[time-nuts] Re: Efratom FRK with "inoperative lamp"
Robert Atkinson
robert8rpi at yahoo.co.uk
Tue Feb 1 21:14:13 UTC 2022
Is the lamp actually lighting?
The lamp mounting screw cap normally has a small hole in the center of the slot. In reduced lighting you can see a purple glow if the lamp has struck.If no light check the RF drive circuit. If light but low signal (3V) check the photocell circuits.
I fixed a faulty FRK last year with lit lamp but no signal. It turned out to be a cracked joint at the turret tag the the wire from the photocell is connected to. Check the electrolytics while you are in there.
Robert G8RPI.
On Tuesday, 1 February 2022, 10:25:42 GMT, Julien Goodwin <time-nuts at studio442.com.au> wrote:
I picked up an Efratom FRT a while ago, and it finally arrived the other
day, sadly it doesn't lock.
The oscillator inside is an older Efratom FRK, and it's also clear
someone had been inside already, although it does appear to be complete.
The FRK manual does include a key description I wish I'd noticed a few
days ago before full disassembly:
"Terminal pin 7 provides an indication of proper operation of the
rubidium lamp. For nominal operation the signal is 6 to 12V. An
inoperative lamp is indicated by an signal of approximately 3V. The
internal resistance of this circuit is approximately 6K."
... indeed I'm seeing 3v on that pin.
Based on the circuit this appears to simply be the output of the first
stage op-amp from the photo-cell, so is this effectively an indication
that the (electrical part of the) lamp is dead? Certainly it wasn't
anywhere near the temperature it should have been when I removed the
bulb after running for over an hour.
Just for completeness, the unit does draw up to ~0.8A when started up
cold with 24V, dropping down to about ~0.5A after a while. The sealed
sub-section of board A4 seems be where all the heat is, and I'm assuming
that's an ovenised part of the crystal oscillator.
I also popped the rubidium bulb out and confirmed there's no obvious
issues there.
I do have another FRK here, but as it's an FRK-LN, and it's also my
working house standard I'm somewhat loath to open it up lest I end up
with two dead units and zero working.
Any suggestions?
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