> Hi Tom, > I was aware of the accuracy of the timebase for TI measurements is not > that critical, and TI measurements were my reason for buying the 5370B > rather than a normal frequency counter. > > However, the fact remains the 5370B is a better *frequency* counter than > any others I have, so having the oscillator as close as reasonably > practical, without necessarily having to have it locked to a GPS unit, > would be useful to me.
Makes sense. You're all set then. One more thing for everyone to consider -- many counters, such as the 5370, have an input for an external timebase and this solves the problem of having to keep the internal OCXO calibrated all the time. However, one word of caution. If you are using the 5370 (or equivalent) to make short-term stability measurements then be aware of possible accuracy vs. stability trade-off. For greater accuracy most people use a rubidium or cesium or GPSDO as the external reference. But these more accurate sources, in some cases, may have less short-term stability than the internal 10811 OCXO. A PRS10, for example, may have 100x or better accuracy than a typical 10811. Yet a 10811 can easily have 2x to 10x better short-term stability than a PRS10. You can indirectly measure this by seeing which reference, internal or external, gives the smallest standard deviation for the particular measurement you are making. /tvb http://www.LeapSecond.com _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list time-nuts@febo.com https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts