Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
The 15 volts comes from an old Toshiba laptop ps. The 5 volts is from another switcher, similar to the famous Meanwell. http://www.omen.com/ham/gpsd.html The 15 volts seems fairly clean on my 2712. My Racal-Dana 1992 does emit a signal on 10 MHz. On 01/12/2012 03:40 AM, Javier Herrero wrote: Hello, What kind of power supply are you using for it? If a switching one, perhaps this is the origin. Regards, Javier, EA1CRB El 12/01/2012 11:39, Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R escribió: I received my Ebay Tek 2712 spectrum analyzer Monday and I have been throwing software to read its data via GPIB. Here is a spectrum I got connecting the Rb 10 MHz to the 2712. Nice little spurs. I don't see anything to account for these anywhere else. The 2712 is a big step up from Ham radio fish finders and I'm still learning things about the 2712. It would be nice to have original easy to read printed manuals and/or a high quality PDF. The black and white (no greyscale) PDFs on the internet are hard on the eyes and not searchable. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. -- Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX n2469r...@omen.comwww.omen.com Developer of Industrial ZMODEM(Tm) for Embedded Applications Omen Technology Inc The High Reliability Software 10255 NW Old Cornelius Pass Portland OR 97231 503-614-0430 attachment: rb7.gif___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Hi If you believe that your GPS is good to 1x10^-11 *and* that's good enough for what you are doing - the answer is easy. If you need 10X better than that, indeed it gets harder, but still in range for a TBolt. If you need 100X better, then it's very difficult. Bob -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Hal Murray Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 8:48 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived li...@rtty.us said: You would have to have either a *very* long loop (weeks?) and/or a *very* good GPS (big bucks) to keep from messing your Rb up. The alternative would be to simply do a comparison every two months and adjust it manually by the one or at most two DDS steps required. Yes, but how long do I measure when the two month timer goes off. Suppose I measure for a day. How do I know if I got a good day or was unlucky? Might as well collect everything and then analyze the whole pile. -- These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's. I hate spam. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Some people are using this to measure 60Hz mains power frequency. Simply connect AC (using some safe method) to pin one of a serial port and every cycle gets time stamped. The system is fast enough to log 1000 per second easy. The code I'm using to collect PPS data is here: http://www.megapathdsl.net/~hmurray/time-nuts/60Hz/pps.py It only runs on Linux. It's only 100 lines of python. The UI is a text editor. I'll clean it up a bit and/or write a few lines of documentation if anybody needs it. It sould be straightforward to rewrite it to use the c API so it would run on *BSD. RFC 2783 has the background info. -- These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's. I hate spam. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
I received my Ebay Tek 2712 spectrum analyzer Monday and I have been throwing software to read its data via GPIB. Here is a spectrum I got connecting the Rb 10 MHz to the 2712. Nice little spurs. I don't see anything to account for these anywhere else. The 2712 is a big step up from Ham radio fish finders and I'm still learning things about the 2712. It would be nice to have original easy to read printed manuals and/or a high quality PDF. The black and white (no greyscale) PDFs on the internet are hard on the eyes and not searchable. -- Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R c...@omen.com www.omen.com Developer of Industrial ZMODEM(Tm) for Embedded Applications Omen Technology Inc The High Reliability Software 10255 NW Old Cornelius Pass Portland OR 97231 503-614-0430 attachment: rb2.gif___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
I am in week 7 and still se no aging at 1 E-12. Look forward doing other tests like voltage sensitivity and bringing out the C field for external adjustment. Right now hands off. Frustrating but I am determined to get some aging data first. I do not know if keeping it nice and cool helps keeping aging down but does help component life. Bert Kehren In a message dated 1/11/2012 8:33:18 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, gandal...@aol.com writes: My observations are that the RS232 offset on these needs to be considered as very much a fine adjustment only, and presumably just intended to pull the frequency on to 10 MHz rather than to provide a usable offset. I did try pushing my first unit to the extremes of the adjustment range shown in the manual and it didn't like it, the frequency was highly unstable and at one extreme it just gave up and rejected the offset. Observations on three units so far indicate that none seem to have had any offset programmed in the field but all are less stable the further they are from being set to 10MHz. I haven't recorded any long term data as yet, just observed the short term stability on an HP 53132A and Tek FCA3100 clocked against one of three T'bolts, but am getting a definite impression that 10MHz is a sweet spot and that anything either side is just begging to be corrected:-) Regards Nigel GM8PZR In a message dated 12/01/2012 01:04:03 GMT Standard Time, smit...@c-c-i.com writes: More observations. My unit is S/N 0316 61953, UN 63983. If I try to change the offset count (using RS232) by more than about 131,000 counts (0x2) at a time it sometimes loses the 1PPS and the lock signal goes high. By bringing the offset count up slowly (increments of 0x1) I recorded the following drift rates versus offset count: 0 usec / sec at 0 1 usec / sec at 1441792 (0x16) 2 usec / sec at 2949120 (0x2D) 3 usec / sec at 4390912 (0x43) 4 usec / sec at 5898240 (0x5A) The offset count was incremented in units of 0x1 (65,536) counts so the drifts are approximate. A plot of these results is here: http://c-c-i.com/node/161 My unit appears to have an adjustment resolution of about 6.8E-13 / count - close to what has been reported here before. