I Scrapped a 5g Tower - How Much Is It Worth In Scrap Metal?

Рет қаралды 64,640

Жыл бұрын

A 5G tower?! Never thought I'd be scrapping one of these! Will there be copper? Gold? Let's find out what it's worth!
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Пікірлер: 296

@mwilson14 Жыл бұрын

I worked in telecom for nearly 22 years, but was laid off this past June. It is really quite nice seeing this equipment being torn apart.

@RJ-se9op Жыл бұрын

lmao

@groovethief711 Жыл бұрын

Inspiring stuff 😉

@MaxfieldTwo Жыл бұрын

Duuuuuude… as a former tower climber whoever just threw those out is probably so unbelievably screwed. That’s like a $7500 Ericsson (LTE) radiohead right there. The antenna is probably from UMTS (3G days) from the looks of it. The connections on the bottom of the antenna are called 7/16 DIN. Not too much scrap stuff in antennas unfortunately. If you do find a super heavy one that may be worth checking out. Still probably not too much of use.

@fry8357 Жыл бұрын

It seems to be a Huawei antenna, look at the gray sticker at 1:22 you can see the Huawei logo

@bloodvow333 Жыл бұрын

@@fry8357 so basically he’s helping fight shhina take over…nice.

@Joseph-zq2mh 5 ай бұрын

Where could I find 2.4ghz/5ghz crystal oscillators? Would they be found in something like this?

@rickmoore Жыл бұрын

I love seeing the goodies inside, even if it isn't economical to do it all the time, doing ti once shares the knowledge with all of us

@MrRusty-fm4gb Жыл бұрын

Same here. I’m almost 40 years old and I have a love for taking apart anything, not so much for the scrap value, alltbough I do have buckets to chuck and sort copper, brass, aluminum, and then smaller jars for circuit board stuff, but I love collecting nichrome wire, clean aluminum bars or brackets, solid heat syncs, all sorts of motors, and I have a huge ball of magnets that I’ve collected and they’re all attached to eachother, I love LEDs too, I like collecting the gears, and I spend more time sorting and pondering and learning what everything does than actually turning the stuff into something new. As a kid I would get some cheap remote control cars for Xmas and I would take them apart right away without even playing with them, and then never put them back together. I also like collecting rare vacuum tubes and lenses from projectors of all sorts.

@jamess1787 Жыл бұрын

The two parts you had there were a sector "antenna", with adjustable electrical tilt (it's not motorized, just let's you adjust the antenna direction by a few degrees in the vertical direction). The other unit (brainbox) is called an "RRU", remote radio unit. As you guessed, it's responsible for the communication to the mobile handsets. It recieves a signal from the baseband unit over an optical fiber, converts the blinky lights to RF wavelength, and the rest is engineering magic.

@CanadianTreasureHunter Жыл бұрын

Is that a 5g ant?

@unseenbirb3247 Жыл бұрын

thx for the info i love learning about random things

@TheSears43 Жыл бұрын

@@CanadianTreasureHunter it’s probably 4G given the age of that antenna, but the 5G units do look almost exactly the same.

@danielsteward5090 Жыл бұрын

I have actually taken apart some of those boxes myself. When the old microwave systems were updated to the lower powered digital system there were Alot of those duplexers and repeaters around to tinker with. Those multitude of screws that are in open non threaded holes are for tuning the antenna.

@thubprint Жыл бұрын

Ohhh that’s why there are so many!

@KathrynMorse Жыл бұрын

I’m surprised that there weren’t more goodies in the 5g tower! Thanks for educating us! And for always leaving it better than you found it! ❤♻️

@thubprint Жыл бұрын

Me too to be honest, I was expecting SOMEthing chunky.

@mjolnirswrath23 Жыл бұрын

@@thubprint that's cause it's a Potemkin Village...a Scam ..

