[time-nuts] Efratom SLCR-101 rubidium - what have I just bought?

[Charles Steinmetz]

Phil wrote:

> > While the seller appears to be in the UK, the "used" stickers are the
> > same (including handwriting) as those applied by an infamous Chinese
> > supplier, who sells from a number of China-based ebay accounts.  So the
> > ultimate origin of the item on the surplus market is apparently that
> > Chinese seller.
>
>"Infamous Chinese supplier" - who?

Look at the ebay ads for timing-related stuff (rubidiums and OCXOs in 
particular) and you will find a half-dozen or so Chinese ebay sellers 
who specialize in surplus telcom equipment and whose items have 
identical handwritten "Used" stickers to the ones on the unit in the 
listing photos (presumably, the one you have now).  I believe these 
various ebay user IDs all belong to the same entity.  Others think it 
may be different sellers that all buy from the same wholesale 
supplier, but having done business with a few of them I'm pretty sure 
the ebay IDs all belong to one guy (based on return address and packaging).

>My suspicion is that this unit was bought, used for a brief while
>(perhaps to calibrate a few instruments) and then left on a shelf.

It was almost certainly originally bought by a large telcom operator 
and installed at a cell phone transmitter site, where it spent 10-15 
years.  When it was decommissioned, it was sold to a surplus dealer 
and ended up on ebay.  Your seller bought it on ebay from the Chinese 
dealer, used it for a while (or not), and has now sold it to you.

Best regards,

Charles