Hunting Trophies

[TerraHertz]

On Saturday, in the smokey wilds of Lawson (Blue Mountains near Sydney), deep in the techno-treasure mounds of Smaug's rented storage unit, the intrepid adventurers found... an original IMSAI 8080.

Well, the guy on the left found it. While I (on the right) was looking the other way. And it's really the property of the Australian Computer Museum Society now, not a personal spoils of war.

But still, it's the first time I ever touched one. After a lifetime of wishing I'd been able to afford one back when they came on the market.  Or now for that matter. At least I'll get to play with it eventually.

What was your most unexpected treasure find?

[25 CPS]

I found this HP 523D electronic counter fairly locally, about an 80 km drive from home listed for $40 but the gentleman selling it decided to give it to me while I was on my way to pick it up a couple of years ago.  I never thought I’d see one of these columnar display HPs in person, never mind have one in my workshop.

[German_EE]

Thirty years or so in the past I decided that I wanted to build my own antenna tuner rather than buy one. So, off to the local hamfest I went looking for bits. I had only been there for five or ten minutes when I spotted just the variable capacitor I needed and, next to it, just the variable inductor to match it.

Unfortunately they were being held by someone who was trying to negotiate a discount for the pair. I stood there for five minutes thinking 'don't buy them, DON'T buy them' and it must have worked because eventually he returned the parts to the counter and walked away. Within a minute I had them.

I used that antenna tuner for nearly three decades before selling the parts on and building an automatic antenna tuner, they went to a good home.

[bsudbrink]

Found this in an estate sale last year.  It's all there was.  No other electronics of any kind.  I asked the staff (who claimed that they set up the sale) and they said that there was nothing else electronics related.  Clearly it went with some vintage electronics (probably computer).  No idea how it became an orphan. By coincidence I'm now using it with my IMSAI.

[GlennSprigg]

I must admit, that upon seeing your post, "Hunting Trophies",  I was all geared up to
send some flak about defenseless animals being shot in the wild!!!   
Of course I was happy to see what you had posted!!   

Obviously, you are an Aussie, so you are less inclined to blast some poor animal to death,
so as to hang a 'Trophy' on the wall. Yes, 40 years ago I had a gun, but only hunted rabbits
and that was our FOOD for the night while camping out.

I had since found many of YOUR 'treasures' over the decades!! and love the thrill...