EEVblog

[@razzintown]

Whether he has OCD or not, it's a clear example of the *great scale* of what you can do with your time, when you're not otherwise watching TV, commuting somewhere, or looking up cat pictures online. The scale of it is truly great.

[@asmolbean9300]

@Paulos Rotsikos hell of alot of dollars

[@biggibbs4678]

Maybe he would have had more money if he spent time watching TV instead

[@larrybud]

@Paulos Rotsikos true, but most people don't realize the amount of dollars they blow on stuff and have nothing to show for it.

[@RearviewMirror-ij2pr]

Or wasting your time with modern women.

[@liryan]

I thought porn is banned in youtube...

[@wernertrptube]

... but not electronic orgasm.

[@Reeothec]

@ "... but not electronic orgasm." 10:38

[@nicholasosczypko2248]

I know your comment was made 2 years ago ...but you totally stole my thunder on this one!

[@xjet]

Ah... lots of goodies from the days when stuff was designed to be fixed. Brings a tear to my eye. What a shame that there aren't more people recycling old parts like this and donating them to makerspaces where young kids can use them to learn about the basics of electronics. A through-hole resistor works just the same as an 0805 SMD variety and is a lot easier to wire into a breadboard ;-)

[@12377Bobo]

True that Bruce

[@ayitsyaboi]

***** Whoa, didn't know I'd ever see you around here, haha. Small world.

[@EEVblog]

***** Well it's going to a good home were many people will be able to make use of it. Hopefully a follow-up video on this.

[@luxurywavesceylon1563]

Exactly haa! 👍

[@andremartin4396]

Hey everyone, the best results that I have had was by using the Gregs Electro Blog (i found it on google) definately the no.1 course that I have ever tried.

[@dasdew2]

BUY IT DAVE!!! BUY IT ALL AND PUT IT IN THE BASEMENT!!!

[@FadiAlzammar]

dasdew2 The description.

[@dasdew2]

Fadi Alzammar Oh :c And wow, I usually read the description.

[@sc0tte1-416]

Only $405 for all of that!? wow.

[@TheOriginalEviltech]

sc0tte1 Yeah, the plastic containers alone were worth more....

[@dasdew2]

Eviltech Yeah but it's so much you have to sell surplus price.

[@phoenixsmith4001]

What's really amazing is I didn't see any dust anywhere, even on all the old tube boxes ! He must have had constant cleaning and clean room level air filters ! I worked in a clean room making CRTs and there was way more dust than this guy ! How on Earth did this guy keep it this clean ? Especially with all the cardboard putting off dust !

[@RWoody1995]

Is every Australian electronics engineer named David? :P

[@sbreheny]

Forget about home labs, this is better than the vast majority of company/university stockrooms I've seen.

[@EEVblog]

Sean Breheny Yep, 10 times bigger and better organised than any big companies lab stock room I've ever work at.

[@Evansmustard]

up until the 8 minute mark I had assumed this guy had died until you mentioned him going overseas. haha

[@AndreasDelleske]

Evansmustard if he is able to leave his stuff behind he must be enlightened now :)

[@vladimirkuharik34]

if i didnt see your comment i would assume the same [jumping through the video xD ]:D

[@turboslag]

This is a familiar scenario to me. I'm a member of a vintage radio club here in the UK, to raise funds to run the club they hold auctions 4 or 5 times a year. As the member ship is mostly older people, 60 years +, bereavement clear outs are frequent. Unfortunately much of it goes for very low prices and I find it very sad that cherished and life long collections are dispersed in such an unrecognised way. I know an old guy fairly locally who has a workshop very like the one in this video, amongst other things, he has 30,000 valves, mostly NOS!! 300 oscilloscopes, a huge range of test gear, and many, many valve radios. All arranged and organised in a very ordered manner. When he goes it will most likely be dispersed to the winds, very few people have the resources to accommodate such a massive collection. I find that the average electronics type conforms to typical characteristics, and I include myself in this. Very often, but not always, single, an inclination to solitary pursuits, of few, very considered words, content with their own company, fastidious, generous, trustworthy, loyal, honourable, collecting inclinations, diverse interests, select group of friends and always willing to help. We can be a strange lot!

