> Are surplus parts such as Ebay OCXOs OK? (That's an 'open market' to me!)
I got eight 3 MHz OXCOs for $32. They don't have electric tuning, but the one I played with seems pretty stable. It takes a significant dip if I grab the can with my fingers but there isn't any obvious 24 hour pattern. Maybe there should be several categories: Sync to WWVB Sync to 60 Hz from the wall. Sync to GPS (you can get USB GPS units well under $100) Watch crystal - 32 KHz Other crystal Good local osc (TCXO, OCXO, ...) External frequency source - focus on display Say 10 MHz coax with power over the coax. Longest battery life (lowest power) Best accuracy per dollar measured over a month using Digikey's one-off pricing (or any major supplier) ???? Coolest as determined by judge's whimsy. Any other categories the judges think appropriate. Built out of stuff in your junk box Only "junk" allowed Cesium OK if you already have one :) > Display should be seven-segment LEDs That seems like a strange restriction. It cuts out a lot of innovation that could be done on the display. It also mostly eliminates the battery powered area. Using the eye-ball to measure goodness of a clock seems like the wrong approach. How about adding a PPS test point to the requirements? > we're looking for a usable appliance, not just a science project. What's wrong with science projects? DIY stuff is inherently a project. Sometimes it's science, sometimes art, sometimes engineering, sometimes just fun. -- These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's. I hate spam. _______________________________________________ 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.