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[TenTec] TCXO Alignment

To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: [TenTec] TCXO Alignment
From: nq5t@attbi.com (nq5t@attbi.com)
Date: Sun Jun 15 19:44:27 2003
As Jerry pointed out correctly, a while back, a TCXO is a Temperature 
COMPENSATED Crystal Oscillator, not an oven.  Have no idea whether the TCXO 
remains powered when the radio is off, but it's going to drift a bit as the 
radio/TXCO thermal mass reaches equilibrium.

I have tracked TCXO settling from a cold start in my Orion (with a z3801a), and 
what you see seems about right.  Using dial setting as a refence, mine starts 
out cold ON frequency, then the dial setting drifts about 18 hz high during the 
first 30 minutes, then over the next 3-4 hours settles back to within a hz or 
two.

I haven't missed a sked or a net as a result :-)

Grant/NQ5T
> Recall last evening after two attempts to adjust my
> Orion TCXO oscillator, I wrote:
> 
> > Anyway,  both Digipan and MixW are now reading......ta dah:
> > 
> > 999.3 up to 1000.1 and down to 998.9.  The Orion bottom cover
> > is ON,  and it is sitting back in the operating position.
> 
> Shortly there after,  I powered down the Orion,  and the
> 961 power supply.
> 
> This morning at about 7:30 AM,  I turned both back ON.
> I found the frequency,  per the WWVH comparison to be
> about  30 Hz low.  After some 30 minutes,  was up to 
> only 15 Hz low.  After about 3 hours,  the oscillator match to 
> the WWVH signal was within 1  Hz of where it was last evening 
> when the rig had been powered up for around 7 hours.  And now,
> after another hour,  the reading is within 0.5 Hz or so.
> Reading at present using MixW is 999.3Hz,  or less than
> 1 Hz from WWVH at 10 MHz.
> 
> Does anyone know if the TCXO is still "powered",  even if
> the Orion main power switch is OFF,  if the main power
> is still on to the Orion input power socket?  This was the
> case with my Omni VI+,  the TCXO was always ON.  If
> so,  and if you cared about the sort of warm up drift I
> am seeing,  then leave the power supply ON,  but shut
> down the main Orion switch as the TCXO would then
> remain "warm".
> 
> 73,  Jim  KH7M
> 
> 
> 
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