Upcycled Technology: Clever Projects You Can Do With Your Discarded Tech

by Daniel Davis

DIY science projects using old tech to create new zombie tech--an eco-friendly, fantastic way to learn about today's technology.

We all have a drawer or closet full of old discarded tech just sitting around, gathering dust. Memories of a bygone technological era that have been replaced by newer, shiner, smarter devices. What can you do with them? Most of us don't even know how to properly dispose of them. If only there was a way to save them from their untimely fate.

Well empty out that drawer and grab a screwdriver because the time has come to bring these old devices back from the grave! Old technology may no longer be useful, but it isn't useless. Hidden inside often-discarded devices is a treasure trove of motors, magnets, screens, and other parts just waiting for a chance to be upcycled! And this type of "upcycling" doesn't mean turning an old CD into a coaster, it means something a little more hardcore, like . . .
- How to make a great Wi-Fi security camera with an old cell phone
- How to make a basic 3D printer out of old computer disk drives
- What can be made with the rare-earth magnets inside old hard drives or the reusable LCD screens in old phones
- And much more

Fans of Popular Science, Smithsonian's Maker Lab, and The Big Book of Makerspace Projects will love Upcycled Technology.

Genres: Crafts, Nonfiction

182 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 2, 2024

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.

Other authors with this name:

Daniel Davis
Daniel Davis (1762-1835), Law
Daniel Davis, M.D.
Daniel Davis, Nude Photography

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than I would want to take on personally for projects, but I appreciated seeing the possibilities for re-use with older electronics. It was also useful to introduce a way of thinking about older electronic materials in terms of parts to re-use, re-purpose, rather than just old technology that is past its prime.

[Matevž · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent presentation of what you can do with old tech. A good book to start you thinking about how to re-use old stuff.

But on the other hand way above normal skill level and not doable for most readers.

[Daniel Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

these were mostly complex projects but ones that I know my library tech center would be able to help me out with- they have Arduino and classes on soldering etc. I liked this book because it specifically was about functional reuse and not decorative reuse (like many seem to be)

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice reuse of tech.