The complete crystal replacement?

Thanks for the feedback on the Si5351 as a replacement for crystals. 

It would appear that a low cost micro-controller has to be put alongside the Si5351 synthesiser. I wonder if anyone has a complete solution designed and tested. Also, what about programming?

It would seem that there is a real need for a simple KISS way to replace crystals, so I'd be surprised if someone has not already done this. According to Peter Marks the controller should only be a few dollars. This feedback (that you have to tell the Si5351 the frequency every time) is also what Jay told me.

It looks like a total solution that also replaces the oscillator should be possible for under $10.

Please let me know of any links.

Low cost crystals

Steve G1KQH recently pointed me to a supplier of crystals in the USA which should be suitable for my latest FT8 RX project. 

I ordered some last night. At $1.50 each they are excellent value and they have already been dispatched. As international shipping costs were high I ordered 4 of them.  It is not clear how these will come, but it gives me plenty of time for building if these come by sea.

Even with shipping they are good value. I hope I don't get stung for duty and VAT.

See https://kc9on.com/product/14mhz-hc49u-tall-crystals/ .

Crystal replacements

It is a very long time since I was fit enough to do serious project building work, but I know that buying crystals, unless you are buying very common frequencies, is expensive. Many now use synthesised sources instead as this can be much less expensive. Sadly, health issues have precluded me doing my own experiments. At one time, synthesised sources could be noisy, although I expect things have improved in the last 10 years. If you have used synthesised "crystal replacements" I'd be interested to hear what good solutions there are now.

Many years ago, I had ideas for a low cost 10m DSB rig. With the sunspot count likely to soon be on the up, perhaps it is time to dust this off.

Crystals

Often people want to buy crystals, but find these very expensive these days. There are alternative ways of getting specific frequencies these days using synthesiser chips, but some crystal frequencies can still be obtained inexpensively. GQRP club has a good range at reasonable prices (especially crystals for QRP frequencies) but Kanga UK also do a good range.

Quartz crystal suppliers in the UK

Recently I wanted to buy a couple of non-standard crystals for a VLF project with the crystal divided down using a 4060 divider. After asking other people for advice it looks like Quartslab can provide the service.  Individual crystals range from around £12-14 depending on frequency and type.

This is not cheap, but at least they can offer the low quantity service. There is a minimum order charge of £22.29,  so I will probably order a couple of crystals for 4.59264MHz to give me a stable signal on 8.970kHz when divided by 512.  The company contact is Dave Hayes G4AKY 020 7100 6357.