Starpack 136 Powersupply
Misc picks of this ancient linear bench supply. I picked this up around 2005 from what was called “junk stores” at the University of Southampton. It was a non-profit shop which used to sell very old bits of university surplus. They knocked it down to make way for a fancy new lobby…
I got two of them and I think they cost one or two pounds each. I was very happy, and this was my go to power supply for a few years. I’d also picked up a pretty good analogue scope from the Chemistry department skip IIRC… Good times.
It’s been sitting in a damp shed for a few years now, but I decided to dig it out and see if it would be useful. It was a little dusty… 🙂
I’d guess the unit dates from the 50s or 60s. The transistors are Mullard brand, Mullard were a UK component manufacturer and I’d guess these transistors were even fabricated in the UK. They were eventually acquired by Phillips and the Fab stuff became part of NXP if Wikipedia can be believed. All those facilities have closed now it seems. Shame…
Still works, it’s about a volt out but can still drive pretty reasonable loads not bad considering it show no signs of calibration. Pretty impressive for a 50 year old instrument.
It’s probably of limited utility in a modern lab as it doesn’t have current limiting, but it may yet find a home.
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