[@keithstarnes7009]

turboslag Described me to a T. Sad thing is the popular people people don't have much to do with ya. But if your content with yourself then screw em.

[@keylanoslokj1806]

Very few people on earth have the space, time and resources to accommodate such collections.

[@STATFIGHTER10]

Hey there, I have seen old electronics stored like this in a warehouse at the old McCoy air force base in Orlando Florida...The air force closed the base in 1973 and the warehouse was locked up for 15 + years.. One of the guys that worked for the FAA said this was left behind when they closed the base for spare parts... I walked in the building and it was filled all the way to the ceiling with boxes and boxes of tubes, transistors and every piece of electronic equipment you could think of...WOW... NEVER seen anything like this in my life time... He said to me, if there is anything you need get it out of here now before they clean it out... Two days later I went back to get what I could out of there and found all was gone... I stood at the door with my jaw on the floor... I was just blown away and found out they hauled all of the electronics to the dump.. That made me sick for over a week and now it still make me sick just thinking about it... sometimes life sucks

[@stanle1101]

STATFIGHTER10 oh man just reading the story makes me super uneasy. Gah shouldn't have read this.

[@kurtfrancis4621]

Reading that makes me sick in 2022.

[@dingalarm]

@@kurtfrancis4621 Same here in 2023 😢

[@OneBiOzZ]

I cannot even watch the whole video it literally brings a tear to my eye

[@youtubasoarus]

OCD Paradise lol. Wonderful collection. Just to add in my 2 cents. I haven't seen a modern electronics shop with that much gear, that well sorted.

[@AndreasDelleske]

youtubasoarus i have, but in the eighties. Must be horror for an OCD guy without an inventory. And a backup. And a copy of this in a bunker.

[@keylanoslokj1806]

Yup he took it to the totally next level

[@TheEchelon]

People with OCD can also be very messy, they're not interchangeable. It's a disorder that forces you to do stuff in a very particular manner because a voice says bad stuff will happen otherwise.

[@markaz2kk]

He was a pretty big deal in electronic repairs. I asked a few amateurs and they knew him as the parts maniac.

[@svenhoek]

Mark Hide Did he move overseas or pop his last fuse?

[@joshcryer]

Mark Hide Perfect job / hobby combo. Job = fix electronics. Hobby = collect parts.

[@EEVblog]

Mark Z Moved overseas.

[@tiitsaul9036]

you need to find the guy and interview him

[@davidriley7659]

Tiit Saul bring him back from the dead.

[@techy4198]

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[@billigerfusel]

Techy 4198 solder fumes man

[@techy4198]

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[@techy4198]

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[@KineticWasEpicVideos]

Radio Shack went bankrupt because this guy bought them out!

[@TheCarpenterUnion]

OhNoNotMyPenis lmao

[@martinda7446]

OhNoNotMyPenis That name..I love it.

[@tightirl]

I wasn't around in the early radioshack days (only 30), but I have a feeling this guy's better stocked than they were.

[@SinanAkkoyun]

xD

[@MarkMcDaniel]

Radio Shack still exists here in the states, it's a glorified cell phone / tablet computing boutique now. Almost no components anymore.

[@jeffhulett4194]

Unbelievable, I like how organized and clean the place was, thanks for filming it, if you ever get a chance to meet him you should sit him down for an interview i would love to know the back story.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

Mercury thing will be relay/switch, not a rectifier.

[@Nitrxgen]

I thought the same thing, looks like multiple mercury switches. Aren't mercury rectifiers more bulbous?

[@trustthewater]

mikeselectricstuff I saw a very similar unit controlling lights on a radio tower. It would slowly rotate and trigger one set then the other. Lights 2 and 4 would be on for a second. Then it would switch them to an off position and to other mercury switch would turn on 1 and 3. I assume you could use a similar setup to control neon lights or something.

[@funkyironman69]

mikeselectricstuff The 'mercury thing' scares me lol, the glass looks paper thin. BTW would these leak mercury vapour like some of the rectifiers do?

[@funkyironman69]

mikeselectricstuff Never mind, I was thinking of the steel tank mercury rectifiers, not the glass ones.

[@mikerm19]

trustthewater Ok, that is nothing short of totally awesome.

