Technical Note: OCXOs For Portable Equipment

By Greg Arthur, Valpey Fisher Corporation

Today, many electronic applications are becoming portable, from GPS units to test equipment. These devices often must operate in the field without attention for many months while continuously consuming valuable battery power or may have stringent life requirements such as SARSAT beacons. New highly stable miniature temperaturecompensated crystal oscillators (TCXOs) have helped a great deal, but some applications require the stability only available from an ovenized oscillator. This is where the designer starts to run into trouble, as typical oven-controlled crystal oscillators (OCXOs) consume multiple watts of power, making them unsuitable for use in battery powered systems.

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