I'm finally fulfilling a childhood dream of restoring a Heathkit oscilloscope. I managed to nab a functioning IO-12 at the thrift store for $75!

Don't tell my husband that I spent more than $200 on parts and supplies for it.

I've wanted a Heathkit since I learned about them as a teenager, and this is the first one I've ever seen in the wild. The original owner left the date he assembled it and his callsign written on the inside! I looked him up and he died in 2013, but by sheer happenstance I'm restoring it 58 years to the day that he initially built it. I got super lucky with this unit because as far as I can tell, it's only been run a few hours in its entire life. I really only have to replace aged components because they're physically breaking down, I expect the thing will outlive me once I'm done with it. Can't wait to hand it off to a bewildered young EE in another half century.

$275 to restore a long-held childhood dream is cheap, I hope your husband wouldn't complain about that.