For Sale Lot pcb pre1985

[strangehour]

I’ll try and keep the post short into the point but a little backstory might yield credibility so I will go into some detail about it. I was on Facebook marketplace aimlessly looking around as I usually do with my free time when I found an ad for some old testing equipment long story short, but I went over to the 87 year old man’s house he showed me his basement which had been filled with the contents of his work over the last 30 years of his retirement. You had been civilian engineer developing software for the military ordinance deployment simulations is what he called them.

Anyways, he was getting a divorce at 87 years old and needing to move so we struck a deal that if I helped him pack stuff into his pod the driveway I could keep what was left. It took me seven days and $1200 to get everything out of the house into a storage unit. I have since sorted out the contents of the unit organized it to some degree and I’m currently finishing up weighing out the loose circuit boards. As it stands, I can say with high degree of confidence that there is 600lbs of pre 1985 circuit boards (a lot of HP and tektronix - with some military spec as well) that have had heat sinks and transformers removed. I expect once I finish determine which pieces are worth more than their scrap value and add their contents to the 600lb figure I should end up with anywhere between 800-1000lbs.

No wire - no aluminum heat sinks - no transformers.



I’ve had to learn a lot in the past two months in order to determine value. I just recently turned down my first offer for the entire lot. I’m having a hard time figuring out exactly how much this would yield in terms of PM recovery but I sincerely believe there is a lb of gold here.

I’ve come here seeking advice - since I can’t find any definitive information on the yield of this many vintage boards (even the power supplies from this era have gold on them.) I see a lot of figures of between 1-5 oz per ton of modern boards / but what about 800lbs of some of these pictured below.



If you’d like more photos or to discuss further I am all ears. Currently I’m leaning towards processing the boards (removing and organizing components) and trying to sell to a refiner for a percentage of yield - however finding someone to trust with that is very difficult.

This lot is for sale - and I just turned down 7k this morning.

Thanks in advance

Also yes I am aware of some items being more valuable than the PM content - I have mostly dealt with those accordingly already.

 

[Thomacus]

Wow that is so neat, you have some stuff there that definitely should be in a museum and a lot of collectibles. For just starting out you did good
do you research on all of it. it will take time, but your payoff is going to be big

 

[snoman701]

Nice boards. Don't spend much time processing them, it won't get you much further than just selling them outright. Remove gold and silver capped ceramic chips. Save old circuit board with a matte color to it. Sell the HP stuff that looks shiny. Move it fast, don't take much time or you might as well just sell it outright. For the most part, if you can't see visible gold, it's not there in quantity on this age stuff. Processing this stuff past cherry picking the best components and selling the rest is a time vacuum.

The good gold will have a matte color to it. If it's reflective, it's still gold, but not nearly as good and the time and chemicals will eat profit.

 

[strangehour]

Wow that is so neat, you have some stuff there that definitely should be in a museum and a lot of collectibles. For just starting out you did good
do you research on all of it. it will take time, but your payoff is going to be big

Thanks - yeah he was really collecting some killer gear - as I was loading it in the truck I kept asking my friend if it was a prank or something - really hard to wrap my head around it - but then I saw the load he had me pack into his pod and let me tell you - he left me the scraps! Scraps I am thankful for but Jeez did he have some good stuff he was taking down to Florida /

 

[strangehour]

Nice boards. Don't spend much time processing them, it won't get you much further than just selling them outright. Remove gold and silver capped ceramic chips. Save old circuit board with a matte color to it. Sell the HP stuff that looks shiny. Move it fast, don't take much time or you might as well just sell it outright. For the most part, if you can't see visible gold, it's not there in quantity on this age stuff. Processing this stuff past cherry picking the best components and selling the rest is a time vacuum.

The good gold will have a matte color to it. If it's reflective, it's still gold, but not nearly as good and the time and chemicals will eat profit.

Yes I understand your point of view / my buyer and I have renegotiated a higher price / I am thinking I will just sell the lot outright. It’s just impossible to know how much is actually in the lot. Even tho I speculate - just from looking at other refiners process and what they yield per run and depending on the runs contents - I do think this lot can yield close to 1lb

 

[kurtak]

No question about it - VERY NICE SCORE

I do think this lot can yield close to 1lb

Not so sure about that though ?