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mai lman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Hello, What kind of power supply are you using for it? If a switching one, perhaps this is the origin. Regards, Javier, EA1CRB El 12/01/2012 11:39, Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R escribió: I received my Ebay Tek 2712 spectrum analyzer Monday and I have been throwing software to read its data via GPIB. Here is a spectrum I got connecting the Rb 10 MHz to the 2712. Nice little spurs. I don't see anything to account for these anywhere else. The 2712 is a big step up from Ham radio fish finders and I'm still learning things about the 2712. It would be nice to have original easy to read printed manuals and/or a high quality PDF. The black and white (no greyscale) PDFs on the internet are hard on the eyes and not searchable. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Hi So, if it holds 1x10^-12 (and maybe 1x10^-12) for about two months, what can you accomplish by locking it to a GPS? Your ADEV for very long tau's should be sub 1.0x10^-13 (say 3x10^-14 at 100,000 sec). You would have to have either a *very* long loop (weeks?) and/or a *very* good GPS (big bucks) to keep from messing your Rb up. The alternative would be to simply do a comparison every two months and adjust it manually by the one or at most two DDS steps required. Bob -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of ewkeh...@aol.com Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2012 6:28 AM To: time-nuts@febo.com Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived I am in week 7 and still se no aging at 1 E-12. Look forward doing other tests like voltage sensitivity and bringing out the C field for external adjustment. Right now hands off. Frustrating but I am determined to get some aging data first. I do not know if keeping it nice and cool helps keeping aging down but does help component life. Bert Kehren In a message dated 1/11/2012 8:33:18 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, gandal...@aol.com writes: My observations are that the RS232 offset on these needs to be considered as very much a fine adjustment only, and presumably just intended to pull the frequency on to 10 MHz rather than to provide a usable offset. I did try pushing my first unit to the extremes of the adjustment range shown in the manual and it didn't like it, the frequency was highly unstable and at one extreme it just gave up and rejected the offset. Observations on three units so far indicate that none seem to have had any offset programmed in the field but all are less stable the further they are from being set to 10MHz. I haven't recorded any long term data as yet, just observed the short term stability on an HP 53132A and Tek FCA3100 clocked against one of three T'bolts, but am getting a definite impression that 10MHz is a sweet spot and that anything either side is just begging to be corrected:-) Regards Nigel GM8PZR In a message dated 12/01/2012 01:04:03 GMT Standard Time, smit...@c-c-i.com writes: More observations. My unit is S/N 0316 61953, UN 63983. If I try to change the offset count (using RS232) by more than about 131,000 counts (0x2) at a time it sometimes loses the 1PPS and the lock signal goes high. By bringing the offset count up slowly (increments of 0x1) I recorded the following drift rates versus offset count: 0 usec / sec at 0 1 usec / sec at 1441792 (0x16) 2 usec / sec at 2949120 (0x2D) 3 usec / sec at 4390912 (0x43) 4 usec / sec at 5898240 (0x5A) The offset count was incremented in units of 0x1 (65,536) counts so the drifts are approximate. A plot of these results is here: http://c-c-i.com/node/161 My unit appears to have an adjustment resolution of about 6.8E-13 / count - close to what has been reported here before. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mai lman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
li...@rtty.us said: You would have to have either a *very* long loop (weeks?) and/or a *very* good GPS (big bucks) to keep from messing your Rb up. The alternative would be to simply do a comparison every two months and adjust it manually by the one or at most two DDS steps required. Yes, but how long do I measure when the two month timer goes off. Suppose I measure for a day. How do I know if I got a good day or was unlucky? Might as well collect everything and then analyze the whole pile. -- These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's. I hate spam. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
How are you going to measure and adjust and to what level. What error can you live with? Bert Kehren ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
On Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 6:09 PM, ewkeh...@aol.com wrote: How are you going to measure and adjust and to what level. What error can you live with? What error? I'd say one DDS step. The steps are in units of about 5.6E-13 so the max error is 1/2 of that. How long to measure. The PPS will be random the worst case will be that it is 30 seconds off. That could take a LONG time. I think it is best simply to measure the PPS offset from UTC and leave it. Just get the 10MHz right and the PPS will keep a constant known offset. Any timing application will have a way to enter the offset. If you really do want to move the phase of the PPS. I think a fast way might be to turn the FE5680 off then back on, repute until you get close. -- Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Mine is 0436 (still untested- too busy) -Dave - Original Message - From: Peter Gottlieb n...@verizon.net To: time-nuts@febo.com Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 8:09:51 PM Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived Got another one today, date code 0435. On 1/10/2012 10:48 PM, Peter Bell wrote: Hi, Joseph The unit number just seems to be a mechanical serial number - all you can really say about it is that higher numbers are newer. The most useful number is the 4 digit prefix on the serial number - this is an EIA format date code (two digits of year, two digits of week) - all the units I've seen have been from '03 or '04 - the newest one I have is 0420 - so dating from early June 2004. There is also another date / revision label on the main PCB (visible by removing the bottom cover) - this seems to be the PCBA build date. Regards, Pete On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 9:03 AM, Joseph Grayjg...