OT: Shipping ASR-33

Mar 12, 2021 Last reply: 5 years ago 23 Replies

In my (neverending! :<) quest to get rid of stuff, I've decided the ASR-33 would make a sizable dent in my pile! But, it would be sinful to let it get damaged in shipping due to carelessness on my part (packing it).



My present thinking:


- remove the mechanism from the pedestal base (which can then be shipped relatively easily without fear of damage; just need a big enough box!)


- remove cover from mechanism (as its likely to get cracked if any mechanical stresses during shipping). Install in suitably sized box; cover with sheets of polyurethane; "fill" voids with any of the expanding foam products commonly found in home stores. (i.e., make this into a semi-solid block of foam encasing the fragile cover piece)


- fasten mechanism to a sheet of plywood (as if that was the pedestal base) ensuring plywood extends beyond mechanism by ~2" on all sides. Place in box having same dimensions of plywood. Place solid foam blocks on edges of plywood that will extend to height++ of mechanism. Repeat the expanding foam trick from above.



[printhead will need to be secured, in some way, to ensure it doesn't flop around in transit]

No protection from "piercing" assaults but I suspect this should be enough to protect against drops, kicks, etc.



Of course, dropping the package into a lake would be unfortunate...



Biggest downside (aside from all the time/effort I'd have to expend) is the shipping costs for *3* oversized boxes!


s.b. polyethylene? (have to verify expanding foam isn't too exothermic)

On a sunny day (Fri, 12 Mar 2021 03:31:38 -0700) it happened Don Y snipped-for-privacy@foo.invalid wrote in <s2ffur$ceb$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

Here we have a garbage dump where you can leave stuff, sometimes you have to pay.

Once when I had the TV repair shop I had the guys bring antique TVs to the local garbage collecting ship moored in one of the nearby canals. However they dumped it from the car into the much lower boat, exploding CRTs. Well it did not sink I think.

Maybe dissassemble as above (possiblly removing the feet from the pedestal too) and attach all parts to sheets of plywood, wedge the print-head using cardboard or polystyrene, assemble the plywood sheets into a crate. wrap with bubble wrap, and place into a larger box.

I'd consider using an OSB sheet to make a crate big enough for the stand, and (with Liquid Nails and wood blocks) attach the mechanism, bolted to its plate, internally. It won't be necessary to use much foam, if you just bind the loose bits (string, tape, etc).

The walls of the box do the rest of the work. It's relatively easy to attach edges (glue/screw a few strips of 2x2 to keep the edges attached).

The last panel should be screwed, but NOT glued, so you can undo it to access the stand, and under that, the mechanism.

Extra points awarded for use of tee nuts.

The logic is, for trucking the volume is important, the weight, not so much.

Yeah, that's probably a good idea -- they "stick out" (towards the operator) quite a bit and would likely poke through a box if ever stressed.

Try to ship it as *one* box?

I was imagining three boxes -- the "cover" box being almost as large as the "mechanism" box but very lightweight. The pedestal box being larger and a bit heavier. And the mechanism box being the heaviest.

In that way, I don't have to worry about anything "moving" inside a box.

[I suspect a single box would be pretty massive and largely off-balance as the stuff inside would be hard to evenly distribute, weight-wise]
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as an illustration (note feet)

Sure, why not, it's smaller and lighter than a big washing machine. they ship those in one box.

put the heavy side on the bottom

I shipped mine 25+ years ago by lifting it carefully into the dumpster. It was fun to play with the mechanism though. Really beefy motor.

Landfills are an eyesore and an indictment of a culture that finds it easier to replace than reuse.

One of the groups I'm affiliated with processes 10T of "discarded" electronics and medical equipment WEEKLY. Most of which is simply discarded as part of "upgrades" (want a dentist's chair? X-Ray machine? autoclave? even an electron microscope, a few years back!)

Seeing that sort of thing every week makes it hard to embrace that "solution".

I've managed to find homes for all my (fiction) books, test equipment, pinball machines, arcade pieces, servers, peripherals, plotters, etc. Of course, I can't guarantee their new owners won't eventually resort to the tip for them...

But, at least I'm not directly complicit.

And, I've several colleagues who've expressed an interest in having one. Transport being the biggest issue (none live within convenient driving distance; and, it's too big/heavy to slide under your airline seat as a carry-on!)

On Friday, March 12, 2021 at 5:32:02 AM UTC-5, Don Y wrote: <snip>

1.) UPS or FEDEX may have additional charges is sent in a wooden crate. 2.) Teletypes are mostly metal (iron) so It may be recycle-able at your local drop off center with no charge. YMMV

I have a ca. 1987 HP1651B logic analyzer complete with two pods.. it works and all, but it's enormous.

Bit late to this one, but if you just want to get rid of it, why not advertise on one of the classic computer mailing lists and get the lucky winner to collect it ?.

Plenty of hackers want ASR33's to play with...

Chris

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