EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Electronics => Beginners => Topic started by: LoveLaika on September 12, 2023, 02:38:42 pm
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I'm looking at some old equipment, but I can't decide whether or not to keep them. The equipment is as follows:
- Dynatrac Lock-In amplifier
- EG&G Signal Averager
- PAR Selective Amplifier
Looking at a rough Google search, they seem to be used in signal processing and maybe RF stuff, but I really don't know how I can use them, if at all. Before I recycle them, I was wondering if you guys might know how these are used?
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Practice soldering/desoldering.
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Got plenty of other stuff for that. But is the equipment so old that it's not worth using anymore?
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To answer that, we would need the type designations.
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You also need to know what you want to do. Lock in amplifiers basically are a filter with a very narrow bandwidth around a reference frequency that you provide at a second input. Once used in spectrometers, could also be used in a speed of light demonstration or many other things. I am less familiar with the other two devices, but any of the three could do some very interesting and informative things. I wouldn't scrap them until you study and experiment with them. You may find they fit some need of yours exactly. If not you will be able to answer your own question about whether to move them along to someone else or scrap them.
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TSP #107 - Tutorial, Teardown & Experiments with Stanford Research SR530 Lock-in Amplifier
The Signal Path
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzzliN_vTKs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzzliN_vTKs)
TNP #20 - Stanford Research Systems SR830 DSP Lock-in Amplifier Teardown, Repair & Experiments
The Signal Path
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=figDqnsQD88 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=figDqnsQD88)
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Lock-in amplifier are pretty advanced lab instruments and though old they can still be usefull. Modern digital instruments can be better, but often the old ones are still good enough for the job. At the very least one can expect an often good input amplifier and range switching over a large range. Many of them are more for low frequency (e.g. audio band) and often used for things like optical experiments. Modulated light is easy to seprate from background light.
There is quite a bit one can learn from how these instruments are used and how they work. The operation may not be obvious, but it is worth a try to see if they work.
The signal averager is likely outdated and of limited actual use. It still was likely a rather expensive part and chances are there are collectors who would want to have them.
One can get a rough idea on the value by looking on how similar or the same instrument is offered / sold at ebay. Even withough knowing the models and even if broken, chances are one could sell them at ebay instead of just dispose them. They are fun object for those who like repairs of old test instruments.