Gee, now that I've got the HP Z3801A "SmartClock" up and running nicely, why don't I go ahead and use it as the 10MHz Master Oscillator for all my test equipment?
So I spent this afternoon doing that. Had to move some things and string a cable from the receiver over to the antenna sitting in the window, and then plug it all together.
Here's the antenna, doing a very nice rendition of "Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me" as it's at least 20" below ground, in an East facing window, with a metal window well. I'm picking up satellites from the other side of the house when their elevation is high enough. I'm guessing it's reflections it's picking up. "It Works", but will work as-intended once I get the antenna outside and up in the air.
This is the software I'm using. It's "Lady Heather's Disciplined Oscillator Control Program", emphasis mine. The program icon is a Dominatrix with a whip, as seen in the extreme lower left corner. It does everything I wanted to do, and more, and it's a free download compared to the other paid (and crappy) software I'd been using.
So here it all sits, an "obsolete", surplus GPS Clock, with a cast-off, rescued old laptop I was given, providing an extremely accurate, stable, 10MHz reference signal to all my test gear.
"Old" Technology can be very useful when properly applied.....
And speaking of Old Technology, the photocells for the Heathkit THD Analyzer have finally arrived, so that turkey can go back on the bench.....
Outstanding! As an "old" technology buff, this is quite rewarding to see.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to seeing the THD Analyzer get the new cells.
It only had one cell that I couldn't adjust per specs. The other four were easily adjusted. Put the new cell in tonight, and had it adjusted in about 15 minutes!
DeleteI'm going to do all of them tomorrow, and put a little "Duco" cement (or similar) on the leads to keep them from moving around, and going out-of-spec.
I may just see a light at the end of this thing's tunnel!
Someone has a sense of dark humor out there. Lady Heather indeed.
ReplyDeleteGlad your lash-up of old equipment and freeware is exceeding more modern and far more expensive stuffs.
I would have called it "Lady Sonia", but then that's why they don't let me write code.
DeleteFreeware can be very good, i.e. Linux et al. It's not so much exceeding modern stuff; just OG equipment that's been cleaned up and put back in service. It's at least equal to modern stuff, and definitely better than the $150 GPSDO things from Chine....
When it works, who cares what it looks like, especially if it's free!
ReplyDeleteYou Betcha! Kinda gives the shop a "Mid Century" vibe.....
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