[time-nuts] BG7TBL FA1 frequency analyzer
Yes, it should work with Timelab, Stable32, etc. It streams a series of frequency measurements every second out the USB port (it uses a FTDI chip for the USB interface). The data is of the format: " F:0123456789.123456789" (without the quotes) Measurements with a PLL unlock error are preceded by an '*'. I've only seen unlocks when changing the input freq from say 1 MHz to 10 MHz. I get two flagged measurements each time the freq changed. I don't know how small a freq change can cause an unlock. I don't know if Timelab can directly take the output data stream because of the leading "F:". You may need to capture data to a file and edit off the " F:" I also don't know how well it would work for phase noise measurements... it would be no where as good as a TimePod. I am doing some tests to see how well it compares to a TAPR TICC. BTW, my FA1 seems to have a frequency measurement bias of around -0.0002 Hz on a 10 MHz signal. Also, I don't see any temperature related variation in the measurements... air conditioning was swinging the room temp over a 2 degree C span and I saw no traces of it in the results. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] BG7TBL FA1 frequency analyzer
Hi Mark, interesting post. So is the FA1 compatible with the TimeLab or Stable32 software? And could I do phase noise measurements with it like the TimePod? Chris Am 30.08.2019 um 22:57 schrieb Mark Sims: (Hopefully this is not a duplicate post... hotmail has been having issues) The FA1 is a small, USB powered frequency counter. You supply it with a 10 MHz reference and an input frequency of 1 .. 80 MHz. It outputs a text string of the measured frequency every second. They cost around $80 .. $120. Apparently there is a PLL inside... the text string has a "PLL unlock" flag. There is no info on how it works and I have not opened mine up. I did a simple noise test on one where the input and ref clocks were from a Tbolt. It looks like the measurement noise is around +/- 0.0002 Hz. Lady Heather can now read it. Attached is a screen capture of the noise test. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com and follow the instructions there.
