I'm not a time nut, so take this with a bit of salt.
You're dealing with two things here in measurement, stability and accuracy.
Accuracy you can get easily enough by a GPS, or even Rubidium, and in the short term, OCXO.? This answers the "how close is that to 10 Mhz" question.? I suspect that it means most with uncoupled test equipment not locked to a lab standard, or portable equipment where locking is not possible.
Most portable stuff will be OCXO if that.
Stability is another matter.? Various sources can be made on frequency, but then how long do they stay there?? Depends on the reference.
Do you need this?? Depends on the measurement, IMHO.? If you have multiple counters in the lab, then the best thing is to lock them to a source, if you can.? Not all will.
If you do a lot of portable work, you pays your money and you takes your chances.
If you are specifically interested in long term stability, or accuracy, then you've answered your own question.
Then again, there's the pursuit of accuracy for the sake of accuracy
Harvey
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On 6/18/2024 3:25 PM, Jinxie via groups.io wrote:
Guys,
I've heard people say that having a totally accurate external frequency reference available and distributed to all the test devices on one's test bench which can accept it is an optimal solution. But what is it an optimal solution to? What's the advantage of such a system? I've heard various absolute standards mentioned over the years. Currently GPS satellites seem to be in, but I've heard such-and-such a radio station being recommended as well. What's it all about?
J.
