[time-nuts] Thunderbolt frequency error when locked

[Bob kb8tq]

Hi

Well, you need to leave a lot out to keep it brief. 

The answer is “somewhere in the 1x10^-10 to 1x10^-11 range. As long as you
are not stating a tau or a confidence factor, any number in that range could be
right. 

=====

Based on having done this a lot of times there are a couple of ways to present the
numbers.

1) Fractions of a hertz. Since you get into mili and micro pretty fast, along with a bunch
of decimals this can indeed loose people pretty fast. If the environment is one where
multiple frequencies will be used / considered / discussed, fractions of a hertz gets 
a bit crazy.

2) Scientific notation. Obviously, this is a common choice. Since the exponent is ever 
changing it also can tangle people up,

3) Engineering notation. *IF* everything can be kept in one magic range, this usually 
works best. Talking about 100 ppt and 0.1 ppt ( or ppb or ppm) seems to get the point
across without generating an enormous disconnect. You have one discussion about 
what a ppt is and then move on.

…. back to gazing out over lovely Loveland CO. 

Bob

> On Oct 2, 2019, at 12:32 PM, David Van Horn via time-nuts <time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:
> 
> I'm writing up a presentation for some sales guys, and I need the typical frequency error of the thunderbolt in marketing friendly terms like "plus or minus X millihertz"
> 
> What would that number be?   Short term only.
> 
> --
> David VanHorn
> Lead Hardware Engineer
> 
> Backcountry Access, Inc.
> 2820 Wilderness Pl, Unit H
> Boulder, CO  80301 USA
> phone: 303-417-1345  x110
> email: david.vanhorn at backcountryaccess.com<mailto:david.vanhorn at backcountryaccess.com>
> 
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