Master Clock for your EtherREGEN

[FIndingit]

The markings on these units are various. Mine says 2019-12-09 on the outside, 2018-07-26 on the inside and 2020-03-13 on the board itself. The LT1963A regulator on the top gives out 12v so unless you input closer to 12.5v dc it does nothing (except add noise probably). 
 

I also doubt they actually impedance match the traces, parts etc to 75 ohm, they only change the connector (or don’t as it seems). 
 

But the clock has a positive impact, no doubt. 

[FIndingit]

I have always wondered whether bypassing regulation with lower input dc than the regulator needs (for dropout) is beneficial or not, but nobody actually knows. We should experiment. If it’s beneficial, I could find lots of use for “undervoltaging”. 

[FIndingit]

This is a picture of the 50 ohm board. The output pin of the clock module is on the right and goes to c32. If someone could take a picture of the 75 ohm board now, because we only have a word from an alibaba seller. 

[FIndingit]

Alexey’s 1.5A board is perfect for these clocks. I use one of 12v and put it a couple millimetres away from the input pin of the clock, under the board, thus bypassing a long path and unnecessary caps on the pcb. 

[FIndingit]

2 hours ago, RickyV said:

Hi, do you by any chance know what the output voltage of the internal lt1963 is? Would help a lot?

The DAPU and FE-180 take 12v dc so that’s what lt1963 must output. 
 

 

[FIndingit]

5 hours ago, roberto2 said:

Two questions:

1) does this change improve the sound and how?

2) could you share some pictures of the board ? 

 

Thank you

1. Less noise is all I can say. 
2. https://www.ldovr.com/product-p/lt3045-1a5.htm

 

Beware that the quality of the BG7TBL board itself is of the cheapest possible quality and destroying and lifting traces is almost inevitable. 

[FIndingit]

23 hours ago, roberto2 said:

Thank you but with my second question I intended to see the modified clock board...🤗

In other words, could you share some pics of your mod?

Sorry but that would require powering it down to take new photos. A thing to avoid as written earlier. 

[FIndingit]

Everyone should experiment with feet, I find ceramic ball types better than anything. It’s the best result in MY vibration environment. 

[FIndingit]

Think of the ocxo as you when you go out on a cold day. You want insulation, a warm jacket, not a piece of metal glued to your chest. 

[FIndingit]

Metals are good at dissipating heat, you have five extra surfaces exposed to cooler air than the ocxo core. The benefit comes from vibration management. 

[FIndingit]

Now we only need somebody to look at the Chinese ocxo boards and say whether the square wave implementation looks good or bad.
 

I don’t think there is any isolation of the signal, which the expensive ones have. 

[FIndingit]

Those of us who have the BG7TBL with sine and sq wave outputs can compare the two.
 

I seem to prefer the sine wave, which either means the Chinese sq wave conversion is bad or I happen to enjoy the added sparkle of some jitter. It’s very easy to hear the difference. Sine has more highs and air. 

[FIndingit]

Some of us have the 50 ohm ER and have also bought the BG7TBL from a different seller. eBay seller Queen*s_land sells them with Morion ocxos. 

[FIndingit]

18 hours ago, FIndingit said:

Those of us who have the BG7TBL with sine and sq wave outputs can compare the two.
 

I seem to prefer the sine wave, which either means the Chinese sq wave conversion is bad or I happen to enjoy the added sparkle of some jitter. It’s very easy to hear the difference. Sine has more highs and air. 

It seems I was a bit hasty in my comments. The highs of the sine output can be a bit too hot and not entirely natural in female voices. So square wave output is my preferred one after all. 

[FIndingit]

4 hours ago, Roasty said:

I just received the 75ohm square wave clock from aliexpress.

 

Powered off the ER. Hooked it up. Turned clock on. Turned ER on. Light is green on the clock and music is playing. 

 

Is that all there is to it? 

Did you flip the switch?

[FIndingit]

R-core, EI and split bobbin transformers often vibrate, maybe not in the factory, but when imported to 230V countries they do. Toroids less, in my experience. A vibrating transformer in the same chassis next to the clock module would be disastrous. 

[FIndingit]

Note that a 1 M long cable will compromise the benefit of the clock. 

[FIndingit]

If a clock’s output frequency has drifted considerably up or down but is otherwise stable and has very low noise, I wonder how that sounds. 

[FIndingit]

I think people use way too long clock cables. It is absolutely worth going for just a few centimetres (couple of inches for the New World). 

[FIndingit]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333541364404
 

a premium alternative among the Chinese ocxos. 

[FIndingit]

Of course the clock itself is used. But note that the pcb and caps are now of a higher quality with nothing unnecessary. 

[FIndingit]

Does After Dark really claim their ocxo modules are brand new and unused? As far as I know neither Cybershaft or Mutec do that. 

[FIndingit]

New design does not imply the modules are unused. Their origin remains a trade secret. 

[FIndingit]

11 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

Not so sure you’re correct. He says https://www.oscilloquartz.com/. 
However I’m struggling to find any clocks there. 

That does not refer to the ocxos used in After Dark products but to the grading system which is similar to the one used I.e. by Oscilloquartz. 

[FIndingit]

If you have two sq wave outputs and one sine, the middle one is guaranteed to be sq wave.