Hi Roy There's some very good stuff coming out of China via Ebay, but some does come with confusion attached and it's probably best never to place too much reliance on descriptions unless for items reasonably well known or with relevant documentation available. Just to add to the confusion, quite a few sellers seem to use multiple IDs, sometimes blatantly obvious but sometimes not, and also exhibit almost paranoid behaviour at times when it comes to not sharing information with those considered to be local competitors. The paranoia, of course, might be well founded:-) Probably best not to assume either that any of these sellers are too well informed electronically. If you think it can be confusing with the surplus commercial gear, just wait until you see what they can do when they start to dabble with design, either their own or those "borrowed" from elsewhere:-) The FE5680A has certainly been one of the confusing items, firstly just because there are a number of variants that aren't publicly documented but not helped again by some sellers providing incorrect information. I wouldn't necessarily describe the current batch of cheaper FE5680As as basic though, or even non programmable. They provide both 10MHz and 1PPS outputs, I've identified a well defined 1uS 5V pulse available on pin 6 despite doubts in some quarters, and are programmable to the extent that the output frequency can be trimmed under computer control with a fair degree of accuracy and without any of the possible longer term problems sometimes associated with variable resistors. They certainly beat at least one of my FE5660As, an FRS-C compatible unit, where the internal trimmer fell off the PCB in transit:-) regards Nigel In a message dated 09/01/2012 11:57:22 GMT Standard Time, phill...@btinternet.com writes:
Nigel Thanks for your information. The data given by Bert seems to be getting more sensible, and I think you will agree that of all the items that have been purchased and discussed on "Time-Nuts", this one is hands down for confusion. One of the reasons for my trusting and buying from Bob (Fluke I) is that he is well informed, , has good electronic knowledge and has always provided good items of gear. It would seem that the number of Chinese sellers has increased in the recent past and many of them would seem to have little knowledge of the products and even less English to answer questions. Again it would seem that if you buy the "cheapies" then you probably have the basic, non programmable model. I guess the guys at FE are all falling about when they see our predicament ! _______________________________________________ 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.