# just found gold



## tonyd (Jun 15, 2008)

Dont know if anyone else has found this, but one of the power cables on the back of the computer which has multiple wires and is normally plastic was made of metal and appeared to have gold plated pins like the plastic ones, How ever when i took this metal one apart it contained solid gold pins which have tested gold after filing one very deep.
Any one else found this, remmeber it was a metal plug Not plastic.


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## Rag and Bone (Jun 15, 2008)

Solid gold pins? Don't count on it.

What kind of computer is it?


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## tonyd (Jun 15, 2008)

Well actually there hollow halfway down but have cut one up into tiny bits and tested and they do appear solid.


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## Buzz (Jun 15, 2008)

Do you mean the kettle lead that plugs into the computer or the socket that the lead plugs into?

Buzz


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## agpodt77339 (Jun 15, 2008)

Do you have any pictures of the pins and where they came from?


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## Irons (Jun 15, 2008)

I think you will find they are just Gold plated. The color of the Copper alloy blends in with the color of the Gold plating.


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## Harold_V (Jun 16, 2008)

Irons said:


> I think you will find they are just Gold plated. The color of the Copper alloy blends in with the color of the Gold plating.


Not only that, but gold, being very ductile, often will smear when cut with side cutters. It isn't uncommon to find a trace of gold on the cut surface as a result. 

Test the cut surface with a drop of nitric acid. If you get a color reaction and fizzing, what you have is a gold plated brass pin, which is very common. You should find a nickel layer plated under the gold if that be the case. If the pin is, indeed, solid gold, there will be no reaction with the nitric test. 

Harold


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## tonyd (Jun 16, 2008)

well i cut the pin through by filing with a fine file took ages because it was hard to hold, I also cut one with side cutters, I then looked at both pins with a jewelers loupe and it looked good,then i covered both pins and there bits with nitric acid and NO reaction so can only assume pure gold.

I cant tell you what computer it came from as it was in my bag with all the other cables, this was a cable with about 20 pins in but was not covered in plastic like the new ones are, it was enclosed in a steel case which had screws holding it together.
The pins are hollow halfway down to a little shoulder then they are solid.
I do know this was from a computer built in the early 80's as i do know the person i got it from


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## akgold (Jun 16, 2008)

Pure gold by itself is not hard enough to use for pins that need to take force from being plugged in again and again. It is just too soft and would bend. I've broken down several thousand pieces of gear, telecom, and computer (dating back to the sixtes) and have never seen solid gold pins on anything. If the pins were pure gold you could easily bend then with your finger. 
Steve of the North


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## tonyd (Jun 17, 2008)

okay oka I did another test tonite and guess what, I got a reaction
So your all right and i am wrong, but hey i am new and got carried away.
Shame though.


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## silversaddle1 (Jun 19, 2008)

tonyd said:


> okay oka I did another test tonite and guess what, I got a reaction
> So your all right and i am wrong, but hey i am new and got carried away.
> Shame though.




Yea, but what a rush it is finding those nice, gold plated pins for the first time!

Everyone remembers their first time! :lol:


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## tonyd (Jun 19, 2008)

yeah it was a rush to find them pins, but a bit embarrasing to think they were solid, but then it is best to test a couple of times at least to make sure. 

LESSON LEARNED
And thanks for all your comments.


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## Smitty (Jun 19, 2008)

It's alright Tony, I just finish dealing with a fella that swears he used to sell solid gold pins to a man in California where he used to live. They came off of NASA equipment. Of course he was trying to sell the gold plated boards off of his 80's power supply. He gave me a very heavy plug and said it was solid gold. He wish it was, it was a gold plated connector with the heavy gold plating well worn from years of plugging and unplugging.


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