Huge Test Gear Auction in Sweden - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 15, 2015, 12:12:57 am
content: http://www.go-dove.com/en/events?cmd=details&event=561117

author: MadTux
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2015, 01:48:07 am
content: So far affordable minimal price and maybe cheap to grab:10x broken 34401A: 100$HP 8753E (6GHz): 420$Some Tek TLAs for 100-200$ (worse ones have higher minimal price)HP 16700 with 16534A 4GS/s scope card (among others): 100$Some Tek TDS 754A for 100$ (probably hackable to 784A)Any idea what shipping/handling usually costs within Europe? (apart from the 16% that you have to add to final price)

author: rikkitikkitavi
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2015, 07:59:05 pm
content: You will have to add VAT, 25%, too unless you are outside EU or hold a VAT reg number . Dont know the formalia of that later though.Selling countrin within EU sets VAT. Not buyers country.

author: _Wim_
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2015, 08:30:31 pm
content: Last auction in Lund I tried to work with a shipping company, but got quoted very high prices (>700€ for a 40 kg item!) for pick-up an shipping to my door (Belgium) So unless you can arrange local pick-up or are buying expensive items, it seems not wothwhile to bid. If somebody here knows of an affordable solution (<150€ for pick-up and shipping to Belgium), I would be very interested to hear about it.

author: Neganur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 15, 2015, 09:21:05 pm
content: crazy reserve on a lot of the stuff

author: KJDS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2015, 09:23:19 pm
content: Quote from: Neganur on December 15, 2015, 09:21:05 pmIt seems that the reserves are either very high or very low.

author: Pinkus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2015, 10:59:51 pm
content: Quote from: _Wim_ on December 15, 2015, 08:30:31 pmsame with me. I tried with DoveBids shipping partners in the US at an US auction. The handling/shipping quotes you get are more than crazy: it would have been be cheaper for me to book a flight ticket from Europe to the US (both ways!) for a personal pick up. Unless such an auction is nearby, I am not interested in this anymore. Probably many winners will get their eyes-opened when the shipping companies will rip them off after the auction. Too bad that DoveBid does not offer packing and DHL/UPS shipping by themselfs for items with a limited size/weight.

author: dvdput
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 16, 2015, 05:45:22 am
content: I live in Denmark and Lund is only 1h45min away from me. I am bidding on a couple of items and will pick them up myself if I win. If someone wants me to pickup and ship some items, send me a PM.

author: wiss
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2015, 09:55:04 am
content: Shipping out from Sweden is usually quite expensive, 50 EUR for 20 kg to EU was the cheapest I found some time ago...

author: pakesson
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 16, 2015, 02:57:29 pm
content: I bought a bunch of power supplies during the first part of this auction (closed a couple of weeks ago, picked them up yesterday). Four TTi EL183 for $80 (together) and a TTi EL302T (triple output) for $100. With buyer's premium and VAT it came out to $261 total, which feels like a pretty good deal.Some other items skyrocketed in the final hours, so be prepared to babysit your bids if you're interested in something. Still good deals in the end though, but not as ridiculous as the starting bids.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2015, 03:32:43 pm
content: Quote from: _Wim_ on December 15, 2015, 08:30:31 pmROADTRIP!

author: _Wim_
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 06:05:36 am
content: Yeach, would be nice if I wanted to buy a carload of gear, but for just a few items I think it is not worth the effort.@dvdput: many thanks for the offer. However, because it is an auction, it can always happen you did not win any item, and I end up with one. An 1h45min is closer than I am, but it is still quite some effort to pick something up...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 06:16:55 am
content: Quote from: _Wim_ on December 17, 2015, 06:05:36 amYeah, that's always the risk, has happened to me more than once.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 10:47:36 am
content: Trying to register but can't log in

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 11:18:16 am
content: .... aaaannddd, I'm in

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 12:37:20 pm
content: Last time at such an auction in Sweden, I had a friend going there and the prices went far too high to make any sense to buy.It seemed to me that corporations were buying and the prices did not matter.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 01:26:41 pm
content: OK. Scooped up a few items. Still need confirmation on it, I'll update with details later. So, roadtrip is a GO!

