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Kontron/Tabor 6010 universal counter still worth getting?

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0xdeadbeef:
I'm looking for a universal counter but don't want to spend too much money (ideally <200€). It should have at least a TCXO time base with like <= 1ppm but also allow to use an external 10MHz reference.
Doesn't have to support GHz stuff, I'll mainly use it to check drift of 10MHz time bases like OCXO vs. GPSDO and things like this. So anything <= 100MHz will certainly do. And well, the smaller the better. I already have too much gear and not enough space.

So I first looked into Racal/Dana counters like 199x but what I found was still rather expensive and in pretty bad condition and for counters from big brands like HP/Agilent it's even worse.
That's why I currently think about getting a moderately prized Kontron/Tabor 6010 with a TCXO time base. I assume the 60x0 counters were produced from the late 80s to the late 90s or so. Maybe even longer.
My understanding is that they were built by Kontron first, then that business was sold to Tabor or maybe Tabor produced them as OEM or whatever. Anyway, the seem to have been produced for quite some time and you can still download datsheets, drivers and manuals for them from the TaborElec web site.

Anyway, I'm unsure if it's really worth getting such a counter which will be at least 20 years old, maybe even older. Like there's the chance of dying the death of dried electrolytics, the TCXO probably drifted quite a few ppm over the decades, the calibration is fully manual and I'd need to get some GPIB to USB adapter if I ever want to control it from a PC. Actually I figure I need to open the 6010 to calibrate it and to configure stuff like the 10MHz reference output to input.

So in a nutshell, is it still worth getting something like this for like <= 200€ or should I rather get my hands on something new like a TTI TF930 with USB and electronic calibration but costs more like 420€ (incl. VAT)?
To be perfectly clear: I don't consider buying an old counter because I'm into vintage stuff. It's more like I hope to get good gear for a good price in this case.

[EDIT]
The Tabor 60x0 was obviously also also sold under names like Keithley 776 and Racal 2202.

perdrix:
I'd say so - they are good counters, were badge engineered as Racal in the 2022(R)!

Dave

don.r:
You might also want to consider older HP gear like the 5315/5316. The 5316 has a 10Mhz external input. These can be found for under $100 frequently.

jpb:
It might be worth looking out for a second hand TTi TF930. These are simple reciprical counters with no interpolation but do produce continuous counts and have a reference input and a computer interface via usb. They can do 10 digits on 100s or if you use the computer interface you can collect data continuously over longer gates.

One drawback is they have no backlight on the display.

New price is a bit excessive but they seem to be sold second hand for under £100 from time to time. There is also the TTi TF960 which is more recent.

The other thing to say is that the reference input is a bit deaf - it needs TTL or 1Vrms AC and a lot of sources are less than this which is a bit annoying.

0xdeadbeef:
Yeah, I mentioned the TF930 in my initial posting. Problem is that I couldn't find anything cheap yet. Actually the few ones sold on eBay are much more expensive than a new unit from RS (including VAT) which is around 420€ and a bit more than I'd like to spend.
Besides, I don't think I like the external reference input on the front and I guess some thinks like Phase A/B are missing (which I don't really need though) compared to the 6010.
Then there's the issue that there are two inputs, but the B input is only for >80MHz. So I couldn't even use stuff like Ratio A/B with a 10MHz OCXO vs. GPSDO.
Again, not a total showstopper. It's just that this makes the 2nd channel more or less useless for me.
The only measurements that the TF930 has but the 6010 doesn't are pulse width and duty cycle measurement. Dunno how much sense these make though as they depend on rise/fall times and threshold.

About the old HPs: my impression is that these are at least 10 years older than the Tabor 6010 and the ones that are in the <200€ range don't seem to have a TCXO.
Anyway my chances to get a mint unit for a good price are better for a less known brand like Tabor.

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