Post by thread:[OT] What to do with a bunch of old circuit boards

Hi List, We have a bunch of assembled circuit boards that became obsolete when a new product came out. People still buy them once in a while, but at the current rate we'll still be selling them in 2014, and we need to take them off the books, one way or another. Putting them in a crusher seems like a waste. Here's the product page: http://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/elmscan-pwm.html And here is the schematic: http://www.scantool.net/scantool/downloads/13/elm_pwm_11.pdf All suggestions are welcome. Vitaliy

On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 12:40 PM, Vitaliy <spam_OUTspamTakeThisOuTmaksimov.org> wrote: > Hi List, > > We have a bunch of assembled circuit boards that became obsolete when a new > product came out. People still buy them once in a while, but at the current > rate we'll still be selling them in 2014, and we need to take them off the > books, one way or another. Putting them in a crusher seems like a waste. Set up a group buy with a local Ford Mustang (or similar) club?

What I see from the forum, it works on many other brands of vehicles also. Looking at the web site, I see a PCB, 2 cables and a CD, no case, is that correct. Incidentally, I have had an AutoXray unit for years. The next thing I see coming is a unit to set the tire inflation monitors when one rotates tires. Alex Harford wrote: > On Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 12:40 PM, Vitaliy <.....spamKILLspam@spam@maksimov.org> wrote: >> Hi List, >> >> We have a bunch of assembled circuit boards that became obsolete when a new >> product came out. People still buy them once in a while, but at the current >> rate we'll still be selling them in 2014, and we need to take them off the >> books, one way or another. Putting them in a crusher seems like a waste. > > Set up a group buy with a local Ford Mustang (or similar) club?

"Alex Harford" wrote: >> We have a bunch of assembled circuit boards that became obsolete when a >> new >> product came out. People still buy them once in a while, but at the >> current >> rate we'll still be selling them in 2014, and we need to take them off >> the >> books, one way or another. Putting them in a crusher seems like a waste. > > Set up a group buy with a local Ford Mustang (or similar) club? Can't possibly sell all of them (1000+) this way, more hassle than it's worth. :) Vitaliy

"Vitaliy" wrote: > We have a bunch of assembled circuit boards that became obsolete when a > new > product came out. People still buy them once in a while, but at the > current > rate we'll still be selling them in 2014, and we need to take them off the > books, one way or another. Putting them in a crusher seems like a waste. > > Here's the product page: > > http://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/elmscan-pwm.html > > And here is the schematic: > > http://www.scantool.net/scantool/downloads/13/elm_pwm_11.pdf > > All suggestions are welcome. Sorry, I should have been more clear. We need to get rid of the circuit boards *only*, they do not include the ELM320 chip (which can be purchased for $15 or so from Elm Electronics). Of course, someone could buy the boards, and build them into scan tools (buy the cables + install the ELM320), but if we can't sell them I don't think anyone else would be interested. There are 1000+ boards. Vitaliy

PAUL James wrote: > You could possibly give them out as door prizes for some event locally. > Or you could check you local High School or Community College to see if > their automotive department could use them. Or even a local trade > school. > It seems to me there would be several possibilities locally. Even more > statewide, or nationally. We'd be happy to give them away to a school, but I doubt they'll take them all. Do you know any schools in your vicinity that would be willing to pay for shipping the boards to them? Vitaliy

On Feb 10, 2009, at 12:16 AM, Vitaliy wrote: >> www.scantool.net/scantool/downloads/13/elm_pwm_11.pdf >> >> All suggestions are welcome. > > Sorry, I should have been more clear. > > We need to get rid of the circuit boards *only*, they do not include > the > ELM320 chip (which can be purchased for $15 or so from Elm > Electronics). Bare boards? Or Partially stuffed? Well, it looks like the ELM320 is an 8-pin PIC, making the board POSSIBLY "bendable" into a general purpose "8 pin PIC with a crystal, voltage regulator, and rs232 interface, (plus two other pins connected to "funky" electronics that you need not populate, and could connect to other things.) You might be able to get rid of them documenting them a bit along those lines... Potentially you don't even need to populate the crystal - the PCB has nice holes that you could use to connected those to something else. But having the voltage regulator and rs232 interface is sorta handy... BillW