author: rikkitikkitavi
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 02:21:24 pm
content: You b-d, took that stuff I wantedAnyhow, unless it is ridiciously large amounts of stuff I could help with pick up at the Site, as I have some stuff myself to pickup (heavy powersupplies) and I live about 1000m away...It will be difficult for me to arrange shipping (ie packaging and going to a service office with heavy items demanding careful packaging)I have a full time work to manage (with travelling time) and three kids, but if we can arrange something feasible let me know if you need help.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 03:33:20 pm
content: 1000m? As in 1km? Oh, wow! Will post more later but... Wow!

author: MadTux
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 03:40:28 pm
content: Didn't get any either, but saves me from any trouble organizing/paying the shipping.Prices went insane anyway, especially considering you have to add 41% of fees/VAT and pay shipping.

author: KJDS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 04:25:31 pm
content: Quote from: MadTux on December 17, 2015, 03:40:28 pmYou pay VAT on the buyers premium too, so 16% * 25% is 45%

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 06:05:19 pm
content: OK, this is what I got (still needs to be confirmed...). Chances are I'll have a few follow-up threads for this. As I know from experience, these auctions tend to end up at the price the units are worth. So I figured another approach was needed. I focused on the units with some sort of malfunction, hoping it would scare of other buyers for relative minor issues (or so I hope). Seems to have worked...Tektronix 'TDS754D' 500 MHz 2 GS/s, Four Channel Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope Option M1 Please note dark display , Serial No. BO40508Payed 300$ (!) for it.Red harring here is the dark display. I'm hoping for a simple backlight replacement, perhaps a boost converter that's had it's best day. In the end, even if it turns out to be unrepearable, a dim (but working) display is something I can live with...Hewlett Packard '54520A' 500 MHz Oscilloscope 1 GS/s - 500 MS/s , Serial No. US35300208Payed 160$. That's right, 160$ for a 500Mhz scope. Granted, no color display, 2 channels only, less sampling speed, less memory but C'MON! 160$!LeCroy 'LC584AL' 1 GHz Oscilloscope Single 8 GS/s, 8 Mpt, Quad 2 GS/s, 2 Mpt, Fault Report 1 Mohm Input Impedance at EXT, Input is out of Spec , Serial No. 203945Payed 740$ for it.Red harring: "Fault Report 1 Mohm Input Impedance at EXT". My guess is this is a built in test for the external trigger or source that has failed. Either I can fix this or it is not all that important. This is the one I would be keeping anyway. Sell all the others at a profit (after some refurbishing), and keep this beaty for myself. 8GS/s. 8Mpt. Four channels. Looking at a Rigol 4ch, 100Mhz scope atm. My God...Hewlett Packard '54825A' Infinium Oscilloscope 500 MHz, 2 GS/s, Including Probes Boot up Fault NTLDR Missing , Serial No. US3919030Payed 470$ for it.Red Harring: NTLDR missing, or in other words: OS not booting. Could be as easy as plopping in a recovery disk, as bad as having to go and find some sort of impossible to find compatible drive... This could go wrong (spectaculary so..)Hewlett Packard '54645D' Mixed Signal Oscilloscope With Megazoom 100MHz 2-16 Channel each with plug in Rear Modules see photos , Serial No. US38060330 & US 37093117Payed 350$ for it.This is a bit of a nostalgia purchase. When at my first EE job, this was the scope I got. Loved it. More practical: the 16 digital bits are great for digital/bus debugging. The description seems to mention 1, but from what I can tell I'll be getting two.In general: most of these do not mention probes. I'm hoping they'll be in the included bag or still around somewhere. If not, that will hurt. A lot. On the other hand, if the probes are included, that may also feature a nice surprise... Diff probes? Isolated? Current? One can dream

author: MadTux
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 06:52:59 pm
content: Those Tek 700s have monochrome white CRTs with LCD shutter in front to select colors. Look great if they work but are evil to repair, because it has the flaws of both technologies. So no simple backlight swap, you probably have to adjust CRT intensity internally and hope that there is still some life left in it without getting a bloated spot on the phosphpor.But still better than my doorstop that has a broken LCD.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 06:58:55 pm
content: Thanks for the info! I'm afraid I'll run in into a few more surprises before this is through

