[time-nuts] Used Hydrogen Maser

[jimlux]

On 7/10/19 10:55 AM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist wrote:
> FWIW, about 20 years ago, Len Cutler and Robin Giffard of 5071A fame
> built several Hg ion clocks to be shipped to some govt customer I
> don't remember.  One of the clocks was dropped by the shipping company
> UPS or FedEX) and destroyed.  Only then did Len learn that HP was
> self insured, probably as part of a package deal to get a low
> corporate shipping rate.  HP products were packed extremely well, so
> the only real risk was the unit getting stolen.  I vaguely remember
> Len saying they were out $10K, which was probably just the cost of
> parts.  Nevertheless, it didn't seem like building an Hg clock was
> all that big of a project.  Way simpler than the 5071A.
> Now a days, the electronics would be considerably easier and cheaper. 
> The mechanical parts would all be CNC'ed by an online machine shop.
> 
> Rick N6RK
> 


Just because, after all, you might get better performance from your 
homebuilt Hg-ion than your homebuilt H-maser - at a fraction of the cost.

The diagrams look simple, but of course, with this kind of stuff, it 
never is really simple.

Certainly, the UV source, PM tube and electronics is easier these days.
40.5 GHz isn't as exotic as it once was.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7437483


> On 7/10/2019 9:41 AM, jimlux wrote:
> 
>> I wonder what it would cost to build a trapped Hg ion clock - I don't 
>> think it's $10M, but it might be in the range of $500k-1M if you pay 
>> people to do the work.  Things like the quadrupole trap and ion 
>> sources are catalog items.  The whole vacuum system, including a turbo 
>> pump, is probably in the $10k range (looking at the Cole Parmer 
>> catalog, first hit on google), maybe another $5k in various vacuum 
>> plumbing bits and pieces.
>>
>> back in 2005-2006 (published in 2007), Prestage et al had a lab version
>> https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4319251
>>
>> pumped, backfilled with Ne, then sealed
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