[time-nuts] Best Rubidium Frequency Standard

Bob Camp kb8tq at n1k.org
Fri Mar 11 17:51:50 EST 2016


HI

None of this is a simple slam dunk.

The 5065 has great ADEV numbers. In “as delivered” condition It has horrid TC and pressure sensitivity. It also is > 10X more expensive than a lot of the other devices. 

The units that *can* be disciplined are rarely set up to do so properly off of a GPS source. If you want to run one as a 24/7 GPSDO, that may be a significant issue. 

All of the “modular” Rb’s require heat sinking. For a reasonable lifespan, either a fairly healthy heatsink or  something smaller plus a fan is called for. The impact on lifespan can easily be 10:1. 

If your target is something like a microwave radio, many Rb’s are “challenged” in terms of phase noise and/or spurs. Some sort of cleanup will be needed for almost all of them. 

The salvage process that some parts have been through is a bit brutal. That’s both good news and bad news. It lets you buy a “kit of 5” Rb’s to repair yourself for very little money. With luck you will get two or three working and still not have spent $200 on the batch (delivered). On the other hand, if you expect a really good unit when spending a lot more money …. you may not like the water damage (or whatever). 

Lots to think about.

Bob





> On Mar 11, 2016, at 4:45 PM, Mark Sims <holrum at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Mark's Law of Rubidium Goodness... the bigger the box, the better it is.  The HP5065A is one of the best units ever made.  It can rival a cesium beam unit.  The X72 is a horrid little creature.
> 
> 
> I would also go with the M100 / FRK units.   The LPRO an FE56xx units were designed for telecom use and meet the specs required of them and low cost.   The M100 and FRKs saw a lot of use in military systems.
> 
> Which one you choose is best determined by your budget,  applications, and requirements.  A noisy little X72 could be just fine,  or you may need the beastly HP5065.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 		 	   		   		 	   		  
> _______________________________________________
> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at febo.com
> To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
> and follow the instructions there.



More information about the time-nuts mailing list