Does is show i am disappointed?
Sorry did i hear someone say Crab!
Yes, I'm afraid you have been bodged. If you want a cheap counter that actually works, BG7TBL makes quite nice ones up to 6 or 12GHz, and
they have a reasonable sensitivity and a usable timebase plus external reference input.
If it must be, PIC base counters with prescalers could reach 1-2GHz and they work too, for 10 bucks.