I've been stocking up on test equipment lately and I have been able to get quite a bit of good RF stuff fairly cheaply. I've bought several 1GHz signal generators for $300 or so and a very clean, fully working, late 1980s spectrum analyzer (Tek 492BP, kHz to 21GHz) with 30-day guarantee for $2700. I also bought a mid-1990s Tek DSO (TDS320 I think), about 2 years ago, which was in immaculate condition, only power cycled something like 20 times according to the internal log, with original probes and manuals, and with communications module built-in, for $350. I ended up selling it again because I had bought two scopes with the intent of keeping the better one and selling the other once I had evaluated them. I've also saved my company a good deal of money by buying test equipment on eBay. There are definitely still good deals to be had on eBay. Sean On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 11:47 PM, Jesse Lackey wrote: > Hi - yes it is indeed a bit of a marvelous phase, where topnotch, $2000 > in 1988 stuff can be had for a dime or a nickel on the dollar, and > largely works as well now as it did then. =A0New gear in the kilobucks > realm, while significantly better, is off in a land of precision and > performance I doubt I'll ever need. =A0Scopes may be an exception, but a > $1K tek TDS 220 (from ebay) has served me well for 7 years and counting. > > It could hardly be cheaper than right now to get a lab of good equip for > most any type of design work. =A0It just doesn't cost that much for what > will serve 99% of designs. =A0Of course, if you do RF design, you're off > in a different world... > > Cheers > J > > > > Marcel Duchamp wrote: >> Yup. >> >> But... on the other hand, you have one of the finest DMMs you can get. >> >> Based on a recommendation from Jim Williams, I bought an HP3455 DMM. >> Amazing specs. =A0What a deal at $95 or so... =A0oh, the golden age of e= bay. >> >> >> >> On 6/30/2010 7:30 PM, Jesse Lackey wrote: >>> Hi - thanks, that is exactly what it is. >>> >>> I guess a hack is in order. =A0I suppose this is the downside of getting >>> late-80s mfgr gear. =A0I'm sure it will be unavailable or at least not >>> worth the expense and hassle of finding one of them from god knows wher= e. >>> >>> Cheers, >>> J >>> > -- > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > -- = http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist