[time-nuts] Frequency Counter Choice

[Bob kb8tq]

Hi

Provided you can get a few key parameters set up (= enable the serial 
port / set baud rates), it should run just fine without the display. You would
need to do some GPIB fiddling to set various modes. 

Bob

> On Oct 22, 2020, at 10:22 AM, Mark Spencer <mark at alignedsolutions.com> wrote:
> 
> I am just curious how viable would it be to use a 531xx series counter with Timelab if the counter display has failed ?  
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> Mark Spencer
> mark at alignedsolutions.com
> 604 762 4099
> 
>> On Oct 22, 2020, at 6:36 AM, Bob kb8tq <kb8tq at n1k.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi
>> 
>>> On Oct 22, 2020, at 7:50 AM, Giorgio Barinetti <giorgio at barinetti.it> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi,
>>> 
>>> As a newbie in the field, I've collected, by chance, some frequency standards.
>>> 
>>> Now is the time to measure them, and see how they perform.
>>> 
>>> I've inherited a 5371, but something tells me that is not the right instrument - and maybe is even faulty.
>>> 
>>> So, I'm in the need to buy a counter to use togheter with TimeLab.
>>> 
>>> Choices are many, but I'll try to avoid the "older" machines lile 5370 or 5335. The 531xx series seems nice ( money apart )
>>> But again : which one between the 3 ? 53131, 53132 or 53181 ?
>> 
>> 53181 = single channel 400 ps counter
>> 53131 = dual channel 400 ps counter
>> 53132 = dual channel 100 ps counter
>> 
>> 5370 (when working) = dual channel 20 ps counter 
>> 
>> The gotcha is that none of them are good enough to properly measure 1 
>> second ADEV on a good ( but still could be cheap ) OCXO. A mixer based
>> setup is a cheap way to get things done, even with a 5335.
>> 
>> The 531xx counters all share a couple of issues:
>> 
>> 1) The power supply was made by who knows who and their quality is not 
>> the best. Good news is that the power supply out of a (cheap) 53181 will 
>> swap over to revive an expensive 53132.
>> 
>> 2) They have a fan, it plugs with dust. When that happens it gets hot inside
>> the cabinet. Things (like the power supply) die as a result.
>> 
>> 3) They have a VFD display. It’s a nice one, but they do wear out. Replacing
>> them is problematic.
>> 
>> 4) They have a fancy setup to add digits to a frequency measurement. It
>> can lead you astray. It also tends to go deaf right at 10 MHz. There are app
>> notes out there that explain the details. 
>> 
>> 5) With *any* counter, a good external reference is the way to go for “Time Nut”
>> grade measurements. 
>> 
>> None of that is to say they are a bad counter, far from it. I have a number
>> of them and have been using them here and at work for decades. The 532xx
>> counters are the latest and greatest. They are on eBay, but not cheap. 
>> 
>> Bob
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> 
>>> Can somebody shed some light, and maybe help even to found a baseline for us beginners ?
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> IZ2JGB
>>> Giorgio
>>> 
>>> My NTP servers: (ntpd on FreeBSD - PPS in via Serial)
>>> 
>>> HP/Symmetricom 55300A  https://www.ntppool.org/scores/93.41.196.243
>>> 
>>> Efratom Rb/Xc GPSDO https://www.ntppool.org/scores/95.255.136.126
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
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