[time-nuts] My old new 53132A just arrived

Arnold Tibus arnold.tibus at gmx.de
Mon Aug 9 15:59:48 UTC 2010


Am 09.08.2010 14:15, schrieb Loïc MOREAU:
> Hi all,
> 
> My first goal is to verify the frequency of my different RF sources : 4420B, some DDS, a N2PK VNA and  ISOTEMP 134-10, the next step with the help of an Excel spread sheet to have some idea about their respective stability.
> 
> Equipped with option 010, I would like to know how in which direction to go to calibrate my unit. The frequency of the internal time base is supposed to be stable but I have no way to know the exact frequency as the unit is an old one.
> 
> So I suppose I have to calibrate the gear with an external source, for now I can suppose that my 53132A is accurate to 10-6  or +-1Hz, as it is so easy to turn the front panel adjusting screw, I am not sure about the actual precision.
> 
> I can take two possible direction to improve my system with an external time base.   
> 
> 1. acquire a rubidium 10Mhz, put in in a box with a 24V power supply 
> 
> Or 
> 
> 2. acquire a 10Mhz GMS time unit or homebrew one with one of the numerous project that we can find.
> 
> Can somebody give an advice : I have no clue to choose between the solutions, apart the power drain of the first one. 
> 
> Regards
> Loïc 
> 
> http://www.eai.fr
> 

Hi Loïc,
it is easy if you could get a Trimble Tunderbolt with a GPS-antenna.
Connect the 10 MHz out of TB to the ext. 10 MHz input of your 53132A and
you will have a precise reading close to 1 E-11. After getting the
counter stable running some days or a week you may then calibrate the
internal ocxo comparing both oscillators. One source for a TB was TAPR.
Mine does pull just about 7 W, about a third of a RbO. If you are lucky
you may find a PRS10 RbO for a reasonable price, but it does need as
well beeing calibrated from time to time and will be more expensive overall.

Bonne chance,

Arnold



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