Update – DIY HP/Agilent 53131A 010 High Stability Timebase Option PCB’s Available

By gerrysweeney on October 27, 2013October 2, 2022210 Comments

Following on from the project to build a DIY OCXO upgrade option for my HP/Agilent 53131A Frequency Counter I had a large number of requests for me to make the PCB’s available so others can built there own. I now have some PCB’s and are making them available for sale. I will also be making some fully assembled and tested/verified boards including an OCXO, ready-made cable and mounting stand-off’s, there will only be a limited number of these so if you are interested, let me know, first come first serve and when they are gone they are gone.

Now, someone made a comment on hackaday stating that the reason why these OCXO’s are on e-bay is because they are no good. Well I can understand why one could draw that conclusion but having now played with in access of 50 of these OCXO’s I can tell you that they all pretty much violently agree with each other and they also agree with the Rubidium Frequency Standard I have, so given they are from different sources and all free-running I am pretty comfortable they are good and usable quality devices. I read a lot on the net about “burn in time” and the general consensus seems to be, the longer you age and heat a crystal oscillator the more stable (in terms of drift) it becomes. Now I don’t know how true that is, but if it is true, then by definition, using recovered OCXO’s must actually be a good thing. Of course if you feel the need to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a new OCXO then you can of course do that – but I am pretty sure that it does NOT guarantee you any better performance, it just buys you the right to get compensated if you happen to find it does not meet the performance specifications quoted by the manufacturer and it might make you feel a little more confident. Anyway I guess the results speak for themselves and for a home lab these OCXO’s are more than good enough I think.

Here is a short video showing the various configurations built and working as well as a quick overview of the PCB its self and the configuration options.

The Schematic

53131A_010 Schematic

The PCB

This is the revision “1F” board. When I designed the board, I picked a few of the OCXO types that are available on the second-hand (salvaged) market and designed it to accommodate these. My original plan was to support four types of OCXO, the Oscilloquartz 8663-XS that I used in my own counter, a Datum 105243-002, and Isotemp OCXO-131 and a Trimble 34310-T(2). However, when I laid the board out I did not have the Trimble 34310-T(2) device to hand and made a (wrong) assumption about the footprint – which is a bad schoolboy error I know – the upshot being that while this board has a footprint and markings for the Trimble 34310-T(2) it does not fit, the pins are about 1mm out and therefore the board IS NOT suitable for that particular device. It is feasible to drill holes, the pads are just about big enough but assuming there is some demand for these boards I will order a second batch with the footprint corrected.

The following OCXO’s are known (and shown in the video) to work. Any others might work but thats up to you to verify 🙂

Oscilloquartz 8663-XS
Isotemp OCXO131-100
Isotemp OCXO131-191
Datum 105243-002

Oscilloquartz 8663-XS

This is the first OCXO I used, its more expensive than most and seems good quality and very precise. It works off of 12v and provides a nice clean sine wave output. The voltage control input works on the 0-10V range. I could not find any data on the XS version so I don’t know what its performance specifications are. I have included a download for this device but it does not cover the XS version specifically. The data sheet states that this device requires 0-10v for the frequency control, and testing seems to bear this out too. However, to get the counter to calibrate properly I selected the 0-5v range on the DAC.

Datum 105243-002

This was another OCXO that I included on the board for Andy (who built the first 3Ghz pre-scaller option board), again a nice device but its specified to work on 24V and the Oven and Oscillator have separate power connections. This is the only OCXO that has a built in trim pot which allows you to set the window for the voltage control range. Although this device is specified to run at 24V, I tested its operation at 12V and it works perfectly. I did put a four-pin plug onto the board to allow you to give it a separate 24V supply but it really does not need it. I do not have any data sheet for this device but it outputs a square wave which is not as nice as having a sine wave on the output – but for this application it does not matter at all. The Frequency control input on this device is very sensitive and while it works without problem at +/-10v its centred around 2V and 0-5v works just fine.

Isotemp OCXO131-1xx

This is a small, compact device and comes in two variants, the OCXO131-191 which is a 12V version and the OCXO131-100 which is a 5V version, and while both share the same PCB footprint and pinouts the case for the 5v variant is taller at 18mm high where as the 12v version is a compact 11mm high. These also provide a square wave output. Both versions of the device require 0-5v on the frequency control input although to get the counter to properly calibrate I had to configure it for the +/-5V option.

Kit of Parts

Some people asked me about providing a kit of parts. I am not really geared up to do that in a time-efficient way so apart from the bare PCB, I will not be able to provide individual parts or components.

Fully Built and Tested Option

I am planning to have a limited number of these option boards fully built and tested with all the components and the OCXO pre-installed as well as a suitable cable and mounting stand-off’s, ready to install and use in your counter 531xx HP counter. I do not have an exact cost for these as I still have to source some of the components but they are likely to be be in the £75 to £95 range. I will post an update when I have these available which should be in about 2-3 weeks time.

UPDATE: I now have some fully assembled and tested boards complete with cable and mounting parts needed for a simple plug-and-play 53100 series counter upgrade. I am providing these with a Trimble 34310-T OCXO which is a really high quality, high spec double-oven OCXO, performance compares very favourably to the original high end option offered by HP at 10x the cost

Bill of Materials

RefDes	Part No	Notes
C1, C2, C4, C6, C7, C8, C10, C11	100nF	0805 SMD Jellybean part
C12	1uF	0805 SMD Jellybean part – Could probably use 100nF with no problem
C3, C5, C9	47uF 16v	Electrolytic. Farnell Part No: 197-3305
J2	IDC2X8M	Farnell Part No: 231-0066
L1, L2, L5	100uH	Farnell Part No: 935-8056
L3, L4	1uH	Farnell Part No: 221-5638
R1, R2	100R	0805 SMD Jellybean part
R3, R4	220R	0805 SMD Jellybean part
R8	220R	0805 SMD Jellybean part – This is not needed unless you want to mess with the comparator bias
U1	LM361M	Very fast differential comparator
U4	ADR4550	You can use a REF02 or numerous other 5V reference parts here, the pinout is pretty standard
U5	AD7243AR	This is the most expensive and hard to get part

Bare PCB’s Available

UPDATE: After my first trip to the post office today I have had to amend the pricing because of the outrageous postal charges, I have been told that I cannot send something that’s not made of paper as a letter! that means for my friends outside of the UK the postage is more expensive, sorry about that. The good news is, the postage does not go up with the number of boards. I hope you understand.

UK Orders

If you want more than two boards please contact me directly via e-mail because the weight starts to impact postage.

STILL AVAILABLE 1 x HP/Agilent 53131A-010/GS OCXO Option Bare PCB Rev 1H inc. Postage	£12.50
STILL AVAILABLE 2 x HP/Agilent 53131A-010/GS OCXO Option Bare PCB’s Rev 1H inc. Postage	£23.00
UNAVAILABLE HP/Agilent 53131A-010/GS Rev 1G Fully Built and Tested with Trimble 34310-T OCXO, Cable and Mounting Kit	£145.00 + £10.00 shipping (tracked and signed for)	Contact Me

Non-UK Orders

If you want more than two boards please contact me directly via e-mail.

STILL AVAILABLE 1 x HP/Agilent 53131A-010/GS OCXO Option Bare PCB Rev 1H	£15.00
STILL AVAILABLE 2 x HP/Agilent 53131A-010/GS OCXO Option Bare PCB’s Rev 1H	£27.50
UNAVAILABLE HP/Agilent 53131A-010/GS Rev 1G Fully Built and Tested with Trimble 34310-T OCXO, Cable and Mounting Kit	£145.00 + £18 shipping (tracked and signed for)	Contact Me

Racal-Dana 199x DIY High Stability DIY Timebase Hack for under $25

By gerrysweeney on September 22, 2013January 19, 201932 Comments

Having played with a number of OCXO’s and a Rubidium standard I tried (after repairing it) to calibrate the standard timebase in my Racal-Dana 1999 counter which is actually a simple TCXO. I could get pretty close but it was touchy and not easy to be totally precise. In response to that vlog article a number of people suggested it would be nice to do an OCXO modification to the Racal counter so I decided to do exactly that, and I done it on a budget too…

One of the problems with this counter is the lack of any 12v supply that is able to provide enough current to drive the OCXO’s oven, so I had a look around and found an OCXO made by Isotemp model OCXO131-100 that runs on 5V which is perfect for this build because the counter has a good 5v supply that can easily drive the additional current required – I have provided a download link for the data sheet for the OCXO I used below below. I ordered one from a seller on e-bay and used that as the basis for the hack.

The other key component needed to implement a stable OCXO board for this counter is a “temperature stable” variable voltage between about 1 and 4 volts, this is used to fine tune the OCXO to allow the oscillator to be calibrated. To get me a suitable reference voltage I have used a MAX6198A, chosen simply because I had some to hand – but also because they have pretty darn good temperature stability too.

Schematic

Here is the schematic I used to create the OCXO board.

Other Information

* The SMD Adaptors I used can be got from here: SMD Adapters – Set #1/

DIY HP/Agilent 53131A 010 High Stability Timebase Option

By gerrysweeney on August 26, 2013July 10, 201795 Comments

Having obtained a reasonably reliable 10MHz lab reference (see here) I decided to calibrate my Frequency Counter only to find that the stock oscillator provided in the HP 53151A is absolutely terrible – a joke even! I looked around for an “010 High Stability Timebase Option” but they are rare — and if you can find one not installed in a counter they are very expensive – in the few hundred dollars range at least — and buying one from HP is, well, expensive in the extreme. There are many second-hand 10MHz OCXO modules available, these are mostly stripped from old telecommunications, satellite or cellular equipment so they are plentiful and relatively cheap to buy too. I decided to make a clone 010 option board for my counter using a second-hand OCXO bought from e-bay. I designed a PCB to get a professional finish as well as a reliable upgrade for my counter. The main goal was to make an option board that just like the original could be automatically calibrated using the internal software and front panel controls so I had to use the same DAC chip (which is now obsolete) and basic topology of the original option board to make it work.

The result speaks for its self – with the OCXO running as the timebase, the counter is able to measure the 10MHz source it was calibrated with to a precision of 100th of one cycle with no error!

The schematic is pretty simple and self-explainatory. The counter seems to need a differential square wave clock drive, this is created using a high-speed differential output comparator part LM361. The DAC is an AD7243 part from Analog Devices, this part is now obsolete and not recommended for new designs but they are still available from various sources, albeit quite expensive parts. It would have been possible to design in a newer part but for the small number of units I wanted to make, it seemed a bit pointless to go to the effort as the recommended newer part actually requires different serial signaling, and this would have required some kind of serial protocol converter microcontroller. The DAC is driven by the counters microprocessor to calibrate and tune the timebase. The ADR4550 provides a high stability 5V reference for the ADC. The rest of the circuitry is basically power supply and signal filtering.

The PCB layout was designed to accommodate different OCXO footprints making it flexible. As well as supporting OCXO’s there are footprints for SMA connectors and you can even use a low-cost TCXO which cannot be automatically calibrated but is still a considerably better option than the oscillator built into the counter.

PCB’s Available : See here

The finished board fits really neatly inside the counter, and even fits around my previous Hard Power Switch Modification project.

Various Pictures

Home » DIY HP/Agilent 53131A 010 High Stability Timebase Option » OCXO Modification

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Catch you next time….

Five Decade Programmable Capacitor – A Low Cost Solution

By gerrysweeney on August 24, 2013July 10, 201714 Comments

As a follow-up to a previous blog post where I created a seven decade programmable resistor substation for use during electronic circuit prototyping and development, I thought I would expand on the concept and develop a decade capacitor solution to complement the decade resistor board. This new board is a five decade programmable capacitance and is in exactly the same form factor as the previous resistor project. The capacitance can be programmed in the range of 100pF through 9.9999uF in 1000pF increments. The tolerance of the capacitance is five (5%) percent.

