Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

True, but he does have the advantage of a relatively short wheelbase compared to mine I think so he might just clear their speed bumps, I doubt mine would.

[med6753]

True, but he does have the advantage of a relatively short wheelbase compared to mine I think so he might just clear their speed bumps, I doubt mine would.

Gee whiz...what kind of wimpmobiles you got in the UK?  When I hauled home a 7603 and a 465 together my CR-V easily accommodated them and it was like they weren't even there.   

[bd139]

Right back again.

Contrary to belief, no nothing had to stick out of the boot. It all fitted in neatly. I could have got another 7603 or two in there. There was one, and a 7633 but alas I didn't feel good taking all of them off the guy's hands. Nor did I think I'd be in good health about 5 minutes after bringing them all home.

And the haul...in the boot, which it fitted perfectly in...



Item one - Tektronix 7603. £50. Seems to be working perfectly as promised! Timebase knob is cracked but complete and repairable.



Item two - Heathkit V-7AU. £20 Untested as yet. Haven't even opened it. Cross fingers no crusty battery. Immaculate with manual.



Item three - Heathkit RF-1U (I think). £25 untested as yet. Haven't opened it. Immaculate with manual.



Misc junk....

• Random box containing knob and some PL259's. Think it's a fat inductor £5
• Two boxes with 9v holders. might put a project or two in one. £2 a go
• Two T130-6 toroids for an AMU I'm going to try and build with the following... £6
• Five variable capacitors ... £6 the lot

Good day 

Edit: turnout was good. I snuck in slightly early after I saw someone lifting another tek scope out. They were letting everyone in at 08:30. Turnout was good. Sellers were in equal proportions rip-off junk traders, individuals cleaning out for them or someone else, people who had a lot of test gear, random shite for no money at all.

To note, I turned down the following:

A Fluke 8200 (nixies) for £20. Fluke 45's for £40 a go. Lots of TTi power supplies for £30 a go or £10 broken, lots of boat anchors, lots of microwave stuff, just missed a mid-range R&S signal generator for £150 unfortunately, 5334 counter for a very overpriced £100 as it had no options, Avo dude £40 a go, hameg scopes £20-30.

ALL these are keepers I think.

[AF6LJ]

I see you stopped by my friend Pat WA6MHZ's stall....
I spent yesterday morning over at his place cleaning up the haul of gear he brought.
I was suppose to be there, however Murphy gave me the middle finger and I didn't make it.

Which one was his?

The three Heathkits and I think the benchtop DMM came from the same batch, Pat had a lot of those.

[bd139]

Holy shitballs, a real live unicorn. No battery leakage and like new inside



Considering these are both penciled in with construction dates of 1961, this is a miracle:

[med6753]

Nice, your 7603 has the readouts. Mine is the military 7603N with no readouts. You also paid less. $64 USD vs $75 USD after I talked him down from $105 USD.

And you also have 7A18A plug-ins. Just single channel 7A15A's here. You done good! 

[med6753]

Holy shitballs, a real live unicorn. No battery leakage and like new inside



Considering these are both penciled in with construction dates of 1961, this is a miracle:

The TEA gods favored you today. 

[bd139]

I think I am insanely lucky there. Literally everything is spotless. That has never happened before. 

[Specmaster]

I think I am insanely lucky there. Literally everything is spotless. That has never happened before. 

You really did extremely well there and no mistake about that. That 7603 is a thing of beauty, 4 channels and readouts, to early for cursors I expect?

Is that a selenium rectifier I see there in the VA-7, that wants hoofing out of there pronto, if that goes you will get the stink eye treatment for sure.

I wished I'd gone now, could have been there in an hour too  Those Fluke 45's, can't believe you walked away and left them there, they are only 4.5 digits is true but dual displays 

[bd139]

I think I am insanely lucky there. Literally everything is spotless. That has never happened before. 

You really did extremely well there and no mistake about that. That 7603 is a thing of beauty, 4 channels and readouts, to early for cursors I expect?

Is that a selenium rectifier I see there in the VA-7, that wants hoofing out of there pronto, if that goes you will get the stink eye treatment for sure.

I wished I'd gone now, could have been there in an hour too  Those Fluke 45's, can't believe you walked away and left them there, they are only 4.5 digits is true but dual displays 

7603 is 4 channels, readouts. No cursors though as you say. It’s one scope line before that came about.

