[time-nuts] HP-5065a advise and purchase decision

[Edgardo Molina]

Dear Don,

Good morning. Like probably many others, owning or collecting nice  
pieces of equipment probably drove me to consider an HP unit, instead  
of wisely doing some research on more specific and technically  
feasible options. The search is only beginning. Your advise is  
welcome. Thank you.

Best regards,



Edgardo Molina
XE1XUS

On Jun 30, 2012, at 3:05 AM, Don Latham wrote:

> Edgardo: For the asking price, you can do a LOT better than this Hp.
> There will be more opinions from more knowledgeable time-nuts  
> regarding
> your choices, I would consider them carefully. Again, you do not  
> need to
> spend anything like $1k US to get what you need.
> Don
>
> Edgardo Molina
>> Dear Group,
>>
>> Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-Nuts
>> group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
>>
>> I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard recently
>> in what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable
>> rubidium standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in
>> doubt to invest in buying such and old beast. The general situation  
>> of
>> the instrument (for what I have been able to see from the first
>> inspection) is:
>>
>> 100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
>>
>> 1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple of
>> frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the oscilloscope
>> shows a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and affecting
>> the frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value
>> previously mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
>>
>> 5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted when
>> ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
>> frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
>> signal. Last digits vary sporadically.
>>
>> No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical damage
>> of abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A
>> couple of electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of  
>> burnt
>> PCB traces or visible damage to electronic components or physics
>> package. Haven't got the manual until today and was unable to check  
>> on
>> the front panel voltages to check on general health. As turning the
>> voltage test selector knob, voltage is shown for most positions,
>> except of course battery and the 100 Khz oscillator output. Some
>> voltage test positions get the instrument needle to go full scale and
>> out of range, other appear to be within scale.
>>
>> I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today, this
>> time with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own trusted
>> frequency counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would
>> really appreciate if I could receive comments from you experts to
>> evaluate if such a unit could be worth buying. The asking price is  
>> $1K
>> USD. Should I consider it an instrument that can be repaired and
>> serviced to show some decent performance? Or should I look somewhere
>> else to get a decent rubidium frequency standard.
>>
>> Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
>>
>>
>> Respectfully,
>>
>>
>>
>> Edgardo Molina
>> Mexico City, Mexico
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
> -- 
> "Neither the voice of authority nor the weight of reason and argument
> are as significant as experiment, for thence comes quiet to the mind."
> R. Bacon
> "If you don't know what it is, don't poke it."
> Ghost in the Shell
>
>
> Dr. Don Latham AJ7LL
> Six Mile Systems LLP
> 17850 Six Mile Road
> POB 134
> Huson, MT, 59846
> VOX 406-626-4304
> www.lightningforensics.com
> www.sixmilesystems.com
>
>
>
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