Old HP lab equipment is the bee's knees. I recently scored an HP 6261b power supply for free from work, and it is awesome. This monster delivers up to 50 amps DC at up to 24 volts, can also be current limited; rock solid with very very low ripple and noise. Mainly because it's linear regulated and the six big capacitors inside are the size of beer cans.
I didn't know it at the time, but these still go for $1500+ on ebay. A new equivalent performance unit would be $5000+. Only downside is it's huge (4U rackmount) and weighs 80 lbs.
I once worked for an HP spin-off (Agilent) and scrounged an old but serviceable spectrum analyzer for the rack in my cube. I remember lifting it up to the top position one night and throwing my back out in the process. It was only after lifting to head height that I could read the warning sticker saying to use two people to lift because it weighed in excess of 80 lbs. Instead of transformers like your power supply, it was full of ovenized crystal oscillators.
First time I saw one of these I was amazed. Accurate as a lab standard in measuring signal levels. All the way to 18GHZ via a single N connector on the front panel.
I got one off eBay a couple of years ago myself, at quite a steal. I replaced the analog meters with digital ones that simultaenously show both voltage and current and couldn't be happier.
Those guys were clever, and really did start the company out of a garage. I have always enjoyed the story of how their breakthrough product -an oscillator, or clock - was stabilized by no less than a light bulb. Sometimes the simplest solution is itself pretty simple.
Old story. We had some hydraulic valves in a control system that would 'scream' under certain input conditions. The techs had changed them out, and the noise went with the valves. Vendor was positive that it could not be the valves having a resonance in that range.
Borrowed an HP audio spectrum analyzer, and played back a cassette tape of the noise into it. Sent the results to the vendor, and they were able to duplicate. HP Test Equipment FTW.
I didn't know it at the time, but these still go for $1500+ on ebay. A new equivalent performance unit would be $5000+. Only downside is it's huge (4U rackmount) and weighs 80 lbs.