@mjolnirswrath23 Жыл бұрын

had it been 60 Gigahertz Millimeter waveform EMF Emitter as Ratheyon website boast.. there would be Heavy transformers, neodymium, Cobalt, Capacitors, It's a SCAM...

@mjolnirswrath23 Жыл бұрын

@@thubprint you would also be Rich from the Rare Earth Metals , Gold, silver, platinum palladium, polonium... Instead it's Most aluminum and Tin...that's why if you go near a 5 gee Tower the EMF readings are barely at 50 Nano Tesla's of Gauss Density.. When it should be EXTREMELY dangerous since the SAME technology used in LRAD has to be shielded.. Which uses 94 Gigahertz Millimeter waveform EMF for Crowd control.

@catsaregovernmentspies Жыл бұрын

I build cell tower sites and the most valuable equipment is at ground level, in the cabinets and shelters. There are batteries and telecommunications equipment. When a site is decomissioned, this stuff is removed by the carrier to be reused/sold/destroyed.

@BEdmonson85 Жыл бұрын

Each one of those 4 circular white ceramic transistors at the bottom of the large pcb were probably $200-$400 each when they were new. High-power RF amplifier transistors are crazy expensive.

@noimnotarobotcanubeleiveit7024 Жыл бұрын

worthless now because he didnt take them out neatly with a static strap to earth. sickening. i recently bought one of the really old 2.3ghz amplifier boards on ebay for my amateur radio geostationary satellite uplink. cheap in principal but still a lot of money. these 5g units will be worth thousands per board. why these people focus on a few milligrams of shiny precious is beyond me. he threw the best bit in the trash

@anonyninja7737 Жыл бұрын

@@noimnotarobotcanubeleiveit7024 JESUS CHRIST, i know right??? I'm a ham radio operator and i'm CRINGING SO HARD. Do you know how EXPENSIVE legit, big fat transistors like that are???? Everything is moving to mosfet! Those transistors are a DYING BREED!! Not to mention the dang chasis connectors he's just KNOCKIN' OFF with a hammer......... THIS GUY THREW AWAY A THOUSAND DOLLARS OF CONNECTORS, TRANSISTORS, A BADA*SS 3G TRANCIEVER JUST SO HE CAN GET MAYBE 200 DOLLARS IN SCRAP???? This has ALWAYS been my issue with scrappers. They don't care what they have, they deal in raw material only, and do very little research. I have seen literal bird meters being scrapped for their metal housing before, MAKES ME SICK. This guy thinks he's "making money" but in reality he's throwing out money into the garbage

@LetsLaberWithMi 6 ай бұрын

no fucking way XD@@noimnotarobotcanubeleiveit7024

@Joseph-zq2mh 5 ай бұрын

Where could I find 2.4ghz/5ghz crystal oscillators? Would they be found in something like this?

@wesrawlings7003 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video. I love scraping stuff just to see if it is worth it, and because it’s in my blood. More like curiosity kills me. Love seeing other people like me doing the same thing. Keep posting

@Amy_McFarland Жыл бұрын

I just love taking stuff apart! Great video!

@wannabescrapper72 Жыл бұрын

Being near a few hydro dams and lots of oil and gas projects I find crazy stuff like this in the dump from time to time and I love taking it apart. Now I know what to look for if I see one of these there. Thanks and scrappy holidays to you too!

@wendysofficial Жыл бұрын

I work on towers for a living. The real money is in the power/fiber hybrid cable that runs up the tower to your radios. Typically 12 runs of 6AWG for anywhere from 100-400’ depending on the tower. The old Heliax DIN connectors are also very heavy silver plated yellow brass.

@noimnotarobotcanubeleiveit7024 Жыл бұрын

i bet i would pay more for a run of heliax than you would get stripping it and melting down!

@its_marc Жыл бұрын

That’s quite something mate, I’ll certainly be on the look out for them! Your editing skills are getting amazing btw, loved the screw undoing and wire clipping. All the best my friend.