[@josepvabr1593]

Looking in the comments I have a feeling that people are missing a very important aspect about David Sparks here. Knowing nothing as I know of this guy I could only guess that this guy was or is a very lonely person. Dedicating all those thousands of hours to dessolder, catalog and organize all those parts means that he was alone while doing that. I love electronics and sometimes I feel that I am swapping the interaction whith other human beings by doing and studying electronics. Somehow this video opened my eyes. It must be sad to end up your life and everything that you loved so much being auctioned or throwned away while no one can remenber your name or who you was. Just a thought.

[@jackevans2386]

***** You wrote: "I feel that I am swapping the interaction whith other human beings by doing and studying electronics." I know exactly what you mean. It is a fairly solitary pastime/occupation.

[@josepvabr1593]

***** Exactly the same thing with me. I don´t know but I have a feeling that it was not the case for David Sparks.

[@m8onethousand]

***** If your happiness and mental well-being hinges on others you're going to have a really bad time in life.

[@jonnypanteloni]

+josepvabr please tell me more. I am just like David Sparks, is what I am doing wrong? I fear that what I am doing is somewhat hermit behaviour, but this sort of work makes me happy.

[@josepvabr1593]

+jonnypanteloni There isnt wrong or right and I am not the one who knows the difference on many issues. It just does not feel alright. And, let's be honest here: most of his salvaged parts are really trash with no use what so ever. So, most of his collection are just it, a collection with no purpose what so ever beyond his own satisfaction and amussement. I think things we do in our lifes should have some kind of a purpose or it will be an empty and meaningless existence. Just my opinion.

[@enterthedistrict5056]

the dream of every Electronics engineer with ocd. so organized

[@foxyrollouts]

pitty he killed every chip removing them

[@gooseknack]

+Foxy rollins Not necessarily.. Depends how much heat you apply and for how long. I've soldered and desoldered many an issue. For him to have that sort of gear means he is probably an expert at soldering/desoldering anyway.

[@foxyrollouts]

well, if the parts there in front of you.. why not

[@foxyrollouts]

murphys law says I still wont have the part i need.. my glass is half empty

[@antivorg1239]

As someone who is chronically disorganised (I keep many of my components in large piles) I'd pay through the nose for this collection even just for the sake of his meticulous system lol

[@bradleymorgan8223]

this is a man's lifeblood... decades and decades worth of loving curation and obsessive organization. Brings a tear to my eye

[@dariopellegrinosa]

Those items deserve to be in a school or university. They would be great for teaching porpouses!. Hope they found their way to that kind of institutions!

[@the_eminent_Joshua_E_Hrouda]

Dario Pellegrino great for teaching dolphins as well as porpoises!!! ;)

[@martykopka]

@@the_eminent_Joshua_E_Hrouda agreed....dolphins want to learn too! Its always the porpoises getting all the learning when dolphins want to learn too.

[@Wingedmechanic]

It's military hardware. So nope.

[@DjVortex-w]

If all those parts are desoldered and salvaged, this goes beyond just a hobby, into the realm of obsessive compulsion.

[@Torsan1977]

You've got to find this guy and try to get an interview with him! This is mind blowing!! Please Dave!!

[@dustlesswalnut]

He died, that's why they're dumping all his stuff for pennies.

[@ITubeTooInc]

dustlesswalnut At 8:42 Dave said: "And I think like he's going overseas or something like that, I don't know".

[@kjamison5951]

Breathe, Dave, breathe! What a great collection! Thanks for showing us this!

[@TheFinalRevelation1]

It would be criminal to take away years of effort away for just $405. Even if he demanded that much, you should do the right thing and pay him something reasonable.

[@xenonram]

TheFinalRevelation it's all old stuff with not much value unless they broke it all apart. They're taking a hit getting rid of it because they don't want to deal with that. A fair price is what someone will pay, and it was viewed by probably hundreds of people on eBay. So I'm sure he doesn't care or can't be bothered.

[@InfinityWorkshop]

Right

[@indian.techsupport]

@@xenonram those tubes are easily worth thousands, no matter who buys them

[@mogoreanu]

IMHO, this is pretty sad. An amazing life-long collection that nobody really needs.

[@redtails]

Nicolae Mogoreanu compare it to the fruits of someone's fun time. Some knit for fun, others watch TV; this guy desoldered for fun lol

[@slavric]

+redtails I agree with you completely.