My goal was to keep costs down while making the board usable and functional and reliable so I continued to use the 0.1″ jumpers I had used for the resistor board. However, to achieve a programmable capacitance you need to use small capacitors and parallel them to obtain the desired value, and the challenge here was how to achieve that with jumpers. In the end I took the simple approach and provided 10 jumpers for each decade, but instead of a two-pin header row I used a three pin header row so each of the 10 jumpers has an “on” (1) or “off” (0) position. I concede that the board is slightly more difficult to use than the resistor board, and thats simply because of the number of jumpers – dialling in a value involves moving multiple jumpers per decade. However, with the cost to use high quality switches I felt that the infrequent nature of use for the board, it was a reasonable compromise both in terms of design theme consistency and cost.

When working on linear circuits, in particular around op amps, PSU’s and other circuitry that needs response tuning, having a decade capacitance to hand when prototyping is a very valuable tool – not for day to day use of course, but when you are doing that specific job that needs this, its worth its weight in gold.

If you are interested in one of these boards I have had a bunch of them made and am selling them. You can buy them on http://tindie.com or if you prefer on e-bay – simply search for “gerrysweeney” on either system to find the items.

10MHz Rubidium Frequency Standard and Signal Distribution Amp Follow-Up

By gerrysweeney on August 10, 2013January 9, 201821 Comments

This is a follow-up to my previous article here. When testing the 1 PPS output I found some strange output which needed further investigation. I also decided to make further use of the microcontroller and status LED to indicate the 1 PPS signal to provide a degree of visual confidence that the frequency standard was working.

Various Pictures

Home » 10MHz Rubidium Frequency Standard and Signal Distribution Amp Follow-Up » Rubidium Distribution Amplifier

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The 1 PPS Channel
Here is the outline schematic of the digital channel of the video amp that is now used for the 1 PPS signal.

The fast comparator used in this circuit is an LT1016

The Micro-controller
When I first tried to implement this I used (or tried to use) the edge trigger interrupt capability which on the face of it should have been the perfect solution. However, no matter what I tried I could not get it to work, the best I managed to achieve was getting it to work some of the time, but it was very random. I suspect this was down to the way in which the PIC12X handles interrupts and context state saving implemented by the compiler, I read somewhere on the microchip forums that this issue *could* be resolved by upgrading to the PRO version of the compiler…..hmmmmmmm. Anyway, I decided to change tact and poll for the 1PPS signal which meant I also had to construct a really simple pulse stretcher circuit to ensure I was able to catch each pulse. Not as elegant as an interrupt-driven solution but it works. I think the more advanced PIC18Fxxx series micro controllers would have worked using interrupts but those are big chips and I was already committed to the PIC12F675.

Here is the schematic for the micro controller which now also monitors the 1 PPS output of the RBS. The shaded area is what has been added to the circuit since the previous article.

Here is the firmware source code with the 1PPS implementation added. Its implemented as a simple state machine in run mode, I have tried to keep the code simple to read.

#include <xc.h>

// PIC12F675 Configuration Bit Settings

// CONFIG
#pragma config FOSC  = INTRCIO  // Oscillator Selection bits (Internal oscillator: GPIO on GP4/GP5)
#pragma config WDTE  = OFF      // Watchdog Timer Enable bit (WDT disabled)
#pragma config PWRTE = OFF      // Power-Up Timer Enable bit (PWRT disabled)
#pragma config MCLRE = OFF      // GP3/MCLR pin function select (GP3/MCLR pin function is digital I/O, MCLR internally tied to VDD)
#pragma config BOREN = OFF      // Brown-out Detect Enable bit (BOD disabled)
#pragma config CP    = OFF      // Code Protection bit (Program Memory code protection is disabled)
#pragma config CPD   = OFF      // Data Code Protection bit (Data memory code protection is disabled)

// IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
//
// PIN ASSIGNMENTS
//   2 = RFS_RDY signal from Pin 6 (GPIO5)
//   4 - 1PPS signal
//   5 - Front Panel LED
//

