Aim-TTI Handheld Frequency Counter?

[Cones]

Hi,

Any thoughts good or bad on these please?

http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?sku=1601132&CMP=KNC-GUK-FUK-GEN-SKU-MRO-AIM-TTI_INSTRUMENTS-TEQ&mckv=scjEK2VP6|pcrid|17154764949|kword|pfm3000|match|p|plid|&gclid=CNqAv9KDwbkCFQ_LtAodnCMAOg

Or should I look at a secondhand Racal Dana 1998 for similar cost.

Mainly for up to 30MHz use for Ham radio related circuits. Checking tuning, calibrating VFO ranges etc.

How do the counters on something like a Rigol DS2000 compare?

Many Thanks

Mark

[Vgkid]

Unless you need the portability I would say to go with the Racal Dana counter.

[dr.diesel]

I was surprised to read in the spec sheet that it did at least include a TCXO timebase, but I'd still be wary of that unit.  If you can find a reasonably priced Racal Dana I think it would better serve you, keeping in mind of the button issues on the Racal's.  With the Racal it would also be much easier to fab up a custom OCXO board, for even greater stability.  You can find these on eBay all the time.

Do you have anything to calibrate it against?  I bought a GPSDO off ebay for $110 with antenna.  With one of these you could get by with a lesser counter by verifying the cal or feeding the 10Mhz in to the counter, bypassing the internal timebase.

[alm]

My take from reading the datasheet: 5 ppm/year time base stability is quite mediocre, a bench counter with a decent (TCXO or better) oscillator will perform better. It also appears to lack an external frequency input. On a 30 MHz signal it might be off by 150 Hz. It also lacks the advanced triggering features (eg. adjustable trigger level). It's a reciprocal counter, so it should perform decently for low frequency signal. If you don't mind the accuracy, features or battery power, then it will probably serve you fine. TTI usually makes decent equipment, so I expect it to live up to its specs.

I would rather buy a used reciprocal bench counter. Beware for dodgy buttons on the Racal Dana counters.

[Fraser]

I own a couple of the earlier 1300MHz versions. They work well and are convenient for mobile work but I would not recommend one as your only counter, I bought bench frequency counters for accurate work. Mine are Advantest, Anritsu, Philips and Tabor. All much respected brands. Be  careful buying any Racal 19xx series. They are infamous for button failure needing replacement of all of the button switches.

[Flump]

could you not use a scope for this, like a rigol 1102e which goes up to 100mhz ?

[Fraser]

A frequency counter is only as good as its master oscillator.  I have a DS1052E but have not used its frequency counter for anything serious as I don't think the Rigol has a very accurate master oscillator but then I have not tested it to prove that belief.

[Flump]

it would be really nice to see how accurate these budget scopes
are for measureing frequency as it saves people buying more test gear

[dr.diesel]

could you not use a scope for this, like a rigol 1102e which goes up to 100mhz ?

Not usually, most scopes including the 1102e do not have a hardware counter.  Their frequency measurement is based off a calculation that is bound to the processor clock, fine for processors, horrible for accurate frequency counting.

[larry42]

it would be really nice to see how accurate these budget scopes
are for measureing frequency as it saves people buying more test gear

My HMO1524 has a 6 digit HW counter and a 50ppm timebase accuracy. I doubt any other scope this side of 1000 USD is better, so yeah a freq counter can still be a necessity.

To the OP - I personally, would rather buy a good 2nd hand piece of test gear than the AIM-TTI unit.

[Cones]

Hi,

Many thanks for the thoughts on the above. I might have a good look on ebay over the next few weeks.

I have seen the two button replacement videos on the Racal, so that would not be too much of a problem.

Many Thanks

Mark

[fcb]

They're great.  I still use a PFM1300 I got in 1997.

[jpb]

I paid a little more (£196:50 plus VAT) and got an ex-demo TTi 930 which seems to work very well (it has rather better specs than the hand held unit). I got it directly from TTi (just sent them an e-mail). The warranty is 3 years.

I am very pleased with it, the only drawbacks are the screen isn't backlit so is hard to see in some lights and I've not managed to get the remote control to work under Windows 7 64 bit though it works fine from a laptop running Windows XP.

I looked at e-bay for a while but none of the available units seemed good value, they were either rather restricted or rather over-priced or both. I already had a 6 digit counter on my scope so I wanted more than just 7 or 8 digits. The major thing for me was the TF930 goes down to 0.01Hz (reciprical counting) which allows me to use a gps 1pps to set my OCXO up. It also doesn't stop counting at the end of the gate period so gives you a running average on long gate times.

If you're happy with the older model (TF830 I think) then test-and-measure had one for around £100 (no VAT) a few months ago,

http://www.test-measure.co.uk/

it is not on the list and may have gone but it is worth sending an e-mail (it wasn't on the list when I was looking but I inquired by e-mail what other instruments were available). (Test-and-measure sell Aim TTi discontinued products that are brand new, supplied by TTi direct and carry a warranty of around 90 days I think, I bought my power supply from them and am very pleased with it.) The reason I didn't buy the TF830 is it doesn't go down to 1Hz so didn't do what I wanted to do - the specs are rather more basic than the TF930 so make sure you look at them before reaching a decision if it is still available.

[alm]

Used Racal-Dana, HP and Philips counters seem to come up somewhat regularly. Used counters tend to be relatively cheap compared to other test equipment from the same era. One example of a decent, but fairly undistinguished counter in my opinion is the Philips PM6670/6671/6672 series Dave tore down, especially the ones with OCXO option. The difference between the models is that the 6671 features trigger hold-off and the 6672 a pre-scaler input for frequencies up to 1GHz. Should cost well under £100. For example this eBay auction sold for £55 + £20 shipping to the UK. Nothing fancy, but a reciprocal counter with 8 digits of resolution and a 10 MHz time base and all the features I need in a bench counter (two channels with phase/ratio, average period measurement, external 10 MHz input and output, AC and DC coupled with variable trigger, nice LED display). Philips counters are usually slightly cheaper than HP or Racal-Dana counters. More fancy counters from brands like HP and Philips with faster time bases, higher resolution and stats tend to be more expensive and 19" wide.

[Cones]

Hi,

Many thanks for the help. I've just got boxed as new TTI TF830 on Ebay for a reasonable cost. Looks like it will also run on internal C type NiCds as well for portable use.

I've also bought a FE-5680A Rubidium unit and intend to make a cased frequency standard with it to calibrate the counter with. Just need a nice alloy box with some BNC connectors now.

Thanks

Mark

[tonyalbus]

Hi Guys, i know its an old post, but came across this when looking for this counter on google.
so i thought it could be useful anyway to post my review about this counter for other maybe also finding in on google and ending up here.
i am a happy user, its good quality.
here my review TF930, hope it helps.



Tony

[tonyalbus]

The guys from TTi are great,
i read in the service manual, that even the TCXO will age a bit after years, you can calibrate the device without opening it and this information is in the service manual.
i send an email about this to TTi and they just replied with the service-manual in PDF attached, no questions asked...
that is what i call service.

Tony