Hi The most basic issue you are going to run into is that your counter is not high enough resolution / accuracy to give you meaningful data for time intervals under a few hundred seconds. I would focus on improving on that part of things before I went off on a major “test everything” adventure. Simply collecting a lot of data that is resolution limited is not a lot of fun …..
Bob > On Jan 11, 2017, at 9:20 PM, Dr. David Kirkby (Kirkby Microwave Ltd) > <drkir...@kirkbymicrowave.co.uk> wrote: > > MY AIMS > > 1) Try to learn about the various statistical tests (ADEV, MDEV etc), and > how best to compare oscillators, by making some measurements on various > oscillators I have. > > 2) Investigate the short/medium term stability of the output of various > bits of test kit. All are locked to GPS by feeding 10 MHz to their timebase > inputs, so long term drift should not be relevant. > > These istrumuments are: > > a) The GPS itself - primarily a test of the 5370B time interval counter, > distribution amplifier and general temperature fluctuations in the lab. > > b) Other GPS(s) when I get 1 or 2 more. > > c) 10 MHz to 20 GHz Microwave signal generator. > > d) 0.001 Hz to 30 MHz function generator. > > e) A VNA that will work at 10 MHz. Turn sweeping off > > f) A VNA that has a minimum frequency of 50 MHz. Again turn sweeping off. > > METHOD - Suggestion for improvements welcome. > > * Where possible set all instruments to 10 MHz, which is the same as the > GPS reference. (Obviously since one of the VNAs will not go below 50 MHz, I > would need to use a higher frequency) > * Feed GPS to the start input of the 5370B TI counter and the DUT into the > stop input > * Use the 5370B time interval counter to measre the time difference between > one output of the distribution amplifier and the output of the instrument > being tested . > * Collect data from 5370B and use John's Timelab to plot various graphs and > try to understand the differences between the various statical measurements > (ADEV, MDEV etc.) > > MY QUESTIONS. > > 1) Should I use the GPS to provide a reference for the 5370B time interval > counter, or would it be better to use the internal OCXO? Currently I have > the 5370B locked to GPS too, but I am wondering if this is a bad idea and I > should run it from its own oscillator. > > 2) Is there any advantage in a 10 MHz DUT going into the start or stop > input? I assume that it is irrelevant, as long as the GPS goes into the > other. But maybe not. > > 3) If the DUT is higher in frequency (eg 50 MHz) than the 10 MHz GPS, is > there any advantage in going in the start ot stop input? > > 4) If the DUT is lower in frequency (eg 5 MHz) than the 10 MHz GPS, is > there any advantage in going in the start ot stop input? > > 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.