I sent the ebay seller of the waveteck the above image. His reply is: "

​

would you like to send back we tested it and it was working?

Pretty inconvenient. But we could find you another...

 

I was waiting to see if there were any suggestions for repair/diagnosis.
I will send it back, no big deal, like you say. (when the AAC group has my back)

 

Here's something vintage nearby and another on ebay:

 

I assume the above are too old but what about this? Is this a decent unit:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304343051710?epid=1223978626&hash=item46dc426dbe:g:7B8AAOSwsMNh-uC8

or this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2655170606...3D%3D|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2047675&epid=665063602

 

There are too many!
I am guessing these are inferior but Ebay has a guy offering one of these used for $65 delivered:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1335118282...5TsNHRHPx6wMSQ%3D%3D|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2047675

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334321953935?hash=item4dd7242c8f:g:dyQAAOSwIVZhzuXb#shpCntId

 

I want to offer $60 for this and see what happens. It doesn't have the 1 Mhz band that many do.
HP is a name I've at least heard of.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/234327638495

Other auctions that I am watching:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/144284333350
https://www.ebay.com/itm/144284333350
https://www.ebay.com/itm/142113718747
https://www.ebay.com/itm/272338139520
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304324105188
https://www.ebay.com/itm/304348065535

 

This looks good:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GW-Instek-...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

Thanks Yaakov, Guarantee has buyer paying return shipping though.

Ebay just flashed this to my screen: I've never seen Ebay do that before.


Review offer
You received an offer
Other buyers may have received this offer. The first to accept, gets the deal.

HP Hewlett Packard 3311A Function Generator Laboratory Device
Previous price was $99.95$99.95
Seller's Offer
$79.96 (20.00% off)
Expires in
47h 51m
Message
Here's your chance to get this item at a great price!
Seller
dragossurplus (18502)
Shipping
Free
FedEx Ground or FedEx Home Delivery®
Estimated total
$79.96

 

This looks good:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/GW-Instek-...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

I wrote this seller and asked if he would pay return shipping if the unit did not operate properly.

What makes this unit and the Wavetek FG3B, that you also suggested, superior to the other units I looked at?
I assume they are newer and digital? I could see you were going for digital oscilliscopes vs the analog but I
am missing what you see in the FG that I don't.

 

I wrote this seller and asked if he would pay return shipping if the unit did not operate properly.

What makes this unit and the Wavetek FG3B, that you also suggested, superior to the other units I looked at?
I assume they are newer and digital? I could see you were going for digital oscilliscopes vs the analog but I
am missing what you see in the FG that I don't.

These instruments are going to be more stable and offer more functionality then older instruments of the same class or cheap newer ones. They are professional tools and will do anything you might need in a repeatable, accurate fashion.

When you are dealing with test instruments, instability and unreliable performance is going to have you tearing your hair out. Test Instruments are supposed to the the "known good" anchor points.

Many times when I embark on a new technical pursuit I buy something because I don't know what's good and I try to hedge my bets on cost-benefit. Nearly invariably it isn't long before I am looking to buy what I should have done in the first place, and the original purchase is written off as "the cost of learning".

In this case, if you do decide to upgrade based on your own acquired knowledge, you will know a lot more about what a really good instrument offers, that is be an additional step up, in your upgrade. On the other hand, something like the GW or Wavetek could, assuming it is in proper running order, last you a lifetime and give you everything you need.

I have a Wavetek function generator about a generation newer than the one that turned out to be malfunctioning. The reason I replaced it with the Siglent was to get some additional modern features and remote control for automation. But that Wavetek is still an excellent instrument and finds use when I need an additional source.

No one in industry or academia ever used the cheap gear you were looking at, but that GW might even have an asset tag on it from a lab somewhere.

 

Many times when I embark on a new technical pursuit I buy something because I don't know what's good and I try to hedge my bets on cost-benefit. Nearly invariably it isn't long before I am looking to buy what I should have done in the first place, and the original purchase is written off as "the cost of learning".
No one in industry or academia ever used the cheap gear you were looking at, but that GW might even have an asset tag on it from a lab somewhere.

Thank you for you response Yaakov. I assumed you were trying to get me into tools that are quality vs junk and I am glad to have that guidance. I have no desire to use inferior equipment and hope to figure out what is suitable on my own. Failing that, I am perfectly happy to follow advice that gets me good tools until I can do it myself. (which seems some distance off yet!)

 

Thank you for you response Yaakov. I assumed you were trying to get me into tools that are quality vs junk and I am glad to have that guidance. I have no desire to use inferior equipment and hope to figure out what is suitable on my own. Failing that, I am perfectly happy to follow advice that gets me good tools until I can do it myself. (which seems some distance off yet!)

My experience is that at first, things are very disconnected, it's just a jumble of apparently separate and seemingly arbitrary things but each time you learn why something works and linked it to what it looks like, is called, is located, &c. you get a little more integration of the pieces.

It's not a linear process, each connection enables more connections so that while the initial learning curve is steep, a lot of progress is suddenly possible and things that were so opaque at the start quickly become transparent.

This depends on making sure you pursue the why of things as much as your own capacity and inclination permit. Those who pursue only the what are "operators" but those who pursue the why make themselves into engineers and can absorb new technologies and techniques because they see through to the underlying principles and know what features and connections must be present for them to work.

Its a really great feeling to encounter something you've never seen before and be able to say, "well, since it does X it must have some way to adjust Y" and then find that thing when others, who are expert operators of it, are baffled.

 

I found another place to look but they seem to be priced above my pay grade.

https://www.trsrentelco.com/special...ed-equipment?productsperpage=100&category=305

 

I found another place to look but they seem to be priced above my pay grade.

https://www.trsrentelco.com/special...ed-equipment?productsperpage=100&category=305

I think a 2GHz generator is slightly above the audio frequency range.

 

lol Yaakov, I kinda thought that it was a bit much for my needs.

BUT, How about this:

https://www.amazon.com/Precision-40...Z9SC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

lol Yaakov, I kinda thought that it was a bit much for my needs.

BUT, How about this:

https://www.amazon.com/Precision-40...Z9SC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

B&K is decent kit. I am sure it would work well for you.

 

Thank for the quick response Yaakov!

It looked to be half price so I ordered it. (Amazon said it was the last one available but it still shows after I ordered it? lol)

 

If a celebrity is funding your collection, you might do alright.
https://www.storytellershideawayfarm.com/one-piece-at-a-time-car

 

The model 4003A has the addition of a 20 MHz 5-digit external frequency counter.

Is that something desirable? I suppose the china kit counters aren't accurate enough?

https://www.alliedelec.com/m/d/24065b3fe150c25bd85e6b0a91733c9d.pdf

 

There is a ton of used BK Precision gear on eBay...