[rescue] Old PSUs & boards: useful to teach self?

[Phil Stracchino]

William Enestvedt wrote:
> So I have this old Sequent chassis that's getting tossed, and I decided
> to take a look inside: how often does a liberal arts guy like myself get
> to pick through such a pile of circuits?
> 
>    Anyway, I have a few questions for any bitheads/gearheads on this
> list that are willing to help me broaden myself:
> 
>    1. Will opening the PSUs kill me? Is there anything in there to see?

No, if it's been unplugged and out of use for a while there won't be any
residual charge on anything and it'll be quite safe to open.  There
probably won't be a lot to see either.

>    2. What is that one component on a SCSI board that looks like an
> inch-wide doughnut wrapped a few times in heavy copper wire? I STFW and
> I can't find an Idiot's Guide To What That Electronic Thing Is (though
> there are links to damn near everything else at:
> http://amasci.com/amateur/elehob.html).

That's most likely a ferrite-cored inductor.

>    3. Is there anything worth scrounging from this beast in the way I
> get good magnets out of old HDs, or spare RAM? No, the CPUs are long
> long, though the terminal is up in the Data Center acting as a head for
> my V890s & T2000s. :7)

Dunno.  What do you consider worth scrounging?  :)


-- 
        Phil Stracchino                CDK#2
 Renaissance Man, Unix ronin, Perl hacker, Free Stater
 phil.stracchino at speakeasy.net   alaric at caerllewys.net
 Landline: 603-429-0220           Mobile: 603-320-5438
        It's not the years, it's the mileage.