Maybe (plus/minus) half that

1 pound of gold = about 14.5 ozt

1 pound = 454 grams divided by 31.1 grams = 14.598 ozt

And that sounds about right (plus/minus) for a full ton of boards like that

So half a ton would be (plus/minus) half that

But - The Pd can also run 2 - 3 times higher on boards like that compared to more modern boards & as well Ag can run 1.5 - 2 times higher then more modern boards (note; - meaning there is less Pd then gold - just more of it then more modern boards)

and trying to sell to a refiner for a percentage of yield - however finding someone to trust with that is very difficult.

You might want to try contacting this company ---------------

https://www.advchem.com/index.php

They are "about" 13 hours from Lexington KY & you "may" well do better then selling outright to a board buyer (like 1.5 - 2 times better then selling to a board buyer)

Watch this video to see their process/service for boards

https://www.advchem.com/videos/19-videos/64-acc-incineration-process

I have never done business with them but when I was doing this for a living I did talk to them & if I had lived closer to them I certainly would have given them a try

Kurt

 

[AuggieDog]

No question about it - VERY NICE SCORE


Not so sure about that though ?

Maybe (plus/minus) half that

1 pound of gold = about 14.5 ozt

1 pound = 454 grams divided by 31.1 grams = 14.598 ozt

And that sounds about right (plus/minus) for a full ton of boards like that

So half a ton would be (plus/minus) half that

But - The Pd can also run 2 - 3 times higher on boards like that compared to more modern boards & as well Ag can run 1.5 - 2 times higher then more modern boards (note; - meaning there is less Pd then gold - just more of it then more modern boards)


You might want to try contacting this company ---------------

https://www.advchem.com/index.php

They are "about" 13 hours from Lexington KY & you "may" well do better then selling outright to a board buyer (like 1.5 - 2 times better then selling to a board buyer)

Watch this video to see their process/service for boards

https://www.advchem.com/videos/19-videos/64-acc-incineration-process

I have never done business with them but when I was doing this for a living I did talk to them & if I had lived closer to them I certainly would have given them a try

Kurt

Kurt,
I have heard of places that shred material like what this member has, they recover the PM's, and the yield is split by agreement with provider of the material. Honestly, I don't know if this exists, but I was told of a company in NorCal that does this. I have the same type of material shown in this post, probably about 2 or more tons of it. I have spent 3 years getting ready to process this myself, but the irony is I am not sure I will ever have the time to get to it. I am in SoCal and wondering what you may know about these services somewhere in Cal, Oregon or the SW USA...?

 

[anachronism]

Kurt,
I have heard of places that shred material like what this member has, they recover the PM's, and the yield is split by agreement with provider of the material. Honestly, I don't know if this exists, but I was told of a company in NorCal that does this. I have the same type of material shown in this post, probably about 2 or more tons of it. I have spent 3 years getting ready to process this myself, but the irony is I am not sure I will ever have the time to get to it. I am in SoCal and wondering what you may know about these services somewhere in Cal, Oregon or the SW USA...?

In fairness the only place I would send this material that involves shredding would be a refinery. No middle men. Then again it's not enough for a proper smelter.

 

[slsmp40]

Look up some of the wilder looking components for the collector value of some of that before you go scraping it. I had some weird gold caps a while back and they were snapped up on ebay for a lot more than scrap value. Chips are also coveted to make some old machines run and if you find a slot that you can fill it is worth a mint.

 

[strangehour]

No question about it - VERY NICE SCORE


Not so sure about that though ?