@zianet.com wrote: With all the talk on the list about these things, and considering the price, I could no longer resist temptation and ordered two from nichegeek. First, I was amazed at the speed at which I received these units. The order was placed last Friday, the shipment went out late Saturday and I received them today (Tuesday). In my experience, it has always taken two weeks or more to receive anything from China. I couldn't believe I got these in just three days. BTW, I paid $38 each with the free shipping. An outstanding deal IMO. I also received the semi-useless freebies. My only quibble so far is that both units were packed in nothing more than a large envelope, with a thin layer of bubble wrap added. Nothing is dented or rattling around, so hopefully they are OK. I'm just about to wire up a cable and power them on, so I'll know soon. The units I got have numbers of UN 71xxx and UN 78xxx. I don't know exactly what this means, but according to the ebay sellers, they are claiming that 6 and 7 numbers indicate newer units. Can anyone decipher this number sequence? Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1416 / Virus Database: 2109/4134 - Release Date: 01/10/12 ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. Joe Gray W5JG On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 10:30 PM, J. L. Trantham jlt...@att.net wrote: I confess! I, too, could not resist the opportunity to 'commune' with the members of the list with these Rb units. I ordered two of the FE-5680A units ($36 ea. including shipping) from the same supplier with amazing speed (order date 1/4, arrival date 1/9 to NW Florida). They were marked 'FE-5680A UN 70021' 'S/N 0405-72179' and 'FE-5680A UN 71920' 'S/N 0413-75933'. I promptly came home, constructed a DB9 female connector, with the connections as specified in recent postings, and both units were up and locked with extremely close agreement with my TBolt and Z3816A in under 5 minutes. Pin 6 had a 1 uSec wide, 5 Volt, 1 PPS, pulse. I did not explore pins 8 or 9, the RS232 pins. I guess I'll have to go back through the list to see what, exactly, I can do with these. They, too, were packed with bubble wrap individually and then together, and in a plain envelope that was placed in a UPS plastic envelope. However, they arrived without damage, and, amazingly, very promptly. Not sure what, exactly, I will do with them yet, but they will certainly have many possible roles. Joe WB4BPP -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Joseph Gray Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 8:04 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived With all the talk on the list about these things, and considering the price, I could no longer resist temptation and ordered two from nichegeek. First, I was amazed at the speed at which I received these units. The order was placed last Friday, the shipment went out late Saturday and I received them today (Tuesday). In my experience, it has always taken two weeks or more to receive anything from China. I couldn't believe I got these in just three days. BTW, I paid $38 each with the free shipping. An outstanding deal IMO. I also received the semi-useless freebies. My only quibble so far is that both units were packed in nothing more than a large envelope, with a thin layer of bubble wrap added. Nothing is dented or rattling around, so hopefully they are OK. I'm just about to wire up a cable and power them on, so I'll know soon. The units I got have numbers of UN 71xxx and UN 78xxx. I don't know exactly what this means, but according to the ebay sellers, they are claiming that 6 and 7 numbers indicate newer units. Can anyone decipher this number sequence? Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
I tested mine the same way. Turned out the 'bumps' were real but the 'jitter' was my scopes vertical being 'noisy' and resolved by 'diddling' with the input amplitude knob. The sine wave had about 1 V P-P into the 50 ohm input of the TEK 485. Joe -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Joseph Gray Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 10:20 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived The first power supply I used couldn't provide enough current for the startup of the heater, so I had to dig out another. After fixing that issue, the first rubidium unit locked very quickly. For initial testing, I'm using a scope, triggered on my HP Z3801A. After several minutes of warm up (I didn't time it), I detect no drift in the rubidium's 10 MHz at all. I do see a bit of jitter and some bumps on the peaks of the sine wave. I'll cook this one for a while and then try unit number two. Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Try setting your scope to a relatively slow speed, 50 mSec/cm or so, set it to trigger on the appropriate channel, positive slope, turn off 'Auto' trigger thus just getting a sweep only if triggered, then adjust the trigger sensitivity to see if you see a sweep go across the screen once per second. If so, turn the intensity up very high and move the sweep speed to 1 uSec/cm and look very closely at the very first part of the trace, about 5 V above the base line. Should be a 1 uSec wide pulse across the screen only once per second (thus the need to turn up the intensity of the display). I used a 10X probe on pin 6 to measure this (10 Meg Input Impedance). Hope this helps. Joe -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Joseph Gray Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 12:11 AM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. Joe Gray W5JG On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 10:30 PM, J. L. Trantham jlt...