[@hornylink]

+Nicolae Mogoreanu I could totally see myself doing something like this when/if I retired. tearing apart old electronics and sorting all the components. why? Iunno, some people find de-soldering relaxing.

[@michaelterrell]

People who collect and restore old electronics would go nuts for those parts, if they could see all of them. I've sold some of mine to people who posted a request on various Electronics Usenet newsgroups.

[@keithstarnes7009]

Nicolae Mogoreanu If you really want some fun doing this....make sure to keep a steady supply of good medical grade cannabis. You'll be happy as a clam.

[@alynicholls3230]

it looks like the phillips/mullard archive, there they have examples of all the mullard and phillips inventory. funny side note bbc radio4 long wave is currently using its last 2 tubes, its supposed to have no replacements left, and will go off air if one goes down. but i have seen at least 9 examples in the archives.

[@crumplezone1]

Dave we need an update on this guy, it what we deserve LoL, perhaps a family member can give you a short interview on his life :) I would love to know more about the fella.

[@AntiCoruptionCentral]

^ What he said.

[@Mic_Glow]

He was into electronics and had ocd. Hope that helps xP

[@johnheuser5000]

I can't think of a better person winning this auction..keep on teachin' Dave!

[@muh1h1]

The "company" you have never heard of is "Kabelmesstevhnik" which is german and translates to "cable messurement technology/technique"

[@Hwyadylaw]

muh1h1 Technology in this case.

[@muh1h1]

McDucky Somehow both does not seam like an adequate translation to me, but technology is certainly more correct.

[@Phunker1]

muh1h1 Technik as in "Equipment" is what you're fishing for. Cheers

[@muh1h1]

Phunker1 Yep, perfect :)

[@Phunker1]

muh1h1 That's my job ;)

[@GadgetUK164]

I wonder who the guy was that owned all this stuff. I thought he had died until you said he was going over seas?

[@agumonkey]

Me too, what a confusing video

[@NilsJakobson]

Jaw dropping organization skills. I know how hard is to order stuff in a way that is consistent, that takes so much time and mental effort! Huge respect to this guy..

[@w0mblemania]

$405 for the lot? That's insane. The "professional e-bayer seller" was NOT doing their job.

[@ColtonBlumhagen]

w0mbles Would take too long to sell individually, & it'd have to be cheap for somebody to take all of it.

[@adrianwakelin930]

+w0mbles I haven't sold anything yet I am the professional seller. The $405 was just for one lot the mother load is going on eBay very soon. Watch this space!

[@w0mblemania]

Adrian Wakelin Fair enough. Cheers.

[@JoelWilhiteKD6W]

JACKPOT! Cricky mate you scored a massive haul! And it's sorted like a store!

[@DavidWitkowski]

Man, that is an amazing combination of anal retentiveness and compulsive hoarding.

[@theandnewman]

Are everyone in Aussie named Dave/David?

[@mark314158]

Some are Bruce ...

[@smiechu47]

Andreas Nyman only the electronic nuts

[@paxmowa]

mark314158 Wasn't there also a guy named Crocodile? I seem to remember something like that from the 80's...

[@HotForgeChaos]

paxmowa You mean old Mick Dundee?

[@paxmowa]

Reflex Photography NZ Wait, his name was Mick? That's insane...

[@demoscenes]

Just absolutely fantastic! Even if I love to collect, sort and organize components into bags and take away boxes, that is nothing compared to what this guy did. My guesses are he must have started to build up the workshop somewhere around 1950 and then just went on and on. With one thing in mind, "I shall keep this organized and not let it get out of hand". or He very well could have had many other workshops sent things to him and as soon as he got one little or big collection he just did what he had to do. Okay lots of words here :D but yeah this is without a doubt one of the most massive things I ever seen! Blessed!

[@yakacm]

i saw a pair of NOS Mullard EL34 going for $1000 the other day, the valves in the white boxes aren't necessarily generic' they have probably been supplied to the military.

[@dunxy]

Ive got a quad of mullard el34's that im prepared to part with, they are used (currently in a vox head i have) they all tested 75%+ on mates tester. NOS tubes/valves went stupid! I remember many moons ago picking up plenty of decent single NOS kt66's for 15-$50ea, ahh those were the days! Also bought a fair few old AWA PA amps for chicken feed money, normally they loaded with pairs of quads of kt66's ;) Not a huge fan of el34's myself and i don't use this amp anymore, hence why they are surplus!

