I am looking at some signal generators on Ebay.
It is for synthesising modulated RF waveforms, with the modulation in the audio band, with the modulation source being about 1V RMS. Specifically it is for bench testing of VOR receivers and such like so ~ 100-130MHz carrier. Being able to go down to 100kHz is just a bonus as my HP3314A probably goes up to somewhere around that...
These things go up to $40k so obviously the $1500 ones (my price limit) are going to be quite old.
I have some good old gear already (HP 3314A, TEK 2465B) and wonder which of the above are least likely to be out of calibration? I used to have a big HP logic analyser but it died and I threw it away. I have an Iwatsu SL4602 which like all Iwatsu gear seems to go on forever (have had it since new c. 1988). The 3314A is great and super accurate (TMS9900 based - 1976 era!) but the reed relays (used to switch some ranging components) keep packing up and I have to extract and replace the little reed switches. So some of the old gear was very good and some was probably less good. And if it stops working there is only one way to go unless it is something really obvious... on the
3314A I can fix it because I have the service manual and it is frankly fairly simple, whereas these RF sig gens are massive boxes packed with electronics.I think all of the subject line items date back to the 1990s or earlier. Marconi (the main company) went spectacularly bust about 7 years ago.
My current preference is for the Marconi 2030 or 2050 because I see them for sale here in the UK. The others come from the USA and there is a bigger chance of getting smashed in transit, and returns are uneconomic (carriage ~ $400). Also some sellers simply do not communicate, which is useless.
I would greatly appreciate any pointers/feedback.