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

J. L. Trantham jltran at att.net
Sat Jun 30 21:19:13 UTC 2012


Edgardo,

I would think something in the $500 range for a working unit would be worth
considering, depending on options, condition, etc.  Anything lower would be
better.  More depending how 'addicted' you might be to these.

It also depends on where you are.  On eBay, these numbers might be good.  In
Mexico, might be more, depending on what the choices are.  If you are
looking at it and can verify it's function, you avoid the 'pig in the poke'
aspects of eBay.

Magnus, you mentioned that you were looking for a power supply board, IIRC.
I sent you an email after I got mine fixed but never heard back.  Do you
still need a power supply board?

Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces at febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On
Behalf Of Edgardo Molina
Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 11:22 AM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] HP-5065a advise and purchase decision

Dear Joe and Magnus,

Thank you both for your advise. I see that fisrt of all, the price for  
the unit I am describing is far from reality. Just imagine that I have  
been negotiating a lower price for the unit in this condition. They  
were initially asking around $1.3K. Go figure!

Just for my peace of mind, I will visit the dealer again next week to  
double check on everything you have mentioned. If the dealer is  
willing to go down in price and I can take a better look, what could a  
decent fair market price could be? I do not have enough information  
from Ebay as to figure out a price and condition for an HP5065 unit.

Anyway, the instrument is not that bulky or heavy. I have imported  
heavier and bigger amateur radio rigs and HP lab instruments from the  
USA and could be better if I start looking for opportunities around  
your latitude.

One more thing. What is the useful life of an instrument such as this  
one? This is a beige version. Still something nearly my age! I assume  
there are no replacements for the Rb cell other than probably trying  
to restore it with focalized heated air like the smaller Rb modules so  
available today.

Your comments again are welcome.

Thank you.

Regards,



Edgardo Molina
XE1XUS



On Jun 30, 2012, at 10:30 AM, J. L. Trantham wrote:

> Edgardo,
>
> The 5065A is a great unit but the price is over the top for a  
> questionable
> unit.  If fully meeting specs, the price is still very high, IMO.
>
> The observations you report are likely simple repairs.
>
> The great unknown is whether it will 'lock' or not?  That is to say  
> will the
> Continuous Operation light come on?  The 'ovens' all typically go  
> full scale
> pegged when initially turned on then come down 'on scale' when  
> warm.  Photo
> I will be 0 then come up as the lamp warms up.  2nd Harmonic comes  
> up as the
> Rubidium Vapor Frequency Reference unit warms up.  Once things are  
> on scale,
> switch from Loop Open to Oper, push the Logic Reset button and the
> Continuous Operation light should come on, assuming the 5 MHz  
> oscillator is
> close to being on frequency.
>
> Also, the indicator lamps are commonly burned out or the lenses are  
> missing.
> There are easy to replace indicators that use the same bulb that you  
> can
> install in place of the lamp assemblies if needed.  I can send you  
> the part
> numbers for these if needed.
>
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Joe
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: time-nuts-bounces at febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-bounces at febo.com]  
> On
> Behalf Of Edgardo Molina
> Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 1:27 AM
> To: time-nuts at febo.com
> Subject: [time-nuts] HP-5065a advise and purchase decision
>
> 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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