[time-nuts] Best Rubidium Frequency Standard
Bob Camp
kb8tq at n1k.org
Fri Mar 11 22:51:50 UTC 2016
HI
None of this is a simple slam dunk.
The 5065 has great ADEV numbers. In “as delivered” condition It has horrid TC and pressure sensitivity. It also is > 10X more expensive than a lot of the other devices.
The units that *can* be disciplined are rarely set up to do so properly off of a GPS source. If you want to run one as a 24/7 GPSDO, that may be a significant issue.
All of the “modular” Rb’s require heat sinking. For a reasonable lifespan, either a fairly healthy heatsink or something smaller plus a fan is called for. The impact on lifespan can easily be 10:1.
If your target is something like a microwave radio, many Rb’s are “challenged” in terms of phase noise and/or spurs. Some sort of cleanup will be needed for almost all of them.
The salvage process that some parts have been through is a bit brutal. That’s both good news and bad news. It lets you buy a “kit of 5” Rb’s to repair yourself for very little money. With luck you will get two or three working and still not have spent $200 on the batch (delivered). On the other hand, if you expect a really good unit when spending a lot more money …. you may not like the water damage (or whatever).
Lots to think about.
Bob
> On Mar 11, 2016, at 4:45 PM, Mark Sims <holrum at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Mark's Law of Rubidium Goodness... the bigger the box, the better it is. The HP5065A is one of the best units ever made. It can rival a cesium beam unit. The X72 is a horrid little creature.
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> I would also go with the M100 / FRK units. The LPRO an FE56xx units were designed for telecom use and meet the specs required of them and low cost. The M100 and FRKs saw a lot of use in military systems.
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> Which one you choose is best determined by your budget, applications, and requirements. A noisy little X72 could be just fine, or you may need the beastly HP5065.
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