If you are an electronic geek and you have no good use of old, outdated laptops or computers lying around you, what should you do with them? In this blog post, I will introduce you to five components that are quite useful to salvage.
Here, I assume that the laptops you are trying to disassemble are old and outdated. Those laptops are rather easy to disassemble, and the components listed in this post can also be extracted effortlessly. However, if you choose to break into one of the newer models or those that have a sophisticated build structure, you might find it both extremely difficult and meaningless. Computer manufacturers such as Apple use customized screws, and a screw-driver with that specific capacity is required to loosen them. A newer laptop model also consists of compact circuit boards - you won't be able to salvage much form that.
When you are disassembling a laptop, you want to start at the back of the device. First, unscrew all the possible screws you can find, some of which are hidden under manufacture labels. Then, it becomes self-explanatory - do whatever you can to separate the components listed in this post, but try not to apply force on the battery and the monitor.
This is probably one of the most exciting components to reuse. The configurations of a speaker are quite standard, meaning that you can easily apply a speaker in your electronic projects. A speaker produces sound by converting the electric current of different frequencies into mechanical motion(vibration). Thus, it only needs two breakout ports - positive and negative ends for the current to pass through. Depending on the impedance, or resistance(in ohms), a speaker can vary in its required power source or amplifier.
Some electronic project ideas for salvaged speakers:
To salvage circuit components, you will need a soldering iron. You might also want to find a desoldering braid or solder wick, which soaks up unwanted solder. Follow this comprehensive guide to desolder.
The circuit components worth desoldering are :
The newer MacBooks don't have an optical disc drive? This is perfect for you! With a salvaged DVD drive from old laptops, you also need to find yourself an external DVD drive cable, which is normally available in USB and USB-C. Then, attach it to your main laptop and watch blue-ray movies.
Be careful! You don't want to give the tiniest scratch to your monitor - you might end up damaging it. To reuse a monitor, you need first to identify the model. The model ID is typically stuck onto the backside of the monitor. After acquiring the ID, type "'yourID' breakout board" in the search bar of eBay or Amazon - these normally cost no more than $10-$20. Connected to a power source and attached to an HDMI cable that is linked to your computer, this can be your second monitor!
The fan in a laptop dissipates the heat produced by the CPU. Therefore, it is conventionally placed right on top of the CPU. You might also want to clean the dust off the blades, as a lot of dust concentrate in this area. A typical laptop fan requires 9V of power. After connecting your fan to a power source, you can use it to simply cool you off in smoldering-hot summers or to keep the smoke produced by soldering away from your face.
Salvaging components from devices laying around is not only useful, but it is also a source of raw and primary information and knowledge. One of the first devices I disassembled was an RC car. After researching components such as the receiver and how to control the motors, I became quite knowledgeable on how to control things remotely, and how to effectively use analog signals to control motors.
If you have any old electronics, instead of throwing them away, break them.
