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Chazley8871

I've been a pack rat my whole life, I'm 72. I have thousands of old parts collected for almost 48 years in the Electronics industry. I've done a bit of almost everything. Help me figure out how to share parts and knowledge.

I always seem to be late to the party. After graduating from high school in 1971 I attended a Tech school in Tampa Fl. for a year and a half. After which I started at Texas Instruments at 19 years of age on 01/021973 as a technician, after a little over 7 years I hit the top. I left to go back to Florida in mid-1980, where I grew up, to take an engineering position at a small company in Kissimmee. Then in mid 81, I left for an Associate engineering position at Martin Marietta. By 1984 I left again for a start-up Aerospace firm just down the road.... Skipping to the end... After over 20 years with Lockheed Martin as a Sr digital design engineer, I retired in May of 2020.  I never lost my love for my work life, I got up every morning loving my work as well as my Soul mate wife. I accumulated more parts than I could use in 5 life times. The oldest date code 7400 series is early 1971. Help me share. I don't want a penny for anything.... Just someone who love electronics. Still to this day I am developing an FPGA I call PLASE... Programmable Logic Analysis and Stimulus Engine. The reality is I don't want all that work to die with me.

Perhaps it is too late, but here's to trying.

Greeting to all

Charlie Stuart

  • Welcome to the community!,

    Wanting to share what you know and what you've managed to gather over the decades is very nice and generous of you. I think I'll find myself in a similar position one day.

    Do you know if any of your neighbors like electronics? I ask because when I was a kid I had a neighbor that was an engineer. I was a friend of his son, and he noticed my interest in electronics because I kept pestering him with questions every time I went to my friend's house and he was working on a circuit at the dinner table. Eventually he gave me some advice, guidance, and a few bits and bobs that were instrumental in my journey with electronics. He became a bit of a mentor to me, even when we didn't talk that often (I would very sparingly go to my friend's house).

    Now, this doesn't mean that you need to find a young future engineer in your neighborhood. Any individual of any age with a desire to learn and pursue a path on electronics will be equally happy to receive components and knowledge from such an experienced engineer as yourself. Or perhaps someone already set on the path of electronics engineering, with an already existing foundation that might take better advantage of what you want to give away. If there's a facebook/email/whatsapp group for your neighborhood/building you could ask there.

    Alternatively, you could also check if there's any college or school nearby that might have an electronics/engineering program?

    Regards,

  • In the past I've donated excess dev boards to a local high school. Maybe also look for nearby Maker spaces to donate to.

  • Welcome to element14.

    I can sympathize with you, I too have a lot of stuff picked up over my 73 years.

    I am starting to look at my piles and am considering my local maker spaces as worthy locations to donate some of the useable things.

  • in reply to ntewinkel

    Maker spaces are a great suggestion! Or a Repair Café, if there's one nearby

  • Hell Good Sir, 
    I run a Makerspace in Maine, and If I were to advocate for a cause, I would suggest investigating your regional makerspaces. 
    http://72.227.70.15/hackBMS/

  • Welcome to the E14 community. You are not alone. 

    I run a robotics club at our local  library and get this question from people whom come to me for help in uncluttering their electronics inventory. Some legacy inventory we can use ourselves, but not usually one-offs.  

    I first check with the VoTech school in town. Second I check with a couple Maker Spaces in the area, and then the hi-tech folks at our library.

    Another idea is to contact your local amateur radio club. ARCs have auctions and festivals with flea markets. The electronics historians flock there to get parts and era appropriate electronics.    

  • Welcome,  !  You'll find this Community is a great place to hang out.  I don't have any additional recommendations on where to donate your components.  I will tell you that if you make a surprise visit to an amateur radio club meeting with a box of stuff to give away... you will leave with less stuff than what you showed up with.  Best of luck in finding a protégé.  Plant as many seeds as you can.  You never know which ones will sprout.

  • Welcome. It sounds like an interesting career.

  • Welcome Chazley.  Regarding all your stuff.  Where I reside there are organizations and clubs that run auctions for old electronics, old test equipment and old radios  etc.  The specific  organization that comes to mind collects about 25% of the proceeds for holding the auction and pays the original owner about 75%.  It's possible that the same kind of arrangement is available in your neck of the woods... failing that, you could see if you could partner up with someone that runs a stall at a flea market or enter into a consignment agreement with some vendor that specializes in used electronics.