Hi,

Last Spring I took Intro to Electronics and this Fall I'm taking
Electronics. I want to start purchasing lab equipment, as most of our
labs this semester are in MultiSim and I want to continue to have the
hands on, and I want to purchase a power supply. However, I don't know
what to purchase; I don't know enough yet to make an informed decision.
I browsed through Ebay and saw listings such as:

Regulated DC Power Supply
Power Supply, 1 Phase 16A
System DC Power Supply Single Output
TRIPLE DC LINEAR POWER SUPPLY 30V 5A w/ Memory
dual dc power supply
Programmable Power Supply PPS-3635 GPIB
Triple Output Power Supply

I want to purchase a power supply that will be a real keeper so that I
don't have to make further purchases down the road. What are the
differences between some of these power supplies? Also, why would I
want a programable power supply? Finally, I if pick up a power supply
that hasn't been calabrated, how much would it cost to have this done?

Thanks,
Ed