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

[Bob kb8tq]

Hi

> On Feb 11, 2022, at 6:25 PM, Joseph Gwinn <joegwinn at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> On Fri, 11 Feb 2022 03:30:36 -0500, time-nuts-request at lists.febo.com 
> wrote:
> time-nuts Digest, Vol 214, Issue 12
> 
>> Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2022 17:28:20 -0500
>> From: Bob kb8tq <kb8tq at n1k.org>
>> Subject: [time-nuts] Re: Phase Station 53100A Questions
>> To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
>> 	<time-nuts at lists.febo.com>
>> Message-ID: <F9EF776A-E8C9-4FBF-839A-17D9BE4ACA07 at n1k.org>
>> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset=utf-8
>> 
>> Hi
>> 
> [snip]
>>> 
>>> [JMG] Most of my coworkers will struggle to use a 53100A correctly or at 
>>> all without such documentation.
>> 
>> Both the 5330 and 53100 have a very “shallow” learning curve. We had 
>> a fleet of the 5330’s at work. I don’t think anybody really had trouble 
>> getting them to do what they wanted them to do. The 53100 I have 
>> here is very similar in that respect. 
> 
> Well, that's encouraging, but may not be portable.
> 
> Group 1:  The integration and test folk just want to know which 
> button to push, and are too hurried to learn a new discipline.
> 
> Group 2:  A smaller number know how to operate a phase noise test 
> set, but don't really understand, and so can make some amusing 
> blunders.  May not realize that thermal noise (additive) and phase 
> noise (multiplicative) are not the same, and do not behave the same.
> 
> Group 3:  A few already understand what's going on.
> 
> The target audience is Group 2.
> 
> I will include cite to the original papers on measurement of phase 
> noise by cross-correlation methods.

We never had a problem with any of those three groups as far as
operating the 5330’s and getting data out of them. No matter what
the gear, if they don’t plug the oscillator into the device, nothing 
comes out. Even in that respect, TimeLab is pretty good at pointing
to the problem. 

The advantage with these beasts is that they have no “front panel”.
There are no knobs / dials / pushbuttons to play with. It’s all computer
screen driven. You can set up a test profile and just tell them to load
that …. point, click, test running. 

Bob

> 
> Joe Gwinn
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