Testing and specification of environmental sensitivities in cesium and precision quartz signal sources

The stability of a precision timing signal source under the influence of environmental perturbation is discussed as a key performance parameter. The testing of this performance is important from a system design perspective: the user must define the tests to reflect the actual environment, and the designer must optimize the equipment to provide maximum performance margin. A defined framework for environmental test methods is considered necessary which can be tailored as required to meet program test needs