Yesterday, I took apart a DVD player to extract a disk that had gotten stuck inside when the hunk o’ junk spun its last. It was a lot of fun and I was able to snag some loot along the way — a couple of switches, an alphanumeric display, three motors and the all-important laser.
I got to learn a little how DVD players work, and got some cool components for my junkbox. Even if those parts never get used, what a fun way to spend an hour! It’s also a great project to do with kids, because you can educate them on electronic components, and teach them not to hesitate to crack open those broken gadgets. I have many fond childhood memories of disassembling old radios.
On a related note, check out the two fun videos Bre Pettis posted this Tuesday and last. Apparently Bre’s releasing a short video every weekday, featuring his own and others’ DIY experiments.
Tuesday he takes stuff apart! Last Tuesday he took apart a hard drive, today he disassembled a WowWee RoboPet:
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