Not Boaty. Inside an old CD player...what's this heavy thing?

[Greenheart]

Surprising, what's inside a cruddy old plastic music box that you're about to chuck out. I found several small motors and wheels that may provide battery-driven amusement on rainy days. Loads of reusable screws, bolts and wire, too.

But what's this?

View attachment 31516

Very, very heavy. Is it lead? Maybe something to absorb heat if there's too much current?

I'm mostly wondering how to dispose of it...

 

[prv]

It's a transformer.

Pete

 

[Greenheart]

It's a transformer.

Ah! Thanks Pete.

Can it transform aged GRP into brand new carbon fibre?

 

[[70521]]

Gawd, that picture caused the memories to flood back! I spent two years in a factory that made these things early in my youth. It's not lead, but a very heavy metal that gives it its weight.

 

[sarabande]

full of lovely thin varnished copper wire. DIY guitar pickup ?

 

[Greenheart]

Is there anything responsible to do with it? My guitar has enough pickups already, thank you!

I suppose the gents at the dump pull hundreds of kilos of copper out of kit like this, every month. Hope so.

 

[contessaman]

its just a step down transformer its niether valuable or dangerous. Put it in the metal recycling its just an iron core with some enamel wire.

 

[Lakesailor]

...and well done on getting a bit of balance back into the boaty/non-boaty situation.

 

[Greenheart]

...and well done on getting a bit of balance back into the boaty/non-boaty situation.

Was the balance lacking? Or is this a dab of Lakish humour? I could have put this one in the Lounge, but I didn't want lots of inane feminine remarks. Not from females, just unfocused nonsense from loungers of either gender.

 

[Lakesailor]

Oooh. The Feminist Brigade will get you now.

 

[Greenheart]

Why? I wasn't aiming it at females, or even bloomin' feminists. I was just trying to avoid the kind of girlie-minded froth which chaps on the Lounge spout continuously.

Ooops...I'll get my coat.

 

[nimbusgb]

You could unwind the enamelled copper wire, smelt it, separate off the enamel, cool and cast the copper, grind it up and you'd have enough for about 1/16th of a sq metre of coppercoat. The soft iron could be donated to someones home build project to go in as ballast.

 

[chrisbitz]

If you wire a 1.5v battery to the low end of it, the other end becomes a whacky and hillarious electric shock machine, that probably wont kill you...
(I think)

 

[prv]

If you wire a 1.5v battery to the low end of it, the other end becomes a whacky and hillarious electric shock machine, that probably wont kill you...
(I think)

That would be the famous 1.5v AC batteries, then?

Pete

 

[Chalker]

When you connect the battery you get a high voltage pulse. When you disconnect the battery you get another one of the opposite polarity. Whilst the battery is connected you get a flat battery and nothing else.
Grew up making trick metal sweet tins that used the effect.

 

[NickRobinson]

Why? I wasn't aiming it at females, or even bloomin' feminists. I was just trying to avoid the kind of girlie-minded froth which chaps on the Lounge spout continuously.

Ooops...I'll get my coat.

When you find yourself in a hole..... stop digging!

 

[prv]

When you connect the battery you get a high voltage pulse. When you disconnect the battery you get another one of the opposite polarity.

Ah, right. Makes sense.

When I was at school I had a piezo ignition circuit dismantled from some old gas appliance, for much the same purpose

Pete