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Great Internet Migratory Box of Junk

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Mads Barnkob

Sat Jun 28 2008, 05:40AM

Registered Member #1403 Joined: Tue Mar 18 2008, 06:05PM
Location: Denmark, Odense C
Posts: 1968

Great idea, international postage will make this less attractive to do worldwide, and we are not that many doing HV as a hobby in Denmark anyway, so maybe a kind of thon is better suited here.

our cheapest package postage is now 14$ :(

Chris Russell

Sat Jun 28 2008, 06:37AM

... not Russel!
Registered Member #1 Joined: Thu Jan 26 2006, 12:18AM
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Posts: 1052

MadsKaizer wrote ...

Great idea, international postage will make this less attractive to do worldwide, and we are not that many doing HV as a hobby in Denmark anyway, so maybe a kind of thon is better suited here.

our cheapest package postage is now 14$ :(

Yes, but rather than send it back and forth across the sea, maybe it could do a tour through europe, organized in such a way that it crosses international borders as few times as possible.

Conundrum

Sat Jun 28 2008, 10:29AM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4062

Just noticed this thread AFTER I posted on the General Science & Electronics forum... grr.

Oh well. Can some nice admin move my comments to this thread to avoid duplication maybe? thanks.

Regards, -A

btw, another thing to add would be PCB stock, everyone is short of that it seems. Polymorph and/or low melt alloy (aka Chipquik) for salvaging useful IC's would be cool.

----Edit-----
[Moving Andre's comments from the General Science board, per his request. -Dave]

This seems like an amusing idea, as I myself did something like this a while back on Ebay (sold a bunch of components for just over the postage costs, to save space) In fact if you happen to need something specific this is an excellent way to obtain it in the absence of any swap meets/etc in your area.

Not sure if it would work in the UK due to the increased security and interfering Customs&Excise, but it would be entertaining to say the least (none of my boxes actually vanished in transit, though a couple of them were delayed by a week)

Rules:- 1) No hazardous components like mercury switches etc, or anything containing liquid over 10mL
2) If you do want to send something valuable, it is entirely at your own risk, please pack it well.
3) Please label the box with one of those white Customs labels, to prevent delays
4) If you want to take something out of the box, to be fair something of equal value and/or usefulness should
be put back in, this is a fair trade.
5) Write on the included list what has been added, and cross off what has been removed.
6) Please email recipient FIRST, to make sure they actually would like to participate.

Does this look OK guys?

Regards, -A

btw will be starting a box of my own sometime, let me know via IM if you're interested. Mainly surplus PC/power supply/etc parts, viewfinders, old camera chips, etc and other stuff that I can't bear to throw away due to its value to some random people less fortunate than myself...

KresoLiubov

Sat Jun 28 2008, 11:10AM

Registered Member #1153 Joined: Mon Dec 03 2007, 07:27PM
Location: Croatia
Posts: 213

If it ever comes this way i will surely load it full with goodies.

Bust_A_Cap

Sat Jun 28 2008, 05:35PM

Registered Member #1561 Joined: Mon Jun 23 2008, 07:58PM
Location:
Posts: 25

yeah i'm in this sounds really cool, kind of like junkyard wars but much smaller and with no goal

rp181

Sat Jun 28 2008, 08:06PM

Registered Member #1062 Joined: Tue Oct 16 2007, 02:01AM
Location:
Posts: 1529

I think a log should be made, with parts taken, put in, where your located, and new destination.

Shaun

Sun Jun 29 2008, 04:27AM

Registered Member #690 Joined: Tue May 08 2007, 03:47AM
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 616

Oh I'm definitely in for this; I have plenty of random things (mostly accidental purchases/unfinished project parts) that I will never use but someone else would be glad to have.

Few things we need to do tho:

1. Find out who's willing to start the box.
2. Compile a list of participating addresses.
3. Arrange those addresses by country, and maybe distance within countries to keep the shipping quick (I hope everyone here is in the Member Map!).
EDIT: oh and how big of a box are we talking about here?

KresoLiubov

Sun Jun 29 2008, 05:08AM

Registered Member #1153 Joined: Mon Dec 03 2007, 07:27PM
Location: Croatia
Posts: 213

I offer myself to start the box

Chris Russell

Sun Jun 29 2008, 05:24AM

... not Russel!
Registered Member #1 Joined: Thu Jan 26 2006, 12:18AM
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Posts: 1052

rp181 wrote ...

I think a log should be made, with parts taken, put in, where your located, and new destination.

Agreed. It should be circulated with a logbook, so that people can sign it, note what they took, and note what they added to the box. The front pages of the book should probably inventory the box, and note which pieces are working and which are junk for parts.

It would also be nice if everyone who got the box could snap a photo or two of the box, possibly with themselves going through the box.

I'll happily volunteer to get the box started, but I can't promise a whole lot of great stuff at first! It would also be nice if the box could return to me between major geographical areas: ie, it passes through the US, comes back to me, then I send it to the UK/Europe, then it comes back to me, then I send it to Australia, etc. That way I hopefully bear most of the cost of the long international jaunts, but I get an excellent chance to document the junk, read the logbook, and post it all to 4hv. We just need to agree to a set of rules before we get the ball rolling. Here's what I propose:

1) The box will be a flat-rate priority mail box. This allows unlimited weight and makes sure everyone in the US pays the same for shipping - $9.80. Anyone who signs up to receive the box agrees to be responsible for the cost of shipping it to the next person, who will be in the United States - so have $9.80 set aside. The box will be returned to me when it is done with its US rounds and I will pass it on to the next country on the list.

2) Nothing hazardous that could be a problem. This means, as Conundrum said, no mercury switches, no liquids, nothing very fragile, and no lithium batteries or anything that could short out or turn on in transit.

3) Take and add what you want, but try to add something of equivalent or greater value compared to what you took.

4) Whoever gets the box must sign the log book, take the junk they want, add the junk they don't, update the inventory, mail the box to the next person, and make a post here about it.

5) The box should be passed on as soon as possible. Please don't sit on it for a week before sending it to the next person.

6) I will accept the names of everyone who wants to participate, and send each person a private message with the address of the person who is next in line to receive the box. That way we don't need to worry about keeping information in the box updated if anyone changes their mind. Check your private messages before sending the box along, just in case anything has changed.

7) If the box is in bad shape, please replace it. They are free at the post office. You can order them for free at usps.com.

Sound good? Anything else need to be covered? Should this be restricted to people who have been members for at least a few months before this idea was proposed? We'll pass it around the US first, then move on to each nation in turn. Someone in each country in Europe will need to volunteer to be last, and thus bear the cost of shipping internationally (ie, from the UK to Germany), so once it starts making international rounds, some people may end up paying a bit more for shipping.

Once we're all agreed on the rules, I'll gather up as much of my treasured junk as possible and get it rolling!

Mike

Sun Jun 29 2008, 05:41AM

Registered Member #58 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:40AM
Location: Tri-Cities, Washington, US
Posts: 317

sounds awesome. ill sign up when you say :D i got lots of igbts give out :D

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