[@dunxy]

Oh, i forgot about the box of about 50 tubes i got from an electronics store id won a pa amp for $10 of ebay , for $20! Was 6 nos el34's in there, hehe ;) As well as heap of 12ax7's and rectifier's.All nos in box's.

[@yakacm]

dunxy Cool, didn't even know Vox used EL34, thought they used EL84's, is it a modern amp?

[@dunxy]

They had a couple i know of.The AC50 uses 2 x el34 .This is some strange 100+ watt unit with a very strange pre amp i have.Not common, or that exciting tbh!

[@dunxy]

Oh its lat 70's, somehow missed that it! These are real vintage mullards, wouldn't mention otherwise ;)

[@faqbytes4875]

It's amazing how much time, effort and money has gone into all of that. I could only dream of owning that many parts and having the space for it.

[@lettucefire]

Flabbergasted by this video because organisational and commitment porn always impresses me. This is essentially akin to finding a rare Ferrari in a shed. v pleased you captured this Dave because it deserves credit and you've now got people all over the world thinking #wow...... any chance of giving us a brief synopsis of who this guy was ? i love a back story ;)

[@EEVblog]

lettucefire Might contact him in due course and get the back story.

[@DjResR]

Damn. That is crazy how many parts are there. Almost like private electronics parts store and an impressive electronics lab. Thanks for sharing.

[@GoldSrc_]

I'm lucky if I can find a 1K resistor, I throw components everywhere lol.

[@DJSolitone]

OMG... I Am having spasms now... You definitely should open a subscription online to get this stock in your possession and store it in your basement room. This would be great for the community and tourists from around the world would visit the place... And it would only be justice that you inherit this wonder Dave ! I would definitively pay something for this to happen !!

[@gfx2006]

Can you interview the owner?!

[@jimfriend7622]

you're my own lab going here recently but nothing like that that is just freaking amazing

[@firecrow7973]

are those curtains still for sale?

[@daver4590]

I spent an entire summer desoldering PCBs for through-hole parts. Sorted and bagged it filled two 20 gallon tubs. This must've taken a few lifetimes to collect! Utterly amazing!

[@greenaum]

RIP David Sparks, a hero to all geeks and hoarders!

[@annsophiefans1472]

RIP David Sparks, a hero to all geeks and hoarders!

[@blackpoolbarmpot]

I was 'gobsmacked' at, not only the quantity & variety of electronic goodies, but the wonderful organisation & tidiness of it all. It makes my small 'workshop' look like a rubbish tip ! As a vintage radio & electronics collector / enthusiast, I was 'drooling' over that collection of Valves (Tubes) & vintage components. $405 for all that equipment is a real bargain !

[@h33llxz]

somebody should make a documentary about this guy

[@spokehedz]

Seeing something like this, so precisely labled and laid out in a way that you won't have to move anything (or a very, very small amount of moving something) to get anything you might need is absolutely amazing. It makes me sad to think of the reasons that one might have to have happen to them to make it a viable option to just sell everything off rather than take it all with you... Not many of them are really good ones.

[@lilshawn2]

this guy must be borderline crazy. Ridiculously, meticulously organized...categorized...packaged...geeez. But I would KILL for a collection like that at work.

[@michaelfogarty3239]

Dave. I had a past friend who had an awesome collection of parts. His name was Wolfgang Slabicki. He had invented some circuit's and had one or two published in silicon chip. His main interest was in CB AM USB LSB UHF. I will always remember his shed. He would always be making something from a air can crusher to a trailer checker. I'M rambling on a bit. But i think your segments help me to understand the importance of knowledge of parts and why things are done a certain way in a circuit. All the best from michael fogarty from Hazelwood North Victoria.

[@alanshields1638]

I have just got my wife to see the video after complaining endlessly about my stuff. Maybe now she will have second thoughts........I doubt it somehow?

[@EEVblog]

Alan Shields She'll just make you organise all your crap!

[@jeroen79]

Alan Shields Or she will get worried and put an end to it before it gets out of hand.

