HP-5065a advise and purchase decision
Dear Group,
Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-Nuts
group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard recently
in what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable
rubidium standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in
doubt to invest in buying such and old beast. The general situation of
the instrument (for what I have been able to see from the first
inspection) is:
100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple of
frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the oscilloscope
shows a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and affecting
the frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value
previously mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted when
ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
signal. Last digits vary sporadically.
No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical damage
of abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A
couple of electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of burnt
PCB traces or visible damage to electronic components or physics
package. Haven't got the manual until today and was unable to check on
the front panel voltages to check on general health. As turning the
voltage test selector knob, voltage is shown for most positions,
except of course battery and the 100 Khz oscillator output. Some
voltage test positions get the instrument needle to go full scale and
out of range, other appear to be within scale.
I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today, this
time with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own trusted
frequency counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would
really appreciate if I could receive comments from you experts to
evaluate if such a unit could be worth buying. The asking price is $1K
USD. Should I consider it an instrument that can be repaired and
serviced to show some decent performance? Or should I look somewhere
else to get a decent rubidium frequency standard.
Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
Respectfully,
Edgardo Molina
Mexico City, Mexico
Have you checked the price of comparable units in eBay. Many of us bought
some quite usable Rb oscillators for $40 each but I think the price might
be up to $60 by now.
On Fri, Jun 29, 2012 at 11:27 PM, Edgardo Molina xe1xus@amsat.org wrote:
Dear Group,
Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-Nuts
group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard recently in
what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable rubidium
standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in doubt to invest
in buying such and old beast. The general situation of the instrument (for
what I have been able to see from the first inspection) is:
100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple of
frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the oscilloscope shows
a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and affecting the
frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value previously
mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted when
ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output signal.
Last digits vary sporadically.
No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical damage of
abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A couple of
electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of burnt PCB traces or
visible damage to electronic components or physics package. Haven't got the
manual until today and was unable to check on the front panel voltages to
check on general health. As turning the voltage test selector knob, voltage
is shown for most positions, except of course battery and the 100 Khz
oscillator output. Some voltage test positions get the instrument needle to
go full scale and out of range, other appear to be within scale.
I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today, this time
with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own trusted frequency
counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would really appreciate
if I could receive comments from you experts to evaluate if such a unit
could be worth buying. The asking price is $1K USD. Should I consider it an
instrument that can be repaired and serviced to show some decent
performance? Or should I look somewhere else to get a decent rubidium
frequency standard.
Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
Respectfully,
Edgardo Molina
Mexico City, Mexico
_____________**
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/**
mailman/listinfo/time-nutshttps://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.
--
Chris Albertson
Redondo Beach, California
Edgardo: For the asking price, you can do a LOT better than this Hp.
There will be more opinions from more knowledgeable time-nuts regarding
your choices, I would consider them carefully. Again, you do not need to
spend anything like $1k US to get what you need.
Don
Edgardo Molina
Dear Group,
Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-Nuts
group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard recently
in what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable
rubidium standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in
doubt to invest in buying such and old beast. The general situation of
the instrument (for what I have been able to see from the first
inspection) is:
100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple of
frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the oscilloscope
shows a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and affecting
the frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value
previously mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted when
ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
signal. Last digits vary sporadically.
No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical damage
of abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A
couple of electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of burnt
PCB traces or visible damage to electronic components or physics
package. Haven't got the manual until today and was unable to check on
the front panel voltages to check on general health. As turning the
voltage test selector knob, voltage is shown for most positions,
except of course battery and the 100 Khz oscillator output. Some
voltage test positions get the instrument needle to go full scale and
out of range, other appear to be within scale.
I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today, this
time with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own trusted
frequency counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would
really appreciate if I could receive comments from you experts to
evaluate if such a unit could be worth buying. The asking price is $1K
USD. Should I consider it an instrument that can be repaired and
serviced to show some decent performance? Or should I look somewhere
else to get a decent rubidium frequency standard.
Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
Respectfully,
Edgardo Molina
Mexico City, Mexico
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.
