List your test equipment "scores" here!

[HighVoltage]

The problem was that the line voltage selector was set to 220V, but once I set it to 120V, it worked fine.

Nice score and easy fix.
I had a few times the other way around, broken instrument, switch set to 115V but used in EU with 230V.

[Mechatrommer]

Recently got Advantest R3465 for $600 (original price $700, i made offer $500, seller made counter offer $600, i just grab it... another $200 for Fedex shipping Korea to Malaysia, $50 customs government tax, $20 paypal currency charge ) the problem reported by seller, internal battery error (showing ? date), cal output reading too low at -19dB (should be -10dB), and some button labelling disappear.

When i got it, i changed the dead ER3 battery with CR2 battery soldered in, hot glue the loosen knob and some aesthetics touch to the buttons. About the wrong reading, i verified the CAL ouput using KC901V to be actually -10dB, then all i did is re calibrate the unit and now cal output reading is showing the correct -10dB again. i love it when the seller doesnt know how to recalibrate what they are selling. now the date showing year 2044, great i just have to find in manual how to set the correct date...

[nctnico]

I used to take the front panel apart and give it a thourough clean. It will look like new afterwards. Don't forget to clean the rubber buttons as well (at the user end) because they collect a lot of dirt from fingers.

[tecman]

Recently got Advantest R3465 for $600 (original price $700, i made offer $500, seller made counter offer $600, i just grab it... another $200 for Fedex shipping Korea to Malaysia, $50 customs government tax, $20 paypal currency charge ) the problem reported by seller, internal battery error (showing ? date), cal output reading too low at -19dB (should be -10dB), and some button labelling disappear.

When i got it, i changed the dead ER3 battery with CR2 battery soldered in, hot glue the loosen knob and some aesthetics touch to the buttons. About the wrong reading, i verified the CAL ouput using KC901V to be actually -10dB, then all i did is re calibrate the unit and now cal output reading is showing the correct -10dB again. i love it when the seller doesnt know how to recalibrate what they are selling. now the date showing year 2044, great i just have to find in manual how to set the correct date...

I see a few of the buttons needed a marker refresh.  Also I am jealous of your display knob !

They are great units, especially when you can grab them for a good price.

paul
 

[JenniferG]

Got this at the flea market for $3 today:  Analog Exerciser

I can't seem to add the image.. just get empty img tags.

I added an attachment of the image.

[Ysjoelfir]

Not quite sure if it is a score but I got myself a Tektronix 556 in supposedly working condition for 160€, including a 1A2 and a 1A4. Just need to see how I can get that thing from Stuttgart to Frankfurt since my car broke down in a crash last week... However, I am very happy to have gotten a 556 finally, I have been looking for one of the bigger Tek moddels for a looooong time now.

[Old Printer]

Agreed.  Though, I'm not sure how she would be part of the procurement process, at all? 

Am I the only one that makes sure that nobody intercepts my packages, so that I can secretly unpack them, and install the contents into a pile of test gear that no layperson could possibly recognize as being different from one day to the next? 

Absolutely not. Planning recieve dates around various schedules, hoping the delivery services meet their advertised transit times. It's a finely honed art

[Old Printer]

Well, as long as I am here. My latest "score" just arrived via USPS Priority this afternoon, and the Mrs. just happens to be out of town but she is at an Orchid show buying orchids (her main vice) so I am covered. My "score" today is an Analog Discovery in primo condition for $54 shipped. That is a very good deal since Digilent raised the cost of the Student price from what had been about $100. These things have been going anywhere from $125 and well up, but for some reason the bidding on this one was stuck at $30 for several days and a last 30 seconds bid just got the job done. Last summer I had purchased the AD2 new for $280 from Mouser while I was/am waiting for the 4 channel scope wars to heat up. The difference between the 2 models is 95% cosmetic, and while I really like this tool, the older model will suite me just fine. I will sell the newer one as they are going pretty close to retail, and put that money towards whatever comes out on top in the hobby scope market. I just put my new toy through a good workout and it passes all the tests just fine. Happy camper I am

[bitseeker]

Ah, so you snagged that one. Good deal. I was surprised it didn't go higher.

[hendorog]

I got back from a roady to bring home a new (to me) vehicle. Look what I found in the back!

It came from an RF company who have a small office here and were offloading some of their older gear.

Also a picture of the SA 'family'. The SSA 3032X is visiting from tautech atm.

[tautech]

I got back from a roady to bring home a new (to me) vehicle. Look what I found in the back!

It came from an RF company who have a small office here and were offloading some of their older gear.

Also a picture of the SA 'family'. The SSA 3032X is visiting from tautech atm.

That HP SA is certainly a cool bit of gear....got up close and personal with it last weekend. 
22 GHz     

[Berni]

Nice condition you found it in too. You definitely wouldn't want to ship this boatanchor to Australia with how huge and heavy it is.

And now happy hunting for a RF synthesizer that can go this high.

[AF6LJ]

Nice Catch!
Looks nice.

[hendorog]

Nice condition you found it in too. You definitely wouldn't want to ship this boatanchor to Australia with how huge and heavy it is.

And now happy hunting for a RF synthesizer that can go this high.

Nice Catch!
Looks nice.

Thanks, yes it is in really nice condition. Was a long way away but luckily I was able to pick it up on a trip which was already planned, shipping would have been a risky expensive nightmare! It came to them from ValueTronics based on the stickers.

The display is a bit tired compared to pictures I've seen online though. I did whip the top off and found a couple of focus trimpots which didn't seem to change anything on the display so one or more are likely faulty.

