[time-nuts] B.V.A. 8600 for sale

[paul swed]

Tom
Completely agree. You pay for what you need like all things.
I did turn down a very nice 5071 for $1600 from another Time-nut. Looked
like it was in quite good condition. I just could not actually justify that
cost for the hobby.
Regards
Paul
WB8TSL


On Thu, Aug 29, 2013 at 12:43 PM, Tom Van Baak <tvb at leapsecond.com> wrote:

> The pursuit of precision tends to be exponential rather than linear. When
> you push the envelope of frequency and time accuracy or stability or
> measurement (e.g., phase noise and short-term ADEV) prices go up
> accordingly, as if each decimal point of time/frequency precision magically
> adds a zero to the purchase/operational cost. It's probably the same in
> many fields: from voltage standards to F1 racing. As a rough example in the
> ADEV world:
>
> - for 1e-11, you can buy almost any XO, TCXO, or risky OCXO for $10.
> - for 1e-12, you can find a reputable OCXO on eBay for under $100.
> - for 1e-13, you can find an old but maybe working cesium clock for 1 k$.
> - for 1e-14, spend 10 k$ and get a certified working hp 5071A.
> - for 1e-15, spend 100 k$ and find a used active H-maser.
> - for 1e-16, spend 1 M$ to hire physicists and build a Cs fountain.
> - for 1e-17, spend 10 M$ to fund a national research institute to build
> ion or optical clocks.
>
> All this to say that a BVA oscillator at $3K is not unreasonable. Unless
> of course, when you test it, you find it's no better than a lucky 10811A
> you once found inside a HP 5328A counter for $100. But the seller is
> offering a 14-day trial so that's very considerate.
>
> Thanks,
> /tvb
>
>
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