Upcycled Technology Read online

  Copyright © 2019 Daniel Davis

  Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.

  Cover and Layout Design: Elina Diaz

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  Tinkernut Presents: Upcycled Technology: Clever Projects You Can Do with

  Your Discarded Tech

  Library of Congress Cataloging

  ISBN: (print) 978-1-63353-909-9 (ebook) 978-1-63353-910-5

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2019932088

  BISAC category code: SCI028000—SCIENCE / Experiments & Projects

  Printed in the United States of America

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  Why Upcycle Old Technology?

  Prepare to Repair

  Safety First!

  Where Do I Look?

  What Do I Look For?

  What Tools Do I Need?

  Computers & Peripherals

  Project 1 Old Webcam to Backup Camera

  Project 2 Turning an Old Laptop into a Projector

  Project 3 CD-ROM Drive to 3D Printer

  Mobile Devices

  Project 1 Old Smartphone to Security Camera

  Project 2 Revive an Old iPod

  Project 3 Old Cell Phone to Smartwatch

  Photo glossary

  Project Journal

  Afterword

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  If you are not familiar with the concept of “upcycling,” I like to define it as the creative act of turning junk into something marvelous. There’s something gratifying about taking what’s been discarded and giving it a new soul. While upcycling is most commonly associated with clothing or furniture, we will be focusing on upcycling old technology. So does that mean we will be turning old keyboard keys into new earrings or old CDs into coasters? Not so much. This book will focus more on repurposing and reusing the technical components themselves, such as turning an old flip phone into a smartwatch, or an old laptop into a projector. Why would anyone want to do that? What are the benefits? Let’s take a look!

  Erasing E-waste

  According to the EPA, only 12.5 percent of e-waste is recycled.1 What happens to e-waste that doesn’t get recycled? It gets sent to landfills. A report conducted by the United Nations Environmental Program2 estimated that fifty million tons of computers, smartphones, and other electronic waste were sent to the dump annually. This can have devastating effects on the environment not only from e-waste, but also through increasing the mining of precious metals that are used to create the newer devices.

  Saving Some Money

  There are always cost saving benefits when you decide to upcycle as opposed buying something brand new. As a tinkerer, however, it’s hard for me to see all those millions of tons of transistors, resistors, processors, LCDs, LEDs, and other useful bits and bytes that just go to waste. There is so much value and potential just waiting for the right creative spirit to scoop it up and transform it into something incredible! Lesser known pro tip: most electronics use precious metals in their components. It’s estimated that each year Americans throw away sixty million dollars in gold and silver. Just think about learning how to extract that!

  Kindling That Creative Spark!

  I firmly believe that the best way to learn is to embrace creativity and curiosity. A wise man once said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Upcycling technology is a great way to tap into that creativity while having fun and learning more about the technological world around you. Taking a peak behind the casing helps demystify technology while making it less scary and confusing yet more intriguing and approachable. Seeing the creative potential in old technology can inspire you to create anything; you’re limited only by your imagination! Have I piqued your interest yet?

  Let’s jump right in!

  Safety First!

  Manuals are for putting things together, not taking things apart, right? We’re about to go beyond the instruction booklets to see where the world of technological upcycling can take us! But even seasoned upcyclers need to be cautious when dealing with electronics. Messing around with old devices doesn’t come without its risks. Once we alter how something works and plug it into a power source, improperly connected components can be harmful or deadly. So to help alleviate becoming human toast, please be sure to tap into your common (and uncommon) senses when creating your own devices. Along with that, here are a few tips to help you stay safe.

  Red Wire or Green Wire?

  If you’ve never cracked open an electronic device before, staring at all those wires, circuits, and components can be a little bit daunting. To help demystify the unfamiliar land of electronics, it would be beneficial to know at least some of the components you’re looking at so that you can navigate this new territory easily. Not only is this knowledge recommended for safety reasons (since for example, some components can store electrical charges), but it also aids in scavenging for useful parts and components.

  Where’s That Fire Extinguisher?

  Aside from what you have decided to work on, where you decide to work on it is just as important. Make sure that your workspace has plenty of ventilation and is safe and dry. Try not to have too much clutter or debris that can get in the way. First-aid kits and fire extinguishers are always a good thing to have. Also, wearing proper safety equipment such as goggles, antistatic gloves, face masks, and so on is a good idea. Hey, if we’re channeling our inner mad scientists, we might as well look the part, right?