@trasieinkersole491 Жыл бұрын

Loved it. Thanks Thub. ❤️💙

@TheUltimateRecycler Жыл бұрын

An interesting scrap-out Thub - most of us will never get to see inside this type of stuff so thanks for taking us along! 😊👍

@qwertykevin1 Жыл бұрын

I was waiting for this one!!

@mbstoneseeker Жыл бұрын

That was fun to watch!

@dianarea1808 Жыл бұрын

Very fun to watch. Thanks

@jrae6608 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for taking the time to scrap this. Great education what is un it. My a lot of screws. Keep up the great videos

@Wreck-Gar Жыл бұрын

Hey Thub, you and your family have a great Christmas! Also, thanks for sending out the Trash Panda baseball shirt so quickly, I love it 🙂 Take care!

@kave9482 Жыл бұрын

That was a very interesting scrap, and it was fun to watch.

@tuxlovesyou Жыл бұрын

Love the editing on the screws!

@susananthony2366 Жыл бұрын

Really enjoyed your excellent editing today thub. Great AMSR. I will be watching this one multiple times ⁹👍

@SilverScorpion Жыл бұрын

Cool tear down

@Eremon1 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing dude, this checked a curiosity box for me. Cheers.

@dougwilson7530 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for showing those pieces I have seen the antennas before and wondered if they were worth the time. Now I know great videos Thanks again.

@stanleygallman7800 Жыл бұрын

Pretty good followup Thub and thanks for sharing! And scrappy holiday to you also....🎄📝

@jasonkirkpatrick446 Жыл бұрын

Thank you I appreciate your content it gives me something to learn and I enjoy the way you talk

@thubprint Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! I’m having a great time making them

@tristanledoux3544 Жыл бұрын

Looks good

@patriciapines587 Жыл бұрын

This was fascinating!

@mollynakamori Жыл бұрын

I get the biggest kick out of the sound of the drill fest on the screws. This was a ton of fun, Thub.

@liamadolphson5865 Жыл бұрын

Nice find

@Toyotajunkie Жыл бұрын

Scrappy Holidays to you as well!

@daleh645 Жыл бұрын

Merry Christmas to you and yours!! God bless 🙏🏼🇺🇸🇨🇦

@adamdaley8090 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the excuse for taking a quick me break during my family xmas. Rad teardown broham.

@conorharford5117 Жыл бұрын

Wow so many screws. nice gold boards. Great work

@RafalScrapper Жыл бұрын

👍 one of fav stuff to scrap out for me ... gazilions of screwwies tough pcb´s pay out for screwing around lol

@garyoliver9987 Жыл бұрын

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family! Love your videos ive learned a lot from them so thanks for that keep the videos coming. From Medicine Hat Alberta HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

@bentleyalder5492 Жыл бұрын

As always love love love the content!! And it it's not too late, I'd check the inside of that aluminum housing for silver plating. 😉

@tedz74 Жыл бұрын

And a Scrappy Holidays to you too!

@deathkeys1 Жыл бұрын

I see some rf expensive looking transistors , far more expensive than all the gold plating itself of the board.

@afineliner740 Жыл бұрын

Very interesting scrap out. If we don't hear from you beforehand, hope you have a great Christmas. 👍🎄

@richardwarnock2789 Жыл бұрын

This was fun This helped 😄!!!; )

@dr.a006 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for showing that! That’s way cool to find goodies in the cast aluminum box. I’d probably frame those gold boards side by side to show one of each side and hang it in my garage!😅 Nah, probably store it in a bin too!

@VetvsWorld Жыл бұрын

Nice. I am finding myself pulling over to grab both aluminum and copper. I melt them down for casting. Nothing beats free materials!

@geofft3214 Жыл бұрын

You get the drill! 😂 Happy Holidays!