Maybe (plus/minus) half that

1 pound of gold = about 14.5 ozt

1 pound = 454 grams divided by 31.1 grams = 14.598 ozt

And that sounds about right (plus/minus) for a full ton of boards like that

So half a ton would be (plus/minus) half that

But - The Pd can also run 2 - 3 times higher on boards like that compared to more modern boards & as well Ag can run 1.5 - 2 times higher then more modern boards (note; - meaning there is less Pd then gold - just more of it then more modern boards)


You might want to try contacting this company ---------------

https://www.advchem.com/index.php

They are "about" 13 hours from Lexington KY & you "may" well do better then selling outright to a board buyer (like 1.5 - 2 times better then selling to a board buyer)

Watch this video to see their process/service for boards

https://www.advchem.com/videos/19-videos/64-acc-incineration-process

I have never done business with them but when I was doing this for a living I did talk to them & if I had lived closer to them I certainly would have given them a try

Kurt

Thank you for your advice, I will certainly look into them.
The lot is more complicated than it seems. Beyond the PCB weight there are other weights to consider as well. There are many cable ends - relays - filters -and just other odds and ends pieces that all contain PM as well. That’s why I throw around the 1lb figure

 

[AuggieDog]

Thank you for your advice, I will certainly look into them.
The lot is more complicated than it seems. Beyond the PCB weight there are other weights to consider as well. There are many cable ends - relays - filters -and just other odds and ends pieces that all contain PM as well. That’s why I throw around the 1lb figure

The "golden age" of electronics... yes the transistors, integrated circuits also have gold. Even if it can't be seen on the exterior, lots of ICs have gold inside. Top hat transistors are full of it too

 

[anarxi]

The "golden age" of electronics... yes the transistors, integrated circuits also have gold. Even if it can't be seen on the exterior, lots of ICs have gold inside. Top hat transistors are full of it too

Yes, I think there is an order of magnitude more gold in the details than on the surface of the boards.
I read some fragmentary information from Russian refiners that old America even surpasses Soviet ones in content...

 

[strangehour]

Yes, I think there is an order of magnitude more gold in the details than on the surface of the boards.
I read some fragmentary information from Russian refiners that old America even surpasses Soviet ones in content...

 

[anarxi]

"Fat" flows in a powerful stream from these boards...

You are a true Count of Monte Cristo of the 21st century...

 

[anachronism]

As an aside. Those NEC chips on the last two pics are one of the highest yielding ceramics you'll ever get.

 

[the leprechaun]

Hi,
If there are any old Texas Instruments DSP gold plated chips in what you have is it possible to send some photos and I would pay you a lot more than scrap value.

 

[strangehour]

Hi,
If there are any old Texas Instruments DSP gold plated chips in what you have is it possible to send some photos and I would pay you a lot more than scrap value.

Hi,
If there are any old Texas Instruments DSP gold plated chips in what you have is it possible to send some photos and I would pay you a lot more than scrap value.

You’ll have to send me a photo of what you’re talking about - it’s easiest for me that way (photographic memory)

 

[strangehour]

I will upload a video to YouTube hopefully by the end of the day today (5th) and attempt to fully capture the lot

 

[strangehour]

Here are some more photos - so far with the photos I’ve taken I’d say that’s about half of what I have. The other half is of equal quality and also consists of individual components like Rf filters , multiplexers diplexer transformers with gold pin leads etc

 

[strangehour]

No question about it - VERY NICE SCORE


Not so sure about that though ?

Maybe (plus/minus) half that

1 pound of gold = about 14.5 ozt

1 pound = 454 grams divided by 31.1 grams = 14.598 ozt

And that sounds about right (plus/minus) for a full ton of boards like that

So half a ton would be (plus/minus) half that

But - The Pd can also run 2 - 3 times higher on boards like that compared to more modern boards & as well Ag can run 1.5 - 2 times higher then more modern boards (note; - meaning there is less Pd then gold - just more of it then more modern boards)


You might want to try contacting this company ---------------

https://www.advchem.com/index.php

They are "about" 13 hours from Lexington KY & you "may" well do better then selling outright to a board buyer (like 1.5 - 2 times better then selling to a board buyer)

Watch this video to see their process/service for boards

https://www.advchem.com/videos/19-videos/64-acc-incineration-process

I have never done business with them but when I was doing this for a living I did talk to them & if I had lived closer to them I certainly would have given them a try

Kurt

I tried reaching out to the company - unfortunately just got crickets -
Zero reply -