[time-nuts] 5370B arrived - any FAQ

Chuck Harris cfharris at erols.com
Thu Jun 19 09:33:38 EDT 2008


wje wrote:
>    Why, you use your 8082A! I got one for a steal a couple of years ago on
>    EBay.

I've been looking for a year now, and I haven't found any 8082A's below $400.
Well, there were a couple, but they were a real mess.

5370A's, which are equivalent to the 5370B in all respects have been
going for less than $100 on the 'bay.

[The only significant difference I have been able to find between the "A" and
"B" is the CPU card and memory have been consolidated.  Specification wise, they
  are identical in all respects.  HPIB wise they are also identical.  As are they
  in measurement rate, and HPIB throughput.]


>    However, all you really need is a fast rise-time pulse generator that
>    has external triggering and a variable trigger delay, and can generate
>    a +1/-1 volt swing. The frequency the tests use aren't that critical,
>    anything 1Mhz or higher should work. The only semi-critical parameter
>    is the rise time; the faster it is, the less trigger uncertainty you'll
>    have. 1ns is good. :) Also, unless the delay time setting is rather
>    fine, it's extremely difficult to actually do the anti-coincidence
>    alignment.

 From reading the alignment procedure, the 8082A barely meets the needs.
I haven't found anything else that comes close in one package.

>    What I'm missing is a spectrum analyzer, so I haven't done the
>    frequency multiplier alignment on either of my 5370s. Any tricks for
>    doing that without one?

141T systems are available for much less than the cost of an 8082A, and
are much more useful generally.

-Chuck Harris



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