[time-nuts] Efratom SLCR-101 rubidium - what have I just bought?

Charles Steinmetz csteinmetz at yandex.com
Thu Dec 26 16:01:32 EST 2013


Several observations:

The listing is titled and the item is described in the listing text 
as an "EFRATOM LPRO-101 10Mhz Oscillator," but the item in the photos 
is an SLCR-101.

The broken link to a manual appears (by its URL) to be for an 
LPRO-101, not an SLCR-101.  So, even if the link worked, it would not 
be for the item you bought.

While the seller appears to be in the UK, the "used" stickers are the 
same (including handwriting) as those applied by an infamous Chinese 
supplier, who sells from a number of China-based ebay accounts.  So 
the ultimate origin of the item on the surplus market is apparently 
that Chinese seller.

The note, "Ex-lab equipment," is almost certainly false unless it 
means "used in my home lab after being decommissioned and sold as 
surplus by a telcom provider."

The "lamp voltage" is a derived quantity that is a rough indicator of 
lamp health.  The actual voltage range varies from model to model -- 
I have some where the range is ~14v (new) to ~8v (end of life), 
others where the range is ~9v to ~3v, and others I have no 
information on.  Without information for the SLCR-101 specifically, 
you have no way of knowing whether 8.34v is nearly new, mid-life, or 
barely alive.

Since the listing promises an LPRO-101, and you will apparently not 
be receiving an LPRO-101, you should have grounds to return 
it.  Since the SLCR is further miniaturized from the LPRO, and the 
performance of rubidium oscillators is generally related to the 
inverse of their size -- and because of the lack of service 
information for the SLCR -- that's what I'd be inclined to do.

Best regards,

Charles




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