  Electricity Is DANGEROUS

  Although you probably already know this, it’s important to point out that electricity can be very harmful or deadly. Always disconnect power before working on a device. Capacitors can store electricity long after a unit has been powered off, so it’s important to learn how to properly discharge them before handling them. Use surge protectors and never plug anything directly into a wall outlet. And if you smell something burning, disconnect power immediately.

  Where Do I Look?

  When getting started with upcycling old electronics, the first thing you need is “stuff.” Since computers, tablets, and smartphones are constantly being upgraded, they creates a surplus of old tech just waiting to be saved from a death by dumpster and given a new life. That being the case, it shouldn’t be too hard to find what you need for free or super cheap. The key is knowing where to look, so I’ve put together some of the most common places to find old tech.

  Home

  Most of you reading this book probably have a junk drawer, closet, or attic full of hidden tech gems primed for hacking and upcycling (I had a Radio Shack Tandy 1000). The obvious benefit of starting from home is that it’s free. And since you own it, you are p
robably already somewhat familiar with it. Another bonus is that using it only requires permission from yourself.

  Dumpster Diving

  It’s surprising how much e-waste actually makes it into the trash. But we can turn that tragedy into our gain, not to mention, it’s free! Dumpster diving is the act of rummaging through dumpsters to find hidden treasures. In this case, those treasures are old or broken electronics. College campuses (especially Ivy League colleges) are great places to find useful stuff tossed out by a student who doesn’t have a need for it anymore. If those tech treasures end up making their way to the landfill, not to worry! Your local dump itself can be a great place to look for goods.

  Yard Sales

  Love a good yard sale? If dumpster diving isn’t your thing, then yard sales are a great way to score decent and unique electronics for cheap. A lot of sellers don’t know the actual value of what’s being sold and ultimately just want to get rid of it. The downside is that yard sales can be infrequent and hard to find. Also, the items generally aren’t free, but sometimes it may be worth spending a few bucks for the perfect item.

  Online

  Let’s be real, visiting yard sales and dumpster diving can require a lot of effort. If that’s not for you, then acquiring devices online is probably the way to go. You may not be able to find old broken devices on Amazon, but sites like Craigslist or eBay (in the US) may have the perfect item for your project!

  What Do I Look For?

  Now that you know where to look, how do you know what to look for? Sorting through dozens of electronic items to find what you need can be daunting if everything just looks like a pile of odd-looking bits and pieces. Some devices are richer in reusable components than others, so it’s helpful to know which devices are guaranteed to be a good score. One key piece of advice I can offer is that older devices tend to have components that are easier to reuse. Newer devices have smaller and more integrated components that are more difficult to extract. With that in mind, here are a few devices that are worth considering if you come across them.

  Printers, Scanners, Faxes

  Old printers, scanners, and fax machines are great finds because they contain reusable motors and generally a sliding mechanism. Most of them will also have buttons and maybe an LCD screen or two that can be salvaged. Scanners also have really cool light bars that can be used for…something.

  VCR and DVD Players

  With how quickly media formats change, those poor VCR and DVD players went from being heroes to zeroes in a little more than a decade. But lurking inside those old video titans are motors, infrared LEDs, LEDs, buttons, and some cool female RCA jack adapters. There are tons of scavengable items in these devices!

  Routers and Modems

  Remember the good ol’ days of dial-up? Even though these nostalgic devices aren’t as useful themselves, they are chock-full of easily extractable components that are just begging to be reused. Expect to find tons of resistors, capacitors, diodes, and LEDs.

  What Tools Do I Need?

  When it comes to taking apart, modding, or scavenging old electronics, unless you are Edward Scissorhands, you will probably need more than just your nimble fingers to get the work done. Manufacturers all have unique ways of assembling products, which means that the ease of taking an item apart varies from device to device. For some reason, screws have become something to avoid in newer devices, and the trend has been to glue them together. Sadly, that makes newer smartphones and tablets more difficult to disassemble. In general, however, these tools should get you through most upcycling projects.

  Rotary Tool

  A rotary tool is a small handheld tool with a tip that rotates very fast. The rotating tip can be interchanged depending on the task. It is often used for cutting, sanding, grinding, and polishing but can be used for a lot more tasks than those.

  Soldering Iron

  A soldering iron is a tool that can heat up to high temperatures in order to melt a form of metal alloy wire called “solder.” Since solder is conductive, melting it onto a circuit board can join two circuit components together. For home electronics enthusiasts, this is a necessary tool for creating homemade circuits.

