[time-nuts] Symmetricom chip scale atomic clock

[Said Jackson]

I believe Microsemi still charges around $1500 for a CSAC. Some were offered on Ebay for around $500 I think some time ago..

Sent From iPhone

On Apr 24, 2014, at 18:33, Jim Palfreyman <jim77742 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Out of curiosity, what's the current price for one of these for a time-nut
> to play with?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Jim Palfreyman
> 
> 
> 
> On 25 April 2014 11:26, Said Jackson <saidjack at aol.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Magnus, Bob,
>> 
>> Thanks much for your kind words.
>> 
>> The failure rate is thankfully so low that we are not greatly alarmed, and
>> Microsemi has been a champ in resolving any failures with/for us when they
>> did show up. We are awaiting the results of the full re-qualify that
>> Microsemi is doing on the CSAC and were going to announce the issue at that
>> time..
>> 
>> Bye,
>> Said
>> 
>> Sent From iPhone
>> 
>> On Apr 24, 2014, at 17:41, Bob Camp <lists at rtty.us> wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi
>>> 
>>> I seem to have been in exactly the same position many times before and
>> also wish you well in resolving this (as I’m *certain* will be the case).
>>> 
>>> Bob
>>> 
>>> On Apr 24, 2014, at 7:48 PM, Magnus Danielson <
>> magnus at rubidium.dyndns.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Said,
>>>> 
>>>> I recognize this situation so well. Feel with you on the issue and hope
>> you find that it resolve itself nicely.
>>>> 
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Magnus
>>>> 
>>>> On 04/24/2014 10:50 PM, SAIDJACK at aol.com wrote:
>>>>> Hello everyone,
>>>>> 
>>>>> let me address the below claims and commentary which was posted without
>>>>> first consulting with us.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Microsemi has recently seen a slightly higher failure rate of the CSAC
>>>>> oscillators than expected. A small percentage of our customers have
>> been
>>>>> adversely affected by this issue. We have been, and will continue to
>> take care
>>>>> of this issue when it happens to units we sold by doing a warranty
>> exchange
>>>>> of  the CSAC for the affected customer unit, even if it should fall
>> out of
>>>>> its normal warranty period.
>>>>> 
>>>>> We believe in supporting our customers to the maximum extent possible,
>> and
>>>>> of course want to deliver a product that has the highest level of
>> quality
>>>>> possible. That said, we must remember that the CSAC technology is a
>> ground
>>>>> breaking, never-before-done in commercial quantities, absolutely new
>> type of
>>>>> oscillator technology, and being at the forefront of such a technology
>>>>> sometimes  means there is a bit of a learning curve to deal with. This
>> is one
>>>>> of the main  reasons why no one else in the world besides Microsemi
>> makes
>>>>> CSAC type products  for commercial sale.
>>>>> 
>>>>> So all in all, if a customer unit should get affected by this problem
>> then
>>>>> the issue will be addressed by us and Microsemi with a quick turn
>> around
>>>>> and a "no questions asked" approach, and we hope that this approach
>> sets us
>>>>> positively apart from the competition.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Lastly, we received the below comments/explanation from Microsemi
>> about
>>>>> this issue which we have permission to share with you, and this
>> should help
>>>>> alleviate the problem for new orders.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>> Said
>> ****************************************************************************
>>>>> ****************************************
>>>>> Some Symmetricom (now  Microsemi) Chip Scale Atomic Clocks have shown a
>>>>> failure mode that will manifest  itself as an inability of the clock
>> to achieve
>>>>> atomic lock.  If the CSAC’s  telemetry string is monitored, the failure
>>>>> mode will show up as a Status Level  8.  Microsemi’s investigation
>> into the
>>>>> problem uncovered three distinct  root causes, although the symptom
>> the user
>>>>> observes is always a Status Level 8,  regardless of which root cause
>> is the
>>>>> underlying issue.  It is important to  note that all three root causes
>> are
>>>>> process issues, not design  issues.
>>>>> All three root causes  have been addressed, and Microsemi is currently
>>>>> producing CSAC’s with all three  fixes implemented.  A full
>> re-qualification of
>>>>> the CSAC is also being done,  to ensure that the fixes are effective.
>> CSAC’
>>>>> s already in the field that  exhibit this failure mode have been, and
>> will
>>>>> continue to be, replaced under  warranty.
>> ****************************************************************************
>>>>> ****************************************
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> In a message dated 4/24/2014 10:16:25 Pacific Daylight Time,
>>>>> lester at veenstras.com writes:
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Affected Products: Jackson Labs or Symmetricom time/frequency
>> reference
>>>>> boards based on Symmetricom chip scale atomic  clock
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