On Feb 10, 2009, at 12:16 AM, Vitaliy wrote: >> >> http://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/elmscan-pwm.html > Heh. In the worst case, if they're bare boards, you can offer them up as "3x4 inch pieces of G10 fiberglass (some holes, markings and copper.)" People BUILD stuff outa that, and it's annoyingly expensive to have to buy... Weird lamps and sculptures, model rocket fins... I've taken home uglier looking blank PCBs with an eye toward that sort of application...) BillW

"William "Chops" Westfield" wrote: >>> http://www.scantool.net/scantool/downloads/13/elm_pwm_11.pdf > > Bare boards? Or Partially stuffed? Stuffed. I took pictures of top/bottom so you can see exactly what each board looks like: http://www.maksimov.org/piclist/pwm/ > Well, it looks like the ELM320 is an 8-pin PIC, making the board > POSSIBLY "bendable" into a general purpose "8 pin PIC with a crystal, > voltage regulator, and rs232 interface, (plus two other pins connected > to "funky" electronics that you need not populate, and could connect > to other things.) The crystal is 3.57Mhz (an odd frequency, to be sure). The ELM320 is based on the PIC12C509, so I guess the board can be used as a GP board... Vitaliy

Vitaliy wrote: > > The crystal is 3.57Mhz (an odd frequency, to be sure). The ELM320 is based > on the PIC12C509, so I guess the board can be used as a GP board... > > Vitaliy > Vitaliy, You need to get out more! ;> That is the color burst crystal for NTSC color TV systems. Dirt cheap. Probably was designed into your board due to it's low price. I've ignored this thread up to now but knowing that the board is pic based makes it more interesting, at least to hobby folks. It has a socket for an 8 pin DIP PIC chip; hobby people on this list often indicate a preference for dip over smt. It has a crystal that can offer an accurate time base or it can be removed for one of the pics with internal RC oscillator freeing up two more pins. It has both a DB9 and a DB25 connector; if nothing else, it could be made into a "quick brown fox" generator. It is built and waits only for a users pic to be inserted. If it had been me, I would have asked piclisters for ideas of what to use it for, (maybe even contest fashion) with prizes (these boards) to the best ideas. As an engine diagnostic tool, it appeals to a limited set of users but as a cheap breadboard for generic 8 pin pics, it appeals to a much larger group. And finally, if I were teaching embedded controller classes in high school, college, etc, I would try to get the entire stock to have students use for class projects. LED flashers, beepers, signal generators, where to stop?

They would be great for learning on. Try and make them available to the pic list? Thanx On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 10:20 PM, Marcel Duchamp < marcel.duchampKILLspamsbcglobal.net> wrote: {Quote hidden}> Vitaliy wrote: > >> If it had been me, I would have asked piclisters for ideas of what to > >> use it for, (maybe even contest fashion) with prizes (these boards) to > >> the best ideas. > > > > Sure thing. They're going to the crusher anyway, right? :) Might as well > > have fun... How many "prize" boards were you thinking of? Five? Ten? > > Yeah, something like that. > > >> As an engine diagnostic tool, it appeals to a limited > >> set of users but as a cheap breadboard for generic 8 pin pics, it > >> appeals to a much larger group. And finally, if I were teaching > >> embedded controller classes in high school, college, etc, I would try to > >> get the entire stock to have students use for class projects. > > > > That would be nice. Unfortunately, I don't know any high school teachers, > > and my daughter and her classmates are probably too young... > > Piclisters probably have contacts with their alma maters. I've escaped > the (educational) institution I was in some 30 years ago so don't have > contacts. Harold Hallikainen teaches at a community college, I think; > maybe he knows of instructors who would be interested. Other piclisters > must have an idea or two. > > >> LED flashers, beepers, signal generators, where to stop? > > > > Have you had a chance to look at the schematic? The LEDs are not directly > > connected to pins, traces may need to be cut/rewired to control the LEDs > > independently. > > Yes, I looked at the schematic and the layout photos. I did have in > mind that the user might be making some cuts and jumpers as necessary. > I spoke up without knowing what the users would have to pay to get their > hands on these but if it were cheap enough, they look like a good idea. > Hack the circuit and make a simple pic controlled switcher to learn > about switching power supplies. Make a class D amplifier. Add some leds, > make an art project. The list goes on. > > Good luck; I hope you can get these out into circulation rather than > sending them to the "crusher". > > > > > -