Hi > On Jan 10, 2017, at 2:45 AM, Dr. David Kirkby (Kirkby Microwave Ltd) > <drkir...@kirkbymicrowave.co.uk> wrote: > > Once 9 Jan 2017 12:59, "Bob Camp" <kb...@n1k.org> wrote: >> >> Hi >> >> Ok here are some rough numbers: >> >>> On Jan 9, 2017, at 4:35 AM, Dr. David Kirkby (Kirkby Microwave Ltd) < > drkir...@kirkbymicrowave.co.uk> wrote: > >>> It would be interesting to see your breakdown of the costs and man hours >>> for an H2 maser. I suspect that others would find cheaper/faster > solutions. >> >> $100M for the H2 >> >> $25M for the Rb > > With all due respect, and I apprectiate you have a good knowledge of this > field, but that's not a breakdown of costs or man hours I wanted to see, > but a cost which appears to be plucked from the air.
Hardly plucked from the air. The last Rb design that I was involved with was roughly 5X that expensive. > > There's a BIG difference between a volunteer effort where > > * Salaries are not paid > * Items of test equipment are likely to be borrowed or people provide > access to them for no charge etc, > * Academics are likely to provide consultancy for free, in return for being > on papers published. > * Software licenses could probably be obtained free, or enough people get > trials. That’s where the 5:1 cost reduction comes from. > > compared to a commercial company building a maser where > > * Salaries are paid > * All equipment is purchased new > * Bench power supplies with 3.5 digit displays are sent out for calibration > each year. > * No outside body will do anything except at a commercial rate. > * Flights are booked for meetings which could be done over the Internet. > * High end software licenses are huge. > >> $500M for the fountain. > > But on what basis do you arrive at that figure? The numbers that the people who have done it come up with when you talk to them. > >> To get sponsorship for anything remotely close to those numbers, you >> need to have some massively good credentials. >> >> Bob > > Yes agreed at $500M. But someone like Tom, who does have massively good > credentials, could perhaps get $500,000, and perhaps that wisely spent > could get a fountain built. Without knowing how you arrive at $500M, it is > not possible for anyone to look at ways of shaving that cost. This is *not* a cheap field to be doing things in …. Bob > > The Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in the UK was built on a shoestring > budget. It was at the time the world's largest steerable radio telephone. > Half a century later only 2 larger ones have been built. > > Maybe I am too nieve. > > Dave. > _______________________________________________ > 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.
