Restoration of an old Oltronix power supply

Yesterday, I went on a trip after seeing an ad for "Lab Equipment" priced at just 500kr. The bundle included an Oltronix B603D power supply, a Keithley 160B multimeter, a DANA 3800A multimeter with nixie tubes, and an 18Vx2 fixed power supply—an incredible deal, I thought!

I reached out to the seller, half-expecting the price to be a mistake, but he confirmed it was accurate. To make things even better, he offered to throw in a Data Precision 3500 for an extra 200kr! Naturally, I couldn't pass that up.

We finalized the deal and arranged to meet later that day. When I arrived, he had already packed everything we agreed on in a cardboard box outside, explaining that he was clearing out his garage and needed to free up space. After a bit of small talk about the equipment, he asked if I might be interested in something "bigger." Curious, I said yes, and he led me deeper into the garage

There, he pulled out a hefty, rack-mounted power supply—the Oltronix B60-15R—from the 1970s. It was quite a sight! Large power supplies like that are rare, and I was surprised to see it just sitting on the floor. He mentioned that while it was in good shape, he'd had trouble selling it due to issues at higher loads, likely from failing capacitors. However, he had tested it and even replaced the power switch, so it was in better condition than expected.

After some negotiation, we agreed on a price and shook hands. We loaded the boxes of lab equipment, along with the surprisingly heavy power supply, into the trunk of my car.

On the drive home, I started feeling a bit guilty—it felt like I had gotten an incredible bargain, especially with that large power supply. But in the end, I suppose it was just a deal that worked out in my favor.