I bought an estate sale of electronics stuff... Need idea in sorting

Question

I didn't really know half this stuff existed, or what it does.

My goal was to learn by doing with some of the components (if it blows up, i would just grab a new one)

My question revolves around research and suggestions for how to find information on items.

Any response to the following questions would be useful:

-I mainly work with arduino/raspberry pi, I do some small work with circuit design but nothing deeply mathematical (at the moment)
-What sort of items are most useful or have been useful to you guys when working with these?

               -Sizes of relevant resistors/capacitors, types of capacitors, relevant diodes, ect.)

     -I know that some items do not get along well with static electricity. I do have some standard jewelry bags i would like to use.
          -What components are safe to store in these bags (crystals, capacitors, resistors ect)?

-Finding data on parts

-I get the concept of looking up the part number... just not what sites, or if possible to search them like pharmaceuticals(size color shape ect)?

-Furthermore... if something isn't useful to me... how do i know if it's worth selling? taking into consideration I am unsure of condition and if testing is needed i would prefer it to be minimal.

-

Any other questions you guys think i might need to ask about feel free to post some input.

This will be an undertaking for sure so I appreciate all input that will make my job easier or more effective.

Thanks!

-

jw0752 · Answer

Hi Parker,

I am wondering if there was any organization evident in the parts when they came to you. Most people who would accumulate a cache of parts would have a system of organization. It might be worthwhile to try to understand this system before you dismantle it.

There has been a definite transition over the years from larger higher power parts to smaller lower wattage. For example 30 to 40 years ago the 1/2 Watt resistor was the most commonly used while now I seldom find the need for anything larger than a 1/4 Watt.

Without knowing specifically what you have it is difficult to make further observations but it would be a good idea to be conservative with respect to getting rid of anything until you have a good understanding of where you interest in electronics is headed.

If you have some curiosities it would be fun to have you post a few with pictures so we can speculate on what they are.

John

shabaz · Answer

Hi Parker,

At some stage you'll probably want to look in some books, to see what components are being used for the types of things that interest you.

There is a good list here, in the blog post and comments sections:

I Want to Do Electronics! Where do I start?

To identify the part, you can broadly categorize it into a resistor, capacitor and so on from visual inspection (beginners books will have photos/illustrations of how they could look like).

As for value, it is hard to say since some parts can be ancient, and the price of components has a huge range from the cheapest parts sometimes worth a fraction of a penny/cent. You already have some guideline, since you know how much you paid. Also, check out existing ebay sales, and the prices they are selling for.

I bought an estate sale of electronics stuff... Need idea in sorting

Top Replies