High precision decade frequency generator

Jbeale designed a high precision decade frequency generator based on a 26Mhz ovenized oscillator with stability of +-1 part-per-billion, or +-0.0000001%. The generator is controlled with a PIC16f1823 microcontroller, which provides interface and frequency division.

Firmware, PCB and schematic are uploaded on his site. He also provided a link to Tom V.B. impressive site that could best be described as:

…one man’s quest for the most accurate clock…

Via the forum.

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4 Comments

  1. Actually it’s stable to one-part-per-billion (that’s 1000x than 1 ppm) over a time span of about 1 hour. Over longer periods it can drift more, but it would take a very very long time to drift as much as 1 ppm.

  2. they ebay link you provided from the BOM states
    Stability: ±100ppb, I misinterpreted your post, thinking that 1PPB was a typo, sorry

  3. You are correct that the mfr. datasheet at http://pletronics.com/uploads/datasheets/ohm4%205.0v.pdf calls out +/- 100 ppb (per day) for the full temperature range of -40C to 85C. However that is quite conservative for a typical indoor environment. My experience with a few of these parts, in my apartment (which has a delta-T of only a few degrees C) shows typically 1 ppb drift per hour.

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