Nortel Fiber Optics - Anyone Have Experience With These?

I got about 1000 lbs of nortel fiber optics components today. As for resale, that's not the agreement I have with it, so I haven't even looked into that. These are cast aluminum housed "blade style" circuit boards, but there are other components that I have in the pictures. Any advice on what I'm looking at? Is that gold plated aluminum encasing these? It doesn't make sense that it would be, but it's the same color as what I believe is gold on the chips inside. These things were covered by aluminum with thermal tape or paste under them. I have only opened this one up so far, the rest I have to get to later this weekend.

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It is a pretty color but it is called anodizing.
What is Anodizing?: Answers about metal coating issues for industry from Superior Metal Technologies, Indianapolis, Indiana (IN).

I might be wrong but that looks like plating not anodizing. possibly a block of aluminum. Although not worth as much as most would think.

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Originally Posted by BarrenRealms007

I might be wrong but that looks like plating not anodizing. possibly a block of aluminum. Although not worth as much as most would think.

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I've seen a lot of anodized things that look close to a gold color, but this looks buttery like the older pc gold plating...I guess I'll have to get a test kit since the one I got a long time ago is lost in my mess of a warehouse.

Surprisingly, the metal is magnetic. While it wouldn't be that much for gold, maybe the 100 of these that I have add up to something :) If it's gold, that is.

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Originally Posted by ryanw

I've seen a lot of anodized things that look close to a gold color, but this looks buttery like the older pc gold plating...I guess I'll have to get a test kit since the one I got a long time ago is lost in my mess of a warehouse.

Surprisingly, the metal is magnetic. While it wouldn't be that much for gold, maybe the 100 of these that I have add up to something :) If it's gold, that is.

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If you get a chance take a file and carve a notch in one of the blocks and see what the color of the underlaying metal is. If it is copper the magnatisim should be coming from a layer of tin between the copper block and the plating.

Thanks for the suggestion, but no dice...the plates are very magnetic as well.

I took some of these apart a few months ago. Some of the enclosures may have nice boards inside with gold processors, some will just be considered motherboard grade. I was quoted $6/lb for those components you show at the time.