@att.net wrote: I confess! I, too, could not resist the opportunity to 'commune' with the members of the list with these Rb units. I ordered two of the FE-5680A units ($36 ea. including shipping) from the same supplier with amazing speed (order date 1/4, arrival date 1/9 to NW Florida). They were marked 'FE-5680A UN 70021' 'S/N 0405-72179' and 'FE-5680A UN 71920' 'S/N 0413-75933'. I promptly came home, constructed a DB9 female connector, with the connections as specified in recent postings, and both units were up and locked with extremely close agreement with my TBolt and Z3816A in under 5 minutes. Pin 6 had a 1 uSec wide, 5 Volt, 1 PPS, pulse. I did not explore pins 8 or 9, the RS232 pins. I guess I'll have to go back through the list to see what, exactly, I can do with these. They, too, were packed with bubble wrap individually and then together, and in a plain envelope that was placed in a UPS plastic envelope. However, they arrived without damage, and, amazingly, very promptly. Not sure what, exactly, I will do with them yet, but they will certainly have many possible roles. Joe WB4BPP -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Joseph Gray Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 8:04 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived With all the talk on the list about these things, and considering the price, I could no longer resist temptation and ordered two from nichegeek. First, I was amazed at the speed at which I received these units. The order was placed last Friday, the shipment went out late Saturday and I received them today (Tuesday). In my experience, it has always taken two weeks or more to receive anything from China. I couldn't believe I got these in just three days. BTW, I paid $38 each with the free shipping. An outstanding deal IMO. I also received the semi-useless freebies. My only quibble so far is that both units were packed in nothing more than a large envelope, with a thin layer of bubble wrap added. Nothing is dented or rattling around, so hopefully they are OK. I'm just about to wire up a cable and power them on, so I'll know soon. The units I got have numbers of UN 71xxx and UN 78xxx. I don't know exactly what this means, but according to the ebay sellers, they are claiming that 6 and 7 numbers indicate newer units. Can anyone decipher this number sequence? Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Joseph Gray wrote: I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. I can see the 1 usec, 1pps on mine, but only if I use an analog storage scope. Although my HP54000 series scope triggers at 1PPS, for the life of me I cannot get it to display the 1 usec pulse :-(. attachment: smither.vcf___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:35:56 -0600, Bob Smither smit...@c-c-i.com wrote: Joseph Gray wrote: I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. I can see the 1 usec, 1pps on mine, but only if I use an analog storage scope. Although my HP54000 series scope triggers at 1PPS, for the life of me I cannot get it to display the 1 usec pulse :-(. You might need to darken the oscilloscope environment or use a viewing hood. Some analog non-storage oscilloscopes, either because of design or age, are not going to be able to display a short pulse at 1 second intervals. I tested this on my old but in good condition 2230 and it could display it dimly in normal room light but my older worn 7603 can not. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 10:11 PM, Joseph Gray jg...@zianet.com wrote: I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. PPS is likely there. I can't see it on my Tek 465B scope either. -- Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:37:02 -0800, Chris Albertson albertson.ch...@gmail.com wrote: On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 10:11 PM, Joseph Gray jg...@zianet.com wrote: I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. PPS is likely there. I can't see it on my Tek 465B scope either. The TDS340 is a digital storage oscilloscope. It should have no problem at all displaying the pulse if it is there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Hi A good old logic probe can come in handy from time to time. They certainly aren't very expensive. Bob -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Chris Albertson Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 11:37 AM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 10:11 PM, Joseph Gray jg...@zianet.com wrote: I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. PPS is likely there. I can't see it on my Tek 465B scope either. -- Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Joe I have a TDS360 - - try using ACQUIRE and PEAK DETECT - - you should then see the pulse sitting on the top of the mush - - if you then increase the Horizontal Sweep you can see and measure the pulse. Good luck Roy -Original Message- From: Joseph Gray Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 6:11 AM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. Joe Gray W5JG On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 10:30 PM, J. L. Trantham jlt...@att.net wrote: I confess! I, too, could not resist the opportunity to 'commune' with the members of the list with these Rb units. I ordered two of the FE-5680A units ($36 ea. including shipping) from the same supplier with amazing speed (order date 1/4, arrival date 1/9 to NW Florida). They were marked 'FE-5680A UN 70021' 'S/N 0405-72179' and 'FE-5680A UN 71920' 'S/N 0413-75933'. I promptly came home, constructed a DB9 female connector, with the connections as specified in recent postings, and both units were up and locked with extremely close agreement with my TBolt and Z3816A in under 5 minutes. Pin 6 had a 1 uSec wide, 5 Volt, 1 PPS, pulse. I did not explore pins 8 or 9, the RS232 pins. I guess I'll have to go back through the list to see what, exactly, I can do with these. They, too, were packed with bubble wrap individually and then together, and in a plain envelope that was placed in a UPS plastic envelope. However, they arrived without damage, and, amazingly, very promptly. Not sure what, exactly, I will do with them yet, but they will certainly have many possible roles. Joe WB4BPP -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Joseph Gray Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 8:04 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived With all the talk on the list about these things, and considering the price, I could no longer resist temptation and ordered two from nichegeek. First, I was amazed at the speed at which I received these units. The order was placed last Friday, the shipment went out late Saturday and I received them today (Tuesday). In my experience, it has always taken two weeks or more to receive anything from China. I couldn't believe I got these in just three days. BTW, I paid $38 each with the free shipping. An outstanding deal IMO. I also received the semi-useless freebies. My only quibble so far is that both units were packed in nothing more than a large envelope, with a thin layer of bubble wrap added. Nothing is dented or rattling around, so hopefully they are OK. I'm just about to wire up a cable and power them on, so I'll know soon. The units I got have numbers of UN 71xxx and UN 78xxx. I don't know exactly what this means, but according to the ebay sellers, they are claiming that 6 and 7 numbers indicate newer units. Can anyone decipher this number sequence? Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 9:09 AM, Bob Camp li...@rtty.us wrote: Hi A good old logic probe can come in handy from time to time. They certainly aren't very expensive. On my FE5680 I was convinced there was no PPS. My HP5328 counter could not find a pulse.All I saw was high frequency noise on the scope. And the spec listed pin-6 as N/C. Then I thought to amplify and low pass filter and now the PPS shows up on the HP5328 with a 100.0 uS period. I think the PPS is there but needs a bit a signal conditioning to be useful. Fortunately my old Tek 465B scope has a low pass function and a vertical amplifier output BNC on the rear. I had to crank the amp up and attenuate it on the counter. Has anyone been able to put the PPS fronmthe FE5680 to practical use yet. For example sending it to a computer to drive an NTP server? Detecting it is one thing. reliable use 24x7 is another thing. Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Hi To use the 1 pps with a normal (RS-232 based) NTP server, you would need a pulse stretcher. You probably could use it directly with one of the Soekris boards that take the pps straight into a GPIO pin. Bob -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Chris Albertson Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 12:50 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 9:09 AM, Bob Camp li...@rtty.us wrote: Hi A good old logic probe can come in handy from time to time. They certainly aren't very expensive. On my FE5680 I was convinced there was no PPS. My HP5328 counter could not find a pulse.All I saw was high frequency noise on the scope. And the spec listed pin-6 as N/C. Then I thought to amplify and low pass filter and now the PPS shows up on the HP5328 with a 100.0 uS period. I think the PPS is there but needs a bit a signal conditioning to be useful. Fortunately my old Tek 465B scope has a low pass function and a vertical amplifier output BNC on the rear. I had to crank the amp up and attenuate it on the counter. Has anyone been able to put the PPS fronmthe FE5680 to practical use yet. For example sending it to a computer to drive an NTP server? Detecting it is one thing. reliable use 24x7 is another thing. Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
The FE-5680A 1pps is not sync'd to UTC. According to my calculations, it would take several hours to walk the 1pps to UTC given the 3.8e-5 adjustment range via the RS232 input. A thunderbolt, an arduino, and patience. On 01/11/2012 09:50 AM, Chris Albertson wrote: On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 9:09 AM, Bob Campli...@rtty.us wrote: Hi A good old logic probe can come in handy from time to time. They certainly aren't very expensive. On my FE5680 I was convinced there was no PPS. My HP5328 counter could not find a pulse.All I saw was high frequency noise on the scope. And the spec listed pin-6 as N/C. Then I thought to amplify and low pass filter and now the PPS shows up on the HP5328 with a 100.0 uS period. I think the PPS is there but needs a bit a signal conditioning to be useful. Fortunately my old Tek 465B scope has a low pass function and a vertical amplifier output BNC on the rear. I had to crank the amp up and attenuate it on the counter. Has anyone been able to put the PPS fronmthe FE5680 to practical use yet. For example sending it to a computer to drive an NTP server? Detecting it is one thing. reliable use 24x7 is another thing. Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. -- Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R c...@omen.com www.omen.com Developer of Industrial ZMODEM(Tm) for Embedded Applications Omen Technology Inc The High Reliability Software 10255 NW Old Cornelius Pass Portland OR 97231 503-614-0430 ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Le 11/01/2012 19:24, Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R a écrit : The FE-5680A 1pps is not sync'd to UTC. According to my calculations, it would take several hours to walk the 1pps to UTC given the 3.8e-5 adjustment range via the RS232 input. A thunderbolt, an arduino, and patience. You don't need to take the walk. Just fudge the ATOM driver time1 parameter after scoping the offset between GPS PPS and 5680A PPS signals. You would need to reset it on a Rb power cycle though. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
My backup FE-5680A arrived from Nichgeek a while ago. It has a lower serial number than the first one. I have not measured its current draw yet, or checked for 1pps. So far it does not seem as stable as the first one I got. -- Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R c...@omen.com www.omen.com Developer of Industrial ZMODEM(Tm) for Embedded Applications Omen Technology Inc The High Reliability Software 10255 NW Old Cornelius Pass Portland OR 97231 503-614-0430 attachment: newold.gif___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
c...@omen.com said: So far it does not seem as stable as the first one I got. How are you measuring stability? -- These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's. I hate spam. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
By casually comparing the phase plots of the two FE-5680As vs. Thunderbolt. But it may not be finished settling down. On 01/11/2012 11:14 AM, Hal Murray wrote: c...@omen.com said: So far it does not seem as stable as the first one I got. How are you measuring stability? -- Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R c...@omen.com www.omen.com Developer of Industrial ZMODEM(Tm) for Embedded Applications Omen Technology Inc The High Reliability Software 10255 NW Old Cornelius Pass Portland OR 97231 503-614-0430 ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
