industry as a consultant so I come across lots of more modern equipment. I would love to find some stash of old school computers or something from the 80's or 90's. It's funny to see how manufacturers used to put a lot of quality in their products back then. And that doesn't just apply to electronics either! Thanks for the post!


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## chlaurite (Jul 23, 2013)

Great guide, I look forward to more of it!

Just for clarification, though, that "hooked" one-sided-plating style of pin shown in your "RAID card connector" tends to have very little gold on them, you can almost wipe it off if with your finger (I don't mean the ones where the plating covers most of the pin, just the ones where it barely extends past the "hook", sometimes not even to the tip of the pin, and visibly fades out over a few mm).

Oh, and that parallel printer connector end you show goes by the term "Centronics" connector (as opposed to the DB25 end - And I've never seen a Centronics-to-Centronics cable).


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## yetiface09 (Jul 23, 2013)

chlaurite said:


> Great guide, I look forward to more of it!
> 
> Just for clarification, though, that "hooked" one-sided-plating style of pin shown in your "RAID card connector" tends to have very little gold on them, you can almost wipe it off if with your finger (I don't mean the ones where the plating covers most of the pin, just the ones where it barely extends past the "hook", sometimes not even to the tip of the pin, and visibly fades out over a few mm).



Yeah those are typically just a boat load of base metal to dissolve and probably are better suited for a sulphuric cell. Although I have yet to build and try one of those. I will as soon as funds allow. 



chlaurite said:


> Oh, and that parallel printer connector end you show goes by the term "Centronics" connector (as opposed to the DB25 end - And I've never seen a Centronics-to-Centronics cable).



Yeah my mistake. I glazed over this one. The parallel connectors have two long rows of holes like this.


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## yetiface09 (Jul 23, 2013)

Can anyone tell me if VGA connectors actually have gold plated pins? I have a ton of them and they are a major pain to harvest. Just wanted to know if I'm spinning my wheels here.


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## pgms4me (Jul 23, 2013)

vga and the smaller 9 pin connectors all have gold plated pins,but so much work for so little return. I sell them as is in 10-40 # lots with other time consuming connectors.As for myself, i draw the line at about 25pins on the modern connectors.


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## Geo (Jul 23, 2013)

not so hard when you have done it for a few years. i hate doing connectors but my wife can run through a bucket full in an afternoon.


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## chlaurite (Jul 24, 2013)

VGA and DVI connectors both have gold plated pins (sometimes really good quality, too, since they carry high-speed signals). They tend to have a large blob of some sort of waxy epoxy inside the body of the connector, wrapped in foil and usually covering a rectangular steel(?) casing. For the ones that have the internal steel body, you can use a utility knife to neatly peel away one side of the epoxy (the top or bottom work well) right along the edge of the steel, and then the whole rest of it just falls apart neatly.

Or, you can just pop the D-shell metal shroud off with a screwdriver and neatly shear the pins off - You'll give up a small bit of gold that way, but on almost all of them I've done, the gold doesn't usually extend much into the body.


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## yar (Jul 25, 2013)

pgms4me said:


> vga and the smaller 9 pin connectors all have gold plated pins,but so much work for so little return. I sell them as is in 10-40 # lots with other time consuming connectors.As for myself, i draw the line at about 25pins on the modern connectors.



Try putting the VGA connectors in a pot of hot water for a few minutes. The heavy plastic will soften up and you can then cut thru it much easier with a utility knife.


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## vajra (Aug 4, 2013)

yetiface09 said:


> Here's a little tutorial or more of a show and tell about various computer pins. These pictures may help some folks in identifying some pins. If any of you guys have some insight as to the quality or thickness of plating, please by all means advise us. I'm sure there are more folks than just myself that would like to know some ballpark figures on plating.
> 
> Thanks man!!
> I Very appreciate this !!!!


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## Phil.elmer (Aug 5, 2013)

It is very informative men,, 
thanks a lot


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## stevenh (Aug 7, 2013)

Hi all,

I have 4 or 5 pounds of these DB25 and VGA15 gender changers (couplers)












There are about 150-200 pieces. Is there enough plating to bother recycling? I have the feeling that pulling these things apart will be more work than gold value.

Cheers


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## chlaurite (Aug 7, 2013)

stevenh said:


> Is there enough plating to bother recycling? I have the feeling that pulling these things apart will be more work than gold value.


It probably _will_ count as more effort than values recoverable - But yes, VGA pins tend to have a pretty decent plating. I haven't done a lot of DB25s, but as older hardware, they have a better chance of having a good thick layer of gold than many newer connectors.

I'd say take one of each apart thoroughly, and see how far the gold goes. If the whole pin, definitely worth it; if just the tips, not quite as good but you could get away with just removing the shroud (the easy part) and shearing the pins off flush with the connector.


