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Stuff I can get but should I?

Pharaday

Jan 18, 2016
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20200421_081147.jpg So I live in this great little town where nobody gathers good stuff so it's all left to me. I'm helping to renovate this large Walmart type building that has closed. I'm posting a picture of all the stuff that I can get from that building, but I need y'all to let me know if any of it is worthwhile. That top one second from the left kind of feels like a pump when you press that lever, almost like something seen in Jurassic Park where Ellie has to pump the primer three times and then hit the button marked push to close . I'll probably post a lot of other stuff too I appreciate y'all's help!
 
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Bluejets

Oct 5, 2014
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Not much use to you unless you are an industrial electrical contractor and even then, outdated and may no longer meet compliance requirements.
Costs of implementing and then because of nil replacement parts makes it unviable.

Pump lever switch sounds like a HV breaker possibly air breaker.

We see this kind of junk in the scrap yards every day.
Real shame as it used to be good gear in it's day.

Hope for your sake it is all dead. :eek::eek:
 

ChosunOne

Jun 20, 2010
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If you happen to come across something you can identify as an alarm control panel, it's possible that it could be salvaged to play with, or even for a savvy DIYer to use. There are models a couple of decades old that are still functional and compatible with contemporary replacement parts. If you can find the control panel (not the keypad), then look for (a) keypad(s) somewhere near the employee entrance door(s), and salvage that if there is one/are any. You can't test the panel without it. Also look for motion sensors around the building, almost certainly PIRs, with are often compatible across all makes & models, and any PIR made in the last 30 years is probably still functional and reliable. If any contacts (magnetic switches) are on doors/windows, it might be worthwhile to salvage those. In commercial places the door/window contacts are often surface-mounted, but might be recessed and probably not worth the trouble to pry out, depending on how it was installed. Be aware that any contact will have a matching magnet. The magnet will not be obsolete.

How old is this place? It's not certain that there will be an alarm system. Some stores that are kept open 24 hours/day, don't bother installing a burglar alarm.
 

Pharaday

Jan 18, 2016
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Oh yea man, I was gonna snag it anyways so it's not pictured, but there is some sort of large control panel marked security downstairs, then upstairs (employees only, please) there is another control panel with a door and key and attached to the whole thing via an I/O cable (looks like VGA but wider and white) is a large circuit board with a small speaker, a few push buttons and markings say something to the effect of "phone ring simulator". On the wall, next to the panel with a door, can be found a similar sized box with oh say 20 lights all labeled I forget what. This box is in the picture, bottom right.

Yes, I did find 2 (two) PIR sensors, have not tested any. one looks brand new but states that it has a max allowable current of 25 mA and I dont have a power adapter that gentle and my dual meter doesn't measure amps or values less than 2 ohms accurately and laziness, so I cant get the meter at the hardware store.

One of the door has an odd door knob with 2 (two) induction motors and alot of gears etc. to it, almost like a hotel doorknob.

I'm not sure how old the place is, but it has a MILLION thermostats everywhere that all still use mercury AND I found a framed certificate of occupancy dated 1989! There are a few of those tinted domes on the ceiling for cameras. Alas, the cameras must have looked shiny to one of the yokels around here cuz they're all gone.

Got one of those bells that ring like you might see at a public school ~30 years ago but it functions fine on 12v ~0.5A.

OH got one of those announcement speakers, which is pretty much a regular speaker except they all have transformers that the signal must pass through. Why must it pass through a xformer? it doesn't seem louder that way.

I also nabbed a loud speaker, the cone shaped kind with a horn protrusion in the middle of the cone. It also has a xformer for the signal but it's not even louder than my tiny PC speakers. It only SEEMS to have 2 wires, red and black which work for signal, but dont it need some power? did I rip out the power cable? cant find an obvious spot fr one.

I'll try to get you a pic but there are alot of small cylinders the size of a cat food can attached to the ceiling all over. I cant find the one I grabbed and I have forgotten absolutely everything about them except that inside, writting told me that they were some sort of wireless sound signal transmitters.... So be prepared to provide info on those when I find and identify it for ya
 

Pharaday

Jan 18, 2016
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Also, you guys have earned my honesty. I'm not renovating the place. It's about to be torn down and I dont want anything usefull to meet its maker. That type of thing, persuing my own interest has become my job during "these uncertain times", so that part was true, it's a "job"
 

Pharaday

Jan 18, 2016
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Oh here's that........ thing..... that...... AHEM sorry, distracted. Here's that xmitter. unclear writting simply says the patent # and gives info on the factory where it was made. The screws are the type that you cannot unscrew, only tighten, which means this device is hiding secrets from me. Save this thing's outter casing by spilling every single bean this device has.

