Everyone should know by now I have a knack for finding neat things that have been discarded. There are a few junk piles I like to keep an eye on...
Today I snagged this Tektronics unit. Wow. Maybe it still works. In the picture the screen glows from the camera flash. I can't turn it on until...
...After I fix the power cord!?
And what's with these two red wires hanging out the side?
So when I opened the case and got my flashlight, I found this inside:
Sure enough, the knob is broken. I guess somebody took the suggestion to "loop compensate" literally - with a loop of wire to compensate for the broken knob! HAHA
Judging by the red sticker (and others elsewhere) this unit is at least 25 years old, and made its way from London (or Ottawa) to Calgary a long time ago, too.
At first I thought it was a fancy oscilloscope. Looking up the part #, I see it's actually a Tektronix 576 Curve Tracer. Whatever the heck that means? For testing discrete semiconductors? The CBE markings are pretty obvious clues, but it doesn't seem like the finger-nail sized stuff goes in there. And I've never seen a fist-sized transistor... or would you usually have a set of kelvin probes in the receptacles?
Anyhow, unless it will work like an oscilloscope as it is, I don't have any use for it. Any takers?
