I was in Huntington WV Saturday for the swap meet, auction, and annual meeting at the
Museum of Radio and Technology. I didn't buy any radios as I don't really have space to put any more and still have several awaiting restoration, but I did buy some parts that I wanted at the swap meet, and bid on several items in the auction, winning three.
I got a Sencore TF151A in-circuit transistor and FET tester which needs a little work. It is missing the label that was glued over the bottom of the meter (no big deal), has no leads (I will make my own), and the button and shaft are broken off of the IDSS switch. The switch can still be worked with a small screwdriver (I always have a Vishay Spectrol tweaker in my pocket) but I probably have a suitable replacement on hand.
The second is a very pretty Fisher Research Laboratory VT-3 transistor AC millivoltmeter (a misnomer as the ranges are 1 mV to 300 Volts full scale). I was surprised to see it as I have never seen any FRL instruments, only their metal detectors (they started making those in 1939, IIRC). I haven't found any info about it online, but from the number of adjustable compensation caps inside, and the way they are shielded, I expect frequency response to at least the 4 MHz of an HP 400D, and possibly as high as the 10 Mz of an HP 400E.
The third item is not electronic - an early Hollywood Products Corporation camera tripod with no model name on the spider. I peg it as a late '40s model based on two things. The first is the R. J. Pagliuso name on the spider with "Pat. Pend." The telescoping legs used had their patent was applied for by Paglioso in 1946, with the patent granted in 1949, so it was likely made between those years. The second is that it has a Kodak pan-tilt head, instead of the Pagliuso heads sometimes used by Hollywood (which was Pagliuso's major assignee). When I finish repairing it I will use it as my principal tripod, replacing a much newer tripod that I now use. I like vintage tech.
