[time-nuts] "Vanguard Ultra precision Golden Oscillator"

Bob Camp kb8tq at n1k.org
Sun Aug 23 20:42:47 EDT 2015


Hi

I just spent some “quality time” looking at what Mouser offers in the way of crystal 
oscillators. None of this work was NIST certified. Others could do the same thing. 

You have a number of candidates in the “dip clock” stability category both 
in traditional (leaded) and modern (SMT) packages. They are at “basement experimenter” 
sort of prices ($20 down to under $1). I would not trust any of them as a legit standard for a project.

Next up are a number of products from people who are very proud of what they are selling. 
The prices are 10 to 50X higher than the simple product (> $200). To me that puts them out of
the basement experiment category. When I look at what < $50 gets me on eBay, I sort of wonder
why you would go that way on an a one off design. 

In the middle, there are a surprisingly small number of products. There are a few OCXO’s and a few TCXO’s. 
The pickings are pretty slim. If I need something like an odd frequency …good luck in that range. 

The bottom line is that there really aren’t a lot of choices. It’s nice to use “real parts” with “real specs”. The nature
of the distribution process is that there is a (basement incompatible ) markup on exotic parts. It’s not limited in any
way to oscillators. Volume matters and volume on exotic items is never going to happen.

So what to do:

1) Off to eBay
2) Spend a fortune on the legit part
3) Make your own 

There is not a lot to an un-compensated crystal oscillator. Tuning it on frequency is fairly simple. Even for odd 
frequencies Mouser will happily sell you a crystal for next to nothing. Toss in a handful of parts and you have 
a very respectable oscillator. For a basement project … much better than spending $40 on something suspect 
from who knows who.

Bob




> On Aug 23, 2015, at 6:07 PM, Bill Byrom <time at radio.sent.com> wrote:
> 
> I can't imagine that anyone would trust some "0.1 ppm" specification
> just because an unknown party stamped that on the case. There are many
> sellers of very similarly marked oscillators. They all are selling in
> single quantities for about the same price. The market seems to be
> hobbyists, especially audio fanatics who want to reduce the jitter in
> their audio gear. Since no reputable manufacturer would purchase such
> gray market parts with zero reputation (no known manufacturer of the
> item), nobody will be performing incoming inspection on these devices.
> So nobody knows what they are getting - if they install it and it isn't
> on frequency how would the buyer know what was wrong?
> 
> Notice that there does not appear to be a "Vanguard" oscillator company
> or trade name used by some other manufacturer. The units are not marked
> with a model number. There is no real datasheet or specifications. There
> is no description of what the "0.1 ppm" refers to, but it's printed
> right there on the case so it appears to be an attempt to give the
> product some type of "quality".
> 
> The obviously flouting of eBay and international customs regulations
> also shows the lack of trust you should have in that seller.
>> Shipping invoice will be declared with low value and mark as 'gift' or
>> 'samples'
> 
> See the eBay rules:
>> http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/international-shipping-rules.html
>> "Note: It's illegal to falsify customs declarations or mark an item as
>> a "gift" in order to avoid customs fees. If a buyer asks you to commit
>> customs fraud, report it to us."
> 
> If the seller is faking custom forms, how do you know that anything they
> say is true?
> --
> Bill Byrom N5BB
> 
> 
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