[time-nuts] Mini-time lab cost and maintenance

Ole Petter Ronningen opronningen at gmail.com
Fri Apr 10 17:34:18 UTC 2015


Second that. I recently scored a complete, working HP E1725A 50pS
resolution time interval counter for $200. It needs a little software to
drive it, but nothing real complicated. At least to get meaningful
measurements into timelab - it has features I don't understand yet, but
it's all part of the fun.

Ole

On Fri, Apr 10, 2015 at 4:50 PM, bownes <bownes at gmail.com> wrote:

> I will throw in my two cents here and add a quick opinion on the test
> equipment.
>
> If you are truly on a budget, there are some interesting things that can
> be done with the modular measurement systems that were available in the
> past from both Tektronix and HP.
>
> While neither is suitable for a very severely constrained budget, they do
> offer a certain amount of consolidation both of money and space.
>
> On the Tek front there is the TM 500 stroke 5000 series. The frames come
> in with varying from a single slot to six slot. Instruments available
> include DMM's, counters, and signal generators. The 5000 series is GPIB
> controllable. The 5010 counter is a particularly nice instrument with a 10
> meg reference input available as well as a 1.3 GHz prescaler. Many of the
> plug-in instrument modules can be found for well under a hundred dollars US.
>
> The HP 70000 series is more instrumentation aimed at RF and testing in the
> digital domain. You can assemble a spectrum analyzer, power meters, and
> network analyzer's within the MMS series frames, which may be daisychained.
> Displays may be inserted in the frames, or be part of a common assembly
> with a four slot frame such as the 70004. The pricing is not as low as the
> Tek stuff but a decent SA can be assembled for under $1,000 if you are
> patient. How are meter modules are generally under $200 US. The 20GHz
> signal generator module and 40 GHz network transition module generally go
> for over $1500 US.
>
> Bob
>
>
> > On Apr 10, 2015, at 07:13, Bob Camp <kb8tq at n1k.org> wrote:
> >
> > Hi
> >
> > If you go with a combo setup (OCXO + GPS or Rb + GPS) you will also need
> a counter or a scope to compare the frequency source
> > to the pps out of the GPS over a long period of time. In the case of the
> OCXO you *might* want a divider on the output.  The GPS / GPSDO
> > will require some sort of antenna.
> >
> > All this stuff (and more) adds up. If it’s truly a start from scratch
> sort of thing there are more items. I’d include a DVM and a couple of power
> > supplies. It’s well worth it to look at a fairly complete list if the
> budget it tight.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >> On Apr 9, 2015, at 10:00 PM, Tom Van Baak <tvb at LeapSecond.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Adam,
> >>
> >> A well-aged quartz oscillator will hold 1e-9 for many days, or even
> weeks.
> >>
> >> But your 1e-10'ish requirement is more easily met by using a cheap
> surplus Rubidium oscillator (< $100 on eBay) or by using a GPSDO (< $200 on
> eBay). Depending on how you're using the frequency reference you might get
> by with just a Rubidium oscillator and a $20 to $40 GPS/1PPS source (e.g.,
> https://www.adafruit.com/products/746) with monthly or yearly checks of
> frequency drift.
> >>
> >> /tvb
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: Adam Blakney
> >> To: Tom Van Baak
> >> Sent: Monday, April 06, 2015 10:34 AM
> >> Subject: Re: Mini-time lab cost and maintenance
> >>
> >> I was thinking maybe something with an uncertainty of around 1e-9 or
> 1e-10. Are there simple quarts oscillators that are good enough for that or
> is more equipment necessary?
> >>
> >> Thank you,
> >> Adam
> >>
> >> On Apr 6, 2015, at 1:24 PM, Tom Van Baak <tvb at LeapSecond.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Adam,
> >>
> >> Please be more specific. Where in the spectrum between sundial and
> atomic clock are you interested in?
> >>
> >> /tvb
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Adam Blakney" <akblakney at gmail.com>
> >> To: <time-nuts at febo.com>
> >> Sent: Monday, April 06, 2015 9:30 AM
> >> Subject: [time-nuts] Mini-time lab cost and maintenance
> >>
> >>
> >>> I was wondering how expensive it would be to have even a small and
> lower
> >>> level time lab. What are some less expensive models of machinery i
> would
> >>> need, and how much maintenance is required?
> >>>
> >>> Thanks, Adam
> >>
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