[time-nuts] Measurement of frequency of HP 8720D option 1D5 oscillator after switch on

[John Miles]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: time-nuts [mailto:time-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On Behalf Of Dr. David
> Kirkby (Kirkby Microwave Ltd)
>...
> If I recall correctly, when I did look some time ago at getting
> another TI counter, the Agilent 53230A seemed to have some
> specifications *worst* than the 5370B it replaced. It was not clear it
> was an upgrade.
> 
> This 53230A on eBay does not seem very good value, at about 60% *more*
> than the price of a new one from Keysight!!!
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COUNTER-TIMER-350MHZ-12-Digits-20PS-53230A-/
> 
> Perhaps I should ask what discount I could get if I buy 10!
> 
> I just stuck an offer on a SRS 620, which is sold as seen. I'll take a
> chance it works if my offer is accepted.

The 5370B is still the only high-performance counter that I own, personally.  SR620s are fine as far as they go, but if they have any strong advantages over the 5370 I don't know what they are.  Spending more for a 53230A isn't necessary unless you have a specific need for something that only it can do (and I don't).

One cool thing about the 5370 is that the newest TimeLab beta has JavaScript support for it.  Previous versions supported scripting only for TimePods.  It comes with an example script to record frequency readings at one per second for 7 days, after waiting 5 minutes for initial oven warmup.  

My OCXO test bench runs on a 5370B in a separate building.   I go over there once a week, swap the oscillator under test, restart the script, and forget about it until the next week.  (E.g.,: http://www.ke5fx.com/ocxotest.png , generated by the TimeLab version at http://www.miles.io/timelab/beta.htm).  It's pretty handy for just this sort of scenario.

-- john, KE5FX
Miles Design LLC