Kitchens by Riland

In many of today's museums you can find surplus test equipment. These older units were used long ago to measure things that we may not use today, one example of vintage test equipment is the Geiger counter that emitted a clicking sound when it detected radiation. Today we are not as concerned with radiation as we are better able to protect ourselves from it. Newer sensors have been developed such as the radiation tags radiologists wear.

One of the fun things about surplus test equipment is that the collector can often find a unique one of a kind piece that may have a great value. Universities and labs seek to find surplus test equipment that contains sensors no longer available but still useful in certain circumstances. Like any other older antiquated things surplus test equipment has a certain charm about it. Maybe a baby boomer remembers using surplus test equipment in the lab in college long ago but like a slide rule there isn't a modern use for it.

Many times surplus test equipment will turn up in unlikely places. In basements of old hospitals and university laboratories are good places to look.

The old and outdated meters and dials seem to be strange to us now, but in their day they were state of the art. People don't realize that the discoveries we take for granted like PCs and vaccines were developed with this surplus test equipment. The ideas that led to modern day technology began here.

Next time you find a piece of surplus test equipment realize that it could have been used by someone who keeps your children from getting measles or helped develop the computer you are reading this on. It's pretty neat to just tinker with them and try to figure out how they work and what they were used for.