[@NickStallman]

EEVblog Yeah mine might get the idea "Oh why can't you store and label each one like that?"

[@keithstarnes7009]

Alan Shields Why do the girls always hafta be Debbie downers?

[@squeeshygaming]

amazing collection and having all of them accounted... wow so wow! BUY IT ALL DAVE!

[@crazywolfgang3662]

Most likely scenario in my opinion is that he owned a repair shop, as many did in the old days. After retirement, he just moved some stuff in his home and kept repairing old gears as a side job until he died.

[@w8fg]

to a ham op that selection of parts would be a dream! Many of us hams still search for and desire leaded components and many like to build and tinker with the projects published in the ham radio journals over the years

[@ixamraxi]

Hires professional liquidation company to sell tens of thousands of dollars worth of meticulously sorted electronics components, gets about four hundred bucks...

[@keithstarnes7009]

Amra A person with some marketing sense would have gotten well over 400 for this collection. That's just absurd.

[@MarkShannonroad_videos]

Holy cow! That's paradise for someone like me who likes vintage electronics!

[@vk2zay]

A year or two back I went to a deceased estate sale of an ex NOAA chap. Most amazing machine shop, electrical and chemical lab I have ever seen. I wanted to buy everything! A little ghoulish to be picking over the bones of a chap's life like that, but just amazing how much awesome stuff he had accumulated. That said I imagine when I die someone will be licking their lips over my crap too. Maybe that is the way of things, perhaps I'll encourage someone new into a life of pointless hoarding too. Perhaps instead I should give it away while I am still alive, and while thru-hole stuff is still remotely useful.

[@EEVblog]

vk2zay I have people taking dibs on my lab gear and I ain't even close to croaking!

[@envisionelec]

This reminds me of a home I visited where the owner had a schedule for cleaning, raking and manicuring the gravel in the crawlspace.

OMG If those tubes are NOS they can go as $100k. Nice found for only 30 bucks

ungratefulmetalpansy You are right!

[@EEVblog]

Navarro Eletrônica All the ones in original coloured boxes are NOS.

EEVblog like you always say: IT'S AMAZING

[@OsmosisHD]

Navarro Eletrônica 100k? Isn't that a bit tooo muuuch? It would be if ultra rare high end 801's or something. But i bet half of it are TV/Radio related tubes might go for 5 bucks each. I think a few hunderd USD max. ( I myself scored 12X EL34 SED Winged C NOS tubes recently, sold them for a nice 600EUR)

Osmosis Depends, a single EL34 from Mullard sells around $250! Depends on what tubes are there.

[@tomvarley4344]

I used to run a repair business for pro audio gear, some of the components I saw are premium to anyone restoring a Vox AC30 or similar.

[@ForViewingOnly]

Dave, it would have been great if you'd met and interviewed this guy while he was still alive! (I'm assuming he passed away). Did you find out who he was and what he did?

[@EEVblog]

ForViewingOnly He moved overseas, very much alive.

[@stevenvanhulle7242]

Thanks for uploading this. I showed it to my GF, and she had to admit that I am sane after all.

[@Yanko_13]

This is insane. And awesome. And insane. WTF Only 405$ for all this?! For real?! Just te boxes, bags and container worth more then that! Crazy

[@mbplove]

I've never been able to tell the difference between 30hz and 60hz on KZbin videos, yet your 50Hz videos I can really see the difference..

[@kbauer57]

Kinda makes me sad that this guy didn't have anyone to pass this down to or that they couldn't appreciated it. This is a guys life's work so to speak just to be it's getting separated after how much time and energy he spent collecting an organizing.

[@TheChrisey]

Today you could pay someone to label them, wouldn't be that expensive. But yeah that is a shit ton of free time spent. Hopefully my lab will be this big oneday

[@JustinAlexanderBell]

That's an incredible collection, I wish I was nearly as well organized.

[@TheJttv]

If it was not sold already it should have been donated to a collage or something

[@whitcwa]

Years ago we had a collection of NEW parts at work which was bigger than this. A lot of it was hardware, but there was lots of electronic parts, too. It had been used to build custom electronics for a major market TV station and network news bureau (intercom, VTR remote control, transmitter control,...). Two full time employees maintained the stockroom. We had stopped building our own stuff in the mid 80's when superior off the shelf solutions were available. Most of it got thrown out 10 years ago when management wanted to use the space for other things.

