[time-nuts] Housing LPRO and Thunderbolt together

k6rtm at comcast.net k6rtm at comcast.net
Fri Apr 22 16:20:49 UTC 2011


My two cents, from living with both Thunderbolts and LPROs. 

They are entirely different kinds of beasts, and aren't suitable for long-term cohabitation without work. 

Tbolts like thermally stable environments, and are happier (meaning ADEV trending towards zero) when they are powered up in a stable environment for a long time (and with an antenna having a clear view of the sky). 

LPROs on the other hand, require a heatsink or thermal mass to dump heat and keep the baseplate at a safe operating temperature (if you're running one for more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time). The nature of the rubidium beast is also such that once it's locked, it's not going to vary a whole lot; I also don't tend to run a rubidium all the time, unlike the thunderbolts. 

I'm looking to package a LPRO in a portable-ish manner with a backup battery good for an hour or so of operation. The idea is to check/trim it with a (non-portable) Thunderbolt and then carry it to where it's needed. 

Are you proposing to use the rubidium to provide a reference until the tbolt acquires lock? 

73 bob k6rtm 
------------------------------ 

Message: 2 
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:48:07 +0100 (BST) 
From: <g4gjl at btopenworld.com> 
To: time-nuts at febo.com 
Subject: [time-nuts] Housing LPRO and Thunderbolt together 
Message-ID: <425854.57579.qm at web86602.mail.ird.yahoo.com> 
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 

I have a dilemma and wish to access the collective wisdom of the group to advise 
a solution. 

I am building a clock generator based on a Thunderbolt. I have an LPRO and would 
also locate this in the same enclosure. I will also add a distribution amp and a 
divide chain in due course. 

The ultimate purpose of the set up is to provide a self contained clock 
generator set for my other test equipment, and also an experimental workstation 
for Rubidium and GPS disciplined experiments. 




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