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America Is A Dumping Ground For Junk
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<blockquote data-quote="Jacob Robinson" data-source="post: 1450982" data-attributes="member: 18849"><p>The neighbors just put a flat screen TV out by the dumpster. Took it in and it works fine. An older Vizio. There was a box for a bigger TV in the dumpster--they must have traded up. Have a $7 w/shipping remote control coming in from eBay. Our TV conked out a week ago and I am waiting on a replacement power supply board--if that does not fix the old one, this will be our new TV. Otherwise it may go to one of the charity thrift stores in town.</p><p></p><p>There is something, sort of immoral about just tossing out perfectly good items. Granted, it was by the dumpster, not in it, but we have been having rain lately and it could have been ruined by morning. </p><p></p><p>In the past few years left out as garbage we have taken in: </p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A corner cabinet (like new)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A side table--needed paint</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A coffee table -- needed new stain and varnish</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A bicycle (adult-sized)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Nice sized tree branches that we cut up for fire wood</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A small flat screen TV</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A leaf blower</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A Dyson Ball vacuum cleaner</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A DVD player</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A caulking gun</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Several books of forever stamps</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A new looking women's purse</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Several books</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">And now a big flat screen TV</li> </ul><p>All of those thing worked as-is or with minimal work. I do not understand, for the things that worked, why they were not at least given to charity or put in a yard sale.</p><p></p><p>A year or so ago I bought an old Crosley tube radio from a local auction, 1930's era. It must have been in an attic for decades. The schematics were free on line. Replaced a couple of tubes, replaced all the electrolytic capacitors, aligned it with an old RF signal generator, stripped and refinished the wooden case--hand rubbed oil finish, replaced the speaker grill cloth, polished all the brass fittings and then protected them with wax, and got a new piece of domed glass for the dial from a clock company. Whoever bought that radio in the 1930's definitely saved up money for it, and must have listened to Roosevelt's speech about Pearl Harbor on it, and probably heard about V-E and V-J day on it too. And the Bob Hope Show, big band music, and maybe even a secret code from Little Orphan Annie. Whoever made it, at wherever the Crosley factory was in America, this was back when it was point-to-point wiring--all hand assembled. That was someone's job, reading a schematic and soldering one single component in at a time, layer by layer. Many of the mica capacitors and other parts were hand selected to get the tuning just right. Back up to the 1960's or 1970's every town had a guy who would repair these kinds of radios, mainly swapping tubes or a bad capacitor. Going on 90 years later, with some work it is still going, recieving AM and shortwave. Even used and non-functional it was worth someone saving it, and then putting up for auction. Fully restored, it is worth a chunk of change today and is probably the most impressive think in our living room. Why can we not make things this way today?</p><p></p><p>Why do people like cheap stuff? In part, it seems to be a symptom of a throw-away culture. Seems like everything is throw-away these days: marriages, families, careers, the unborn, one's country, one's culture...what are manufactured items compared to them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jacob Robinson, post: 1450982, member: 18849"] The neighbors just put a flat screen TV out by the dumpster. Took it in and it works fine. An older Vizio. There was a box for a bigger TV in the dumpster--they must have traded up. Have a $7 w/shipping remote control coming in from eBay. Our TV conked out a week ago and I am waiting on a replacement power supply board--if that does not fix the old one, this will be our new TV. Otherwise it may go to one of the charity thrift stores in town. There is something, sort of immoral about just tossing out perfectly good items. Granted, it was by the dumpster, not in it, but we have been having rain lately and it could have been ruined by morning. In the past few years left out as garbage we have taken in: [LIST] [*]A corner cabinet (like new) [*]A side table--needed paint [*]A coffee table -- needed new stain and varnish [*]A bicycle (adult-sized) [*]Nice sized tree branches that we cut up for fire wood [*]A small flat screen TV [*]A leaf blower [*]A Dyson Ball vacuum cleaner [*]A DVD player [*]A caulking gun [*]Several books of forever stamps [*]A new looking women's purse [*]Several books [*]And now a big flat screen TV [/LIST] All of those thing worked as-is or with minimal work. I do not understand, for the things that worked, why they were not at least given to charity or put in a yard sale. A year or so ago I bought an old Crosley tube radio from a local auction, 1930's era. It must have been in an attic for decades. The schematics were free on line. Replaced a couple of tubes, replaced all the electrolytic capacitors, aligned it with an old RF signal generator, stripped and refinished the wooden case--hand rubbed oil finish, replaced the speaker grill cloth, polished all the brass fittings and then protected them with wax, and got a new piece of domed glass for the dial from a clock company. Whoever bought that radio in the 1930's definitely saved up money for it, and must have listened to Roosevelt's speech about Pearl Harbor on it, and probably heard about V-E and V-J day on it too. And the Bob Hope Show, big band music, and maybe even a secret code from Little Orphan Annie. Whoever made it, at wherever the Crosley factory was in America, this was back when it was point-to-point wiring--all hand assembled. That was someone's job, reading a schematic and soldering one single component in at a time, layer by layer. Many of the mica capacitors and other parts were hand selected to get the tuning just right. Back up to the 1960's or 1970's every town had a guy who would repair these kinds of radios, mainly swapping tubes or a bad capacitor. Going on 90 years later, with some work it is still going, recieving AM and shortwave. Even used and non-functional it was worth someone saving it, and then putting up for auction. Fully restored, it is worth a chunk of change today and is probably the most impressive think in our living room. Why can we not make things this way today? Why do people like cheap stuff? In part, it seems to be a symptom of a throw-away culture. Seems like everything is throw-away these days: marriages, families, careers, the unborn, one's country, one's culture...what are manufactured items compared to them. [/QUOTE]
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