// We are running the chip at 4Mhz
#define XTAL_FREQ 4000000

#define CLK_1PPS GPIObits.GPIO4
#define LED_STATUS GPIObits.GPIO2
#define RFS_READY GPIObits.GPIO5

void main(void)
{
    // Used as LED state machine control variable
    char _led_state = 0;

    ADCON0bits.ADON = 0;    // Turn off the ADC
    ANSELbits.ANS = 0;      // Make all inputs digital
    VRCON = 0;              // Turn off the internal voltage reference
    CMCON = 0x7;            // Turn off the comparator

    // Set up our I/O pins
    TRISIObits.TRISIO2 = 0; // Make GPIO2 an output - LED
    TRISIObits.TRISIO4 = 1; // Make GPIO4 an input - 1PPS counter input
    TRISIObits.TRISIO5 = 1; // Make GPIO5 an input - RFS_READY

    while(1)
    {
        if(RFS_READY == 0)
        {
            // This is when we are in run mode.

            // We are polling the 1 PPS signal, if we sense a "1" we set the
            // _led_state variable to the number of 10ms periods you want. In
            // this case I want about 80ms. Once this is set the state machine
            // below will hold the LED on and wait 10ms until ir reaches 2,
            // and then normal state resumes, the end result being an LED thats
            // lit normally, and pulses brightly for about 80ms on each 1pps
            // count.
            if(CLK_1PPS == 1)
                _led_state = 10;

            // This is a simple state machine that will run the LED
            // at one third power by outputting a 33% duty cycle square
            // wave. Each time around the loop the state variable will
            // count 0-1-2-0-1-2...etc LED on for 0, and off 1 & 2.
            // When the 1PPS interrypt is fired, the state machine
            // holds the LED on at full brightness (100% duty)
            switch(_led_state)
            {
            case 0:
                LED_STATUS = 1;
                _led_state = 1;
                break;

            case 1:
                LED_STATUS = 0;
                _led_state = 2;
                break;

            case 2:
                LED_STATUS = 0;
                _led_state = 0;
                break;

            default:
                _led_state--;
                LED_STATUS = 1;
                _delay(10000);
                break;
            }
        }
        else
        {
            // If we get in here we are in warm-up mode. We blink the
            // LED with a short on period (20%) and a long off period (80%)
            // about three blinks a second.
            if(LED_STATUS == 0)
            {
                LED_STATUS = 1;
                _delay(75000);
            }
            else
            {
                LED_STATUS = 0;
                _delay(300000);
            }
        }
    }
}

And for those of you that just want to program the chip, here is the compiled HEX file.

:08000000FD2BB92BBD2BC32B16
:100746008312A3011F10F03083169F05990107300D
:10075600831299008316051105168516EA2B051EC8
:10076600D32B0A30A0002008A300D32B0515A30124
:10077600A30AEA2B05110230A0002008A300EA2BE9
:100786000511A301EA2B0130A30205150D30A100C6
:10079600FB30A000A00BCD2BA10BCD2BD22BEA2B2F
:1007A600831223088400033004020318C62B00308A
:1007B6008A00013004078200EA2B05156230A10089
:1007C6006530A000A00BE52BA10BE52BEA2B8312CD
:1007D600851EB22B051DE02B05110230A2008630C6
:1007E600A1009930A000A00BF62BA10BF62BA20BB3
:0807F600F62BEA2B8301A32B73
:02400E009431EB
:00000001FF

Catch you next time….

Build a 10MHz Rubidium Frequency Standard and Signal Distribution Amp for my Lab

By gerrysweeney on August 3, 2013December 23, 201851 Comments

Having gotten myself a Rubidium Frequency Standard I found that the unit on its own is not that useful, its really just a component and needs really a supporting PSU and a decent enclosure to make it useful. I was searching around for something suitable when I was directed to a robust quality unit being sold on e-bay for just £20 with an unbelievable level of re-usable content and turned out to be an almost perfect solution to making the Rubidium Standard a useful Lab item. Rarely does such a fine marriage of junk bits come together to make something really useful?

