I've seen several posts that mention the 5370 counter. Certainly looks
like a capable instrument. I'll be on the lookout for one that is in
reasonably good condition and WORKS. I downloaded the NIST pub that you
mentioned, and with the cold days and colder nights, I'll have lots of time
to ponder it.
Re: Don Latham's response - I've never seen Robot BASIC, but I'll look it
up. I assume that it's a GPIB controller application??
Re Stan, W1LE's response - Thanks for the Prologix recommendation. I'll
look into it.
And thanks to all the other responders... I really appreciate your taking
time to offer your advice.
Dave M
Hi Dave,
On 12/15/2010 08:55 PM, Dave M wrote:
I'm a retired electronics tech and computer programmer. I have a
pretty decently equipped shop for almost all of my projects and
experiments. However, my time and frequency equipment is a bit long
in the tooth. I have a couple old HP 5328A counters (commercial
version; not the military version), one with a 10544, the other with
a 10811 oscillator.
I have an HP Z3801A that has been operating well for several years,
and recently acquired a TBolt to keep the counters in tune. I also
have a good distribution amp and couple of old Montronics (Fluke)
frequency comparators.
What I'm looking for now, is a recommendation for a good low-cost
(<$400) counter that will get me on the way to performing some of
the "down in the grass" noise, jitter and deviation tests that the
more learned members of the group discuss. I know that new
equipment is far out of my budget, but I'm also aware that some of
the older, now obsolete (also cheaper) equipment is quite capable of
doing what I want to do. I prefer HP equipment since manuals are
much easier to find than most other brands.
I'd also like recommendation for a good low-cost GPIB controller
that allows me to write software to control some of my instruments.
I have experience writing software in BASIC on a Fluke 1722A
controller. I've seen these controllers on the Bay and other online
vendors, but I've not located the BASIC discs for them. Any advice?
I realize that a counter is not the only piece that I need, but it's
first on my list. Other, more applicable equipment is on my want
list, but will have to wait for a bit.
A HP5370A/B and a Prologix USB-GPIB interface seems like a popular
solution, and it should fit inside your budget more or less. There is
already software available (from John Miles for instance) that works
with that solution, but it should also allow yourself some programming
exercises.
This will certainly get you started. There are several decades to go
down into the noise for the really good sources and reducing
measurement noise. It will be a fairly good solution for many decent
sources.
Grab a copy of the NIST SP 1065 and ponder over it.
Cheers,
Magnus
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