[@liammk96]

You need to do an interview with the owner!

[@PavelShreyder]

This video brought tears to my eyes

[@robthesamplist]

Its common for some reason when men get old they hoard and sort items like this as if they are going to need them in the afterlife.

[@RoadRunnerMeep]

The thing about a collection like that some people just see it as junk, whereas electronics people would see it as a gold mine. The level of effort into sorting something that big is amazing. An organised collection makes things so much easier to inventory and find

[@CommanderZx2]

Is this where someone crosses over from being a collector to a hoarder?

[@w8fg]

WOW WOW WOW, I'd sure love to inherit that parts stash! That's beyond AWESOME! Every ham radio tinkerer dream! Absolutely amazing!

[@Zamsky39]

Why didn't You buy it, Dave?

[@muthyamdinesh9949]

Thanks for your posts man. I downloaded at least 40 videos of yours for reference.

[@banjax66]

Unfortunately modern surface mount electronics takes the fun out of scavaging components from old circuit boards... Due to SMT... Electronics is a dying hobby.

[@dasdew2]

banjax66 What about the "haker" and "maker" community?

[@akhurash]

banjax66 Not true at all. Getting custom made PCB's for hobbyists is getting cheaper and cheaper and there are tons of people in the hobby that do this.

[@banjax66]

dasdew2 "Hacker and Maker community??Yeah, lets make things from an arduino or raspberry pi... Ok, just add a few components and write a bit of software... All is done!! The electronics hobbyist has learned very little electronics but a whole load of programming.... I was doing the same thing in 1981 with a sinclair Z80 computer and a handfull of components.... Very little has changed in the last 30 years has it???

[@PsychoticusRex]

dasdew2 that house could equip the finest maker community ever, it'd be damn near revolutionary. 8|

[@dasdew2]

banjax66 lol Nihil novi sup sole Translation- same shit, different day. But I still argue electronics is not dead.

[@TheTarrMan]

Wow! I'm geeking out just watching this. I feel sorry for the poor guy though. His life's work is getting broken up. Hope someone comes along and buys everything together for his own personal collection/inventory.

[@Inesophet]

mr "sparks" sounds like you found a supervillains secret lair.

[@winstonsmith478]

A incredibly neat and organized hoarder of antique electronics and components.

[@electronicsNmore]

Who would ever think all those components would be inside a residential home. Looks more like the inventory of a business. I would have bought everything and unloaded it on Ebay. If he desoldered everything shown in this video, the poor guy probably lost his mind from all the lead fumes and ended up in some mental institution. LOL

[@keithstarnes7009]

electronicsNmore I can't stress enough the imporatance of a good supply of medical grade cannabis while doing this stuff.

[@pdxfunk]

There would be so much shit you couldnt sell tho. Nobody is buying a salvaged thru hole CD4051 on ebay when you can get a new one for 40 cents still. The tubes might be the most valuable stuff in the lot I would guess

[@ftbtd]

It really is absolutely impressive and stunning that this guy wasn't a clutterer but such an organized person. Perhaps he had some ideology like people have with historic cars where you repair old stuff with other used parts of the same age.

[@DatBlueHusky]

grab all those tubes!!!

[@carl112466]

When someone passes away their life all comes down to his or her possessions and memories.

[@PuchMaxi]

Shared 2 minutes ago, but has got comments from 2 days ago? :S

[@EEVblog]

PuchMaxi1988 Supporters often get to see video before everyone else.

[@TitoTheGeek]

PuchMaxi1988 I think Dave offers private early release to donators

[@PuchMaxi]

Aha that makes sense, didn't know that. Thanks guys!

[@aphexteknol]

PuchMaxi1988 I still miss riding my Puch Maxi mopeds. I've had a ton of them through the years, but I never had a 1988, only up to like 1982 at the latest. Just had to make a quick comment since your username brought back some really good memories...

[@joshcryer]

PuchMaxi1988 Patreon, check his description. Glad he has so many following.

[@brig.4398]

thx for sharing that, it's cool that they let you go in there and look around. Reminds me sorta of the old school surplus place I used to go to, but it was pretty messy but they had all kinds of strange stuff. for those who lived in california it was C&H surplus. they had all kinds of parts and electronic equipment.

