Era
Test equipment from the 1990s
Most 1990s bench gear speaks SCPI, the command language that became a standard in 1990, over GPIB and often RS-232 too, so it's easy to automate today with a USB-to-GPIB adapter. Meters got bright vacuum-fluorescent displays, digital storage scopes took over from analog, and floppy drives appeared for saving setups and waveforms. Some surface-mount electrolytic capacitors from this period leak and corrode the boards. Ask for a self-test result and any service history that mentions a recap.
11 models we cover.
Tektronix
OscilloscopeTektronix TDS 540
- Years made
- c.1991 on
- Key spec
- 500 MHz
$360–$525 typical ask
8 on eBay
Marconi / IFR
Signal generatorIFR 2025
- Years made
- 1990s
- Key spec
- 9 kHz to 2.51 GHz
$1,000–$1,450 typical ask
45 on eBay
Marconi / IFR
RF power meterMarconi 6960B
- Years made
- 1990s
- Key spec
- 30 kHz to 40 GHz and -70 to +35 dBm across the 6900-series heads
$330–$1,450 typical ask
9 on eBay
HP / Agilent / Keysight
MultimeterHP 34401A
- Years made
- c.1991–2016
- Key spec
- 6½ digits
$410–$575 typical ask
144 on eBay
HP / Agilent / Keysight
Bench power supplyAgilent E3631A
- Years made
- From c.1995
- Key spec
- 0–6 V at 5 A
$340–$575 typical ask
149 on eBay
Rohde & Schwarz
Spectrum analyzerRohde & Schwarz FSEA30
- Years made
- 1990s
- Key spec
- 20 Hz to 3.5 GHz
$2,725–$3,850 typical ask
10 on eBay
Rohde & Schwarz
Signal generatorRohde & Schwarz SME03
- Years made
- 1990s
- Key spec
- 5 kHz to 3 GHz
$1,050–$2,175 typical ask
9 on eBay
Fluke
MultimeterFluke 87 III
- Years made
- 1990s
- Key spec
- LCD with upright digits
$210–$330 typical ask
134 on eBay
Keithley
MultimeterKeithley 2000
- Years made
- c.1994
- Key spec
- 6½ digits
$420–$675 typical ask
121 on eBay
Keithley
MultimeterKeithley 2001
- Years made
- c.1992
- Key spec
- 7½ digits
$1,675–$2,425 typical ask
76 on eBay
Keithley
SourceMeterKeithley 2400 SourceMeter
- Years made
- c.1996–present
- Key spec
$3,700–$4,950 typical ask
86 on eBay