Anybody know what this thing is?

[cmcguire]

This just came up for sale on the interwebs near me. Is it anything? Looks kinda retro cool.

 

[DaveVoorhis]

Homemade bipolar variable voltage power supply.

It looks like the builder originally intended to put one or more meters in the upper half of the panel, but didn't. That will make it awkward to use, assuming it works at all.

 

[cmcguire]

Homemade bipolar variable voltage power supply.

Cool! Could this be used to control the speed of a motor?

 

[DaveVoorhis]

Cool! Could this be used to control the speed of a motor?

A small DC one -- like for a toy or hobbyist tool -- maybe. Unless there's a big heatsink on the back that isn't visible, it's probably not up to more than an amp or two. The maximum voltage is probably less than 30 volts.

 

[Dazaa]

Not worth the headache, adjusting the voltage without meters would just be a hassle since a decent quality bench psu isn't that expensive. I keep one around with a load of dc end tips and couldn't imagine using one without a volt meter.

 

[cmcguire]

Yeah, I had a feeling it was a bench psu but the lack of meters threw me off. Thanks for saving me a headache and $25!

 

[musichal]

On the other hand, the chassis, switch, knobs (pots?) and parts inside might all well be worth the expenditure for somebody's different project.