I had a lot to cover, the whole thing was built in an afternoon and as a result, this is a long video at 1 hour 16 mins so be prepared…

Video of the project build. 1hr 16mi

The PIC Micro-controller – PIC12F675
The original plan was to use the PIC for three functions, the first was to make the power LED flash while the RFS was warming up and on solid when locked. The second was to generate a 1 PPS signal from the 10Mhz signal and the third was to generate a PWM signal to control the fan speed. As it turns out the RFS already has a 1 PPS output on Pin 6 of the DB9 connector so there was no need for this. It also transpired that the only fan I had to hand was a three wire fixed speed fan, so I also did not need the PWM signal, this left me with just the power LED to deal with which is what the PIC ended up controlling. Here is the schematic for the PIC and the source code.

#include <xc.h>

// Using MPLAB-X and the XC8 compiler, both are free from Microchip.com.
// I am using this on OSX (Mac) and with an ICD3 for programming.
// PIC12F675 Configuration Bit Settings
// CONFIG
#pragma config FOSC = INTRCIO // Oscillator Selection bits (Internal oscillator: GPIO on GP4/GP5)
#pragma config WDTE = OFF // Watchdog Timer Enable bit (WDT disabled)
#pragma config PWRTE = OFF // Power-Up Timer Enable bit (PWRT disabled)
#pragma config MCLRE = OFF // GP3/MCLR pin function select (GP3/MCLR pin

// function is digital I/O, MCLR internally tied to VDD)
#pragma config BOREN = OFF // Brown-out Detect Enable bit (BOD disabled)
#pragma config CP = OFF // Code Protection bit (Program Memory code protection is disabled) 
#pragma config CPD = OFF // Data Code Protection bit (Data memory code protection is disabled)

// IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
//
// PIN ASSIGNMENTS
// 2 = RBS_RDY (GPIO5) 
// 5 - POWER_STATUS_LED 
//

// We are running the chip at 4Mhz
#define XTAL_FREQ 4000000
#define RBS_RDY GPIObits.GPIO5
#define POWER_LED GPIObits.GPIO2

void main(void)
{
    ADCON0bits.ADON = 0; // Turn off the ADC
    ANSELbits.ANS = 0; // Make all inputs digital
    VRCON = 0; // Turn off the internal voltage reference
    CMCON - 0x7; // Turn off the comparator
    
    // Set up our I/O pins
    TRISIObits.TRISIO2 = 0; // Make GPIO2 an output
    TRISIObits.TRISIO5 = 1; // Make GPIO5 an input
    while(1)
    {
        if(RBS_RDY == 0)
        {
            POWER_LED = 1;
        }
        else
        {
            if(POWER_LED == 0)
            {
                POWER_LED = 1;
                _delay(100000); 
            }
            else
            {
                POWER_LED = 0;
                _delay(400000);
            }
        }
    }
}

And the compiled HEX file if you want to just program the chip without compiling

:02000000FD2BD6
:1007A40083121F10F03083169F05990183121908D4
:1007B400831605118516EA2B0515EA2B05158230DB
:1007C400A100DD30A000A00BE52BA10BE52BEA2B4B
:1007D4008312851EDE2B051DE02B05110330A200BC
:1007E4000830A1007730A000A00BF62BA10BF62B4C
:0A07F400A20BF62BEA2B8301D22B97
:02400E009431EB
:00000001FF

The Video Amp – Extron ADA 6 300MX HV
The video amp unit I used in this hack is made by Extron and the model number (on the front panel) is ADA 6 300MX HV. When I communicated with the seller, he said he had about 30 of them, so if this is useful to you and you want to make your own I would go grab yourself one before they are gone. The basic outline schematic for an input channel is here:

The video op amp chip used in this unit is a CLC409, the Texas Instruments CLC409 Data Sheet data sheet is attached to this article.

The heat sink I have ordered can be found on e-bay, search for “150x25x60mm Aluminum Heat Sink for LED”.

The switch mode PSU I used can also be found on e-bay, search for “Enclosed Power Supply SMPS,15V,2.4A,36W, it is made by TDK-Lambda and the part number is LS35-15”

See you next time.