[time-nuts] Confused about Rubidium oscillators

Brian Kirby bryan-Kerby at att.net
Wed Nov 14 22:46:02 UTC 2012


I believe Corby came up with the bulb "rejuvenation".

If you tried to get a new bulb for a FRK, they wanted $400 in the late 
1990s for them.

Several rubidium's are plentiful and cheap, it may be easier to buy one 
from the auction site.

I have a HP5065A, I run it when I need it, and when not in use, I power 
it up about every 3 months for a couple of days.  On the HP unit, there 
is a flooding/pooling problem if the unit is not used.


On 11/14/2012 10:56 AM, Bob Smither wrote:
> Do Rb oscillators wear out?  I have found:
>
> "There are no "wear-out" or "use-up" mechanisms in a Datum
> Efratom Rubidium oscillator."
>    -- Datum - Note About Rubidium Oscillators
>
> and
>
> "Atomic Vapor Oscillators have no wear out mechanism."
>    -- FEI - Precison Oscillator Overview, 2007, p19.
>
> But also:
>
> "Unlike a quartz crystal oscillator which has no clearly-defined "wear out"
> period and, if well-designed, can actually improve as time goes on, a Rubidium
> reference has a definite lifetime associated with its lamp:  As the unit
> operates, the Rubidium within the lamp is gradually consumed and eventually, too
> little vapor is available for the atomic resonance to be detected and the unit
> fails."
>    -- http://www.ka7oei.com/10meg_rubidium1.html
>
> and
>
> The page at:
>    http://www.oscilent.com/esupport/TechSupport/ReviewPapers/IntroQuartz/vigcomp.htm
> also mentions a wear out mechanism.
>
> and
>
> "These OCXOs maintain performance characteristics comparable to Rubidium
> oscillators without their high cost and inherent wear out,"
>    --
> http://www.microwavejournal.com/articles/2301-an-ocxo-with-rubidium-oscillator-performance
>
> Finally I found:
>
> "Problems with rubidium cell wear-out have been solved and manufacturers now
> offer essentially unlimited warranties against cell failure."
>    --http://www.endruntechnologies.com/frequency-standard-oscillators.htm
>
> so maybe both points of view are correct?
>
> I recall seeing something about rejuvenating Rb oscillators on this list, so I
> suspect Clint is correct.
>
> Whose right?  As a time-nut, do you leave your Rb oscillators on 24/7?
>
> Thanks,
>
>
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