The Aerovox Model 97 LC-Checker
https://wereboar.com/projects/index.php/2024/11/02/the-aerovox-model-97-lc-checker/
This interesting piece came from the 2024 Cleveland Hamfest for $5. The vendor was selling an estate - that seems to be happening a lot lately - and was just looking to return some cash to the estate itself. He knew nothing about the unit, but I took a chance and picked it up.
Aerovox, of course, is a name you’ll probably see on capacitors in older devices. The name Aerovox is still out there, but it seems to be more of an industrial player instead of a consumer devices company.
I'm going to pass this unit on to a friend, but I took a lot of pictures beforehand. You can view those at the link in this post.
If you're into old tech, one of the things you need to be aware of is some things were built from kits and may not be of the best quality. This is something to keep in mind when buying sight unseen from places like eBay. There are a lot of "desirable" devices such as pretty much anything with an eye tube - but test equipment of this nature was often wired by the purchaser.
For example, I recently picked up an Olson C-R Analyzer (Capacitor Checker) from a hamfest for $20. It was in physically good condition, but I could open it and saw that it was wired so poorly, it's amazing that it worked. It took a lot of time and wire and some new parts to make this device work again without fear of fire.
I see these same devices on eBay for well over $100 because they're desirable in that they have a meter for leakage testing, and an eye tube for measurements. They look cool, so people price them accordingly. Had I purchased this device for over $100, I'd be very upset that it was in such poor condition, and had tried to use it long term, I could have wound up with some damage to property or myself.
What's the moral of the story? Know what you're buying - especially when it comes to old stuff. If you can't see the inside and you suspect it's a kit build, stay away unless you absolutely need it.
I wrote some posts about this very thing and my adventures in making one work, you can check that out here: https://wereboar.com/projects/index.php/2024/12/28/an-olson-te-189-c-r-analyzer-does-it-work-and-final-thoughts/
The Sunday Creek Hamfest
This is a small but cozy hamfest in Southeastern Ohio, about 90 minutes below Columbus. If you're in the area and like this sort of thing, check it out.
I attended this last year for the first time, and found it to have some good deals and interesting things to see.
The community banner
The banner is the magic inside of a McMurdo-Silver "Sparx" 905 signal tracer. All of the tubes are lit.
This was an antique store find, and was a pretty decent deal in my opinion.
Hi everyone. I'm Bryan. I like to talk about old electronics and hamfests and the like, from a hobbyist point of view. Most of my stuff ends up on https://wereboar.com/projects, but sometimes I find a one-off something that doesn't need a story - just a "hey, this is pretty cool."