I tend to be given/collect/repair/play with a lot of “junk”, and I suspect many others in the HLB group are in the same boat.
Over the past 12 months, there’s been a bit of discussion about:
- donations (e.g., Resources for students / Computer equipment donations and refurbishment),
- repairs (Too good to throw out; too tricky to fix?), and
- repurposing (An ode to OpenWrt / Debian & Docker on the Seagate Personal Cloud)
I thought it may be worth centralising some of the discussion in the interests of responsible homelabbing, using something from my own junk pile from today as an example.
Please feel free to add your own resources and discussion. This isn’t intended as an all encompassing guide, but hopefully provides a few options beyond “drop it in the wheelie bin”.
During a family member’s house move about 18 months ago, I was given a big box of “old computer stuff”, for the sole reason that “you’re into computer stuff, right?” 
. I’ve been gradually working my way through the box and today I pulled out a WD TV Live (WDC Site via Archive.org / Wikipedia Article), all nicely boxed up with the original manuals, remote, and cabling.
What is it? What condition is it in? Does it work?
- Connected media player (similar to current day Android TV boxes, Amazon TV fire sticks, Plex/Jellyfin clients, etc.)
- 2011 - 2015 ish era
- In as-new working condition, with all accessories. Still has my family member’s settings and media on it.
- Not compatible with current versions of YouTube/Netflix/etc. Could probably play local media from a LAN source (untested)
If there are any hardware issues, then that may be show stopping from the start. Otherwise, parts availability or cost may dictate the path forward.
Can I use it/fix it/improve it/update it? (i.e., Can it be repaired, or is it perhaps useful to someone else?)
- Latest firmware is already on the device (1.07.18)
- WD EOLed it over 10 years ago
- A quick search suggests that the WDLXTV project provided third-party firmware - last updated 2015
- They’re listed on eBay for around $20, but not really useful so I don’t feel right selling it to someone
- Similarly, it’s not really worth donating as a complete unit as it doesn’t work for its intended purpose
In this case, the unit is technically working, but functionally useless for its intended purpose. If it were useful (but not useful to me), then donation to a local charity or community group is worthwhile.
If not working, the economics of the repair come into play here. Broken devices sometimes can be purchased cheaply on eBay, et al., to use as sources of parts to repair your broken unit. Sometimes something just isn’t worth the money or time to repair.
A lot of alternative firmwares have been built for embedded devices such as routers/media players and those projects are often better than the OEM firmware. It’s definitely worth doing a brief search to see if new life can be breathed into a supposedly EOL device.
Can I repurpose it?
- Opening the unit up, it’s got a pin header on the board (possibly a serial interface - see Debian & Docker on the Seagate Personal Cloud) and could possibly be used for something else
- The CPU is a Sigma SMP8670 (MIPS), it has 512MB DDR2 RAM, and a 10/100 Ethernet port. Probably not enormously useful specs for anything now days.
It may run OpenWRT or similar, or perhaps I could compile my own modern firmware from the GPL sources and some updates, but it’s not really worth my time to do so.
So, it’s going to e-waste… what now?
- Erase the data off the device. Factory reset, ATA Secure Erase, whatever needs to be done to sanitise the device
- What parts can I reuse somewhere else?
This unit came with several AV cables, and a 12V 1.5A plug pack. Handy. I’ve bagged them into a zip lock bag, with a note that they’re spare from a disposed WD TV Live (so I don’t come back to them in several years time going “what the heck is this from?”). One could take the whole lot to e-waste, but I always seem to have a need for a random cable or connector, so I keep these sorts of odds and ends in a plastic storage tub in the garage.
In the past, I’ve pulled DIMM, hard drives/flash memory/DOMs, or Flex-ATX power supplies out of appliances and used them to repair or upgrade other devices. Anything with removable storage gets taken and ATA Secure Erased on the work bench.
If you are into component level stuff, this unit has several capacitors which I’ll check and test (capacitance and ESR) if they’re suitable values to fix the now infamous Arlec Grid Connect device with the faulty caps (Home Assistant Compatible Goodies). There might be some useful connectors or modules inside anything you’re getting rid of (e.g., SATA cables). Otherwise, the whole unit goes to e-waste (except the plug pack and AV cables).
So, it’s going to e-waste… what now?
Our local councils and several private organisations take e-waste for free (check with the organisation for specifics):
- Logan City Council - E-waste and mobile phones
- Gold Coast City Council - Recycle Street
- Brisbane City Council - E-Waste Recycling
- City of Moreton Bay - E-waste - televisions, computers and peripherals
- Officeworks - Bring it Back
- Substation33 (@ Meadowbrook)
- Mobile Muster (Mobile phones only - free postage, or national drop off sites)
A quick search flags several other organisations that will accept or even collect e-waste.
In this case, the WD TV unit goes into a big box in the garage for my next trip to the e-waste drop off centre, and all the cardboard/paper (box, manuals, etc.) goes into this week’s recycling.
What things do you tend to keep from something you’re disposing of? Any other additions or comments on the above, based on your own workflow? Any recycling sites in the SEQ area I’ve missed?