[time-nuts] Re: Phase Station 53100A Questions

[John Ackermann N8UR]

Hi Joe --

The TimeLab software that's used with the 53100A is available from John 
Miles at http://www.miles.io/timelab/beta.htm.  There is a pretty 
comprehensive users guide as well as a couple of app notes there, 
although I don't think any of them document the .TIM file format. 
However, he provides the TimeLab source code so it should be discernable 
from there.

John
----

On 2/9/22 1:43 PM, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
> I will be doing some residual phase noise tests in a month or so
> using a 53100A Phase Noise Analyzer (not yet in hand), so I've been
> studying the users manual and datasheet of the Microchip 52100A Phase
> Noise Analyzer.  I do know the history, starting with Sam Stein
> developing the Timing Solutions Corp (TSC) model 5120.
> 
> Anyway, some questions have arisen:
> 
> 1.  Where is the ".TIM" file format documented?  Google fails here,
> chasing after some other kinds of .TIM file unrelated to the 5120 and
> descendants.  The 53100A users manual does not define the .TIM file
> format, or say where to find it.
> 
> 2.  There will be some debugging required in my test setup, and it
> would be very useful if I could independently demodulate the
> Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Phase Modulation (PM) components of the
> phase noise, and present the low-passed waveforms in voltage versus
> time form.  Signals leaking in for other places may well be
> recognizable by resemblance of the demodulated AM or PM baseband
> waveform to other signals known to exist in the system under test.  I
> was thinking that the TIM file may be a start.
> 
> 3.  Where are the fundamental Principles of Operation documented?
> The best I've found so far is a pair of patents by Wayne Solbrig,
> US7227346 (Two channel digital phase detector) and US7436166 (Direct
> digital synthesizer producing a signal representing an amplitude of a
> sine wave), both originally assigned to TSC, and now expired.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Joe Gwinn
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