[time-nuts] GPSDO advice

[Bob kb8tq]

Hi

Like pretty much all electronics GPSDO’s have been a “designed in 
the USA / built across the ocean” sort of thing for a long time. The 
current crop of Trimble and Symmetrical salvage parts on eBay 
are simply the latest wave. They are the “next generation” of the parts
we all bought 10 or 15 years ago.  No better / no worse, just different. 

Bob

> On May 1, 2020, at 11:25 PM, Wes <wes at triconet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi Bob,
> 
> According to the USPS tracking number I'll have a BG7TBL GPSDO on Monday :-)
> 
> I really wanted to "Buy American" but a 10 dB price difference is worth taking the risk.
> 
> Wes
> 
> On 5/1/2020 7:29 PM, Bob kb8tq wrote:
>> Hi
>> 
>> I would guess that the vast majority of folks on the list and an even
>> larger percentage doing the FMT are buying their GPSDO’s on eBay.
>> Which ones they buy and how well the work is very much a “that depends
>> sort of thing”.
>> 
>> The crop of devices at low(er) prices changes every 3 to 5 years. Whatever
>> is being torn apart right now will be contributing the low cost stuff. If you bought
>> 5 years ago your choices were very different. Go back 5 or 10 years past that and
>> the devices change again and then again.
>> 
>> There’s no reason to believe that “things were better in the old days”. Mostly just
>> different.  The issues have been worked out on stuff that hit eBay 20 years ago.
>> That’s just the way it works. How well they have been worked out …. that depends
>> on the device and how picky you are.
>> 
>> This does not simply apply to GPSDO’s. A while back eBay was awash in telecom
>> Rb’s. Some bought so many they can’t keep track of all of them. Today a $35 listing
>> for an Rb is pretty unusual. That’s just supply and demand. Wait another 5 or 10
>> years and we probably will be awash in cheap ones again.
>> 
>> Right now “entry level” GPSDO’s are still below $100 delivered. That’s not all that
>> crazy compared to a lot of gear in a typical shack or on a typical bench.
>> 
>> Bob
>> 
>>> On May 1, 2020, at 9:25 PM, Wes <wes at triconet.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> An update on this:
>>> 
>>> I emailed both Jackson and Brandywine for prices on both the Desktop Fury, in Jackson's case, and the board versions from each of them.
>>> 
>>> The good news is that they both were responsive.  The bad news is they are both out of my price range. Jackson by about 3 dB.  Brandywine clearly didn't want to sell me anything, as exemplified by a fee of $47 to use a credit card.
>>> 
>>> As much as I would like to be more nutty, I can't justify spending this kind of money just to participate in ARRL FMTs where the only direction I have to go is down.
>>> 
>>> Wes  N7WS
>>> 
>>> On 4/24/2020 11:56 AM, Wes wrote:
>>>> Taking some of the advice offered, I've emailed them for P&A.  I'll let you know if I hear back.
>>>> 
>>>> Wes
>>>> 
>>>> On 4/24/2020 10:45 AM, Kevin Rowett wrote:
>>>>>> On Apr 24, 2020, at 10:32 AM, Mark Spencer <mark at alignedsolutions.com> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Speaking both as an amateur radio operator and some one who modestly pursues precision time and frequency as a hobby, I am extremely happy with my Jackson Labs Fury
>>>>>> GPSDO.
>>>>> Speaking of Jackson Labs, has anyone heard from them, since the lockdown commenced?
>>>>> 
>>>>> KR
> 
> 
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