You might also consider adding the TAPR Fat PPS to stretch the pulse. See TAPR.org. Tom Holmes, N8ZM Tipp City, OH EM79 -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of David Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 10:17 AM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:35:56 -0600, Bob Smither smit...@c-c-i.com wrote: Joseph Gray wrote: I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. I can see the 1 usec, 1pps on mine, but only if I use an analog storage scope. Although my HP54000 series scope triggers at 1PPS, for the life of me I cannot get it to display the 1 usec pulse :-(. You might need to darken the oscilloscope environment or use a viewing hood. Some analog non-storage oscilloscopes, either because of design or age, are not going to be able to display a short pulse at 1 second intervals. I tested this on my old but in good condition 2230 and it could display it dimly in normal room light but my older worn 7603 can not. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Here is a poor man's pulse stretcher. http://www.ko4bb.com/Test_Equipment/Thunderbolt/PulseStretching/ Probably not good enough for timing applications, but plenty good enough to see the pulse on an analog scope. Didier KO4BB Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless thingy while I do other things... -Original Message- From: Bob Camp li...@rtty.us Sender: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:04:38 To: 'Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement'time-nuts@febo.com Reply-To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@febo.com Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived Hi To use the 1 pps with a normal (RS-232 based) NTP server, you would need a pulse stretcher. You probably could use it directly with one of the Soekris boards that take the pps straight into a GPIO pin. Bob -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Chris Albertson Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 12:50 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 9:09 AM, Bob Camp li...@rtty.us wrote: Hi A good old logic probe can come in handy from time to time. They certainly aren't very expensive. On my FE5680 I was convinced there was no PPS. My HP5328 counter could not find a pulse.All I saw was high frequency noise on the scope. And the spec listed pin-6 as N/C. Then I thought to amplify and low pass filter and now the PPS shows up on the HP5328 with a 100.0 uS period. I think the PPS is there but needs a bit a signal conditioning to be useful. Fortunately my old Tek 465B scope has a low pass function and a vertical amplifier output BNC on the rear. I had to crank the amp up and attenuate it on the counter. Has anyone been able to put the PPS fronmthe FE5680 to practical use yet. For example sending it to a computer to drive an NTP server? Detecting it is one thing. reliable use 24x7 is another thing. Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Bob Smither wrote: Joseph Gray wrote: I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. I can see the 1 usec, 1pps on mine, but only if I use an analog storage scope. Although my HP54000 series scope triggers at 1PPS, for the life of me I cannot get it to display the 1 usec pulse :-(. OK, I am still learning how to set up my 54645D. Upon reseting the scope and adjusting the trigger it is clear that the 1pps pulse is there. The pulse is TTL level and very close to 1 usec wide. I have noticed the the 1pps pulse goes away when I make a large change to the offset count through the RS232 connection. The pulse comes back after the unit has settled for a while. attachment: smither.vcf___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Le 11/01/2012 19:36, mike cook a écrit : Le 11/01/2012 19:24, Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R a écrit : The FE-5680A 1pps is not sync'd to UTC. According to my calculations, it would take several hours to walk the 1pps to UTC given the 3.8e-5 adjustment range via the RS232 input. A thunderbolt, an arduino, and patience. You don't need to take the walk. Just fudge the ATOM driver time1 parameter after scoping the offset between GPS PPS and 5680A PPS signals. You would need to reset it on a Rb power cycle though. just thought of something else which worked for me and may be of use. If you don't have a scope or TIC to get the Rbs PPS offset from GPS, you can let NTP do it for you. You need a stable reference such as GPS to be set up as a prefered server, then set up the atom driver for the 5680A with no offset and prevent selection with noselect parameter and or push the stratum from 0 to 8. Once NTP has been running a while, the offset of the DUTs PPS will be seen in the ntpq -pn output. You can plug that in as the DUTs fudge time1 parameter and restart ntpd. You may need to iterate. ex. server 127.127.22.1 minpoll 4 maxpoll 4 noselect fudge 127.127.22.1 stratum 8 refid PPS1 time1 0.00 flag3 0 flag2 1 # enable PPS module remote refid st t when poll reach delay offset jitter == 127.127.22.1.PPS1. 8 l9 16 3770.000 -1.268 0.093 *145.238.203.14 .TS-3. 1 u 67 64 377 34.4731.572 0.399 remote refid st t when poll reach delay offset jitter == 127.127.22.1.PPS1. 8 l 11 16 3770.000 -1.528 0.038 *145.238.203.14 .TS-3. 1 u 19 64 377 33.3000.217 0.750 ntpq -pn only gives usec resolution displays but ntpd calculates in nanosecs. You have to have logging enabled and look at the peerstat data if you want that. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
On 1/11/2012 12:22 PM, Tom Holmes wrote: You might also consider adding the TAPR Fat PPS to stretch the pulse. See TAPR.org. Tom Holmes, N8ZM Tipp City, OH EM79 -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of David Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 10:17 AM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:35:56 -0600, Bob Smithersmit...@c-c-i.com wrote: Joseph Gray wrote: I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. I can see the 1 usec, 1pps on mine, but only if I use an analog storage scope. Although my HP54000 series scope triggers at 1PPS, for the life of me I cannot get it to display the 1 usec pulse :-(. You might need to darken the oscilloscope environment or use a viewing hood. Some analog non-storage oscilloscopes, either because of design or age, are not going to be able to display a short pulse at 1 second intervals. I tested this on my old but in good condition 2230 and it could display it dimly in normal room light but my older worn 7603 can not. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. Or you might take a look at Don Lancaster's TTL Cookbook. All kind of pulse stretchers in there. Randy ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
In a message dated 12/01/2012 02:06:27 GMT Standard Time, li...@rtty.us writes: They have a VCXO in the loop. It probably does not have much over +/- 50 Hz of useful range. Whilst that would seem reasonable, I seem to be seeing stability issues once the offset exceeds +/- a few parts in 10^9. Of the three I've adjusted so far, it seems to me that there's quite noticeable jitter on the output frequency until it approaches to within a few parts in 10^10 or 10^11 of 10 MHz. Regards Nigel GM8PZR ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