@w.r.1356 Жыл бұрын

Nice score brotha 👍👀👍

@borisj4054 Жыл бұрын

I have scrapped a half dozen G3 antennas and PA units. Thousands of stainless screws, thin aluminium and a lot of plastic. Good quality coaxial cable. Low loss moderate power capability. Takes me a day to put one down completely.

@Joseph-zq2mh 5 ай бұрын

Where could I find 2.4ghz/5ghz crystal oscillators? Would they be found in something like this?

@grahamheath3799 Жыл бұрын

Interesting to see whats inside the tower and unit.

@docscrapper2153 Жыл бұрын

Great video man. I've never seen what's in these things.

@pieluvr7362 Жыл бұрын

So that's where Homer's scream comes from amazing 🤠👍🏽👊🏽👀

@danielsteward5090 Жыл бұрын

That big white box is a cellular repeater. The antennae are for the cell tower repeater.

@ajbowers44 Жыл бұрын

No it’s not. That’s a Radiohead and an antenna.

@Joseph-zq2mh 5 ай бұрын

Where could I find 2.4ghz/5ghz crystal oscillators? Would they be found in something like this?

@madelinerose5326 Жыл бұрын

Of course a machine put all together! Be safe! You went back to get the other tower

@JunkNGrind Жыл бұрын

Excellent Sharing of ScrapGod Elite KZfaq Recycling Genius with the Rest of Us Good Sir 🤔👀😁👏🏼🛠️🙏🏼♻️♻️♻️. 5G Means How Many Screws Are In Each One 😅. That “AHHHH” Sound Effect had me Laughing Man 😂. Ide Love to Find One and Make a Video. Keep Crushing it @Thubprint 💪🏼👍🏼

@unseenbirb3247 Жыл бұрын

i love random videos like this i end up learning so much from the comments

@robertbedard8239 Жыл бұрын

those are the newer ones the older ones have lots of goodies in them now if you can find the larger cubes the ones about 8' by 8' by 6' those are the big money makers they have about 35lbs of copper in them new tech means lighter materials old tech heaver materials great video happy holidays too you and yours.

@noimnotarobotcanubeleiveit7024 Жыл бұрын

dont be such a pikey! the copper is worthless compared to the price of the output transistors or complete amplifier boards put on ebay. yes you have to list them with the correct heading and part numbers but people are desperate to get this technology for home projects. its like melting down a faberge egg

@makenocommento-kj4gq Жыл бұрын

Thub, Thanks 4 you're videos they mean a lot,. interesting to see a 5g Tower being scrapped I thought they would be brand new?, perhaps it was damaged?Good work

@randyseidell1665 Жыл бұрын

You should go get the other. At least you're breaking down inside and warm 😀

@thubprint Жыл бұрын

“Warm” 😆 working on that!

@ericcarabetta1161 Жыл бұрын

Microwave stuff is so fascinating, it's like the electronics are designed to move some type of fluid instead of radio waves.

@stephensmith3708 Жыл бұрын

Oh, that suprised me and made me laugh a bit. When you open that aluminum box and a lot more screws, classic! Awesome find, once more, cuz! Oi you, if some time watch Scrap Girl. Her and hubby does a lot of wheeling and dealings on just automobile stuff. Somehow they reminds me of the other unbeaten freeisbetter86. Always happy of what they do. And yes, they're Canadian, too! I think they mentioned Toronto, so that's just east of Quebec..... Give it a go....

@tatchley3049 Жыл бұрын

That was interesting

@BushDogScrapper Жыл бұрын

That was pretty interesting! CheeRs Thumb 👍🏻♻️🤘🏻

@cicathebengal Жыл бұрын

6:09 ALL THAT MIND CONTROLL CHIPs 🙀😹

@thescrapmeister Жыл бұрын

Your editing skills are getting better and better :-) How long did you spend editing all the unscrewing? Another entertaining video keep them coming.

@edmclaughlin4923 Жыл бұрын

I have to wonder that some hardware like the quick connects would be more money selling, as is, than scrapping them.