[Berni]

Nice condition you found it in too. You definitely wouldn't want to ship this boatanchor to Australia with how huge and heavy it is.

And now happy hunting for a RF synthesizer that can go this high.

Nice Catch!
Looks nice.

Thanks, yes it is in really nice condition. Was a long way away but luckily I was able to pick it up on a trip which was already planned, shipping would have been a risky expensive nightmare! It came to them from ValueTronics based on the stickers.

The display is a bit tired compared to pictures I've seen online though. I did whip the top off and found a couple of focus trimpots which didn't seem to change anything on the display so one or more are likely faulty.

Actually these CRTs are a bit of an achilles heel of them. Something in the electron gun slowly degrades as its operating, so the units that have had lots of use behind them start developing a blurry image. They don't seam to get any burn in tho. Not that you should worry about it too much since the degradation is very slow, just that these things are old and some have racked up a lot of service hours.

Similar displays are used in some other gear so someone has created a LCD retrofit kit for it that they sell. It taps into the "graphics card" and pulls digital data from it to give you a pixel perfect image, even with separate colors for the traces.

I have one of these SAs and i thought about upgrading it to LCD but the CRT in mine is still in pretty good condition and the upgrade kit does cost a bit.

[hendorog]

Actually these CRTs are a bit of an achilles heel of them. Something in the electron gun slowly degrades as its operating, so the units that have had lots of use behind them start developing a blurry image. They don't seam to get any burn in tho. Not that you should worry about it too much since the degradation is very slow, just that these things are old and some have racked up a lot of service hours.

Similar displays are used in some other gear so someone has created a LCD retrofit kit for it that they sell. It taps into the "graphics card" and pulls digital data from it to give you a pixel perfect image, even with separate colors for the traces.

I have one of these SAs and i thought about upgrading it to LCD but the CRT in mine is still in pretty good condition and the upgrade kit does cost a bit.

Those LCD's do look nice, no doubt about it.

I did do a lite version of the KE5FX 'rejuvenation' process on on an 8753B VNA not long ago - which has the similar XYZ type display and it came up quite nicely. It had a few faulty pots as well which I fixed first.
 
So I'm thinking I'll try and fix any faults, and then, if needed, try the CRT recovery process on this. If it goes bad, or if the CRT dies quickly afterwards then I'll have no choice but to fork out for the LCD

[Oldtestgear]

Not sure if this really counts as a "score" but I was very pleased with the price paid.

Keysight were running a 30% (max.) trade in offer on their scopes until the end of March this year.  With a few days to go  I asked about trading in my Kenwood 5MHz two channel scope that I bought many years ago for a few £s.  After their initial reaction ( disbelief & possibly horror at such a thing being offered) they finally agreed to a 30% discount on a nice shiny new DSO4024A. I think there may have wanted to see IF I would actually splash the cash or was a time waster.

Anyway it arrived last week & I am very pleased with my new toy as well as the substantial sum I saved.

Score?

I think so but others may disagree. This does show that I bit of cheek can go along way though.

Phil

[Berni]

Oh very nice trick you pulled there

[Ysjoelfir]

Today I picked up those two beauties for a reasonable price of 150€ each, including a nice car trip with beautiful sights from Frankfurt to Stuttgart  . Both seem to work, they just need some cleaning and adjusting. Now I should start hunting down a "tripple nickel" 555 to complete the collection of the "big ones"...

[Gyro]

That 3A5 plug-in looks interesting, could it be the first ever implementation of an 'Autoset' button (in a scope)?

[BravoV]

Active probe HP 54701A + the probe's power HP 1143A

[xwarp]

So I'm thinking I'll try and fix any faults, and then, if needed, try the CRT recovery process on this. If it goes bad, or if the CRT dies quickly afterwards then I'll have no choice but to fork out for the LCD

Would be worth it in my opinion.

I picked up a nice 8568B for a low enough price a while back that if I had to do the LCD, I'd still be in the unit for less than $600.

[hendorog]

So I'm thinking I'll try and fix any faults, and then, if needed, try the CRT recovery process on this. If it goes bad, or if the CRT dies quickly afterwards then I'll have no choice but to fork out for the LCD

Would be worth it in my opinion.

I picked up a nice 8568B for a low enough price a while back that if I had to do the LCD, I'd still be in the unit for less than $600.

Nicely done. I just love using mine, it does lack the modern digital features, but the usability and performance is of the highest order.

I paid about $1050 USD for mine. No shipping was needed though, which might have cost me $500 more, it was a decent deal.

[AF6LJ]

Just pulled the trigger on this...
My Backman RMS-225 (pre production, beta issued for field testing. )
Took it;s last dive off the bench. 28+ years of reliable service, time for retirement.
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/372-U1241B

Note to Dave:
I would have bought one of your meters however, I need this NOW!, I want to get one of your meters for a spare.

[bitseeker]

Keysight were running a 30% (max.) trade in offer on their scopes until the end of March this year.  With a few days to go  I asked about trading in my Kenwood 5MHz two channel scope that I bought many years ago for a few £s.  After their initial reaction ( disbelief & possibly horror at such a thing being offered) they finally agreed to a 30% discount on a nice shiny new DSO4024A. I think there may have wanted to see IF I would actually splash the cash or was a time waster.

...

Score?

I think so but others may disagree. This does show that I bit of cheek can go along way though.

I think that's a massive score on selling your 5 MHz scope! Well done.