[time-nuts] HP5359A non-linearities

[Magnus Danielson]

Fellow time-nuts!

I have been making some measurements on the HP5359A using the DTS2070C.
I am adjusting the period and measure that.

Initially it is apparent that the HP5359A does not hit the mark, but it is
also clear that the CAL button does indeed make a difference.
It is also very interesting to notice how the jitter changes between the
different position as well as the shift in period time.

I also observed blind spots where step changes does not change period time.
They also had a very much lower jitter, 12-14 ps compared to 45-50 ps.

Should say that I haven't made the full performance check or even attempted
doing any calibration. As I found the blind spot at 899,80-899,85 ns. It is
just above 89 steps of 10,078125 ns we have 896,953125 ns, so it is early in
the load-cycle. Some 56-57 steps of about 200. Got to investigate what happends
with the DAC level and also look at the level.

I have only been fooling around, but if done properly one should span the
period step by step and measure the actual period and jitter. Should be
interesting to see how the pattern of the analog delay reoccur on the regular
10,078125 ns interval.

Cheers,
Magnus