OK - 3478A report: This is the item listing: eBay item:
402165310223The box showed superficial signs of the journey, but no damage of any consequence. Inside, packaging was quite adequate. A double layer of 30x10mm bubble taped securely around the unit placed in a box with another piece of bubble on top to reduce movement inside the box to "jostling". No free fall gymnastics. The power lead was not included (at my request) so that was one less source of destruction.
Tried powering up on 240V, but blew the fuse (Well, the specs did say "
ac line 48 to 440Hz; 86 to 250V, 25VA max" - so you know where my head went). I then dragged out my "DVD player" (This is just a metal case with the guts ripped out and four 30V 2A multi tap transformers wired up to give 120V). Output voltage checked at 120V, selector on back switched to 50Hz and this time it powered up with no problems.
Then, I went looking for a set of leads to use - and was dismayed to find most of my collection were shrouded types that
just wouldn't fit!! I had a nice set of Fluke probes I was hoping to press into service, but they, too, were of the modern shrouded design that just wont fit. I had to use the cheapest set of leads I had - with screw fittings on each end and a bag of terminating pieces you screw into them. So I used 4mm banana pins on one end and alligator clips on the other (for attaching to my DMMcheck).
Dug out my DMMcheck and did a quick sanity check. I only did 2 wire tests, but these were all good enough to satisfy me that the unit was usable. I'll have to dig up the calibration data for the DMMcheck and sit down with some decent leads to get a more critical assessment.
Case isn't too bad. No signs of impact anywhere and it looks straight. Missing the cover strip on top of the front bezel and the right rear foot. Both front feet with tilting legs work fine. A dirty great brown patch next to the power switch - and the power switch has a broken cap. All these things were declared in the listing. (Looks like I'll be printing 2 of these HP switch caps now.)
The sticker on the top of the case at the rear looks like someone tried shaving it off with a sharp blade ... as the textured surface also feels like it's had a light shave as well. While there were a couple of typical nicks and scratches, they weren't excessive and I was very happy to see that the LCD screen was free of scratches. It's a little grimy all over - which a light clean will fix - but that brown patch on the front does not respond to IPA or eucalyptus oil ... and I'm cautious about getting mediaeval on it.
Bottom line - looks like a promising addition to the bench.