[time-nuts] Manson RD-146

paul swed paulswedb at gmail.com
Thu Mar 17 21:39:46 UTC 2011


Be great if we might down load it just to look

On Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 4:40 PM, Richard W. Solomon <w1ksz at earthlink.net>wrote:

> I forgot to mention, I have a scan of the manual, it's around 7 MB. The
> manual
> came in pretty poor shape, hence the scan.
>
> 73, Dick, W1KSZ
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: John Ackermann N8UR <jra at febo.com>
> >Sent: Mar 17, 2011 1:22 PM
> >To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement <
> time-nuts at febo.com>
> >Cc: David Olean K1WHS <k1whs at metrocast.net>
> >Subject: Re: [time-nuts] HP106B crystal oscillator
> >
> >Dave, I haven't seen an actual Manson standard, but I do recall that one
> >was listed in an ancient Tucker catalog (from the early 80s).  I'm just
> >now unpacking my library after our move, and should soon uncover that
> >catalog if I still have it.  Let me know if you'd like me to scan the
> >Manson info for you -- it's only a picture and a few words, plus
> >Tucker's used price.
> >
> >73,
> >John
> >----
> >On 3/17/2011 3:34 PM, David Olean K1WHS wrote:
> >>
> >> I have a vintage HP 106B crystal oscillator. It has been sitting around
> for a few years and I just recently found a schematic for it. It was enough
> so I could dig in and check things out. The first thing I tried when I got
> it was to run the unit on external power as the internal PS seemed to be
> hosed. The oscillator fired up and stabilized at something very close to 5
> MHz so I suspected that the ovens were working properly. There it sat for  a
> few years until I found a schematic so I could fix the power supply.
> >>      The first chore was to remove the old and defunct NiCd battery pack
> and I discovered that it was causing the power supply to be NG. I ordered
> some new D Cell NiCDs (20 in fact) and rebuilt the NiCd pack. Once the
> shorted cells were removed the supply started working again and all voltages
> are within range. I was thrilled to get it working. With the new cells in
> place, they trickle charge and will run the unit for many hours during power
> failures and moves.
> >>      This HP106B was in the cal lab at Sanders Associates at Nashua, NH.
> It was apparently scrapped around 2006, and ended up out in the weather in a
> metal scrap yard in Northwood, NH where my brother found it and then he gave
> it to me. He knew I liked precision things so figured I would like the
> HP106B. (Good thinking!) At present there are only two issues with the unit.
> The meter face is cracked and partially broken. But what do you expect from
> getting thrown in a dump anyway? The fine tuning gear train has a problem
> and seems to be binding up with only a limited range of travel. I hope I can
> find a new meter cover. The movement is perfectly fine.
> >>      Now that it is working, I plugged it in and it has been running for
> about 2 weeks. Initial results are encouraging. I set freq with the coarse
> adjustment and so far it seems to be quite stable when compared to a Z3801.
> My initial setting produced results within 4 parts in 10-9 of the Z3801, and
> that has remained pretty much constant these last two weeks. (I compare
> frequencies on 10,368 MHz to see how close the counters are) To get the
> initial setting, I used an oscilloscope to freeze the two traces (Z3801&
>  HP106B) I was not too careful but I am encouraged that the drift over 2
> weeks seems to be non existent as far as I can see. Eventually, I will get
> up my nerve and attack the fine tuning gear train. First I need to run
> things for a few months and try to get a feel for how well the oscillator is
> working. Then I have to figure out the best way to calibrate it!
> >>      I also have a pair of old tube type Manson proportional oven
> oscillators.  Part #s are RD-140 and RD-146. They are 1 MHz units. I have
> one of those running but suspect that they are not very good performers. I
> just turned it on, and after a few days still see fluctuations of +/- 0.2
> Hz. Maybe I need to DC regulate the filament of the oscillator tube? That is
> an obvious source of error. Possibly I could run it on a constant voltage
> transformer to test my theory. These old klunker oscillators are fun. So
> much labor went into their construction etc, that I feel it is a sacrilege
> to ignominiously heave them into the dumpster. They deserve better! Has
> anyone else  ever seen these Manson oscillators?
> >>
> >> Dave Olean K1WHS
> >>
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