Found this on eBay UK - test equipment hoarder's loft - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: mianchen
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 10:40:06 am
content: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=190744054939that's a lot of stuff

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 10:49:56 am
content: Its a pile of junk. This stuff is nice if you have a museum

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 11:48:50 am
content: Amazed the roof didn't cave in with all that stuff in the loft - mostly junk but I do see maybe £150 worth of vintage projection displays in a couple of old DVMs (last picture), and some nixies. if you're local, it would probably be worth £100 to be the 'first picker' as long as you didn't have to take the lot.

author: deephaven
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 12:14:31 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on October 23, 2012, 11:48:50 amIt's a good job I'm not local

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 12:40:58 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on October 23, 2012, 11:48:50 amThe latter is important! Once someone told me he got a car full of old electronic equipment and parts and asked if I was interested. Ofcourse I was interested. What I didn't know at that time was that his 'car' was actually a big van. My parents where not happy... Almost 25 years later I still have some of the stuff.

author: grenert
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 01:12:52 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on October 23, 2012, 11:48:50 amWow, you guys are a tough lot! Aren't the vintage Tek scopes worth anything to anyone? Maybe they're low-end models?What is a projection display? Is that a Nixie tube?

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 02:33:43 pm
content: Quote from: grenert link=topic=11540.msg156529#msg156529See bottom of page :http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/count.html

author: poptones
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 09:08:40 pm
content: Wow, I wish I had connections in the UK for this, I would defnitely buy it for the vacuum tubes alone.I'll bet there are thousands of dollars worth of 12nn7 and 6922s in there... not to mention the power transformers. Yowza.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 09:40:58 pm
content: Am I mistaken, or is that stuffunderthe house? (concrete slab floor)Dave.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 09:49:19 pm
content: Ah maybe - says "emptied from a loft" Still - a lot of weight!

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 11:07:51 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 23, 2012, 09:40:58 pmI don't see any concrete, just dusty chipboard. You can see the roof structure and a chimney!

author: lewis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2012, 08:43:29 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on October 23, 2012, 10:49:56 amI think Jim Williams would disagree!

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2012, 09:51:38 pm
content: I stand by my opinion. You do know they actually wrapped Jim Williams' desk in plastic so nothing would move during transport and put it on display in a museum?http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyohm/sets/72157629444825281/with/6926143499/

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2012, 10:11:01 pm
content: My thoughts exactly.Williams's desk is a lot more modern than that old pile of tube gear.Poptones is right, ripping the things to pieces could make you a fortune on fleabay - it would hurt, though.Problem I have with this old stuff is not it's age or performance but the sheer size of them! Boat anchors, really fitting description.

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2012, 11:31:49 pm
content: That's a Tek 7000 series scope on the left, mostly ICs.The only tube scope is the second one in, a Tek 500 series with a 4 trace plugin.That's a Tek 453 or 454 on the right. Maybe an HP oscillator sitting on top of it.Everything other than the 500 series pretty much looks to be solid state. Williams really loved his Tek 556; he used 2 of the 4 trace plugins.Those look like some HV probes on top of whatever it is on the cart. Some of the items in the back look like they're sporting HP colors.Looks like a pretty nicely equipped home lab to me.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2012, 11:49:53 pm
content: Quote from: PaulAm on November 07, 2012, 11:31:49 pmI think this was his workplace in the company. There is a video of him at home repairing a Tek oscilloscope. There he had a round table with a pile of parts in what looked more like a combined living room / study.What is known is that he created part of the mess at his workplace intentionally. All the prototype boards on top of the equipment, especially the bridges and other delicate constructions he build with them are there to prevent co-workers taking his measurement instruments from his bench.EDIT: There it is, the video from him at home. More like a study / lab, than a living room

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 07, 2012, 11:54:04 pm
content: My bad, I thought that was a shot of the hoard that started this thread, not Williams' workbendh. I misread that.

author: lewis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 08, 2012, 12:49:38 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on November 07, 2012, 09:51:38 pmAnd rightly so. Engineers like Jim Williams, Bob Pease, Bob Wildar silently change the course of history while the world obsesses over how tight a bra Kim Kardashian can get away with.