Filthy!

[ppppenguin]

No, it isn't that kind of forum but if you've got a strong stomach you might like the photos here: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/26/ventblockers_2/

[AlanBeckett]

Perhaps I haven't lead such a sheltered existance but it all looks pretty normal to me. You should see the ones that live in pit control rooms or industrial workshops. Coaldust or suds and metal dust don't make for a happy combination with electronics.
I once exctracted a dead rat from the back of our cooker. I supect that the cat had brought it in and then (accidentally?) let it go. It then tried to hide in the back of the cooker only to encounter the bare bus bars.
Alan

[beam me up schottky]

You feel sorry for all that suffering hardware !! The worst examples of contaminated equipment I've experienced is from pubs and clubs before the no smoking law, dust like carpets combined with smoke tar ! In the days of VHS and Umatic video decks it was the single biggest cause of failure, some of the decks were so bad they could not be economically repaired.

[big band heaven]

There really are some dirty pictures in that lot! Scary!!

[ppppenguin]

In my teens I used to repair radios for pocket money. One set was a neighbour's kitchen set. She did a lot of deep frying so the chassis was nicely preserved under a thick layer of dusty grease. Can't remember the make or model but it needed a new EL33 output valve which I ordered from Bentley Acoustic in Chalk Farm.

[mendipviews]

Whilst working for an IT Company repairing hardware we used to find mice and rats jammed in printers total cooked, it was a wonder how they actually get in the machines in the first place.

[Yorkie]

The pic that gets my vote is the water cooled heatsink in lot 6 of the chamber of horrors.

Not the filthiest, and no viibsile life-forms alive or dead, but there just seems to be an irony in having a silent water cooled heatsink encrusted with airborne dust, with no fan to make groaning noises of protest!

It's surprising how much paper dust is liberated by printers - mine's next to my PC, which very soon gets fluffed up.


David

[fido]

It is amazing what a small hole a mouse will crawl through. I once found a dead one inside the metal box behind a mains socket.
I have sometimes worked on tumble dryers that were completely full to brim inside the cabinet with fluff. People just don't appreciate the fire hazard this represents.

[tiv48]

i once found a dead mouse in a microwave .as its body was stuck to the magnotron i assume it met its end by electrocution when checcked at factory quality control?
rob t

[beam me up schottky]

All this about dead creatures inside stuff has reminded of a strange incident some years ago. Slightly off topic though but still interesting I think.
Our family business was involved in flexible hose of diverse range of types and sizes. On this occasion we had a coil of 6" bore pump discharge hose returned under complaint by a customer, apparently it had a hole in it which must have been our fault ! Now it was very rare to receive complaints about our products because they were very good quality, most of the time it was customer misuse or damage.
However, upon inspection, sure enough there was a hole about 12 ft from one end. It was a strange hole though, we were very familiar with the appearance of a hole caused by bursting, or external puncturing, this looked like a something had penetrated from the inside. It had, we found a dead and very decayed bird inside !! Somehow it had obviously become trapped in the hose and in shear desperation had tried to peck it's way out !
Actually I was quite upset to think of the fear that unfortunate little bird must have felt to be entombed in that dark prison. That sort of hose is very tough though and it really had no chance, even though it had managed to penetrate it. Very sad.
Customers problem though, apparently the hose was stored outside in an open compound so anything could happen really.