Throwing away broken game consoles

[ifkz]

Recently, I helped sort through and repair some broken retro and current gen console gaming items.  The "who" and the "where" are not what I want to focus on in this thread.  I made a few things work.  Some things I could not fix and it was hard seeing those things thrown away.

One day was a large plastic tub of broken loose SNES units with bad CPUs, I did not save about 10-12 units that were beyond my abilities to repair.  I do not have a hot air station, nor access to new surface mount CPUs, nor any space in my tiny home.  I still felt bad seeing these yellowed broken systems thrown away.  A local SNES collecting friend I know immediately gave me grief when I shared this story (they can be un-yellowed, saved for case swaps, etc..).

Next up...YLOD 60GB launch BC PS3s, a good six of those were tossed after having some hard drives and optical drives saved.  Before I arrived, I believe a lot of the same was done to some dead red ringed 360's.  Some of those were tossed as complete but loose consoles.

It all started to look like broken electronic waste after awhile.

I am sad inside as a collector, but grateful I did not bring (all) the junk home.  My fiancee is extra grateful.

Come to think about it, in the recent past I have seen stacks of loose Wiis, PS1s, original Xboxes at thrift stores and I do not care to take any of those home or attempt repairs on them.

When do you draw the line at taking in and storing junked console equipment and parts?

[SignOfZeta]

I feel what you are saying. I hate throwing anything away and it's a bummer when you're in a situation where you're the only one who sees the stuff as anything but junk.

[ifkz]

Yes that is what it felt like.  Though both I and the owner of the items agreed that it did has some value, was sad, but we were all in a bit of a bind.  It's like, maybe, when does a junk yard decide to crush a car into a cube of metal like in those Superman movies?

When do you save that 1989 white gameboy with no screen lens and a battery acid eaten away battery box?  I confess I could not say no.  I took it and went home and soaked the contacts until they went from crystaline puffs to blackened metal.  The screen with missing lines can be repaired with a soldering iron (among other methods).  But, what if it was a PSP with a missing drive door?  Or a first model sun-lit GBA?

Funny, I have never heard of a modern Gamestop employee caring one bit for circle scratched discs and rare promotional store displays being thrown in the dumpster.  Maybe I should feel some relief that I do not work for Gamestop?

Perhaps I care about this stuff entirely too much?

[Johnpv]

I've only thrown out 1 console ever myself.  It was a Jaguar I got for free that turned out not to work.  I wish I had the knowledge then that I do now cause I would have saved it.  Chances are it just needed it's voltage regulator replaced.  I now hold onto anything even if it doesn't work, I might be able to fix it down the road. 

[Necromancer]

It totally sucks, but I definitely understand that you can't store everything forever.  It applies to outdated electronics too; it's a bummer to see perfectly functional vcrs, dvd players, tube tvs, computers, receivers, etc. getting dumped when nobody wants 'em.

[crazydean]

I  recently bought a Laserdisc player off ebay. It wasn't packed very well and got damaged during shipping. I will get a full refund, but even if I could find someone to fix it, it's still cheaper to just replace the whole thing. It's sad to see this stuff go, but we can't save it all.

[jtucci31]

Yeah I know the feeling, I get called a hoarder because I keep stuff a lot. I just don't like to get rid of perfectly working things.

Last summer I picked up about 6 or 8 Genesis's, both models. I found the ones that worked best and decided to just keep the rest in a box. Thought maybe I could make one into a clock or give them away to people on here. I need to do that soon because they are just collecting dust in my basement and maybe someone would like to use one as a project system of sorts.

[TDIRunner]

I can't bring myself to throw any of that stuff away unless it's simply smashed to pieces.  I always figure that I could salvage at least a few parts from them, especially the case.

With that said, I make it a point to not bring that stuff home either.  If I see a broken system at a thrift store or flea market, I'm not brining it home unless I'm getting it for under a buck.

Funny story.  I was at a flea market once and a guy had a table and EVERYTHING on the table was $0.50.  He had some movies and games.  Nothing great, but a few worth picking up.  He also had two PS2 slim models with no cables or controllers.  I asked him how much.  He said everything was $0.50, even the PS2s.  I asked if they worked and he said he didn't know (which to me means that they don't).  But I know places that will give $10 for broken units so why the hell wouldn't I buy them for $0.50?  I take them home and plug in some extra cables I have lying around and wouldn't you know it, but both of them fired right up with no issues at all. 

[xelement5x]

Yeah, I have a hard time trashing stuff either, I've yet to get a console I wasn't really able to totally fix and most that are restored are either sold/traded off or put in my backup stockpile.  Most of the dupes I have are just ones I haven't had the time/parts to fix immediately so they get stuck away.

However, I blame my Father/Grandfather for the mentality that everything is fixable and desire to keep extra stuff around.  They both stockpiled all sorts of extra parts which always seemed to come in handy so I've wound up doing the same thing in my life.  I can at least step back occasionally and purge which I suppose is helpful, but when it's near and dear to my interests like gaming I have a hard time letting go.

[Groover]

I just tried booting up my original xbox and it is not working as well as my 360 that I hadn't touch in a couple of years. I'm looking into getting another and use it for parts. Also my Xbox  was softmodded and I liked having the games on the hard drive. I may have to figure that out again. I also have a broken Saturn that I keep just incase I find a use for it or can repair it. Lastly I have a Launch 60 BC PS3. I tried to get fixed three times. The last time seemed to be the last time. You are not alone with keeping broken consoles.

[esadajr]

Same here, a few Atari motherboards, a broken PS1 (cd drive power socket solder broke, cant find where it goes). First model SNES, video seems inverted via multiout but works fine via RF and so on.

Good news is there's plenty of room to store them and everything is organized.

[Speedy]

I don't like throwing out dead consoles unless they're absolutely 100% done for. Thankfully, the only system that I've had die on me recently is my ColecoVision. I'll get that darned thing up and running sometime, I just need to replace the power switch on it...

[bob]

i am in line with TDI above.  i am willing to shell out up to $10 to take a chance on a system.  i found a PS1 the other day for $2 with no cords.  i grabbed it since it was very clean and for some reason, i just couldnt leave it in the dirty thrift store.  havent tested it yet, however if something is broken, i dont think twice about tossing it.  i dont have the space to keep it laying around.

[xelement5x]

i am in line with TDI above.  i am willing to shell out up to $10 to take a chance on a system.  i found a PS1 the other day for $2 with no cords.  i grabbed it since it was very clean and for some reason, i just couldnt leave it in the dirty thrift store.  havent tested it yet, however if something is broken, i dont think twice about tossing it.  i dont have the space to keep it laying around.

If it boots but doesn't read discs and still has the expansion port in the back it might be a good candidate for the PSISO.

[Gentlegamer]

I have a couple Feka Genesis Model 2 consoles that have really bad video out put, and audio I believe. Pretty much unusable. I've saved them to either donate to someone for parts, or try modding to upgrade, but I haven't the skill.