Very happy for you that you put in the work to find stuff and get it, and that you were rewarded! Love your lab. It all looks like new even if long in the tooth. Subbed
Another good tip is to have a copy of the manual for equipment you are looking for, some time ago an Ebay seller listed a Keithley 228 for $100 because it had an error code displayed. The going rate at the time was $400. The error meant that the temperature sensor was disconnected or faulty, I bought it and the sensor was unplugged, otherwise the 228 was fine. If I remember the quote correctly "Knowledge is power".
Nice tips for ebay purchases. Used equipment from surplus merchants might not be expensive in your geo location, but other locations (like Southern California) most of your gear sells for $300 to several thousand depending on condition (in operative HP 8640 sells for $340 while inop HP 8644 sells for $800 and up... double if it turns on). My advice would be, I guess: drive out of state for deals if necessary ^_^ . You have a commercial looking shop there! impressive ... (me... I remember when the TEK 575 was almost new (1979) when I used it for the first time .... I retired recently after doing 5G transceiver hardware designs ).
Yeah, maybe I got lucky on the 8644B - the seller I bought mine from sold two other working ones for $249 and $271 recently (plus $128 s/h) - they had rear outputs. I won the auction for 380 (probably went higher bc of front outputs) but when I got it, it was the 1030 MHz version not the 2060 MHz they advertised it as so they gave me a bunch of money back which was awesome! Just eBay sales with flat rate shipping so woulda been the same for CA. This was recent so you can still see them in the eBay completed auctions. It seems like the audio repair hobbyists usually look for the 8657A/B, which go for more. But they are more compact and do the job so I guess I understand that. I don’t mind the boat anchors ;) thanks for the kind words!
Awesome video and great advice. Any extra advice regarding where/how one can find those blue cabinets with the plastic drawers for small components like you have. I have three that came with various vintage stuff, but paid a premium and haven't seen any since. Thanks!
I wish I had some advice but I was just lucky on these ones. Someone had cleared out an estate of a Ham radio guy and posted the bins for sale cheap… drove an hour to get them but it was worth it. They had a lot of useful components in them as well. Good luck!!
Lol don't worry - I have no formal education. And I don't even work in the electronics field (I work in IT). I'm self-taught, and I still have a LOT to learn. I've tinkered on and off with electronics my whole life but didn't get serious until about 2 years ago. I might make a video covering some of the resources I've used to further my electronics education. Hint, most of it is RU-vid, and the Internet. Check out my channel subscriptions for some good resources (it's mostly electronics related at least)
@@pac1085 Thanks. You're inspirational to me. I have to find some fulfillment in life before it's too dang late. Maybe it's already too late. However, I have likely watching and learning from some of the same folks you have. Paul Carlson is one of my favorites. But, there's so many great talents worldwide to learn from. Thanks again, all the best and maybe we'll meet someday.
All these nice professional equipments must be calibrated once a year in professional adecvated labs otherwise over the years going to be out of real measurments giving erronated values, working in the industrial technology leading company they calibrate these equipments twice a year my company called Plexus !
