View Full Version : Free mirror from old hard drive
bulrush
08-08-2008, 09:07 AM
I took apart an old hard drive from a computer. The platters these days are now a highly polished aluminum surface. Platters about 6 inches in diameter with a 1 inch hole, just right for a signal mirrow. Fairly light in weight too, and tough.
Now if you can get the powerful magnets out too, those have other uses.
While items like the platters or CDs, etc. might make a decent impromptu mirror, I would never rely on one as my primary signal mirror. You'll find MUCH better range with a true survival mirror and a brighter reflective flash. And that is what being found is all about. Any port in a storm of course but if I'm taking something from home, it's a true survival mirror.
Doug Ritter offers an excellent write up on this subject at:
http://www.equipped.com/signal.htm
bulrush
08-08-2008, 10:02 AM
The brightness of a CD does not compare to the brightness of my HD platter. The HD platter is not just bright, it's "OMFG" bright. I have no idea how scratch proof it is though. As an impromptu mirror, I think the HD platter is pretty darn bright. In fact it puzzled me why it would be so bright for simply storing data. I think if you actually saw it you might even say "DAY-yum!".
As a mirror for shaving, it's far better than the scout mirrors in the scout camping kits. It would be a perfect shaving mirror if it were not for the 1 inch hold in the middle, but then again, I only need to see my chin, not my ugly mug.
I realize it's possible different models of drives might contain platters of a different brightness. So "Your Mileage May Vary".
Here's a look at some platters for those that don't know what they are. Platters are the shiny round "things".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SixHardDriveFormFactors.jpg
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