[time-nuts] Why is holdover LED on HP 58503A not lit

Bob Camp kb8tq at n1k.org
Tue Dec 20 07:18:17 EST 2016


Hi

> On Dec 19, 2016, at 9:30 PM, Charles Steinmetz <csteinmetz at yandex.com> wrote:
> 
> David wrote:
> 
>> This does appear now to be working - see below. I'm not exactly sure what
>> was the secret to getting this to work, but the above procedure seemed ok.
> 
> Time.  It is not at all unusual for a 58503A that has no almanac (or an out-of-date almanac) to take several days to achieve disciplined operation (and much longer for the OCXO to fully stabilize).  You may get lucky and find that it happens faster, but don't count on it.  FWIW, HP GPSDOs often take longer than others to initialize.
> 
> Everyone, please remember -- GPSDOs can take significant time to re-initialize.  No need to post about what may be wrong until at least 3 days of continuous running after powering on.  Chill.
> 
> Same with respect to crystal oscillators settling to low drift rates. No need to worry about drift (retrace) for at least a month (sometimes 6 or even 12 or 24 months) of continuous running after powering on.
> 
> Honestly, the best thing to do is turn it on and forget about it for 3 days (GPSDO) or 1 month (crystal oscillator).  DO NOT observe it (log it, if you feel the need, and don't look at the log until after the 3/30 days).

….. and that’s several days with constant access to satellites (> 6 sats at all times). If your antenna location is “challenged” you can multiply the time required by some factor like 3 or 5 or …
This is why some of us spend a lot of time talking about the importance of antenna location on these boxes. 

Bob

> 
> Precise time and frequency require patience!
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Charles
> 
> 
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