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## stevenh (Aug 7, 2013)

chlaurite said:


> stevenh said:
> 
> 
> > Is there enough plating to bother recycling? I have the feeling that pulling these things apart will be more work than gold value.
> ...



Thank you chlaurite, 
I guess it wouldn't hurt to crack a couple of them to see what's going on inside. Checking with a loupe I can see the gold goes all the way into the insulators. I know these things are from the mid-90s, so maybe the plating will be thick. Hope for the best, expect the worst. :mrgreen: 

Cheers


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## stevenh (Aug 22, 2013)

chlaurite said:


> stevenh said:
> 
> 
> > Is there enough plating to bother recycling? I have the feeling that pulling these things apart will be more work than gold value.
> ...



So I went ahead a cracked a few of them open, and was surprised to see they are all hook pins and plated through.






I figured there's about 4 ounces of these pins in the connector pile I have. Still not sure it'd be worth the effort.


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## techchimp (Aug 31, 2013)

A little background on the Centronics connector(s)....
The printer connector has 36 pins. The SCSI-1 connector has 50 pins, but shares the same form factor as the 36 pin connector (just wider to accommodate the extra pins). I remember them being rather expensive as cables go. They started to phase out in the mid-90's, by 2000 SCSI was mostly SCSI-2 connectors and SCSI-3. There is also a thing called a terminator that went on the end of an external SCSI chain. A terminator looks like the connector without any cable.


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## Tipton444 (Oct 11, 2013)

Are the ribbon cable pins worth taking apart? Especially if it's only the tips? This thread was helpful, thanks, I'm definitely trying to learn my pins more.


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## g_axelsson (Oct 12, 2013)

Tipton444 said:


> Are the ribbon cable pins worth taking apart? Especially if it's only the tips?


That will depend on how much you value your time, the price on your chemicals, what you could sell them elsewhere (boardsort.com for example) and probably on a number of other factors.

I collect them and save the pins, mostly because it's really fast to do it, I think it is fun and I don't have boardsort to sell them to.

Göran


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## chlaurite (Oct 12, 2013)

g_axelsson said:


> I collect them and save the pins, mostly because it's really fast to do it, I think it is fun


Ditto. I consider pins a great "play" material - You have a near infinite supply, low yield, and plenty of time to wait around for them to do something. If you totally screw up a batch, no real financial loss. And hey, perhaps someday we'll figure out a better way to do them to make it actually profitable.

In the meantime, they sure do make some pretty glitter at the bottom of the beaker after a few months. 8)


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## gold4mike (Oct 14, 2013)

Use those ribbon cable pins when you're cementing values from your stock pot. They'll add a little bonus gold to your recovery.


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## g_axelsson (Oct 15, 2013)

I don't have a stock pot big enough for using up all those IDE contact elements.
(I'm having a hard time calling a flat piece of metal for pin... :roll: )

:lol: 

Göran


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## grahmdiam (Oct 30, 2013)

Yes, this was interesting and the photographs helpful. I am new to the forum and know there is more to be learned here than watching youtube videos. I'm starting to get an idea on which process is used for different parts of the computer. Thanks for a good forum, and yes I have started to read Hoke.


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## g_axelsson (Oct 30, 2013)

grahmdiam said:


> Yes, this was interesting and the photographs helpful. I am new to the forum and know there is more to be learned here than watching youtube videos. I'm starting to get an idea on which process is used for different parts of the computer. Thanks for a good forum, and yes I have started to read Hoke.


That's brilliant!

Welcome to our rather extended family of GRF, you seem to have what it takes. If you get stuck, send me a PM and I'll try to give you some pointers.

:mrgreen: 

Göran


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## chlaurite (Nov 1, 2013)

Okay, meant to share this about three months ago when this thread started, and just found it while cleaning out the camera. 

Note that although the color kinda sucks here, those very definitely all have a pretty decent gold plating. So... Incrementally taking apart two DVI male, 2 VGA male, one USB type A, and an optical mouse:


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## buddynorville (Dec 7, 2013)

When I started clipping I just put the connectors in a tub and went on clipping. A while back I went to work on the tub. I was disappointed to find that a big lot of the pins were magnetic. the were silver or gold, but magnetic. Can lightly coated pins be magnetic? I've started putting them in with pins that are not magnetic to see how they process. I see guys on video telling about the same pins, etc., being gold plated. And I wonder why they are magnetic.


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## chlaurite (Dec 7, 2013)

buddynorville said:


> When I started clipping I just put the connectors in a tub and went on clipping. A while back I went to work on the tub. I was disappointed to find that a big lot of the pins were magnetic. the were silver or gold, but magnetic. Can lightly coated pins be magnetic? I've started putting them in with pins that are not magnetic to see how they process. I see guys on video telling about the same pins, etc., being gold plated. And I wonder why they are magnetic.