WIN_20200422_06_35_46_Pro.jpg
 

duke37

Jan 9, 2011
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Speakers with transformers in them are intended to be used in 100V lines (UK). The transformer is tapped and can be used to set the volume at the appropriate position. A powerful ampllifier which can stand different load impedances is used.
 

73's de Edd

Aug 21, 2015
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Top right corner photo . . . . .seems to have two hefty power / control transformers at its top left and right corners, along with some RF related item at their center and possible RF switching to its left side and possibly an unterminated RF connector at ITS left center side.

This photo then repeats again at bottom right corner, BUT THEN on its next photo to the left are about 9? LARGE, slide out / plug in cards that are just CHOCK FULL of pullable / salvageable discrete componets + EYE CEE's + xstrs.

As far as the M?A?G?S?A? TRANSMITTER SD-3W unit . . . . pass back to us, that full line of info PLUS the patent number.
I perceive of the left half being screwed to the wall as the female receptacle and they were using light gauge, black and white solid "bell wire" for connecting to the wire run coming out from the walls wiring run .
Then the right half plugs into it. Any thing of interest /clues on the now unviewable top side of that plug in unit ?
The work around for that type of security screw is to take a Dremel motor tool with a mandrel mounted #411 cut off wheel and come in with the side of the wheel, so as to cut a deep enough conventional standard screw slot into the head of the screw.

BTW . . . . . Delmer Dumbnuttz jest sed . . . . " With durty fangers like dats, youse gots tuh bees a greeese muunkey. "

If you were testing out that speaker, and if it had a line matching transformer between it and the voice coil terminals of the actual speaker . . .it WOULD sound VERY weak if beng connected to a common 4----8 ohm Z audio driving source . . . . . instead, you need to connect into the speaker terminals with one of the line transformer wires being disconnected out of circuit.

Thaaaaaaaaaaaasit
 
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Pharaday

Jan 18, 2016
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Yea I connected that loud speaker to my 300 watt amp and lol it's now my center speaker... Hey guys what about a couple of those RF security anti shoplifting gates like at the mall? Any havoc I can wrought with those? got a gallon of mercury from the thermostats heh.... OK, that transmitter says SD-3W Massa division dynamics corp of USA hingham, mass Pat #:2967957. I havent broken inside one of them yet. That pic I sent was the 2 halves of the xmitter. coming out the top is only 3 wires, black white and uninsulated which I can only assume is power and ground, so there's no data wire.... so this thing picks up a signal wirelessly then transmits it wirelessly too? Because Allah loves wondrous variety?
 

Pharaday

Jan 18, 2016
138
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Please close and permanently seal this post. The building is gone. The following account is not related to electronics but yall might lol. On the building's final night, I went for 1(one) last stroll inside to get a 1 way mirror I had removed earlier and placed near the door where I could get it later. I stepped inside and closed the door and halfway across the building I saw flashlights shining around in the loading bay area. They heard me and fell silent. Three teenagers came out and shined their lights around to see check on the noise. They had obviously come in through a door I left unlocked. I wanted them gone so I could gather my stuff in peace and of course naturally, I wanted to scare them so I crouched down. Their lights didnt reach across the store so they didnt see me. They investigated back towards the entrance they came in and gave up then headed back towards the rear bay where I first saw them. I picked up a long metal tube and threw it like a javelin towards them and it landed close enough to them that they could clearly see it and the building is full of trash and glass from florescent bulbs so it made a loud noise . they froze a second then ran as fast as they could towards their exit so I launched a larger, shorter metal tube towards that exit which, guided by the Lord, struck some large piece of glass. It made such a horrible crash. I couldn't see them due the building's structure but a second later I heard another loud crash/thud that I didn't produce and one of the teenagers kinda moaned loudly. It was obvious he crashed into one of the many structural beams running from floor to ceiling.

Guys I was rolling, I could barely walk from my laughter but I knew I had better skedaddle cause the whole town musta heard that noise I made. I hurriedly grabbed my 1 way mirror and split. My place is a short walk across a field and soon as I got home, I looked back and sure enough there was the cops lookin around. It was kinda a nice finale to..... my having discovered that building lol
 
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