[time-nuts] Interesting Patent

John Day johnday at wordsnimages.com
Wed May 17 16:34:48 UTC 2006


>
>No, I have a HP 521C which comes with the HP 521A-59B crystal 
>oscillator plugin
>module, but the HP 521A has it as an option. The HP 521C also have an
>additional counting row and an additional step in the timebase.
>Actually, you can supply it with an external time base of any of the
>frequencies 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100 cps.
>
>The service manual is available on BAMA, I did the DJVU formating.

A 521C, wow, I don't have any data handy but it goes to what, 100kHz?


> > My first counter was a 524B as I recall - the plug-in version of the
> > 524A. It still had the column of neons indicators, but I can recall
> > if it had the meters at the top end. Eventually I got a 524C (or D?)
> > and a selection of plug-ins. I had a couple of video amplifier
> > plug-ins and ripped the guts out of one to put a 150MHz prescaler in
> > there as I recall.
> >
> > I was playing a lot with 10-12GHz at the time and I had a 540B
> > transfer oscillator as well. That and the 851/8551B spectrum analyser
> > ensured that I had a well warmed, and very noisy, lab.
>
>Hmm... (looking in HP540B manual), must have been lovely in its time.

It was, but you realise now just how much work we had to do to 
measure anything! After using the 540B, the 5257 seemed a delight, 
then the 5345/5355/5356 combination we were suddenly freed from 
having to adjust anything. For some reason I never had a 5340 which 
would have been nice in its day.

Of course the 851/8551 analyser was another challenge. You always had 
to keep a camera swinging from the tube escutcheon because your 
display would be what you wanted for such a little time!


>Good that you where warm and awake... :P
>
> > Eventually I got a 5245L and a Dymec 2590B which was supplanted for
> > my uses when I got the 5257 (I think it was, 18GHz transfer
> > oscillator). A 431C and a 434A along with the 600 series monstrous
> > klystron generators rounded out the lab..
> >
> > It was truly wonderful when the 141T system, the 5345A and the 432C
> > came along! Especially with the 8600 generators including of course
> > the 8640B. Thanks for the reminiscences guys!
>
>Theres a journey. So far I keep quite low frequencies. I can hit 2 GHz with
>my current rig, 1.3 GHz until I got my latest counter. I don't fool around at
>such high frequencies... or wait... I just realize that I do :P

Haven't worked in microwaves since 1999. In fact sold all of my 
personal gear - I can generate up to 1.3GHz, count to 350MHz and 
analyse up to 40MHz these days.

The real difference was in my last job. I was working on 23/24GHz 
link designs and we had an 8563 or 64 with the 26.5GHz tracking 
generator. A Gigatronics synth and a 438 power meter. And that was 
all! Even more unrealistic was that was all we needed! I could have 
fit all the gear in the trunk of my car and taken it home. How things 
changed over that period.

John


>Cheers,
>Magnus





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