[time-nuts] Subject: Re: Oscilloquartz 3210 Cesium Standard

[Chris]

> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 01:23:35 +0200
> From: Magnus Danielson <magnus at rubidium.dyndns.org>
> To: time-nuts at febo.com
> Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Oscilloquartz 3210 Cesium Standard
> Message-ID: <53FFB9F7.7000606 at rubidium.dyndns.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>
> FTS had a patent on microcontroller steered cesium, which could
> naturally have limited the spreading time of that technology.
>
> Oscilloquartz at the time where more focused on the telecommunication
> market and meeting the ITU-T G.811 PRC quality requirement, keeping
> within +/. 1E-11 in frequency, and that is achievable with the analog
> design, so no rush changing it.
>
> FTS and HP where more into time-keeping, so therefore improving the
> design made more market sense for them.
>
> Anyway, that's about how I have perceived the market at the time.
>
> Cheers,
> Magnus

Hi Magnus,

Thanks for that and also the notes about initial startup. I guess there 
may have been other reasons, such as contractual requirements to buy 
product built in the eu, say for military or the ESA.

With regard to startup, more or less followed your route. In pump / osc 
mode until the meter indicated zero, then into open loop mode and 
calibrate oscillator against the lab Z3816. Leave for a couple more 
days, recheck oscillator and switch into closed loop mode. Yet another 
couple of days and still no 2nd harmonic on the meter and no lock :-). 
Meter indications are currently:

1-4  Psu voltages,      All ok
5    Cs Oven     	+4 divs of 10 = 8v
6    Osc Ctrl        	+5 divs of 10 = 10v
7    Integrator         Initially +offscale, loop open, then falls back 
to zero, loop closed
8    Preamp            -6.5 divs of 10 = 0.325v
9    2nd Harmonic       0, loop open or closed

Modulation on, autolock on.

Put up some pics on Photobucket earlier today:

http://s775.photobucket.com/user/NikonFtn/library/?sort=6&page=1#/user/NikonFtn/library/?sort=6&page=1&_suid=140932843589702368659727058955

So what am I missing ?. Did fill in the enquiry form at the 
Oscilloquartz web site a few days ago, but no reply. Should I try again, 
or are are there some special runes you need to recite before they will 
talk to you ? :-). Would be quite happy to pay a reasonable fee for a 
copy of the manual, paper or pdf...

Regards,

Chris