--
"Neither the voice of authority nor the weight of reason and argument
are as significant as experiment, for thence comes quiet to the mind."
R. Bacon
"If you don't know what it is, don't poke it."
Ghost in the Shell
Dr. Don Latham AJ7LL
Six Mile Systems LLP
17850 Six Mile Road
POB 134
Huson, MT, 59846
VOX 406-626-4304
www.lightningforensics.com
www.sixmilesystems.com
Edgardo,
On 06/30/2012 08:27 AM, Edgardo Molina wrote:
Dear Group,
Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-Nuts
group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard recently in
what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable rubidium
standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in doubt to
invest in buying such and old beast. The general situation of the
instrument (for what I have been able to see from the first inspection) is:
5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted when
ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
signal. Last digits vary sporadically.
I would guess that you need to trim it so it locks up. Not all that hard.
No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical damage of
abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A couple of
electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of burnt PCB traces
or visible damage to electronic components or physics package. Haven't
got the manual until today and was unable to check on the front panel
voltages to check on general health. As turning the voltage test
selector knob, voltage is shown for most positions, except of course
battery and the 100 Khz oscillator output. Some voltage test positions
get the instrument needle to go full scale and out of range, other
appear to be within scale.
I would assume that the 2nd harmonic is essentially zero, as frequency
is off, assuming you had a good reference.
I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today, this
time with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own trusted
frequency counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would
really appreciate if I could receive comments from you experts to
evaluate if such a unit could be worth buying. The asking price is $1K
USD. Should I consider it an instrument that can be repaired and
serviced to show some decent performance? Or should I look somewhere
else to get a decent rubidium frequency standard.
Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
I think it is a bit high asking-price for the state it is in, but these
are quite serviceable and it may take some trimming for them to lock up.
It's all in the manual. The operation light on one of mine never turns
on, since the lamp has burned out. This is normal maintenance one should
expect.
You rarely use 100 kHz today anyway, the only time I use it is to check
that it works.
cheers,
Magnus
Edgardo,
The 5065A is a great unit but the price is over the top for a questionable
unit. If fully meeting specs, the price is still very high, IMO.
The observations you report are likely simple repairs.
The great unknown is whether it will 'lock' or not? That is to say will the
Continuous Operation light come on? The 'ovens' all typically go full scale
pegged when initially turned on then come down 'on scale' when warm. Photo
I will be 0 then come up as the lamp warms up. 2nd Harmonic comes up as the
Rubidium Vapor Frequency Reference unit warms up. Once things are on scale,
switch from Loop Open to Oper, push the Logic Reset button and the
Continuous Operation light should come on, assuming the 5 MHz oscillator is
close to being on frequency.
Also, the indicator lamps are commonly burned out or the lenses are missing.
There are easy to replace indicators that use the same bulb that you can
install in place of the lamp assemblies if needed. I can send you the part
numbers for these if needed.
Hope this helps.
Joe
-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-bounces@febo.com] On
Behalf Of Edgardo Molina
Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 1:27 AM
To: time-nuts@febo.com
Subject: [time-nuts] HP-5065a advise and purchase decision
Dear Group,
Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-Nuts
group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard recently
in what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable
rubidium standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in
doubt to invest in buying such and old beast. The general situation of
the instrument (for what I have been able to see from the first
inspection) is:
100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple of
frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the oscilloscope
shows a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and affecting
the frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value
previously mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted when
ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
signal. Last digits vary sporadically.
No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical damage
of abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A
couple of electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of burnt
PCB traces or visible damage to electronic components or physics
package. Haven't got the manual until today and was unable to check on
the front panel voltages to check on general health. As turning the
voltage test selector knob, voltage is shown for most positions,
except of course battery and the 100 Khz oscillator output. Some
voltage test positions get the instrument needle to go full scale and
out of range, other appear to be within scale.
I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today, this
time with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own trusted
frequency counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would
really appreciate if I could receive comments from you experts to
evaluate if such a unit could be worth buying. The asking price is $1K
USD. Should I consider it an instrument that can be repaired and
serviced to show some decent performance? Or should I look somewhere
else to get a decent rubidium frequency standard.
Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
Respectfully,
Edgardo Molina
Mexico City, Mexico
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.
Dear Chris,
Thank you for your advise. Yes I have seen the Ebay units below a
hundred dollars. I have been attracted by those units, but I have been
unable to find a USA seller. Most of them are being offered by chinese
ebayers. I haven't ordered anything from China through Ebay yet. Still
I can order anything from the USA.
I have seen frequency adjustable units. 1Hz to 20Mhz. I am still in
diapers in this field of time and frequency experimentation. I am
building a couple of nixie clocks and plan to do some disciplining
using Rubidium, GPS and WWVB. Among all those second hand rubidium
modules, could you please share some advise on brands & models? There
are so many variations. I am aware most of them are in their end of
life cycle. I have learned some can be restored by using focalized
heat on the Rb cells. Still I haven't made a decision. I have a decent
electronics lab at home and could build or test those units to find
their best abilities. Interesting how nowadays those frequency
standards are so readily available.
Your kind comments are always welcome. Thank you all for taking the
time to share ideas and advise with me. I promise to keep the thread
up to the expected standards.
Regards,
Edgardo Molina
XE1XUS
On Jun 30, 2012, at 2:58 AM, Chris Albertson wrote:
Have you checked the price of comparable units in eBay. Many of us
bought
some quite usable Rb oscillators for $40 each but I think the price
might
be up to $60 by now.
On Fri, Jun 29, 2012 at 11:27 PM, Edgardo Molina xe1xus@amsat.org
wrote:
Dear Group,
Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-Nuts
group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard
recently in
what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable rubidium
standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in doubt to
invest
in buying such and old beast. The general situation of the
instrument (for
what I have been able to see from the first inspection) is:
100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple of
frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the
oscilloscope shows
a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and affecting the
frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value
previously
mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted when
ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
signal.
Last digits vary sporadically.
No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical
damage of
abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A
couple of
electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of burnt PCB
traces or
visible damage to electronic components or physics package. Haven't
got the
manual until today and was unable to check on the front panel
voltages to
check on general health. As turning the voltage test selector knob,
voltage
is shown for most positions, except of course battery and the 100 Khz
oscillator output. Some voltage test positions get the instrument
needle to
go full scale and out of range, other appear to be within scale.
I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today,
this time
with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own trusted
frequency
counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would really
appreciate
if I could receive comments from you experts to evaluate if such a
unit
could be worth buying. The asking price is $1K USD. Should I
consider it an
instrument that can be repaired and serviced to show some decent
performance? Or should I look somewhere else to get a decent rubidium
frequency standard.
Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
Respectfully,
Edgardo Molina
Mexico City, Mexico
_____________**
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/**
mailman/listinfo/time-nuts<https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.
--
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.
Dear Don,
Good morning. Like probably many others, owning or collecting nice
pieces of equipment probably drove me to consider an HP unit, instead
of wisely doing some research on more specific and technically
feasible options. The search is only beginning. Your advise is
welcome. Thank you.
Best regards,
Edgardo Molina
XE1XUS
On Jun 30, 2012, at 3:05 AM, Don Latham wrote:
Edgardo: For the asking price, you can do a LOT better than this Hp.
There will be more opinions from more knowledgeable time-nuts
regarding
your choices, I would consider them carefully. Again, you do not
need to
spend anything like $1k US to get what you need.
Don
Edgardo Molina
Dear Group,
Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-Nuts
group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard recently
in what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable
rubidium standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in
doubt to invest in buying such and old beast. The general situation
of
the instrument (for what I have been able to see from the first
inspection) is:
100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple of
frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the oscilloscope
shows a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and affecting
the frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value
previously mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted when
ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
signal. Last digits vary sporadically.
No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical damage
of abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A
couple of electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of
burnt
PCB traces or visible damage to electronic components or physics
package. Haven't got the manual until today and was unable to check
on
the front panel voltages to check on general health. As turning the
voltage test selector knob, voltage is shown for most positions,
except of course battery and the 100 Khz oscillator output. Some
voltage test positions get the instrument needle to go full scale and
out of range, other appear to be within scale.
