[NLRS] Test equipment for a newbie?

[David Palm]

Hello all,

As a follow-up to my question yesterday asking for books/resources to learn
more about SHF, I'd like to ask your opinion on the most important and
useful test equipment.  I have just finished stuffing the LO and transverter
boards for the W1GHZ transverter on 902 MHz.  I bought parts for the 902,
1296, 2403, and 3456 transverters.  But now I'm faced with the problem that
I have no way to check these out!  I'm forced to ship them off to a fellow
ham who has access to a spectrum analyzer and signal source.  I'd rather be
able to do more of that myself.

So.......

What do you consider to be the absolutely essential test equipment for a ham
who wants to do some building in the UHF and SHF bands?  Confirmation and
suggestions on the most bang for the buck on these pieces of equipment would
be helpful:

* Signal source:  W6QPL's microwave marker?  Other?

* Power meter:  Bird 43 with various slugs?  W1GHZ's "all-band power
meter"?  Other?

* Spectrum analyzer:  Expensive (!) but I've had some good correspondence
with WB9LYH about the "poor man's spectrum analyzer" designs out there.
Anybody else had experience with this?

* Other "must have" test equipment?

Thanks and 73,

David  W9HQ