Loose screws and other random things found on the inside of Electronic devices

[Xious]

Well, I've literally repaired thousands of things, ranging from the size of a mobile to IBM System/360 machines. I didn't exactly keep a detailed record of what came from where, or any photographic accounts.

Getting an X-rated video tape inside a repair happens... You might be shocked how often, when i receive a personal computer (of any kind0 for service, it has X-rated content in plain sight. It used to be BBS-porn, but now it's usually video rips sitting right on the desktop or in a main user directory. Don't people know how to make directories fully invisible and locked?

What's even more off is that I had an on-site system repair once, where the owner sat in the next room watching pornography while I repaired his system. No, I don't want to know what he was doing in there...

I understand the need to service Beta and VHS players, especially the older ones that had exceptional features and high build quality. Not so much on newer models, but anything made before 1989/9, certainly, especially both major varieties of Beta/BetaMax, as they have superb video quality and it's worthwhile to keep them working. Nobody makes high-quality players anymore, so it's critical to keep the old technology working, especially if you have a lot of recorded video. How else do you suppose that old Famicom commercials from 20-years back are archived and available on YouTube?    

I've also repaired LaserDisc players, CED players, and other audio and video equipment from tube radios and tube televisions to plasma displays and modern hi-fi gear. I recently restored a 1953 RCA television (cherry red) to pristine operating condition, although the owner declined to have me remove scuffs from the unit, insisting that they--even those over the screen--'added character'. I had to rebuild the tuner and repair the video amp circuit, which needed a new amplifier tube. I also replaced a couple other tubes in the video circuitry to improve operation, as they were getting tired.

Anyhow, that's a list of the things that I recall finding. It's extensive, and some are odd or unusual, but others are extremely common. I'd have to say that finding panties shoved into a video deck was the most bizarre; I suspect a child stuffed them in there (as is often the case with solid objects that aren't tools), but who's to say it wasn't..hmm..something less innocent.  

[petik1]

The next time I sell a game console, I'll make sure to write a message and hide it in the case.

[133MHz]

VCRs were the worst since the cassette door flap is like a magnet for little kids and their prying hands.
During my infant years I used to shove all sorts of things down my parents' Betamax machine and whatever I could fit through the cooling vents of the television set (mostly coins, sticks and the like). When my dad took said equipment to the TV repairman he brought me with him and the service guy usually took it apart in front of us and removed most of the extraneous things on the spot so I could clearly see them, maybe they were trying to teach me a lesson but I kept on perfecting my mischief, in fact that Betamax machine decided life wasn't worth living right after I peed on it.

[Hamburglar]

they were trying to teach me a lesson but I kept on perfecting my mischief, in fact that Betamax machine decided life wasn't worth living right after I peed on it.

Haha, my boss took in a industrial toaster once, I was opening it up when i noticed what I thought was a huge accumulation of lint in one corner, turned out it was a dead mouse, I promptly closed it back up and told my boss, he called the customer and they actually wanted us to remove it and repair it anyway, we declined, I made it a point never to eat at the restaurant that toaster came from, their business card was attached to the invoice, I remember they sent some girl to pick up the toaster with a mouse inside, I remember she was hugging the giant toaster on the way out...lol.

[Parodius Duh]

found a bunch of dead hornets in a Sega genesis system once.

[VenomMacbeth]

Oh man...I had a friend that used to repair old TI computers (TI-99, etc.)  Someone brought a non-working one in one time...turned out to have a whole PB&J  sammich in it!