I am back home, having survived FDIM and Hamvention. Before I left I packed two flat rate boxes full of parts and a couple of meters and left them with the hotel front desk. The postal carrier is supposed to pick them up on Monday and I will be very sad if that does not happen.
I had only one bad experience, and of course it was at one of the
fancy vendor booths, where I stopped by to inquire about a piece of kit I've been thinking about buying and left after two minutes of interacting with a arrogant sales guy.
No wonder I shop on line.
TEAS being what it is - and this will not surprise anyone on
this thread - I found three boxes waiting for me when I got home: a 6113A, another TM plugin (the AM502), and the first batch of caps for power supplies rehab projects. After I finished unpacking, walking the dog, and eating dinner with SWMBO, I did a quick check of the PSU. A bit dinged up, dirty inside, and smelling of nicotine but overall in good condition. I powered it up and it generally seems to work. Switches have to be cleaned, it needs to be calibrated, etc but it'll do. The AM502 was a parts-only deal but it looks like a win as the unit is pristine but for a broken knob and a bent feed through pot shaft. Will post photos when I get this stuff on the bench.
One lasting impression of Xenia: there are
waaaaaaaay more Heathkit rigs in the world than there are people interested in
owning Heathkit rigs.