List your test equipment "scores" here!

[deepskyridge]

I just got in the past week from Ebay:

Fluke 6060B - Not working - $75
HP 5370B - Not working  - $140

The 6060B has a shorted bridge rectifier in the PS, have parts on order.
The 5370B is missing one of it's cards, power supply control and it's OCXO. Picked up the PS control on ebay.

Gary

I recently was given a working 5371a plus a parts unit.  I was watching the 5370b on ebay and I am still watching I guess. 

They are pretty interesting units.  Try it with timelab when you get it working.  I wrote my own VB code to collect the data off the 5371a as it was easier than trying to get timelab to talk to my GPIB.  I've been getting some interesting Allan deviation charts from my two GPS PPS outputs.  Ping me offline if you need some help once you get it running.

OK, I will let you know. I have already fixed a couple of problems, last one (I think) is the stop input is non-functional, I have made an offer on a hybrid for it.

Thanks
Gary

[1audio]

I found a Maxim comparator that works in that location. Installing it was adding wires between the pads on the chip and the socket. Not easy but doable. I also got the Beaglebone processor upgrade. The 5370 is higher resolution (20pS) than the later HP TIA's. The special probes are very helpful as well.

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

[innkeeper]

I was at a local hamfest and i couldn't pass this up

Lab-Volt AA-798 100mhz ( it is a re-badged Leader LBO-516 ) $100
NEW OLD STOCK  -  yes, brand new in box ... !!!
looks like lab-volt is an education institution supplier. The still sealed manual that comes with it actually says leader lbo-516 on it.

it's 100mhz  and 500uv (at x10)

I've had my eye out for a decent 100mgz / 500uv scope in good shape and  this fit the bill...

I've not even turned it on yet though .. it is a 3 channel analog oscilloscope (trigger can be used as a 3rd channel) capable of displaying 8 traces (not 8 channels though - still reading on this)
It does have a delay.

looks like it will be a good upgrade from my ballantine 1066s 15mgz dual channel  scope.

[SeanB]

Forgot I got a pair of Charvin Arnoux Minipince clip on current shunts last month, used. Nice little 100A units, with a current output on the one of 1mA/A AC and the other a voltage output of 100mVDC per amp of AC current.

[Muxr]

After hunting for a 1GHz+ DSO for over half a year I think I finally got one for a reasonable price (way less than $1000). Today I paid for an Agilent 54835A (4 channels 1GHz 2Gs/s) in for 'parts condition' but it looks fine on the outside. This is a PC based scope and it is stuck in the BIOS screen saying 'CMOS checksum error press F1 yadda yadda'. It is a bit of a crap shoot but it has received a new motherboard after 2005 (VIN 033 sticker) due to a recall. The fans look really clean so I hope it has been sitting unused on a shelve for a long time and the only problem is the CMOS battery has gone flat. The hard drive is also recognised by the BIOS so that means it at least still spins. I hope to uphack it to an 54846A (4 channels 1GHz 4Gs/s / 2 channel 2.25GHz/8Gs/s) but more about that once I get it to work and pass self test.

Nice one, good luck.

[TheSteve]

After hunting for a 1GHz+ DSO for over half a year I think I finally got one for a reasonable price (way less than $1000). Today I paid for an Agilent 54835A (4 channels 1GHz 2Gs/s) in for 'parts condition' but it looks fine on the outside. This is a PC based scope and it is stuck in the BIOS screen saying 'CMOS checksum error press F1 yadda yadda'. It is a bit of a crap shoot but it has received a new motherboard after 2005 (VIN 033 sticker) due to a recall. The fans look really clean so I hope it has been sitting unused on a shelve for a long time and the only problem is the CMOS battery has gone flat. The hard drive is also recognised by the BIOS so that means it at least still spins. I hope to uphack it to an 54846A (4 channels 1GHz 4Gs/s / 2 channel 2.25GHz/8Gs/s) but more about that once I get it to work and pass self test.

Hope it works out, that seller is a bit scary to purchase from.

[alm]

The does not respond to keyboard could be slightly worrying. Unless they tried to use a USB keyboard with USB keyboard support disabled in the BIOS (not sure what the default was back then). But if the problem is on the PC motherboard, that might be easier to fix than something in the acquisition hardware.

