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Not quite a cable, but my dad threw away like five PRISTINE IBM Model M keyboards when my grandpa died. My dad worked in tech but didn’t know about mech keyboards. He just tossed them because they were old.
As a classic example, I needed a power cable just a month after I threw them all out, because "everything comes with it anyway!"
No you wrap them then tie them then toss them in a bin and then undo all your work over 4-5 frantic cable searches. Like god intended.
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I use the hair ties from the dollar store, they're just like rubber bands but they have a layer of cloth around them. Used to get 100 for $1.
Have any of my fellow cable hoarding enthusiasts entered their enlightened sandwich-bag arc yet?
- write on the bags the type of cable and length
- cables never get tangled together
- cables never get damaged by sharp bends
Sure is nice being superior to everyone.
And yet when people need some obscure connector, they ask me and I have it. Amazon also has it (and it doesn't cost much) but that's beside the point.
This is what finally got me to cut down. I realized any given cable I was saving can be had for pennies if I ever needed to buy one again. Which I won't.
But I still have a lot.
The one at Amazon is junk though. The one you have was made by folks in San Antonio, who know what salsa's all about.
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The one time you decide to do the right thing, that cable you threw out? You'll need that in almost exactly a week. Somehow it's been in the box for 4 years, but now it's needed.
SCART (Peritel) cable - copper, plastics (organic polymers), traces of gold - Europe - late XX century - on loan from the Picard foundation
I have a very organized system:
1 bin for USB type chargers
1 bin for computer cables
1 bin of cables that I will never get rid of ever, I might need them
As an old coot I had boxes of various cable, I gave most of them to local thrift stores. But I kept one of each, in case of, (black, white, short, long) AC power cable, a VGA, RCA, DVI, TOS, serial, S-VHS, etc
IN CASE OF!!! until next round :)
It feels weird that DVI is old now but it really is... I've got like, 2 old monitors that will still take it, everything is DP or HDMI now
To work with the old-ass KVM nobody wants to pay $$$ to replace? That's all I can think of. DVI adapter chains get real janky real fast.
You won't need them until you part ways with the last one. Then you will need it within a week.
Power cables are probably still useful. At least here in Western Europe the power cables I used in the 80s are still perfectly fine today. Better even, since copper was cheaper they often have more than modern cables (which shouldn't matter if they are within spec, but still).
Those old centronics cables on the other hand, maybe it's time for them to go.
It depends. I remember (late 90s story). The company I was working with had just moved and we were short on power cables (they were probably still in a box somewhere). So I went out to grab a couple.
Luckily, at the time there were still hardware stores to be found. So I were in the first one:
"Hello, I need two power cables."
"Sure, what models are they for?"
"Sorry? Just power cables, grounded power cables, like those (points helpfully at generic 1.5m cables just hanging there)."
"But what model?"
"No model, just regular PC workstations."
"Oooh, but those are Mac cables!"
"... Ah, never mind, I'll risk it, just give me two."
Sometimes you think they're just cables, but they're actually Mac cables. And then who knows what can happen?
Just hit em with the old "CEE 7/7 on one end and C14 C13 on the other end please". If their eyes glaze over, do the Ron Swanson and get the right one yourself.
If their eyes glaze over, do the Ron Swanson and get the right one yourself.
I was at a computer hardware store once (back when those existed) and asked for something specific. The kid working there insisted they don't exist. I told him that I'm confident they do exist because I own one. He went on rambling about how smart and knowledgeable he was, and how he's certain they don't exist. While he was talking I noticed there was one sitting on the shelf right behind him. I grabbed it and said "well, for not existing you guys certainly have a good supply of them!". Then I told his boss that his employees should not tell customers that things don't exist, just because they've never heard of them. What kind of idiot does that?
Those old centronics cables on the other hand, maybe it’s time for them to go.
Yep, I bought a Centronics cable maybe 30 years ago for $100, for a parallel printer. I kept the printer maybe 10 years, then moved to a laser/ethernet at the time. But I kept this damn cable 20 years more in case of!!!! It's now in a thrift store bin for $1 I guess.
Better even, since copper was cheaper they often have more than modern cables (which shouldn't matter if they are within spec, but still).
It matters to tweakers!
I recently moved and I threw away/e-cycled so. much. extra. PC shit. I probably still have enough spare parts to build 4 or 5 PCs though. Sigh.
edit: Pic. I don't have a problem. This is less than half what I used to keep! And I might need some of this stuff to repair 386's after the apocalypse.
That is but one part of my hoard. I have boxes of old video cards, hard drives, motherboards, etc. I don't just throw those in a bin though. :)
They are really valuable! It's at least $20 per cable if you need to purchase one. Good thing we have 1000 in the garage.
Burned myself a dozen times in life by culling the cable herd.
"FUCK ME. Why can I only find 2 RCA jumpers? There were 20 in here last year!"
If you ever get rid of the box you can be sure that the very next day you will need one of them.
I mean cables are indeed very valuable in just scrap.
My dad worked in IT and we had a 50 gallon drum full of all kinds of cables. Not only did we always have the type of cable we needed but if I ever needed $100 in an emergency I'd just fill a box and head to the local scrapyard.
You'll get even more money if you remove the insulation first.
You should be able to search your local scrapyard and find the price by weight online.
All I've ever found are places advertising that they don't charge for e-waste, which is why I asked.
Apologies friend. I can't tell you where your local scrapyard is or if there's even one close to you.
I live in a small-ish town and our local scrapyard is right off one of the main roads through town.
Just wait until the next great depression hits and no one can buy anything then we'll see who's laughing. Not all hoarding is bad, just be smart about it.