@spideypwns Жыл бұрын

ooo another vid alrdy!!

@thubprint Жыл бұрын

😆 yup! It was a bit chaotic slamming both out but it would’ve felt goofy leaving an entire week between them, as they’re kinda related

@4kays160 Жыл бұрын

You really want to test those aluminium mushrooms and the chanels in the big cast aluminium, the ones i pulled apart were silver plated, mushrooms and the huge ally casting they were in were all lined in silver, and not enig plated silver thick silver..

@zaydabbas1609 Жыл бұрын

I would keep those pcbs for the parts, never know when you're gonna need a specific mosfet/cap and scrap boards have saved me multiple times

@sevans66 Жыл бұрын

Just so you know, that is not a 5G tower...that is an antenna and that is not a 5G Antenna either, 5G antennas are 1/3rd the height of that. It is actually a HEX port antenna (6 ports that the cables go into). That item you called a router is call a Remote Radio Head (RRH). Your correct about it tho, the fiber and power go into that RRH and then coax comes out of that and into the antenna

@thubprint Жыл бұрын

Ohh, interesting! I certainly don’t know much about internet delivery equipment, but I know a little bit more now 😁

@gloriafredsall2859 Жыл бұрын

Very good to see someone with the right information glad to have you here

@deepspacecow2644 6 ай бұрын

That rrh does support 5g though with the 6630 bbu

@nightmareinaction629 Жыл бұрын

6:17 took me a minute to realize all those are screws and that's what the scream was

@resilentfoil Жыл бұрын

The piece you were unsure about is the Remote Electronic Tilt (RET) controller

@donnykiofetzis5775 Жыл бұрын

the cast Aluminum housings on the inside is coated heavily with silver plate. it looks like a Pearle color

@bread-gz3rl Жыл бұрын

I suggest getting a multitool with one of those half circle plastic blades

@y.lelivelt2619 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the cleaning. I like scrap being cleaned. That's why I watch Canadian Treasure Hunter. He cleaned so much different stuff, it's unbelievable.You clean on a other level,but I like it too.

@trevormcshane4986 Жыл бұрын

Cool,, 😎,,👍

@ganondalf8090 Жыл бұрын

those circuit boards are so interesting- i wonder if you could recover data from them or something, at the very least i think they would make a good wall decoration

@noimnotarobotcanubeleiveit7024 Жыл бұрын

no data, they are pretty much dumb repeaters (not quite) but the power transistors are worth hundreds (i use them for hobby)

@christopherleubner6633 Жыл бұрын

You could really cash in on the biys and pieces ay a hamfest 🤓😁❤

@FogartyAvenue Жыл бұрын

Epic

@unklejohn8575 Жыл бұрын

I was watching one of your older videos and I noticed you cut the plugs off the end of your cords. You should save them up and once a year you should put them in hot boiling water. The hot water will make the plastic become my pliable so you can easily pull the brass out.

@Manhandle730 Жыл бұрын

I just started doing this and it’s fantastic!! It makes it so easy!!

@mitropoulosilias Жыл бұрын

some of these electronic components as capacitors can be sold for a good price as used. if you desolder them with care

@brendakoldyk1647 Жыл бұрын

The real money would be the coax that feeds these units they high grade copper and thick copper as well. The RF amps on the board are worth more then the gold that's on them.

@thubprint Жыл бұрын

Reeeeeally? I should probably dig into that!

@deepspacecow2644 6 ай бұрын

@@thubprintThey haven't used coax since the switch to 3g. Its all combination DC and fiber to the RRU/RRH

@andyprigge4754 Жыл бұрын

bye bye waw way! Good job Thubby!

@jordanmorgan3958 Жыл бұрын

I’m pretty sure the insides should all slide out the top after you take the connectors off the bottom

@vincedibona4687 Жыл бұрын

Scrappy holidays!