As for the seller, I have ordered from them and received what they described. It is just that they do have some repair ability, so something sold as 'non-working, fuse missing' will likely have more defects beyond just a missing fuse, and was considered BER by them. So it would not surprise me if this has other defects beyond the empty BIOS battery.

[nctnico]

Regarding my 54835A:

The does not respond to keyboard could be slightly worrying. Unless they tried to use a USB keyboard with USB keyboard support disabled in the BIOS (not sure what the default was back then). But if the problem is on the PC motherboard, that might be easier to fix than something in the acquisition hardware.

As for the seller, I have ordered from them and received what they described. It is just that they do have some repair ability, so something sold as 'non-working, fuse missing' will likely have more defects beyond just a missing fuse, and was considered BER by them. So it would not surprise me if this has other defects beyond the empty BIOS battery.

I have bought from them (express_auctions) before. It was quite hard to get them to accept a price for the 54835A I was comfortable with. I think someone opened it because the stickers are missing but I also think it requires an AT keyboard (which preceeds USB keyboards by 2 generations) to get into the BIOS. So maybe the person gave up at that point. Anyway there is a decent amount of information about repairing these scopes and the maintenance manual can also be found on internet. My biggest fear is that the hard drive has been erased because I have not found the firmware yet.

[Cubdriver]

My fingers are crossed that it winds up being something simple!

-Pat

[MadTux]

Funny thread 
I got a  AG8753ES at HKD2000 last year . repair HKD50, now 

HKD2000=>~250USD?!? Quite a nice score, for that price 

[macboy]

I picked up a misbehaving Keithley 2400 SMU for $??? "a very good price".
It will output accurate (but noisy) voltages under 20 V, but goes into OVP mode at anything above that, regardless of OVP settings. The current measurement is bonkers. It shows a high offset and reads several times the actual current. I opened it up and eventually found that a comparator is missing along with a couple of pads/tracks leading to it (bad removal job by some previous owner). I'll replace that then go from there. It won't be trivial as one of the missing pads leads to a via under the IC  .  It's not the only fault I'm sure. The service manual is a complete joke, and there are no helpful built-in tests like the 200x meters have. No troubleshooting info except for a few voltage checks, and even for those, there is no additional information, e.g. what this signal is, where it is sourced, what it drives. Nothing    At least the service manual has a parts list (about the only useful thing in there) so that I could identify the missing IC. The VFD is perfect, better than any of my other Keithley gear. Even broken, this is probably worth many times what I paid, so it qualifies as a "score". If nothing else, it will be a fun spare time fixit project.

[alm]

A Keithley 2400 for under $100 US is an amazing deal! The unit uses different taps for the +/- 20 V and +/- 200 V rails (see also the simplified schematic of the output stage), so the obvious place to look would be the circuit driving the high voltage output transistors and the high voltage rails themselves. There is a service manual with full schematics for the earlier Keithley 236/237. It would not surprise me if many of the analog circuits and the theory of operation are fairly similar to the more modern SMUs.

[Berni]

Woah Keithley 2400 for that price is an insane deal. I been looking for one for quite a long time.

[TheSteve]

Yep, I'm jealous of your 2400 score.

[bitseeker]

Wow, that is an amazing score, macboy! Looking forward to your repair thread on it.

[james_s]

I have bought from them (express_auctions) before. It was quite hard to get them to accept a price for the 54835A I was comfortable with. I think someone opened it because the stickers are missing but I also think it requires an AT keyboard (which preceeds USB keyboards by 2 generations) to get into the BIOS. So maybe the person gave up at that point. Anyway there is a decent amount of information about repairing these scopes and the maintenance manual can also be found on internet. My biggest fear is that the hard drive has been erased because I have not found the firmware yet.

I filter them out of my searches, they sell overpriced junk and gouge you on the shipping. If they sell something non-working, they've already cannibalized most of the expensive parts from it to fix other units so you can pretty much guarantee it's not economical to repair unless you already have a parts unit.

[bitseeker]

I ran into listings of similar characteristics from one of the sellers that uses a red background for their photos. Since then, I just gloss over all listings with red photos. Red = stop, avoid. Painting with very large strokes.

Is there a way to filter out many specific sellers from followed searches? I recall there being a cumbersome or limited method of manually filtering by user (advanced search or something), but not for saved searches.

