[time-nuts] buying a time interval counter

[Richard (Rick) Karlquist]

On 6/29/2016 9:22 AM, Dr. David Kirkby (Kirkby Microwave Ltd) wrote:
>
> There is also a Keysight 53230A with a slightly better (20 ps vs 25 ps)
> single shot resolution.  It looks more modern,  but I don't know how well
> they compare.
>
> Dave.

The 53230A does not offer a 10811 option, but instead offers some
greatly inferior OCXO.  Don't waste your money on this oscillator.
If you're reading time-nuts, you probably already have a 10811
or equivalent anyway.  The counter itself has the interesting
feature of being able to display Allan deviation using its
own internal math engine.  What I have found is that Hadamard
deviation is a lot more useful for screening oscillators, but
all you get with the 53230 is Allan.  If you're reading time-nuts,
you can probably figure out how to calculate the DEV du jour.
(There are actually many flavors, as we know).  Given the price
of the 53230A, I just don't see a value proposition there.

Rick N6RK