[time-nuts] CSAC purchase

[Bob kb8tq]

Hi

The “compelling case” for the CSAC is the combination of low power and long term stability.
You can get OCXO’s that run less power. A TCXO that uses less power is trivial. Temperature 
stability wise, there are TCXO’s that get pretty close (= factor of 10) to overlapping with the CSAC. 
There is nothing out there that will do the 1 month stability at anything close to the same power level. 
The CSAC is unique in that respect. Can you find most of this on eBay? Well, wait a decade or two …..

As a source for a radio project, the CSAC *really* needs a cleanup oscillator. That’s not a knock on
the part. The cleanup oscillator may well use more power than the entire CSAC. Let those who 
really need it add it on to their systems. 

Bob

> On Jan 21, 2018, at 6:26 PM, Magnus Danielson <magnus at rubidium.dyndns.org> wrote:
> 
> Ronald,
> 
> What exactly motivated specifically CSAC for you?
> 
> There might be other cheaper alternatives to your problem.
> 
> For me CSAC solves a problem within very specific set of parameters,
> where low powerconsumption is one of them. Depending on the actual
> details of the application a TCXO might be a better choice, or even some
> OCXOs.
> 
> It's not that I want to deny you the fun of toying with CSAC, I have
> three myself, but if you don't really need what it is good for, other
> choices might be better. Also, the one place for such advice is for sure
> this email list where a lot of experience is gathered and ready to share.
> 
> Cheers,
> Magnus
> 
> On 01/22/2018 12:09 AM, Ronald Held wrote:
>> Thanks for all the information. Have not kept up with the price, but
>> ~$6K  is too much to afford right now  By the time I can I hope it
>> doesn't go up .
>> 
>>    Ronald
>> 
>> Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2018 17:50:48 -0800
>> From: jimlux <jimlux at earthlink.net>
>> To: time-nuts at febo.com
>> Subject: Re: [time-nuts] CSAC purchase
>> Message-ID: <5b9271c4-734d-e8e0-f092-a143126c2324 at earthlink.net>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
>> 
>> On 1/20/18 5:05 PM, Ronald Held wrote:
>>> I am thinking of buying a CSAC plus evaluation board.
>>> Eventually I might want to make it portable. Any suggestions including
>>> where to buy it?
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>> MicroSemi is the manufacturer - Find a distributor and order it.
>> 
>> For instance, Digikey has the CSAC ($5312.50) and the eval board ($928.75)
>> 
>> portable isn't a problem - just run it off batteries.
>> 
>> It's pretty easy to hook up - power, 1pps in and out and 10 MHz out
>> (they have versions that put out 5, 10.24, and 16.384 MHz too).
>> 
>> A serial port to control the device
>> 
>> The eval board has SMA connectors, a sub-d for the serial port, and
>> comes with a wall wart to run it.
>> 
>> Download the Microsemi CSAC UserGuide for more info
>> 
>> you can fool with the disciplining algorithm, etc.
>> It's a low power device compared to a OCXO (<120mW)
>> 
>> They're a pretty nifty device, even if the price more than tripled in
>> the last couple years.
>> 
>> 
>> Jackson Labs makes some integrated systems using CSAC, I believe.
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