I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today, this
time with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own trusted
frequency counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would
really appreciate if I could receive comments from you experts to
evaluate if such a unit could be worth buying. The asking price is
$1K
USD. Should I consider it an instrument that can be repaired and
serviced to show some decent performance? Or should I look somewhere
else to get a decent rubidium frequency standard.
Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
Respectfully,
Edgardo Molina
Mexico City, Mexico
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.
--
"Neither the voice of authority nor the weight of reason and argument
are as significant as experiment, for thence comes quiet to the mind."
R. Bacon
"If you don't know what it is, don't poke it."
Ghost in the Shell
Dr. Don Latham AJ7LL
Six Mile Systems LLP
17850 Six Mile Road
POB 134
Huson, MT, 59846
VOX 406-626-4304
www.lightningforensics.com
www.sixmilesystems.com
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.
hi Edgardo,
The best one in that price range is probably the PRS-10 from SRS. New it's about $1500, sometimes they go used for $500 if you can find one they are very desirable. Can be locked to an external GPS, a huge plus. Their tube is designed for 20+ years lifetime.
Has excellent ADEV and phase noise.
As an external Gps consider a Motorola/iLotus M12M receiver. That combo is a professional level system, and with a bit of tinkering you can even implement sawtooth correction as described in the time nuts archives.
Total cost used: under $700 with power supplies and enclosure.. But may require some patience and research to find one.
Don't touch the cesium beam units unless you can get a guarantee and someone can tell you how much cesium remains in them, most of them have depleted tubes that cannot be refilled and cost more than a small car to replace with a new one.
Bye,
Said
Sent from my iPad
On Jun 30, 2012, at 8:41, Edgardo Molina xe1xus@amsat.org wrote:
Dear Don,
Good morning. Like probably many others, owning or collecting nice pieces of equipment probably drove me to consider an HP unit, instead of wisely doing some research on more specific and technically feasible options. The search is only beginning. Your advise is welcome. Thank you.
Best regards,
Edgardo Molina
XE1XUS
On Jun 30, 2012, at 3:05 AM, Don Latham wrote:
Edgardo: For the asking price, you can do a LOT better than this Hp.
There will be more opinions from more knowledgeable time-nuts regarding
your choices, I would consider them carefully. Again, you do not need to
spend anything like $1k US to get what you need.
Don
Edgardo Molina
Dear Group,
Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-Nuts
group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard recently
in what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable
rubidium standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in
doubt to invest in buying such and old beast. The general situation of
the instrument (for what I have been able to see from the first
inspection) is:
100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple of
frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the oscilloscope
shows a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and affecting
the frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value
previously mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted when
ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
signal. Last digits vary sporadically.
No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical damage
of abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A
couple of electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of burnt
PCB traces or visible damage to electronic components or physics
package. Haven't got the manual until today and was unable to check on
the front panel voltages to check on general health. As turning the
voltage test selector knob, voltage is shown for most positions,
except of course battery and the 100 Khz oscillator output. Some
voltage test positions get the instrument needle to go full scale and
out of range, other appear to be within scale.
I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today, this
time with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own trusted
frequency counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would
really appreciate if I could receive comments from you experts to
evaluate if such a unit could be worth buying. The asking price is $1K
USD. Should I consider it an instrument that can be repaired and
serviced to show some decent performance? Or should I look somewhere
else to get a decent rubidium frequency standard.
Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
Respectfully,
Edgardo Molina
Mexico City, Mexico
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.
--
"Neither the voice of authority nor the weight of reason and argument
are as significant as experiment, for thence comes quiet to the mind."
R. Bacon
"If you don't know what it is, don't poke it."
Ghost in the Shell
Dr. Don Latham AJ7LL
Six Mile Systems LLP
17850 Six Mile Road
POB 134
Huson, MT, 59846
VOX 406-626-4304
www.lightningforensics.com
www.sixmilesystems.com
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.