[nctnico]

I have bought from them (express_auctions) before. It was quite hard to get them to accept a price for the 54835A I was comfortable with. I think someone opened it because the stickers are missing but I also think it requires an AT keyboard (which preceeds USB keyboards by 2 generations) to get into the BIOS. So maybe the person gave up at that point. Anyway there is a decent amount of information about repairing these scopes and the maintenance manual can also be found on internet. My biggest fear is that the hard drive has been erased because I have not found the firmware yet.

I filter them out of my searches, they sell overpriced junk and gouge you on the shipping. If they sell something non-working, they've already cannibalized most of the expensive parts from it to fix other units so you can pretty much guarantee it's not economical to repair unless you already have a parts unit.

Now you are making me even more worried! Are you writing from your own experience? I bought a piece of equipment from them before and that was complete & working as pictured. Looking at their listings I don't think they fix much themselves but just move stuff after a quick check. If the 54835A turns out to be incomplete they have another thing coming though.

[BravoV]

My very 1st scope's active probe, from Ebay for few bucks, the popular Elektor's "Poor Man's 1-GHz Active Probe". 

Size compared with ordinary el-cheapo scope probe and a TO-220 chip. Yep, came with broken/snapped pogo pin. 

[nctnico]

Today I received two of those active FET probes as well. I still need to think about how to supply power without getting huge mess of wires.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Had some luck regarding Oltronix lab power supplies, which I incidentally like very much.

First was a B703DT, which was sold as defective for around 20€. It needed exactly ONE component replaced: the output protection parallel diode on the primary output was shorted.

Next was even better in terms of necessary work: a B32-10R (32V 10A), going for 30€ as defective. The seller added the comment that the Output voltage breaks down at about halfrange, but works fine below.
I downloaded the pictures, zoomed in and took a look at the little pot for the OVP crowbar and found it set at about the mid of its rotation. When the PS arrived, I adjusted the OVP and: 0..32V!

Another spectacular grab was the BIG Xcelite toolkit (which came with 2 Weller Magnastat irons: 1 for 230V and one for 115V!), which was listed on Ebay titled 'old american toolcase' with a very blurred photo. Factually, it was mostly UNUSED and I got it for around 50€ including postage.

Also, a set of 8 Pomona QFP test clips for 1€ + postage. (Bad picture and fuzzy title too)

[bitseeker]

Now you are making me even more worried! Are you writing from your own experience? I bought a piece of equipment from them before and that was complete & working as pictured. Looking at their listings I don't think they fix much themselves but just move stuff after a quick check. If the 54835A turns out to be incomplete they have another thing coming though.

Don't worry. If the item arrives not as described, just contact them about it and if they don't resolve it to your satisfaction, open an eBay case. Although it's better to minimize the risk of having to go through that process, it is there for you if you need it. As long as you have all the info showing why the condition isn't as described, eBay generally decides in your favor, which is why most sellers will try to resolve the issue rather than have you open a case.

For the several times I've received something not as described, so far all the sellers have taken care of it.

[Silveruser]

My first post to this thread, don't know if it's a score but I did pick a Motorola R1041 at a gov surplus action for $150. It mostly seems to work after sitting for some 20 years. Don't know what a 1041R is? Well neither did the internet until I found some picture that matched. It's a Fluke 6060A with some options added. The non-volatile ram fails the self test and on further inspection the battery is long dead - replace on order for Friday.
Some pictures for your entertainment (would the last one be the high stabilty (oven) reference option?:

[james_s]

Don't worry. If the item arrives not as described, just contact them about it and if they don't resolve it to your satisfaction, open an eBay case. Although it's better to minimize the risk of having to go through that process, it is there for you if you need it. As long as you have all the info showing why the condition isn't as described, eBay generally decides in your favor, which is why most sellers will try to resolve the issue rather than have you open a case.

For the several times I've received something not as described, so far all the sellers have taken care of it.

But it's described as not working, so what can you say? It could be assembled out of all the broken parts they had from repairing other items and it would still be as described.

I haven't bought from them personally, the shipping charges are absurd, often as much as the equipment is worth even if it were free. I've heard enough about them from others that I wouldn't buy though. I know they repair equipment or used to at least and much of the "for parts or repair" stuff is equipment they gave up on, deemed not economical to repair or used as a parts source for repairing another one they sold at even more inflated prices.

[xrunner]

Agilent 54622D. Nice crisp display.