The HP10830A used as a DMTD system

[5065AGuru]

Hi!
The HP 10830A was used in the HP5390A frequency stability analyzer system sold from 1977 to 1984. The HP10830A was never listed separately.
I've always wanted to play with them and eventually found a pair!
After a quick checkout I installed a small board internal to each unit to convert the low level bipolar TIC output to a 5uS TTL pulse. I also installed a different value capacitor to give me a 2.5Hz BW selection as the original units lowest BW setting way 25Hz. After a quick test against a couple oscillators it looked promising.
I then put together a unit that has isolation amps for the LO and RF channels and a 5Mhz LO oscillator to provide a 1Hz offset. Almost all my testing is done at 5MHz but I also installed a doubler to give me a 10MHz LO if required. Also included was the ProTIC TIC counter and FTDI friend USB interface. With the pair of 10830A, the amplifier/LO chassis, and a laptop I have a nice DMTD system!



After getting it all together I ran some ADEV plots

First one, some Quartz against Quartz.
Next A 5065A vs a 5065A.
Then a 5065A vs a 5061B.
And finally a 5065A vs a passive Maser.

All these look quite nice!

The last picture thumbnail is wrong but if you click on it you get a PIX of the assembled isolation/LO unit!

Cheers,

Corby