I notice that on eBay nichegeek provides a NEW OCXO VECTRON 63.8976Mhz with the FE-5680A. What is it used for. Is something external needed besides the power supply? Thanks, Paul ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
My second unit arrived. Locked in not much more than a minute. Definite pulse on pin 6, took a quick picture off of a cheap digital scope (which had no trouble whatsoever capturing it): ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Paul, The Vectron 63. MHz oscillator is just a through in freebee. Here is the pin-out from a reliable inside source: Supply voltage (Vs) is 3.3V +/-5% Pin 1 is RF out Pin 2 is ground Pin 3 is Vc Pin 4 is Enable-disable (not used on all designs) Pin 5 is Vs Looking at the bottom with the side that has 3 pins orientated at the top, pin 1 is on the left, pin 2 centered and pin 3 on the right. On the bottom edge pin 4 is on the right and pin 5 on the left. I was led to understand that the current version C4500 is a very close cousin. The C4500 spec sheet also shows the same pin-out. The 63. MHz unit is around a couple of hundred ppb stability. Nothing great but would be ok as a source for a DDS project if you did not need tight specs. BillWB6BNQ Paul F. Sehorne wrote: I notice that on eBay nichegeek provides a NEW OCXO VECTRON 63.8976Mhz with the FE-5680A. What is it used for. Is something external needed besides the power supply? Thanks, Paul ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Darn, I guess this list does not allow photos in the messages. Here it is: http://petergottlieb.com/images/FE-5680A_pulse.jpg On 1/11/2012 10:29 PM, Peter Gottlieb wrote: My second unit arrived. Locked in not much more than a minute. Definite pulse on pin 6, took a quick picture off of a cheap digital scope (which had no trouble whatsoever capturing it): ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1416 / Virus Database: 2109/4137 - Release Date: 01/11/12 ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
[time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
With all the talk on the list about these things, and considering the price, I could no longer resist temptation and ordered two from nichegeek. First, I was amazed at the speed at which I received these units. The order was placed last Friday, the shipment went out late Saturday and I received them today (Tuesday). In my experience, it has always taken two weeks or more to receive anything from China. I couldn't believe I got these in just three days. BTW, I paid $38 each with the free shipping. An outstanding deal IMO. I also received the semi-useless freebies. My only quibble so far is that both units were packed in nothing more than a large envelope, with a thin layer of bubble wrap added. Nothing is dented or rattling around, so hopefully they are OK. I'm just about to wire up a cable and power them on, so I'll know soon. The units I got have numbers of UN 71xxx and UN 78xxx. I don't know exactly what this means, but according to the ebay sellers, they are claiming that 6 and 7 numbers indicate newer units. Can anyone decipher this number sequence? Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 6:03 PM, Joseph Gray jg...@zianet.com wrote: My only quibble so far is that both units were packed in nothing more than a large envelope, with a thin layer of bubble wrap added. Nothing is dented or rattling around, so hopefully they are OK. I'm just about to wire up a cable and power them on, so I'll know soon. The units I got have numbers of UN 71xxx and UN 78xxx. I don't know exactly what this means, but according to the ebay sellers, they are claiming that 6 and 7 numbers indicate newer units. Can anyone decipher this number sequence? I got the same units packed the same way, also about as fast. They were both at close to 10MHz as my counter can measure. I think all the $40 units are functionally the same. Now I need to put in to an enclosure with a power supply and build a controller from a Up. I really don't want to use a full sized PC. Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Hi, Joseph The unit number just seems to be a mechanical serial number - all you can really say about it is that higher numbers are newer. The most useful number is the 4 digit prefix on the serial number - this is an EIA format date code (two digits of year, two digits of week) - all the units I've seen have been from '03 or '04 - the newest one I have is 0420 - so dating from early June 2004. There is also another date / revision label on the main PCB (visible by removing the bottom cover) - this seems to be the PCBA build date. Regards, Pete On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 9:03 AM, Joseph Gray jg...@zianet.com wrote: With all the talk on the list about these things, and considering the price, I could no longer resist temptation and ordered two from nichegeek. First, I was amazed at the speed at which I received these units. The order was placed last Friday, the shipment went out late Saturday and I received them today (Tuesday). In my experience, it has always taken two weeks or more to receive anything from China. I couldn't believe I got these in just three days. BTW, I paid $38 each with the free shipping. An outstanding deal IMO. I also received the semi-useless freebies. My only quibble so far is that both units were packed in nothing more than a large envelope, with a thin layer of bubble wrap added. Nothing is dented or rattling around, so hopefully they are OK. I'm just about to wire up a cable and power them on, so I'll know soon. The units I got have numbers of UN 71xxx and UN 78xxx. I don't know exactly what this means, but according to the ebay sellers, they are claiming that 6 and 7 numbers indicate newer units. Can anyone decipher this number sequence? Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Got another one today, date code 0435. On 1/10/2012 10:48 PM, Peter Bell wrote: Hi, Joseph The unit number just seems to be a mechanical serial number - all you can really say about it is that higher numbers are newer. The most useful number is the 4 digit prefix on the serial number - this is an EIA format date code (two digits of year, two digits of week) - all the units I've seen have been from '03 or '04 - the newest one I have is 0420 - so dating from early June 2004. There is also another date / revision label on the main PCB (visible by removing the bottom cover) - this seems to be the PCBA build date. Regards, Pete On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 9:03 AM, Joseph Grayjg...