Andrew ZonenbergWrote up the blog-format version of the TCXO failure analysis including a bit more backstory and commentary all in one place
vxo@azonenberg
So I guess I'm going to avoid screaming at my TCXOs then
So I guess I'm going to avoid screaming at my TCXOs then
Stewart Russell@vxo @azonenberg yeah, don't shake the singing rocks
@scruss @azonenberg Seems legit. At work we had these Lectrosonics IFB receivers that would often break crystals when dropped hard. What's weird is I've seen Sennheiser stuff survive getting basically used as hockey pucks and surviving multiple HARD impacts that never skipped a beat, but something about the way the Lectros are constructed would murder the crystal.
@vxo it always amazes me that they work at all. Though I do have a 10.000000 MHz OCXO that I think I've managed to fritz entirely by dropping it
@scruss ow!
I have a 10 mhz OCXO as my transfer frequency standard at home, it's a well aged unit. My frequency counter's internal reference is absolute poppycock so I use that with it. My cat appreciates the warmth after it's been powered up about an hour prior to use.
@scruss Load-bearing masking tape used during calibration is a phrase I think should be more common because it's hilarious.
But yeah, you can see the OCXO unit itself in the preview pic here - it looks like a distinctly in-house designed thing in a Bud box full of what might actually be fancy ceramic fiber insulation.