

Notes on FE Series oscillators


Hello time-nuts,


As already known, there are a bunch of different variations on some of the oscillators. Here is kind of a quick rundown:

1. The 'old' FE-5650A - This unit used a 50.255 MHz VCXO and placed the synthesizer outside the physics PLL. This unit could be programmed over a wide range of frequencies and is great if you need an oddball output. The digital board in the unit has the two small pushbutton switches and the nearby 5-pin connector for serial communications.

2. The 'new' FE-5650A - This unit has the same physical construction, but the circuit functionalyity is quite different. It uses a 60 MHz VCXO and the DDS is inside the physics control loop. The output is divided from the 60 MHz. Many of these units that came from the telecom industry have 15MHz output. Unit has serial communications on pins 8 & 9 of the DB-9 connector.

3. The 'old' FE-5680A - This unit has a different physical footprint than the 5650A, but virtually the same circuit. Again uses the 50.255 MHz VCXO and has the programmable synthesizer that can be tuned over a wide range. Circuit board has the same two push button switches and 5-pin serial connector. Many of these units only have a 1pps output (they came off Motorola cell boards).

4. The 'new' FE-5680A - This was the popular, inexpensive unit that was available a year or two ago. Unit uses the newer 60 MHz VCXO architecture and has serial communications via pins 8 & 9 on the DB-9.

5. The FE-5680B - This appears to be a VERY close cousin to the new 5650A and 5680A. It is in the 5680 physical package, but has a compact DB-15 (think VGA) connector. Unit only needs single +15V supply.

6. The FE-405B - This is a crystal oscillator that is the same physical package as the 5650A. It has a 15 MHz output. The interface is the same as the FE-5650A (except no LOCK signal), including the capability to communicate over the serial interface to change its frequency.


Now for the new information. Tuning the units with the 60 MHz VCXO has been published (see the FEI document that is archived in several places) and uses several commands to read and write a 32-bit command value. However, only the tuning sensitivity for the FE-5680A has only been published that I am aware of.

FE-5680A - The tuning sensitivity of the FE-5680A is 6.8126x10E-13 for the LSB. The command value runs the full range from 00 00 00 00 to FF FF FF FF. The value is 2's complement with positive values driving the frequency higher and negative values lowering the frequency. Larger values may unlock the unit and the positive and negative values may be different (depends on how well the VCXO is centered).

FE-5650A - The tuning sensitivity of the FE-5650A is 1.4900x10E-17 for the LSB. Sounds great, but wait, turns out it does not have any more resolution than the 5680A. It takes a 45,722 step of the command register to step the DDS. So, it retains the same 6.8126x10E-13 actual minimum step of the oscillator. Also, the minimum value of the control register is F0 00 00 01, maximum value is 0F FF FF FF.

FE-5680B - The tuning sensitivity of the FE-5680B is 3.7248x10E-16 for the LSB. Same situation as the 5650A above, but the are 1829 counts per DDS step. Minimum value is F0 00 00 01, maximum value is 0F FF FF FF, same as the 5650A.

FE-405B - The tuning sensitivity of the FE-405B is in the neighborhood of 1.143x10E-14. Minimum value is F7 33 33 34, and maximum value is 08 CC CC CC.


So, if you know how far off frequency your oscillator is divide that by the LSB sensitivity, convert the number to HEX, and load it to the oscillator (with the right + or - sense).

Enjoy! Skip Withrow

precision_timing/fe_series_oscillators.txt · Last modified: 2014/11/17 15:59 (external edit)