Here we go again ...
After acquiring that boat anchor I resolved to fight GAS and ignore fleabay. This worked amazingly well for two months. It wasn't too hard, even. As a result, I spent my time and money to my other hobbies.
Since my rooms are full enough, I thought it would be easy to stick to it.
Then, last week, I sat in front of my computer, drinking my coffee and idly browsed the web. Nobody knows how I landed at the bay, but suddenly I was there! And then I saw it: a beautiful Philps PM2421 DMM. Reasonable price. How in all the world could I have resisted this? I'm just a weak human, after all! This DMM could not be allowed to go anywhere but my place. Isn't it understandable that I relapsed? I won the auction late Friday night at a still reasonable bid. Although I wire transferred the money within 5 minutes, that thing wasn't sent until Thursday and still hasn't arrived.
I found a good scan of the manual, and looking at the schematics, it suddenly occurred to me
why I might have that sweet spot for Philips.
Our first radio was a Philips Philetta, bought a year before I was born. I remember looking through the perforated cardboard back panel as a kid and being mesmerized by the magical glow of the valves and the mysteries of its operation.
Our first record player was a Philips.
Our first TV was a Philips b&w set. We were the last in the street to own one.
With the first money that I earned myself (a holiday job), I bought a Philips EE2000 "electronics lab".
Now, looking at the schematics all this came back to me. Philips' schematics are my reference. They are just beautiful. Highly skilled draftspersons created pieces of art that really help understanding the function.
Philips may not be revered as HP, Fluke or Tektronix are. But, IMHO, they were not that far behind.
A few minutes ago I saw the DHL van in the street next to mine. Where has it gone? It ought to be in front of my house by now!