Dear Joe and Magnus,
Thank you both for your advise. I see that fisrt of all, the price for
the unit I am describing is far from reality. Just imagine that I have
been negotiating a lower price for the unit in this condition. They
were initially asking around $1.3K. Go figure!
Just for my peace of mind, I will visit the dealer again next week to
double check on everything you have mentioned. If the dealer is
willing to go down in price and I can take a better look, what could a
decent fair market price could be? I do not have enough information
from Ebay as to figure out a price and condition for an HP5065 unit.
Anyway, the instrument is not that bulky or heavy. I have imported
heavier and bigger amateur radio rigs and HP lab instruments from the
USA and could be better if I start looking for opportunities around
your latitude.
One more thing. What is the useful life of an instrument such as this
one? This is a beige version. Still something nearly my age! I assume
there are no replacements for the Rb cell other than probably trying
to restore it with focalized heated air like the smaller Rb modules so
available today.
Your comments again are welcome.
Thank you.
Regards,
Edgardo Molina
XE1XUS
On Jun 30, 2012, at 10:30 AM, J. L. Trantham wrote:
Edgardo,
The 5065A is a great unit but the price is over the top for a
questionable
unit. If fully meeting specs, the price is still very high, IMO.
The observations you report are likely simple repairs.
The great unknown is whether it will 'lock' or not? That is to say
will the
Continuous Operation light come on? The 'ovens' all typically go
full scale
pegged when initially turned on then come down 'on scale' when
warm. Photo
I will be 0 then come up as the lamp warms up. 2nd Harmonic comes
up as the
Rubidium Vapor Frequency Reference unit warms up. Once things are
on scale,
switch from Loop Open to Oper, push the Logic Reset button and the
Continuous Operation light should come on, assuming the 5 MHz
oscillator is
close to being on frequency.
Also, the indicator lamps are commonly burned out or the lenses are
missing.
There are easy to replace indicators that use the same bulb that you
can
install in place of the lamp assemblies if needed. I can send you
the part
numbers for these if needed.
Hope this helps.
Joe
-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-bounces@febo.com]
On
Behalf Of Edgardo Molina
Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 1:27 AM
To: time-nuts@febo.com
Subject: [time-nuts] HP-5065a advise and purchase decision
Dear Group,
Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-Nuts
group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard recently
in what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable
rubidium standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in
doubt to invest in buying such and old beast. The general situation of
the instrument (for what I have been able to see from the first
inspection) is:
100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple of
frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the oscilloscope
shows a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and affecting
the frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value
previously mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted when
ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
signal. Last digits vary sporadically.
No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical damage
of abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A
couple of electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of burnt
PCB traces or visible damage to electronic components or physics
package. Haven't got the manual until today and was unable to check on
the front panel voltages to check on general health. As turning the
voltage test selector knob, voltage is shown for most positions,
except of course battery and the 100 Khz oscillator output. Some
voltage test positions get the instrument needle to go full scale and
out of range, other appear to be within scale.
I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today, this
time with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own trusted
frequency counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would
really appreciate if I could receive comments from you experts to
evaluate if such a unit could be worth buying. The asking price is $1K
USD. Should I consider it an instrument that can be repaired and
serviced to show some decent performance? Or should I look somewhere
else to get a decent rubidium frequency standard.
Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
Respectfully,
Edgardo Molina
Mexico City, Mexico
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Dear Said,
Thank you for your advise on a complete time and frequency package. I
haven't heard of those models yet. I will look after your
recommendation and certainly will let you know if something shows
before even considering a purchase. GPS synch is a big plus as you
mention. I rather be attentive to the prey coming out of the rabbit
hole.
Regarding Cesium, still far away from my current budget. Not
discarding the idea in the future, but I would have to learn and walk
the steep learning curve of time and frequency experimentation first.
Thank you for your kind advise. I will keep my eyes wide open for
opportunities and how to evaluate them.
Kind regards,
Edgardo Molina
On Jun 30, 2012, at 11:08 AM, Said Jackson wrote:
hi Edgardo,
The best one in that price range is probably the PRS-10 from SRS.