@empirefinds Жыл бұрын

Brilliant and interesting you should save all the gold for chemical recovery its not like you are not capable of doing it. Look forward to your next one.

@joshmallon Жыл бұрын

I'd definitely do those bricks, invest in a set of long torx, allen bits for your driver. How long did it take to scrap them out?

@redrummaster5076 Жыл бұрын

I really wish you would burn those circuit boards on a steel plate then sweep up the ashes and Pan the gold to tell us how much you got there

@raulanagnostopoulos2068 Жыл бұрын

Looks like a lot of work, for the value. Now just for curiosity, cool.

@theaussienurseflipper.8113 Жыл бұрын

Sweet that U put AUD dollars. Cheers Graham

@ajbowers44 Жыл бұрын

Cool video. Just thought I’d let you know that the hollow box is an antenna and the beefy box is a Radiohead. This would be just a small portion of the equipment you would see on one sector of a tower and there are generally 3 sectors per tower. There’s a million configurations out there but a basic system would have 3 antennas and 6 radios up top with a ton of wires, cables, and fibers. The antennas are mostly hollow because that’s where we store the covid once we are ready to turn the site up.

@Manhandle730 Жыл бұрын

I knew it!!! So how do you zap people with the cancer and aids rays? Are they selective or does everyone get blasted?

@stephenaherne Жыл бұрын

Get the boards pick of all bits then burn off surface layer underneath is carbon fibre and sheets of gold crazy smoke

@justinpaslawski2593 Жыл бұрын

There is usually 2 rrus on the back of that antenna and that 700 rru goes to its own antenna. I work Telcom and enjoy watching your vids on this stuff

@justinpaslawski2593 Жыл бұрын

That last piece from the antenna was the electric down tilt motor

@justinpaslawski2593 Жыл бұрын

The aluminum mushrooms are in the RF filter

@justinpaslawski2593 Жыл бұрын

Transponder is a RRU or remote radio unit

@cdoublejj Жыл бұрын

man that stainless screws hardware and i'm curious about those coax connectors, i pay people more than scrap for bits like that here and there

@scottjoao Жыл бұрын

I work in the telecom industry and the 5G towers that I put up have silver core coaxial.

@borisj4054 Жыл бұрын

The more electronically educated one is the more value there is in these units.

@borisj4054 Жыл бұрын

If you only knew what those RF power transistors cost.

@PsRohrbaugh Жыл бұрын

Seriously. This was painful.

@patmayer7222 Жыл бұрын

Hello from land o' lakes,wi....cool vid,,,I have not had one of these,,,,keep the gold in 2023!!!..I will start saving gold connentors,boards now.....tnx,,can from day one,,,,we're turning into pro's together!!....peace,and keep going....,,,,,,p.s.,,,,,..hope you took advantage of this springs price hike,,,I did,,,best ever,,,,!...now my yard is at 80 dollars a ton= tin..😯😯winter slows us,,,but does not stop us............,,,,scrap life forever.

@billynomates920 Жыл бұрын

used to work in a car plant. if a bolt went on the floor it was considered scrap. luckily, i delivered control arms, brake rotors, alternators, all the stuff that took the big bolts and making one whole car a minute, the assembly guys dropped plenty of bolts they had no time to pick up. easily made an extra hour's wages the end of every shift.

@rkan2 Жыл бұрын

Ermm :D That still sounds like stealing lol

@frequencywatchers Жыл бұрын

Its So interedting As A Antenna Designer And Maker Watch This Video, So Much I Could Tell What Is What, But Yeah, Great Video.

@rogeronslow1498 Жыл бұрын

The most fascinating thing watching this was trying to fathom WTF someone would want a tattoo on the palm of his hand.

@brendansheehy5253 Жыл бұрын

the board with the gold flashing is 2.50 a lb in toronto. id suggest you save those type of things until you have a good amount to send off. instead of throwing away money and landfilling those toxic boards.