That is a selenium rectifier. That and the cap are coming out this afternoon. Have a suitable replacement cap in stock and will replace the rectifier with a diode and series resistor. There’s a big ass waxy in there that has to come out too. Edit: also needs a new mains lead as the current one is a two core and I’m not eldctrocuting my butt

I did consider the 45’s but it was a “not shown working because there’s no power” type event so I passed in case the VFDs has faded badly. A 7603 I can get limping again and have two spare tubes for 

[tautech]

bd139
The 7000 series plugin rabbit hole awaits ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/7000-series_plug-ins#Vertical_plug-ins

Good score buddy. 

100 MHz, 4ch CRO for 50p/MHz 

[Specmaster]

The same thought went through my mind about those VFD's that was the issue with my first 8840A, but it is still readable and not insurmountable, there are loads of them stateside that could be donors, they sell on fleabay for upwards of £150 working and only basic ones at that.

Oh well, I knew that wouldn't take long before you fell of the wagon again and started to pad out your test gear collection again but I never expected you to come home with a proper boat anchor like that 7603 

What's the bandwidth on that by the way?

As to the VTVM, yeh, mine is only fitted with 2 core cable so you have to be very careful when prodding AC as part of the meter and input sockets are grounded to chassis as well so you will need to investigate that very carefully indeed. First thing I did was to hoof that DC jack off and replace with a LED power indicator as that thing grounds the negative input anyway.

[bd139]

bd139
The 7000 series plugin rabbit hole awaits ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/7000-series_plug-ins#Vertical_plug-ins

Good score buddy. 

100 MHz, 4ch CRO for 50p/MHz 

Want 7L12

The same thought went through my mind about those VFD's that was the issue with my first 8840A, but it is still readable and not insurmountable, there are loads of them stateside that could be donors, they sell on fleabay for upwards of £150 working and only basic ones at that.

Oh well, I knew that wouldn't take long before you fell of the wagon again and started to pad out your test gear collection again but I never expected you to come home with a proper boat anchor like that 7603 

What's the bandwidth on that by the way?

As to the VTVM, yeh, mine is only fitted with 2 core cable so you have to be very careful when prodding AC as part of the meter and input sockets are grounded to chassis as well so you will need to investigate that very carefully indeed. First thing I did was to hoof that DC jack off and replace with a LED power indicator as that thing grounds the negative input anyway.

Tek is 100MHz. I honestly went with no expectations. Was very happy to see the prices.

Just taken the RF signal generator to bits as well. All good and pristine. Some oxidation of the variable capacitor frame but this will brush off. Need to refurb the tube instruments carefully ie make safe and remove the selenium diodes, waxies and all sorts.

[tautech]

bd139
The 7000 series plugin rabbit hole awaits ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/7000-series_plug-ins#Vertical_plug-ins

Good score buddy. 

100 MHz, 4ch CRO for 50p/MHz 

Want 7L12

1.8 GHz SA ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/File:Tek-7l12-led-front.jpg
Never knew they existed.
Do they come up for sale at all ?

[Specmaster]

Yeh, I left the waxy in my VTVM as it a real pig to get access to, and I thought they were safe to leave?

[bd139]

bd139
The 7000 series plugin rabbit hole awaits ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/7000-series_plug-ins#Vertical_plug-ins

Good score buddy. 

100 MHz, 4ch CRO for 50p/MHz 

Want 7L12

1.8 GHz SA ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/File:Tek-7l12-led-front.jpg
Never knew they existed.
Do they come up for sale at all ?

Yes one went for just shy of £150 a couple of years back. Didn’t have a mainframe to stick it in then. Or £150!

Yeh, I left the waxy in my VTVM as it a real pig to get access to, and I thought they were safe to leave?

Depends what they are used for and in what condition. High voltages they leak terribly hence the interest and price on the head of those IT-28 capacitor leakage testers. If it’s a coupling cap with less than about 50v and it hasn’t gone sticky then leave it.

[med6753]

The same thought went through my mind about those VFD's that was the issue with my first 8840A, but it is still readable and not insurmountable, there are loads of them stateside that could be donors, they sell on fleabay for upwards of £150 working and only basic ones at that.

Oh well, I knew that wouldn't take long before you fell of the wagon again and started to pad out your test gear collection again but I never expected you to come home with a proper boat anchor like that 7603 

What's the bandwidth on that by the way?

The bandwidth of the mainframe is 100Mhz. But those vertical plug-ins are 75Mhz.

[tautech]

bd139
The 7000 series plugin rabbit hole awaits ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/7000-series_plug-ins#Vertical_plug-ins

Good score buddy. 

100 MHz, 4ch CRO for 50p/MHz 

Want 7L12

1.8 GHz SA ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/File:Tek-7l12-led-front.jpg
Never knew they existed.
Do they come up for sale at all ?

