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LearningAboutTech

Joined Dec 1, 2019
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My partner and I recently acquired a very large collection of electrical test equipment. (See the attached photos)

The man who originally amassed this collection had a deep appreciation and understanding of antique and modern electronics, utilized ample funds to purchase and collect unique items, and became a hoarder of equipment, components, tools, books, manuals, and other related items. The collection includes a wide variety of instruments, oscilloscopes, signal generators, power supplies, RF & radio equipment, transformers, tools, accessories, small components in bulk such as dials, resistors, capacitors, microchips, etc., and many more items that have not yet been processed. A great number of brands are represented including Tektronix, Heath Kit, Lab Volt, General Radio, RCA, and others. I have been unable to find any information online about a number of items which I assume must be rare, including some machines labeled “prototype”. The pieces vary a lot in age. The earliest pieces I have seen are from the 1930's. The collection also includes sets of educational module board with plenty of plug-ins. I know that a few particularly unique pieces were originally purchased from an electronics museum and I would not be surprised to find more of some historic relevance.

As far as we can currently tell, many of the items are in good or excellent condition including some items still in their original packaging, some require only simple repair to return to working-order, some appear to be damaged or are partially disassembled for parts.

I am fairly new to the world of electronics and the process of organizing and testing this collection has been somewhat overwhelming at times. Can anyone here offer advice for me regarding where to start or what to look for? Are there particular books or manuals that I should keep an eye out for? Can anyone make a guess at (if any) what the original collector’s primary focus within electronics might have been?

Also, if anyone happens to be searching for a particular piece or component to add to their own collection, please feel free to contact me! I am located in New Orleans, but I'm open to shipping as needed.IMG_20191128_142452.jpg
 

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Reloadron

Joined Jan 15, 2015
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Looks like the sort of stuff I started my career with. Like MrChips mentions circa 1960 through 1980 give or take. I guess you could file by pile, for example scopes, signal generators, and types of test measurement and diagnostic equipment. When it comes down to things like manuals you don't have and may need I suggest The Boat Anchor Manual Archive which is a pretty good collection of free old manuals. I guess you could also sort by manufacturer. A good place to sell this sort of stuff, other than forums like this would be ARRL Hamfest which you can Google for any locally.

Ron
 
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