I've been building up an RF bench (8560A w/ TG, 8648C, 438A, 5386A, Tek 485, LeCroy DDA-125/LC684DLX plus several Chinese DSOs and 3478As and 34401As) with a maximum frequency of about 3 GHz.
I recently noticed that some of the older HP VNA & S parameter sets with a maximum of 3 GHz are not so expensive as to be out of the question. for example the 8753C. With a $2-3K US budget, what models should I be looking at? Which should I avoid? What are reasonable prices for gear in good condition?
I'm not an EE, so I've never had the privilege of working in a well equipped lab and the model numbers are quite a puzzle. I'm not aware of a site that lists all the HPAK models of various instruments. by type.
I have a VNWA 3E, but have not yet used it, because right after I got it, I bought so much gear that all my time was consumed by reorganizing my workspace. I've collected most of the parts to build an S parameter set for the VNWA, but it doesn't reach the 2.4 GHz WiFi band and I'm contemplating creating a private neighborhood network over about a 40 acre area to allow monitoring PoE security cameras without putting them on the internet.
