I’ve been lucky enough recently to score a Keithley 2304 power supply off ebay for a measly $75. For those unfamiliar, these are high speed battery simulator units capable of measuring very low currents and also behaving like a battery and sinking current.
Original ebay picture
The latest addition to our vintage collection is a Keithley 130A handheld DMM from the mid-eighties.Keithley is not well known for its handheld DMMs, or at least I’ve never heard of them. It’s a 3.5 digit 0.25% instrument made in mid 1980s
Another ebay find- a vintage Keithley 172 multimeter. The datecodes on the parts range from 1978 to 1984, placing the final assembly somewhere in mid-1980s. It seems fully functional, but could use a bit of a calibration to regain its past precision.
Today’s quick visual teardown is of an 1984 vintage Keithley 197 microvolt DMM, Despite considerable age, it’s still quite alive and kicking and very useful for measuring low currents and voltages.