Yes one went for just shy of £150 a couple of years back. Didn’t have a mainframe to stick it in then. Or £150!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/tektronix-7L12-spectrum-analyzer-100kc-to-1-8gh/153147341936?hash=item23a84afc70:g:FlsAAOSwj~9be3kV

[bd139]

The same thought went through my mind about those VFD's that was the issue with my first 8840A, but it is still readable and not insurmountable, there are loads of them stateside that could be donors, they sell on fleabay for upwards of £150 working and only basic ones at that.

Oh well, I knew that wouldn't take long before you fell of the wagon again and started to pad out your test gear collection again but I never expected you to come home with a proper boat anchor like that 7603 

What's the bandwidth on that by the way?

The bandwidth of the mainframe is 100Mhz. But those vertical plug-ins are 75Mhz.

Yup. Plan is to buy an SA and counter (I think you can stick both in) and lose all the other plugins

bd139
The 7000 series plugin rabbit hole awaits ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/7000-series_plug-ins#Vertical_plug-ins

Good score buddy. 

100 MHz, 4ch CRO for 50p/MHz 

Want 7L12

1.8 GHz SA ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/File:Tek-7l12-led-front.jpg
Never knew they existed.
Do they come up for sale at all ?

Yes one went for just shy of £150 a couple of years back. Didn’t have a mainframe to stick it in then. Or £150!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/tektronix-7L12-spectrum-analyzer-100kc-to-1-8gh/153147341936?hash=item23a84afc70:g:FlsAAOSwj~9be3kV

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately there were two revs. The later ones had LED readout of centre frequency which is important as the mechanical ones are impossible to fix. Thanks anyway

Have cracked open the 7603 and it’s also immaculate. Power supply is linear. Phew. Latest date code I can find is 1985 which means this is a relatively late unit.

[Specmaster]

The same thought went through my mind about those VFD's that was the issue with my first 8840A, but it is still readable and not insurmountable, there are loads of them stateside that could be donors, they sell on fleabay for upwards of £150 working and only basic ones at that.

Oh well, I knew that wouldn't take long before you fell of the wagon again and started to pad out your test gear collection again but I never expected you to come home with a proper boat anchor like that 7603 

What's the bandwidth on that by the way?

The bandwidth of the mainframe is 100Mhz. But those vertical plug-ins are 75Mhz.

Yup. Plan is to buy an SA and counter (I think you can stick both in) and lose all the other plugins

bd139
The 7000 series plugin rabbit hole awaits ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/7000-series_plug-ins#Vertical_plug-ins

Good score buddy. 

100 MHz, 4ch CRO for 50p/MHz 

Want 7L12

1.8 GHz SA ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/File:Tek-7l12-led-front.jpg
Never knew they existed.
Do they come up for sale at all ?

Yes one went for just shy of £150 a couple of years back. Didn’t have a mainframe to stick it in then. Or £150!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/tektronix-7L12-spectrum-analyzer-100kc-to-1-8gh/153147341936?hash=item23a84afc70:g:FlsAAOSwj~9be3kV

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately there were two revs. The later ones had LED readout of centre frequency which is important as the mechanical ones are impossible to fix. Thanks anyway

Have cracked open the 7603 and it’s also immaculate. Power supply is linear. Phew. Latest date code I can find is 1985 which means this is a relatively late unit.

Your having a purple streak, did you do the lottery at all? If you did, better check your ticket then, might have won that as well[emoji38][emoji38][emoji38]

[tautech]

bd139
The 7000 series plugin rabbit hole awaits ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/7000-series_plug-ins#Vertical_plug-ins

Good score buddy. 

100 MHz, 4ch CRO for 50p/MHz 

Want 7L12

1.8 GHz SA ! 
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/File:Tek-7l12-led-front.jpg
Never knew they existed.
Do they come up for sale at all ?

Yes one went for just shy of £150 a couple of years back. Didn’t have a mainframe to stick it in then. Or £150!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/tektronix-7L12-spectrum-analyzer-100kc-to-1-8gh/153147341936?hash=item23a84afc70:g:FlsAAOSwj~9be3kV

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately there were two revs. The later ones had LED readout of centre frequency which is important as the mechanical ones are impossible to fix. Thanks anyway

Have cracked open the 7603 and it’s also immaculate. Power supply is linear. Phew. Latest date code I can find is 1985 which means this is a relatively late unit.

