What to do with old 3x4 and 5x8 Satellite splitters?

[Wisegoat]

I still have my old 3x4 splitter from the round dish and my 5x8 splitter from the Phase III. Do these things still have any use? I paid $75 for the 3x4 in 1999 and over $300 for the Spaun 5x8 back in 2002. I hate to just throw them in the trash (or take them to an ewaste station), because I am a pack rat and a cheap you know what and don't like to waste anything I could use later.

Does anyone have any ideas?

[HDTVsportsfan]

There really is no other use for them unless you have a need for SD or MPEG2 HD only somewhere in your home. Yeah....the price and pain of technology.

[Greg Alsobrook]

i bet you could get a few bucks for them on ebay...

[Tom Robertson]

Paperweights? :)

I've used a 5x8 as an OTA distribution amp from time to time.

I've sold a few in yard sales.

Beyond that, creative use for trash is my best answer. :)

Cheers,
Tom

[Wisegoat]

Yeah....the price and pain of technology.

Don't I know it.

I do network and home theater installs on the side and have tons of leftovers. A forced garage cleaning has prompted this. I already have 5 milk crates full of cables and crap that I am taking to an ewaste center this weekend. It looks like Radio Shack puked in my garage. I hate to get rid of things I may have use for later. But now I have 25 SVideo cables, dozens of composite and hundreds of network.

Guess it is going to the recycler. I would feel guilty about selling it on ebay, knowing that it is obsolete. There are a few for sale, going for about $20. The way they are wording the auctions, you can tell they know that they are selling a worthless item.

The price and pain of technology. There is a book, or a movie or at least a sad power ballad.

[boba]

To you it maybe obsolete but there are many people who don't need the latest technology that will have a use for that equipment so recycling it either through Ebay or a service is better than pack ratting it.

[Wisegoat]

To you it maybe obsolete but there are many people who don't need the latest technology that will have a use for that equipment so recycling it either through Ebay or a service is better than pack ratting it.

I don't disagree with you at all!

The problem is that you can get a Zinwell 6x8 for $20 with free shipping and be future proof. Why would you buy old, outdated tech for more money when you don't need it?

[HDTVsportsfan]

You'd be surprised the "junk" people buy on Ebay and know full it may be outdated but have a very legit reason for purchasing it and acutally having a use for it.

[JeffBowser]

Never thought about using a 5x8 as an OTA distrib amp - thanks Tom, not a bad idea !

[spidey]

Don't I know it.

I do network and home theater installs on the side and have tons of leftovers. A forced garage cleaning has prompted this. I already have 5 milk crates full of cables and crap that I am taking to an ewaste center this weekend. It looks like Radio Shack puked in my garage. I hate to get rid of things I may have use for later. But now I have 25 SVideo cables, dozens of composite and hundreds of network.

Guess it is going to the recycler. I would feel guilty about selling it on ebay, knowing that it is obsolete. There are a few for sale, going for about $20. The way they are wording the auctions, you can tell they know that they are selling a worthless item.

The price and pain of technology. There is a book, or a movie or at least a sad power ballad.

Know what ya mean. I have 2 RCA receivers that had VCR controls and 1 HD RCA that also has the VCR controls. I put them on craigslist no takers so may try ebay or the local trash pile

[ironwood]

I still have my old 3x4 splitter from the round dish and my 5x8 splitter from the Phase III. Do these things still have any use? I paid $75 for the 3x4 in 1999 and over $300 for the Spaun 5x8 back in 2002. I hate to just throw them in the trash (or take them to an ewaste station), because I am a pack rat and a cheap you know what and don't like to waste anything I could use later.

Does anyone have any ideas?

$75 and $300 omg I would be rich!

[crashHD]

A 3x4 can be handy if for some reason you want 2 SD DVRs on one TV, but only have 2 coax run to that spot.

The 5x8 could be used as an emergency spare, in the event your current multiswitch should fail. It wouldn't get you the Ka sats, but it would get you something while the new zinwell is in the mail. I have had to replace one multiswitch, and one dual lnb due to failures. I was glad I had the spare parts on hand.

If you're not interested in keeping them, you can put them in my recycle bin. I'll pay shipping.

[carl6]

I have placed quite a few things out on the curb in front of my house with a free sign on them. Rarely is anything there more than 24 hours. Saves the cost of recycling or a dump run.

There is also a local ham radio club that sponsors a huge electronics flea market once a year. If you price it right, you can sell darned near anything there. I have always come away with a profit after the cost of the table, and rarely taken anything back home with me if I really wanted to sell it.

Carl

[RobertE]

I have placed quite a few things out on the curb in front of my house with a free sign on them. Rarely is anything there more than 24 hours. Saves the cost of recycling or a dump run.

There is also a local ham radio club that sponsors a huge electronics flea market once a year. If you price it right, you can sell darned near anything there. I have always come away with a profit after the cost of the table, and rarely taken anything back home with me if I really wanted to sell it.

Carl

Around here some items will be gone before you make it back to your front door. :eek2:

[crashHD]

Reminds me of a joke I read a while ago.

Guy gets a new fridge. Puts the old one on the curb, with a sign that says "free". A week later, it's still there.

Guy changes sign. "Fridge-$50". Guy wakes up the next morning to find it stolen.

[woodybeetle]

Don't I know it.

I do network and home theater installs on the side and have tons of leftovers. A forced garage cleaning has prompted this. I already have 5 milk crates full of cables and crap that I am taking to an ewaste center this weekend. It looks like Radio Shack puked in my garage. I hate to get rid of things I may have use for later. But now I have 25 SVideo cables, dozens of composite and hundreds of network.

Guess it is going to the recycler. I would feel guilty about selling it on ebay, knowing that it is obsolete. There are a few for sale, going for about $20. The way they are wording the auctions, you can tell they know that they are selling a worthless item.

The price and pain of technology. There is a book, or a movie or at least a sad power ballad.

I sympathize with you, I do D on the MDU level for a living. I have to keep at least 2 of everything in MY truck at all times. This not only includes receivers, DVRs, HDDVRs, SWM modules, SWM racks, LNBs for all the dishes we use(7 types) amplifiers, pads, equalizers, agile modulators etc. You can only imagine the headend parts I carry. I once inventoried the contents and assigned a price to it, it shocked me so much I almost cried. At my cost I had 9600 dollars worth of inventory. Lets not forget to add the cost of hauling around all this in case of inventory.

[ThomasM]

A member of this system recently donated a 5 x 8 multiswitch to me and I was very grateful as it is just what I needed. (I don't have HD but a 3 LNB dish)

So don't consider them "junk" just yet. There are a LOT of 1 and 3 LNB dishes in my neighborhood (FAR more than slimline and other HD dishes). I'm sure a lot of customers with this setup would add receivers if they could get these multiswitches for a very low or no cost.