18 Aug
2015
18 Aug
'15
8:59 a.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Eric Smith
Sent: 18 August 2015 06:52
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Subject: Re: test equipment / Re: Z80 / Z84C Swap (Doh!)
I wrote:
Then some tasks become non-realistic. So I don't have a spectrum analyser, so
realistically I can't test home-brew Ham Band HF (3-30Mhz) Power Amplifiers.
Of course budget limits what all of us can do. I am not Paul Allen and I can't afford
to run a Mainframe.
If a person has any reasonable business
justification
On Mon, Aug 17, 2015 at 2:11 PM, Noel Chiappa <jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu>
wrote:
But a lot of the people here don't;
they're purely hobbyists. So
spending $1K on a piece of test equipment just isn't realistic for them.
That's why I suggested the info was for those with
a reasonable business
justification. I'd be rather hard-pressed to come up with money for test
equipment if it wasn't going to be used for paying work.
Sometimes a "business judgement" isn't about pure reward. I only ride a
small motor cycle but I spent around $1000 on boots, gloves, over trousers, jacket and
helmet, for when I fall off...
My main point was that the prices of reasonably decent
test equipment,
even brand new, have come down a lot in the last decade. Still possibly out
of reach of many hobbyists, though.
I think for most vintage computing requirements the cost of a suitable scope is
attainable. I can't see any need to spend more than $250 on such a device, and as I
say for many tasks a bottom end model is fine. The models with the 16-channel logic
analyser look very good. Really excellent DVM's can now be had for $20-$30. I
don't think the prices have ever been better. If you don't have a decent scope try
talking to your local Ham Club, Hack Space or FabLab.
http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club
https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/List_of_Hacker_Spaces
http://www.fablab.com/
The FabLabs all have good Scopes, most hack spaces will have usuable scopes, often older
and donated, and many Ham Clubs will have some sort of test equipment...
Dave Wade
G4UGM
Dave Wade