Frequency Counter

[BigMike357]

Hello,
What would be a decent frquency counter for the work bench? I want to repair my own CB Radios.
Thanks 35 Delta 357 Big Mike In the Hillbilly state of West by God Virginia

 

[GlocknSpiel]

I always liked my Fluke Philips PM6669. I should've never sold it. These days, I just have an ancient Hickok 380 that was my father's. It gets the job done, but then, any $20 freq counter will do whatever needs to be done for radio bench work.​

 

[OldModel]

Paid $15 for this one about 25 years ago and still doing all I need it to do.

 

[loosecannon]

I think the HP5381a is a great starter frequency counter for CB radio work.
It will let you set things down to 1hz accuracy with a 1 second gate time which is very useful when aligning radios.

yes they are very old so they should have their electrolytic caps (three of them i think) replaced in the power supply section.

The big deal is to find one that is actually working. once the power supply caps are replaced there's not much that can really go wrong with it unless you misuse it.

they can be found on ebay for around 100 dollars and seem to always be available.

Vintage HP 5381A 80MHz Frequency Counter HP-5381 A | eBay

For sale is the above pictured HP 5381A frequency counter, in used condition. Power cord included.

www.ebay.com

you'll also need to calibrate it, so you'll want something like this:

OCXO-10M-2525-N 10MHz OCXO Board OCXO Frequency Standard Board Sine Wave Output | eBay

1 OCXO Frequency Standard Board. Default frequency accuracy: 10M±0.05Hz. Output: 10MHz/13DBM. Model: OCXO-10M-2525-N. Weight: 115g. Size: 53x50x18mm (LxWxH). Interface: SMA; DC 5.5/2.1.

www.ebay.com

there are some specifics involved with powering this item but instructions can be found online.
LC