@zianet.com wrote: With all the talk on the list about these things, and considering the price, I could no longer resist temptation and ordered two from nichegeek. First, I was amazed at the speed at which I received these units. The order was placed last Friday, the shipment went out late Saturday and I received them today (Tuesday). In my experience, it has always taken two weeks or more to receive anything from China. I couldn't believe I got these in just three days. BTW, I paid $38 each with the free shipping. An outstanding deal IMO. I also received the semi-useless freebies. My only quibble so far is that both units were packed in nothing more than a large envelope, with a thin layer of bubble wrap added. Nothing is dented or rattling around, so hopefully they are OK. I'm just about to wire up a cable and power them on, so I'll know soon. The units I got have numbers of UN 71xxx and UN 78xxx. I don't know exactly what this means, but according to the ebay sellers, they are claiming that 6 and 7 numbers indicate newer units. Can anyone decipher this number sequence? Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1416 / Virus Database: 2109/4134 - Release Date: 01/10/12 ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
I confess! I, too, could not resist the opportunity to 'commune' with the members of the list with these Rb units. I ordered two of the FE-5680A units ($36 ea. including shipping) from the same supplier with amazing speed (order date 1/4, arrival date 1/9 to NW Florida). They were marked 'FE-5680A UN 70021' 'S/N 0405-72179' and 'FE-5680A UN 71920' 'S/N 0413-75933'. I promptly came home, constructed a DB9 female connector, with the connections as specified in recent postings, and both units were up and locked with extremely close agreement with my TBolt and Z3816A in under 5 minutes. Pin 6 had a 1 uSec wide, 5 Volt, 1 PPS, pulse. I did not explore pins 8 or 9, the RS232 pins. I guess I'll have to go back through the list to see what, exactly, I can do with these. They, too, were packed with bubble wrap individually and then together, and in a plain envelope that was placed in a UPS plastic envelope. However, they arrived without damage, and, amazingly, very promptly. Not sure what, exactly, I will do with them yet, but they will certainly have many possible roles. Joe WB4BPP -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Joseph Gray Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2012 8:04 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived With all the talk on the list about these things, and considering the price, I could no longer resist temptation and ordered two from nichegeek. First, I was amazed at the speed at which I received these units. The order was placed last Friday, the shipment went out late Saturday and I received them today (Tuesday). In my experience, it has always taken two weeks or more to receive anything from China. I couldn't believe I got these in just three days. BTW, I paid $38 each with the free shipping. An outstanding deal IMO. I also received the semi-useless freebies. My only quibble so far is that both units were packed in nothing more than a large envelope, with a thin layer of bubble wrap added. Nothing is dented or rattling around, so hopefully they are OK. I'm just about to wire up a cable and power them on, so I'll know soon. The units I got have numbers of UN 71xxx and UN 78xxx. I don't know exactly what this means, but according to the ebay sellers, they are claiming that 6 and 7 numbers indicate newer units. Can anyone decipher this number sequence? Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
Thanks, Pete. I have 0411 and 0434 date codes. Joe Gray W5JG On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 8:48 PM, Peter Bell bell.pe...@gmail.com wrote: Hi, Joseph The unit number just seems to be a mechanical serial number - all you can really say about it is that higher numbers are newer. The most useful number is the 4 digit prefix on the serial number - this is an EIA format date code (two digits of year, two digits of week) - all the units I've seen have been from '03 or '04 - the newest one I have is 0420 - so dating from early June 2004. There is also another date / revision label on the main PCB (visible by removing the bottom cover) - this seems to be the PCBA build date. Regards, Pete On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 9:03 AM, Joseph Gray jg...@zianet.com wrote: With all the talk on the list about these things, and considering the price, I could no longer resist temptation and ordered two from nichegeek. First, I was amazed at the speed at which I received these units. The order was placed last Friday, the shipment went out late Saturday and I received them today (Tuesday). In my experience, it has always taken two weeks or more to receive anything from China. I couldn't believe I got these in just three days. BTW, I paid $38 each with the free shipping. An outstanding deal IMO. I also received the semi-useless freebies. My only quibble so far is that both units were packed in nothing more than a large envelope, with a thin layer of bubble wrap added. Nothing is dented or rattling around, so hopefully they are OK. I'm just about to wire up a cable and power them on, so I'll know soon. The units I got have numbers of UN 71xxx and UN 78xxx. I don't know exactly what this means, but according to the ebay sellers, they are claiming that 6 and 7 numbers indicate newer units. Can anyone decipher this number sequence? Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived
The first power supply I used couldn't provide enough current for the startup of the heater, so I had to dig out another. After fixing that issue, the first rubidium unit locked very quickly. For initial testing, I'm using a scope, triggered on my HP Z3801A. After several minutes of warm up (I didn't time it), I detect no drift in the rubidium's 10 MHz at all. I do see a bit of jitter and some bumps on the peaks of the sine wave. I'll cook this one for a while and then try unit number two. Joe Gray W5JG ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