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 07:31:19 pm
content: Quote from: MadTux on December 17, 2015, 06:52:59 pmYou can get LCD retrofit kits for some of these

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 08:14:33 pm
content: Those retrofit kits for Tektronix TDS500/600/700 series aren't cheap last time I checked. I did some DIY TFT conversions for these scopes.If those prices are excluding VAT and auction costs then you probably end up paying way more than they are worth on Ebay in the condition they are.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 08:17:58 pm
content: They are excluding costs. As I am VAT registered, the VAT doesn't matter for the ones I'm keeping. So it all depends on whether I can fix 'mAnd at some level, I'm doing this because I want to fiddle around with 6 scopes.Oh God. I'm Dave.EDIT: 995$ for the LCD kitEDIT: 350$ for another kit. That's more like it!

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2015, 08:37:20 pm
content: I sold my TDS744A with TFT screen for 600 euros last year so don't count on getting rich from the TDS574D. Maybe the TDS574D can be uphacked to 1GHz. The nicest catch IMHO is the Lecroy LC584AL.The 54645Ds may also be a good buy (and sell) if they come with the probes (the pouches on top look full so I guess you'll have a pleasant surprise). The logic analysers in the auction didn't seem to have probes with them. Did those even sell?The infiium 54825A should be easy to fix with a fresh install. Chances are the hard drive got wiped on purpose for declassification.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2016, 06:27:19 pm
content: Tower Of Power!On top: the Rigol for (size) reference.I'll be adding links to this post to the topics pertaining to the restauration of these beasts. Should be fun!

author: Wuerstchenhund
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2016, 02:06:12 pm
content: Quote from: Ice-Tea on December 17, 2015, 06:05:19 pmThe LC Series are nice scopes (although $740 for one with a failure isn't that cheap) and generally very reliable. Plus they can do a lot of things that many other scopes can't if you get the software options enabled (they are stored in option GALs, there's someone in the LeCroy group selling them legally with permission from LeCroy for $50 or so).Schematics should also be available in the Yahoo LeCroy group.Weak points:- Knobs - they tend to fall off (falling of knobs where a LeCroy trademark at that time)- Encoders (not difficult to replace, instructions should be in the Yahoo group)- CRT: convergence of these old color CRTs is often pretty poor, especially after many years of use.- Printer: suffers from capacitor leakage and can prevent the scope from starting. If the printer is not needed then it can simply be unplugged internallyIn the PSU:- automatic input voltage circuitry can fail so the scope stops working. There's a Service Advisory describing how to disable the curcuitry and set it to fixed input voltage (also available in the Yahoo group)- there's a thermal sensor fixed to a large heat sink which after 18 years tends to fail occasionally which prevents the scope powering up. Easy to fix.Nothing of this is really serious, though (encoders fail in other old instruments, too).The color CRT is also the reason why the LC5xx has been replaced by the LC6xx (with LCD instead of CRT) after a short time on the market. However, the scope has VGA out, and the internal monitor is actually a standard industrial CRT which connects to the graphics controller via standard VGA port so doing some LCD replacement is possible (and the front of a LC6xx is still available from LeCroy so the optics can be made to fit, too).When you get the scope I'd recommend you open it up and disable the auto input voltage circuitry as per advisory, and check the thermal switch on the large heat sink.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2016, 06:14:15 pm
content: Well, I'm down to the Tek now... All the others were perfectly fine and have been sold, are being sold or have made it to the big league (ie stays with me)The Tek is a pain. The display is truly dim, with brightness up to 100% Dropping it 10% makes the menu dissapear altogether. Hoped it would be at 50% and that would be that. Guess not. In addition, the diagnosis menus yield nothing. That is to say: the unit is unable to get to the end of regardless what test without rebooting.So my guess is, aside from whatever is nuking the display, some dried out caps. This one is going to be taken apart!