  Aside from joining circuits by melting solder, soldering irons can also assist in removing circuit components by melting the solder around that component.

  Wire Cutters/Strippers

  Wire strippers are handheld tools that are primarily used to remove the plastic sheathing from wires. This exposes and allows access to the metal wire underneath the plastic. Used in conjunction with a soldering iron, these exposed wires can be used to connect circuit components together.

  Multimeter

  Multimeters are instruments that can measure and display voltage, electrical current, and sometimes resistance (depending on the multimeter). Each has a + probe and a - probe that are used to connect to the positive and negative leads on a power source. The multimeter will then tell you the value of the current, voltage, and/or resistance.

  Hot Glue

  “Hot Glue” is a term used to describe solid glue sticks that require melting in order to be used. Hot glue “guns” are used to melt the glue sticks. They have a tapered nozzle to make it easy to apply the glue where needed. Once the melted glue is applied, it takes a couple of minutes to dry. Dried hot glue forms a strong, solid bond. That makes it useful for repairing and joining different materials.

  Arduino

  An Arduino is a popular microcontroller that is easy to program and implement. Microcontrollers are small, simple computers commonly used to perform single, specific tasks. In the case of the Arduino, it can be programmed to perform a task, and then it will continue to loop through that task until it is powered down or the program is changed. This makes it useful for controlling motors, lights, buzzers, sensors, and other simple electronic components.

  Raspberry Pi

  Raspberry Pi is a brand of small form factor computers. These computers range from the size of a credit card to the size of a pack of chewing gum. They operate similarly to larger computers in that they have a desktop interface, audio and video output, and USB and Ethernet ports. The Raspberry Pi also features Input/Output pins that can be programmed to control different electronic components (similar to an Arduino). The largest difference between the Raspberry Pi and the Arduino is that the Raspberry Pi can perform multiple processes at the same time instead of one at a time.

  Do you remember your first computer? Perhaps it was an IBM running DOS, or were you more of a Commodore 64 person? Maybe you were one of those Apple II renegades? Mine was a Radio Shack Tandy 1000 complete with a 7.16MHz processor running MS-DOS and a 3¼ inch floppy drive! That classic has been obsolete for a few decades now. It’s crazy to imagine how quickly computers and their peripherals become outdated. Remember the good ol’ days of floppy disks, zip disks, CRT monitors, data cassettes, USB webcams, and [insert favorite antiquated computer reference here]?

  Aside from playing old computer games, there isn’t much utility in really old computers in their original state. However, some computers and peripherals can be repurposed and refurbished into something different and more useful. It all depends on what you have and how creative you are with it. We’ll take a look at three projects ranging from beginner to more advanced, so no matter what the level of your electronics expertise is, you should be able to create something cool!

  Project 1

  Old Webcam to Backup Camera

  Beginner

  Synopsis: Back before smart devices, computer cameras and webcams were external devices that you would have to plug in through USB. Since most computers nowadays have them built in, what do you do with your old external webcam?

  Old Webcam to Backup Camera - Larger images can be found on page

  102 of photo glossary

  Parts & Tools Needed

  •USB webcam

  •Android smartphone
/>   •Six foot USB extension cable

  •USB OTG adapter

  •Strong magnets

  Step 1: Connecting the Webcam

  to a Smartphone

  I have at least a couple old webcams that I used pretty frequently before cameras became integrated into almost every device you can think of nowadays. I wanted to see if it would be possible to use one of them as a backup camera for my car. Let me preface that with a huge disclaimer that this is not intended for practical use and should not be relied upon as you would depend on a commercial backup camera. The intent is only to use this in rare instances, like getting close to a trailer for connecting it or backing up close to a dock for loading. So please, please, please don’t rely upon this as a sole backup camera for your vehicle.

  That said, the first thing that

  we will need to do is find some way to view the webcam from the driver’s seat while the camera is mounted to the back of the car. Since I had several old Android smartphones lying around, I decided to use one of those as the viewing screen. Android devices made within the last five years have the ability to recognize USB devices when they are plugged in. This is known as “USB On the Go” or USB OTG. So we will need a USB OTG cable to connect the webcam to it. Just plug one end of the OTG cable into the webcam and the other end into the phone.

  It’s not enough to connect the webcam to the phone, we also need to have some type of software so that the phone will recognize the webcam and display video. Although they are in no way affiliated with this book, the Free USB Camera app by ShenYao3 worked great for my needs. Once the webcam was plugged in, I just launched the app and the live video display from the webcam started right up!