[@bigtank2185]

I'd offer him 2 grand for the lot... Easy. But hey, can you shed some "light" (sorry, had to) on why he had UV lighting in the rest room?

[@bigtank2185]

"Test" room... Haha

[@EEVblog]

***** I don't know, your guess is as good as mine.

[@bigtank2185]

EEVblog the first thing that came to mind was eeprom stuff? Maybe he found that the fluorescent lights may corrupt the flash? And the UV doesn't?

[@michaelwilkes0]

+Christopher “Big Tank” Newman: Yeah, but that should be the opposite. UV was specifically used to erase chips. So, maybe it was the emergency "erase everything in the room now" button.

[@bigtank2185]

hmm..... never thought of it like that... like and old version of "Fdisk" Starting from scratch...

[@fabimre]

EEVblog ; Dave, in my early days as an electronics engineer, in the 1980's I did a long time have no Job. Out of lack of money I took apart any old Electronic device I could find at the garbage piles alongside the roads etc. I desoldered about any part, including wires and wireframes. Back then smd's were so new, I never had seen them. I made with new and some of the old parts some ingenious devices, state of the art. For one I made a stereo FM receiver, all DC controlled, and to tune that in, I made a modular, fully DC controlled, measurement sender. For that I used some salvaged shielding containers for the UHF circuitry. I still have that device. At a certain point I got a Job as electronics teacher on the University of Surinam (South America). When I left there, back to my fatherland (The Netherlands) I gave the bulk of my collected parts to a collegue. It was a substantial amount of parts but Nowhere as big as what you have shown in above video. Nowadays I only work with software and only occaisionally I do some soldering. But in the late '80's I worked as an electronics teacher on a couple of schools in the Netherlands. I really mis the manual hands-on labour of putting together circuits of my own design. I am glad you still are doeing your live-calling with somuch obvious pleasure. Cheers Mate!

[@TheOriginalEviltech]

I wold have sold my car for the racks of tubes alone!

[@TheOriginalEviltech]

Eviltech But you should see my porn collection...

[@sbalogh53]

Eviltech Japanese Tube Porn?

[@TheOriginalEviltech]

Dexxter Not exactly... I meant the 100+ DVD's in my drawer. All labeled by genre, stars in it and year of production... A man could become obsessive about his porn... Last year i backed it all up on 2 external hard drives for easier access.

[@spoderman15]

+Eviltech I just have a fapdrive with stuff I find mostly on 4chan threads

[@Elrond_Hubbard1]

I'd like to look through those tubes and see if there are any vintage ones to go in my 76 Marshall head!

[@kohertion]

He seems to be a very tidy hoarder who ate a lot of coleslaw and knew a drug dealer for the bags lol :)

[@keithstarnes7009]

Brian Paton My thought exactly. Good cannabis and electronics hobbies go hand in hand like birds and feathers.

[@khuebner]

Absolutely amazing collection, Dave! Thanks for sharing.

[@kbuss10]

where the fuc is he now? did he slipped away on the time machine he build w these :D ??

[@Audio_Simon]

My Dad used to run a radio repair service. He gave away a huge collection of valves/tubes and parts similar to that... couldn't sell it!! Wish I was in to electronics back then.... I was only 10yrs!

[@Audio_Simon]

Okay maybe not a collection quite this big!! This guy is in to collecting not electronics :D

[@DarthChrisB]

He's now desoldering parts in heaven.

[@foxyrollouts]

back at the Activ centre

[@richfiles]

That camera... had the slowest, worst focus... I mean, this collection had me in utter awe... I think I just froze with my jaw dropped several times! It was a shame this amazing collection couldn't have been a touch clearer in the video. Oh well, field video can't always be perfect. Props to Mr. David Sparks! An AMAZING feat!

[@brothyr]

I don't really like this acronym but that guy was/is probably OCD. I can't imagine someone who doesn't have OCD doing all that.

[@keithstarnes7009]

Adam Rivera That or someone with really good cannabis.

[@cemx86]

I am absolutely stunned. When I worked at the Motorola Corporate Headquarters outside of Chicago they had an "Engineers Stock Room". It didn't have 1/1,000 of the stuff that this guy has and nowhere nearly as neat. WOW!