What about 7L14 ?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tektronix-Mainframe-mit-7L14-Spektrum-Analyzer/283116661563?hash=item41eb116b3b:g:aqAAAOSw6CJbJlU4

Of better still, 7L18 ?
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/File:7L18-front.jpg

[tggzzz]

The same thought went through my mind about those VFD's that was the issue with my first 8840A, but it is still readable and not insurmountable, there are loads of them stateside that could be donors, they sell on fleabay for upwards of £150 working and only basic ones at that.

Oh well, I knew that wouldn't take long before you fell of the wagon again and started to pad out your test gear collection again but I never expected you to come home with a proper boat anchor like that 7603 

What's the bandwidth on that by the way?

The bandwidth of the mainframe is 100Mhz. But those vertical plug-ins are 75Mhz.

Yup. Plan is to buy an SA and counter (I think you can stick both in) and lose all the other plugins

Samplers. Get samplers.

Bandwidth is all that matters. Bandwidth is king.

"Tek for scopes HP (AK) for everything else "

[neo]

I think I am insanely lucky there. Literally everything is spotless. That has never happened before. 

I guess i must have sent you some of my luck.  Good haul.

Just got to my junk hauling session rather early. It’s crawling with kit so far and they haven’t even finished unloading their cars yet. Good sign 

Turning car round so I can get it in the boot.

Oh good, with a bit of luck the rain might hold off as well. Don't forget your in a new car so don't do a NEO or you may have problems fitting it all in. [emoji848]

Does this mean your naming something after me? "Whatever you do don't go full NEO!"? NEO here meaning to go completely ape at hamfests and buy everything in the room thats nice and that you got the dough for? I approve, 

The three Heathkits and I think the benchtop DMM came from the same batch, Pat had a lot of those.

I may have exaggerated our conversation a bit for, though he really was a nice guy. The three heathkits came from hamfest the 8200A came from ebay with hamfest funds. I was the guy in the pink floyd/doors shirt (day1/2) in case your interested. 

To edit the conversation, previously played up for comedic value of the post,
"You like electronics in general then?". confirmation from me, "These two Heathkits here, i assembled them myself and though i can't bear parting with them except i also cannot bear the thought of either being pitched. One doesn't look too good and only one has it's probes, though both have manuals and both work.", one had the paint chipping off.

[bd139]

What about 7L14 ?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tektronix-Mainframe-mit-7L14-Spektrum-Analyzer/283116661563?hash=item41eb116b3b:g:aqAAAOSw6CJbJlU4

Of better still, 7L18 ?
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/File:7L18-front.jpg

7L14 is an option but not at that price  .... 7L18 is too high frequency. My operating range is usually around 1.8-14 MHz so nothing particularly demanding required.

Your having a purple streak, did you do the lottery at all? If you did, better check your ticket then, might have won that as well[emoji38][emoji38][emoji38]

I bought a lottery ticket once, literally about a week after they started doing it, won a tenner and vowed I'd never buy one again since I made a profit.

Samplers. Get samplers.

Bandwidth is all that matters. Bandwidth is king.

"Tek for scopes HP (AK) for everything else "

Two words and they are both yes. That had crossed my mind already.

Reading about the 7S11 and suitable sampling head, such as the S-4 gives the scope 14.5Ghz bandwidth and 25ps rise time. Impressive! I'll keep an eye out. I don't need this and never will but it would be cool. 1GHz sine wave on a 100MHz mainframe (not mine):

I think I am insanely lucky there. Literally everything is spotless. That has never happened before. 

I guess i must have sent you some of my luck.  Good haul.

I think you did. Thank you   

I am so pumped about all this stuff. Happiest haul ever \o/

Just ordered a whole pile of bits from Farnell for just over £20 to refurbish the Heathkit items properly and professionally. Will work on the 7B53 knobs this evening when the kids are in bed. I cracked it open and had a look at the plugins, mainframe and power supply and it is pretty clean throughout. Even all the plugin release pulls are intact. Nothing has been meddled with at all. Even the fan works and is clean.

Couple more pictures. Finally what is inside the little box with the know. A T-Rex's cock ring, or a T200-ish inductor I think. I bet whoever wound that ended up with bruises:



And the RF-1U generator. This needs some work. Oxidation, nasty nasty mains wiring and dirt as is typical for back then but whoever put it together did a sterling job and it has been very well looked after.

[med6753]

I may have exaggerated our conversation a bit for, though he really was a nice guy. The three heathkits came from hamfest the 8200A came from ebay with hamfest funds. I was the guy in the pink floyd/doors shirt (day1/2) in case your interested. 

This is the wallpaper on my media PC and the t-shirt is faded and worn out.  (But I still wear it  )