[time-nuts] hm H Maser

[Gregory Maxwell]

On Wed, Jan 11, 2017 at 12:25 AM, Bob kb8tq <kb8tq at n1k.org> wrote:
> I have a pile of stuff. You have a pile of stuff. Others each have their pile of stuff. Doing
> a design that works only with my pile is possible. Doing a design that works with my pile
[...]
> You have to do it with a fairly standardized
> design. That means buying (at the very least) kits of parts. Like it or not, the parts kit for a
> Rb will be cheaper than the parts kit for any of the other devices…..

I read the occasional posts by PHK on his efforts to upgrade the
electronics in his 5065a and Corby's SUPER physics package upgrade
with great interest.  I have wondered if the end result may be that
incremental upgrades to someone elses classic design, adding on modern
synthesizers and digital control, etc. Might eventually result in a
'Ship of Theseus' oscillator, which in its final form is buildable
from relatively easily sourced parts (plus perhaps a rubidium cell
that could be group bought at non-absurd prices).

Presumably taking an already established design and improving it
incrementally has lower risk and costs than a new design. In
particular, it can start off with 5065a as "my pile" inputs, but by
the end it doesn't have them anymore... and not just lest risky but
also a more natural way to divide the effort up into less
professionally-sized chunks.