[time-nuts] Frequency Counter Choice

[Dave Miller]

As a newbie to nuttery I would like to throw my brief experiences into the
mix.
When I started down this slippery slope I was using a HP5386A frequency
counter because I had one.
It was entertaining for a short period of time.
I then acquired a HP5372A which for hooking up to Timelabs and running Adev
plots did not yield the results I was hoping for as the resolution is
rather coarse. I think it does some neat things standalone but not really
the solution to run Timelabs and make Adev plots and have fun.
So then I found a 5370B on fleabay.
I managed to get one that seems to work well. It is measuring frequency
differences of 30-40 ps as far as I can tell.
So I am happy.
Eventually I will figure all this stuff out.
Good luck and have fun.

Dave





On Thu, Oct 22, 2020 at 8:25 AM Magnus Danielson <magnus at rubidium.se> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Small correction, 5371A and 5370A are different beasts. The 5370A has 20
> ps resolution and the 5371A has 200 ps resolution. So, the 5371A is
> about the same performance as the 53132A at 150 ps resolution. I work
> with 5372A which is essentially a 5371A with hardware histogram and a
> few other things.
>
> I have both 5370A and 5371A.
>
> The 5371A and 5372A actually can do linear regression processing for
> frequency estimation, a historic note that predates this capability of
> the Philips/Fluke/Pendulum counters to the best of my knowledge.
>
> PS. I also have a 5370C, which is a flat-bed scanner from HP.
>
> Cheers,
> Magnus
>
> On 2020-10-22 15:33, Tom Van Baak wrote:
> > Avoid the 53181A; too limited. Both the 53131A / 53132A are
> > "universal" counters so they do frequency, period, time interval, and
> > lots more.
> >
> > They are very useful counters. The rs232 talk-only mode makes it very
> > easy to collect data on a PC. No programming required. The 53132A has
> > a bit higher resolution than a 53131A so that's a plus. But if you
> > plan to use the external reference the 53131A accepts 5/10 MHz while
> > the 53132A, last I checked, will only accept 10 MHz.
> >
> > A lower cost alternative is the TAPR/TICC. If you already have a
> > commercial counter I would recommend looking at the TICC as your next
> > counter. As this is your first counter I would recommend a 53131/53132
> > over the TICC. The TICC is "headless" and has only hard-coded CMOS
> > digital inputs. The hp units have all the physical front panel
> > buttons, status LED's and live display. Plus the comprehensive input
> > conditioning features. And useful frequency gate time or digits modes,
> > etc. Lots of cool features. Built-in statistics too.
> >
> > The 5371A is a beast. But it you can get it working it has 10x better
> > performance than a 53132A.
> >
> > /tvb
> >
> >
> > On 10/22/2020 4:50 AM, Giorgio Barinetti 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 ?
> >>
> >> 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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-- 
72 de Dave
VE7HR