[time-nuts] HP-5065a advise and purchase decision

Sat Jun 30 16:27:58 UTC 2012

Dear Said,

Thank you for your advise on a complete time and frequency package. I  
haven't heard of those models yet. I will look after your  
recommendation and certainly will let you know if something shows  
before even considering a purchase. GPS synch is a big plus as you  
mention. I rather be attentive to the prey coming out of the rabbit  
hole.

Regarding Cesium, still far away from my current budget. Not  
discarding the idea in the future, but I would have to learn and walk  
the steep learning curve of time and frequency experimentation first.  
Thank you for your kind advise. I will keep my eyes wide open for  
opportunities and how to evaluate them.

Kind regards,

Edgardo Molina

On Jun 30, 2012, at 11:08 AM, Said Jackson wrote:

> hi Edgardo,
>
> The best one in that price range is probably the PRS-10 from SRS.  
> New it's about $1500, sometimes they go used for $500 if you can  
> find one they are very desirable. Can be locked to an external GPS,  
> a huge plus. Their tube is designed for 20+ years lifetime.
>
> Has excellent ADEV and phase noise.
>
> As an external Gps consider a Motorola/iLotus M12M receiver. That  
> combo is a professional level system, and with a bit of tinkering  
> you can even implement sawtooth correction as described in the time  
> nuts archives.
>
> Total cost used: under $700 with power supplies and enclosure.. But  
> may require some patience and research to find one.
>
> Don't touch the cesium beam units unless you can get a guarantee and  
> someone can tell you how much cesium remains in them, most of them  
> have depleted tubes that cannot be refilled and cost more than a  
> small car to replace with a new one.
>
> Bye,
> Said
> XE1XUS

> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Jun 30, 2012, at 8:41, Edgardo Molina <xe1xus at amsat.org> wrote:
>
>> Dear Don,
>>
>> Good morning. Like probably many others, owning or collecting nice  
>> pieces of equipment probably drove me to consider an HP unit,  
>> instead of wisely doing some research on more specific and  
>> technically feasible options. The search is only beginning. Your  
>> advise is welcome. Thank you.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>>
>>
>> Edgardo Molina
>> XE1XUS
>>
>> On Jun 30, 2012, at 3:05 AM, Don Latham wrote:
>>
>>> Edgardo: For the asking price, you can do a LOT better than this Hp.
>>> There will be more opinions from more knowledgeable time-nuts  
>>> regarding
>>> your choices, I would consider them carefully. Again, you do not  
>>> need to
>>> spend anything like $1k US to get what you need.
>>> Don
>>>
>>> Edgardo Molina
>>>> Dear Group,
>>>>
>>>> Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time- 
>>>> Nuts
>>>> group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
>>>>
>>>> I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard  
>>>> recently
>>>> in what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable
>>>> rubidium standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in
>>>> doubt to invest in buying such and old beast. The general  
>>>> situation of
>>>> the instrument (for what I have been able to see from the first
>>>> inspection) is:
>>>>
>>>> 100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
>>>>
>>>> 1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple  
>>>> of
>>>> frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the  
>>>> oscilloscope
>>>> shows a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and  
>>>> affecting
>>>> the frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value
>>>> previously mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
>>>>
>>>> 5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted  
>>>> when
>>>> ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
>>>> frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
>>>> signal. Last digits vary sporadically.
>>>>
>>>> No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical  
>>>> damage
>>>> of abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A
>>>> couple of electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of  
>>>> burnt
>>>> PCB traces or visible damage to electronic components or physics
>>>> package. Haven't got the manual until today and was unable to  
>>>> check on
>>>> the front panel voltages to check on general health. As turning the
>>>> voltage test selector knob, voltage is shown for most positions,
>>>> except of course battery and the 100 Khz oscillator output. Some
>>>> voltage test positions get the instrument needle to go full scale  
>>>> and
>>>> out of range, other appear to be within scale.
>>>>
>>>> I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today,  
>>>> this
>>>> time with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own  
>>>> trusted
>>>> frequency counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would
>>>> really appreciate if I could receive comments from you experts to
>>>> evaluate if such a unit could be worth buying. The asking price  
>>>> is $1K
>>>> USD. Should I consider it an instrument that can be repaired and
>>>> serviced to show some decent performance? Or should I look  
>>>> somewhere
>>>> else to get a decent rubidium frequency standard.
>>>>
>>>> Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Respectfully,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Edgardo Molina
>>>> Mexico City, Mexico
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> "Neither the voice of authority nor the weight of reason and  
>>> argument
>>> are as significant as experiment, for thence comes quiet to the  
>>> mind."
>>> R. Bacon
>>> "If you don't know what it is, don't poke it."
>>> Ghost in the Shell
>>>
>>>
>>> Dr. Don Latham AJ7LL
>>> Six Mile Systems LLP
>>> 17850 Six Mile Road
>>> POB 134
>>> Huson, MT, 59846
>>> VOX 406-626-4304
>>> www.lightningforensics.com
>>> www.sixmilesystems.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
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