[time-nuts] any HP 5370B Available or other TIC

[Magnus Danielson]

On 18/08/11 05:10, Paul Cianciolo wrote:
> Hello Folks,
> I am looking for an instrument that is better than Fluke 103a comparator.
> The purpose of this piece of equipment is help me learn more about oscillators and characterizing them
>
> The HP5370B is the TIC I keep hearing about but I am not glued to that make or model.
> I wou;d like to hear suggestion from the group.

Could get you started. For good quality oscillators the resolution will 
still be a limiting factor for short taus. For longer taus it should 
give you good bang for the buck. GPIB interface should be something you 
also invest in.

> Another way to go might be to build one of those units where there is a common oscillator is split and feeds the LO of 2 mixers.
> The RF side comes from the DUT and the REF
> Sorry I cannot remember the acronym... MDMM????

Dual Mixer Time Difference (DMTD)

You may have to look for a suitable offset oscillator, since you do want 
a low noise one. Also consider that you need to feed it two signals, one 
reference and one DUT. You will see the sum of both signals.

With a third mixer you can do three-cornered hat things to resolve the 
phase noise of the individual oscillators. Naturally there is some 
problems with all that, and isolation of the sources becomes important. 
Ah well.

Cheers,
Magnus