New it's about $1500, sometimes they go used for $500 if you can
find one they are very desirable. Can be locked to an external GPS,
a huge plus. Their tube is designed for 20+ years lifetime.
Has excellent ADEV and phase noise.
As an external Gps consider a Motorola/iLotus M12M receiver. That
combo is a professional level system, and with a bit of tinkering
you can even implement sawtooth correction as described in the time
nuts archives.
Total cost used: under $700 with power supplies and enclosure.. But
may require some patience and research to find one.
Don't touch the cesium beam units unless you can get a guarantee and
someone can tell you how much cesium remains in them, most of them
have depleted tubes that cannot be refilled and cost more than a
small car to replace with a new one.
Bye,
Said
XE1XUS
Sent from my iPad
On Jun 30, 2012, at 8:41, Edgardo Molina xe1xus@amsat.org wrote:
Dear Don,
Good morning. Like probably many others, owning or collecting nice
pieces of equipment probably drove me to consider an HP unit,
instead of wisely doing some research on more specific and
technically feasible options. The search is only beginning. Your
advise is welcome. Thank you.
Best regards,
Edgardo Molina
XE1XUS
On Jun 30, 2012, at 3:05 AM, Don Latham wrote:
Edgardo: For the asking price, you can do a LOT better than this Hp.
There will be more opinions from more knowledgeable time-nuts
regarding
your choices, I would consider them carefully. Again, you do not
need to
spend anything like $1k US to get what you need.
Don
Edgardo Molina
Dear Group,
Good morning. I wish you well. This is my first post to the Time-
Nuts
group. Please be gentle with the newbie ;)
I have been offered an HP 5065a Rubidium Frequency Standard
recently
in what I feel, a bad operational condition. I need a reliable
rubidium standard for my time/frequency experiments, still I am in
doubt to invest in buying such and old beast. The general
situation of
the instrument (for what I have been able to see from the first
inspection) is:
100 Khz output: Not working, noise coming out of it.
1Mhz output: Working, sine wave clean and not distorted, a couple
of
frequency meters showing 1.0000030 Mhz in frequency, the
oscilloscope
shows a transient pulse on top of the sine wave signal and
affecting
the frequency readout instantly and then returning to the value
previously mentioned. Last digits vary sporadically.
5Mhz output: Working. sine wave clean but a little bit distorted
when
ramping up. A couple of frequency counters showing 5.0000014 Mhz in
frequency. No transient pulses or other glitches around the output
signal. Last digits vary sporadically.
No lights coming up when the instrument turned on. No physical
damage
of abuse on case or internal components. No options installed . A
couple of electrolytic caps replaced on some boards, no trace of
burnt
PCB traces or visible damage to electronic components or physics
package. Haven't got the manual until today and was unable to
check on
the front panel voltages to check on general health. As turning the
voltage test selector knob, voltage is shown for most positions,
except of course battery and the 100 Khz oscillator output. Some
voltage test positions get the instrument needle to go full scale
and
out of range, other appear to be within scale.
I can perform a second visual and operational inspection today,
this
time with a copy of the instrument manual. I will take my own
trusted
frequency counter and portable digital storage oscilloscope. Would
really appreciate if I could receive comments from you experts to
evaluate if such a unit could be worth buying. The asking price
is $1K
USD. Should I consider it an instrument that can be repaired and
serviced to show some decent performance? Or should I look
somewhere
else to get a decent rubidium frequency standard.
Thank you beforehand for all your kind and expert comments.
Respectfully,
Edgardo Molina
Mexico City, Mexico
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.
--
"Neither the voice of authority nor the weight of reason and
argument
are as significant as experiment, for thence comes quiet to the
mind."
R. Bacon
"If you don't know what it is, don't poke it."
Ghost in the Shell
Dr. Don Latham AJ7LL
Six Mile Systems LLP
17850 Six Mile Road
POB 134
Huson, MT, 59846
VOX 406-626-4304
www.lightningforensics.com
www.sixmilesystems.com
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.
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To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.