Vintage Test Gear

[Mikebits]

Looky what I found! I was in my storage unit the other day looking for something and came across this old HP Voltmeter (HP 34701A), and this thing still works. As I was rummaging around I saw the meter and said to myself "Oohh I forgot I had that" I had to grab it and brought it home. Amazing part is I payed less than $20.00 for this thing, I picked it up at one of those Electronic swap meets. The meter has .0001 volt resolution which is handy because I been doing some work with some gas sensors that output in the uV range. Do you folks in the UK have swap meets or is that a USA thing? They are getting harder to find here these days since Ebay. Also note my old vintage power supply, it is a HP supply (also got at a swap meet).
I think Jim B. Has some really nice vintage RF gear, the 8640 sig gen, and 141T SA. After all these years these bad boys are still useful Wish I could find the multimeter plugin for the HP display unit (part of the voltmeter)...

 

[cowboybob]

Sweet!, Mike.

HP has made some really beautiful stuff over the years...

 

[JimB]

Do you folks in the UK have swap meets or is that a USA thing?

In the amateur radio world, yes we do.
There are quite a number around the UK (mostly in England).

My favourite is in Friedrichshafen in Germany.



Get the idea?

JimB

 

[Mikebits]

Those look very civilized compared to the ones we have over here. Some real nice gear for sale too

 

[JimB]

Friedrichshafen is the largest event of its type in Europe and is very civilised, what you see in my pictures is just a small part of it.
My bench DVM, frequency counter, function generator and oscilloscope were all bought there over the past few years.

The other end of the scale is the local radio club event, which can sometimes leave you thinking "why did I bother?"
But then again, the odd little gem pops up in the most unlikely places.

JimB

 

[Les Jones]

Here are my two bits of HP test equipment. An audio signal generator and an audio milivoltmeter. Both bought at amateur radio rallies for about £10.00 each

Les.

 

[Mikebits]

Those AC meters are nice, I used those when I was in the Navy. I think that Audio oscillator was what put HP on the map, or maybe the one you have is a close cousin
Very cool...

 

[atferrari]

In the amateur radio world, yes we do.
There are quite a number around the UK (mostly in England).

My favourite is in Friedrichshafen in Germany. Get the idea?

JimB

Things have a tag price or something to mean their "value"? Do you eventually pay (actual money) for things, or do you always give something else in exchange?

Besides cakes, one of your pictures shows things that look brand new. Is it allowed?

 

[JimB]

The expression "Swap Meet" is USA English, we do not use it in the UK. The expression infers that all trading is by barter, but that is not the case.

All the equipment in my pictures is second hand i.e. used.
In the UK (and Germany) things are for sale and have a price, in exchange the sellers want money, not your old stuff, if you have stuff to dispose of you rent a table and sell it yourself.
In many cases the prices are not fixed and are negotiable, a deal can be done.

At Friedrichshafen, the event takes place at the Messe which is a modern exhibition hall.
Look here for a link to the website
There is one hall for manufacturers to show off their new stuff and for various vendors of new stuff to sell.
There are also three halls for the "Flohmarkt" (Flea Market), which is where my equipment pictures were taken.

The cakes were at one of the catering areas within the Messe. The Germans make some very tasty cakes.

JimB
(Who should be on commission from the German Tourist Board for this write up!)

 

[Mikebits]

Flea Market

That term is used here in the US as well, I never understood why they called it that.