From: whit3rd@gmail.com   
      
   On Friday, July 26, 2019 at 11:10:58 AM UTC-7, Dimitrij Klingbeil wrote:   
   > On 2019-07-15 16:33, Peter Percival wrote:   
   > > I'd like to buy a frequency counter...   
      
      
   > The choice of frequency counter comes down to your frequency range and   
   > accuracy needs. There are versions for everyone and basically they all   
   > come in one of 3 basic types (from simplest to most complex):   
   >   
   > 1. Basic "gated edge counter"   
   > This type of device simply enables a count-up mechanism for a specified   
   > time (called the "gate time") and counts how many edges of one polarity   
   > occur during this time. The number of edges divided by the gate time   
   > gives the value of the frequency measured. However, if the frequency is   
   > low, there are not enough edges to get a decent resolution, so the low   
   > frequency resolution (and low frequency accuracy) becomes very poor.   
   >   
   > This is the cheapest type of counter that can be made, but I would NOT   
   > recommend buying one because of the really useless performance in the   
   > low frequency ranges   
      
   That's perhaps true for RF work, but if one wishes to kit out a Geiger counter,   
   or other random-pulse source, it's the function you want.   
      
   Many multimeters come with a 'low frequency range' that does exactly this.   
      
   There are so many counter options on the high-end 'counter' boxes that   
   a tech and I puzzled for a quarter hour on how the timebase had gotten   
   set up on a fancy Fluke counter.   We ended up just ignoring the absolute   
   values (which seemed to indicate an odd gate time) and looking at ratios.   
      
   My recommendation: try before you buy, the most amazing awkwardnesses   
   show up in these digital boxes, and a test instrument ought NOT ever be   
   awkward.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)