[time-nuts] Affordable (cheap) COTS / eBay kit for TIE / 1PPS phase comparison

[Magnus Danielson]

Hi,

On 22/01/14 02:46, Bob Camp wrote:
> Hi
>
> You can do a lot better than 5 ns these days if you want to spend some money.
>
> Some low(er) cost alternatives:
>
> 5335 counter running GPIB. The counter should be below $150 and it should get you to 1 ns or so.
>
> 5334 counter also running GPIB. A bit smaller / cheaper - should be around 2 ns.
>
> Both are staple items on the auction sites. You would still need a GPIB adapter and a PC to collect the data and do the analysis.  Sounds like you have the PC. The USB adapters aren’t very expensive.

You already have a GPS clock. May I ask what it is?

The HP5335A will certainly get you of in the right direction for very 
reasonable money. Just make sure it is operational. Used one for that 
purpose at work today.

The ProLogix GPIB interface is a great way to get started: 
http://prologix.biz/

The fourth component is TimeLab, which is a lovely tool to get started with.
http://www.ke5fx.com/timelab/readme.htm

You can improve your measurement floor by squaring up the signal before 
entering the counter. There are various ways to do that. I use a pair of 
TADD-2 for dividers, but with the input squared up brought out onto a 
spare BNC.
http://www.tapr.org/kits_tadd-2.html

Depending on what you are doing, you might want to go "deeper", but let 
us know what you need and I'm sure we can give you some guidance.

Cheers,
Magnus