If you have magnetic ones, soak 'em in acid by themselves for a few days *before* putting them in with the rest. If they totally dissolve, great; if not, you've at least removed the materials that would poison your AP.


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## steyr223 (Dec 8, 2013)

chlaurite said:


> magnetic ones, soak 'em in acid by themselves for a few days *before* putting them in with the rest. If they totally dissolve, great; if not, you've at least removed the materials that would poison your AP.


Hey guys 
You might want to tell him what kind of acid- just a thought.

My thoughts on pins is they are a waste of time unless you receive them ready to go
Dont get me wrong i did probaly upwards of 50 lbs when i first started and yes they were great play stuff
But understand most not all but most off your *it pins*will yeild about 1/2 gram per pound
Thats a lot of work :!: 

Again what was said above. It. Is all about how much your time is worth

Just my 2cents 
Hope it helps steyr223 rob


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## chlaurite (Dec 8, 2013)

steyr223 said:


> You might want to tell him what kind of acid- just a thought.


When in doubt, HCl. Though in this case, it really doesn't matter for the purpose I described. You want to get magnetic base metals out of pins, even _vinegar_ would work if you give it enough time. :lol: 




steyr223 said:


> But understand most not all but most off your *it pins*will yeild about 1/2 gram per pound


That high?  

Personally, I view pins as experimental play material. I have fingers set aside, and flatpacks, and relays, and MLCCs... But pins? I have a bucket of them that I take exactly 100g to play with every time I have a neat idea of something that might work well. So far, nothing has done all that well... But I have (mentioning Vinegar above) a vinegar-based AP experiment running for the past few months that shows a lot of promise. Not perfect, but since I half expected it to do absolutely nothing, it has *massively* exceeded expectations. It may take a year to work, but it seems to actually have successfully converted the copper in the pins to CuCl, and once you have that, you just need a source of Cl - Which in this case, table salt works. Of course, I can get 32% HCl for just a hair more expensive than 5% vinegar, so, an ROI calculation may not pan out. Just testing the viability at this point.


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## steyr223 (Dec 9, 2013)

chlaurite said:


> steyr223 said:
> 
> 
> > You might want to tell him what kind of acid- just a thought.
> ...



That is an awesome idea and i would be doing the same if i had a place to do it.
Always wondered if some type of citrus acid would work

Steyr223 rob


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## macfixer01 (Dec 9, 2013)

steyr223 said:


> chlaurite said:
> 
> 
> > steyr223 said:
> ...




Your citric acid idea has some merit. I had an interest for awhile in pre-Columbian Tumbaga art objects (like the fellow in my avatar picture), made in various parts of South America. Tumbaga is an alloy of copper, silver, and gold in varying percentages. From what I've read, the objects were then rubbed with various vegetable juices (i.e. containing citric acid). This was a method of depletion refining whereby copper would be removed leaving behind an increased proportion of gold and silver on the external surfaces.

macfixer01


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## chlaurite (Dec 11, 2013)

steyr223 said:


> That is an awesome idea and i would be doing the same if i had a place to do it.
> Always wondered if some type of citrus acid would work


I don't know why I didn't notice and respond to this earlier but, oh well.

The nice thing about vinegar? No nasty caustic fumes. I mean, I wouldn't stick it in a sealed cabinet with my good silver, but it doesn't do the "everything metal around it turns to dust" thing typical of HCl. I have my test-batch running right in my office, about six feet from me at the moment. Every day I give it a good shake to add oxygen, but I see nothing around suffering from acid-fume corrosion.

Interestingly, it does have a "sweet" smell (up close), typical of metal acetates* (though make no mistake, the chloride ions in solution gets all the credit for doing the heavy lifting). Probably not good to take a deep whiff of, but it reacts slowly enough that I don't particularly worry about any fumes building up.


* I may have read this here, in which case my apologies for not remembering who to credit; but the ancient Romans used to age their wine in lead vats _not_ because they had nothing better to use (wood works just fine), but because they liked their wines as sweet as possible. A small portion of the wine would convert to vinegar over time, which would react with the metal to produce lead acetate, which you could fairly call the first widely used artificial sweetener. Yeah, Nero had more than bad genes. :mrgreen:


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## Exhail (May 16, 2014)

This may sound like a silly question but couldn't you just process these hard work pin connecters in a sulfuric cell, the same way you would process memory card slot connecting pins. I am still fairly new to the sight, but a lot of the threads that I have read on processing pins both high grade and low grade a sulfuric cell is the way to go.


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## joubjonn (May 16, 2014)

Yes and no. I remember I had a mess of fully plated connector pins I did in a cell and they were all stripping nicely so I threw some partial plated pins in the mix and they wouldn't deplate. Maybe I should of tried harder but I never went back to it. I'm sure it would work. Now if you have some inside out gold pins the inside might not deplate at all, for those I would suggest AP.


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