In time/frequency counters/analyzers in technical specifications you can almost always find resolution and digits per second values next to each other. What is the difference?
What's the difference between measurement resolution and digits per second in time measuring devices
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3\$\begingroup\$ Give an example. "Digits per second" doesn't sound right. \$\endgroup\$– TransistorDec 13, 2017 at 20:13
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\$\begingroup\$ Digits has nothing to do with resolution, resolution does. \$\endgroup\$– Voltage Spike ♦Dec 13, 2017 at 20:25
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1\$\begingroup\$ @Transistor pendulum.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/… it s confusing to me too \$\endgroup\$– Trevor_GDec 13, 2017 at 20:44
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\$\begingroup\$ @Trevor Huh... what do you know? There is a thing called "Digits/second"... -looks up digits per second on Google-... AH HA! You're talking about "Symbols per second" or "baud/sample rate". \$\endgroup\$– user103380Dec 13, 2017 at 20:51
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1\$\begingroup\$ @glen_geek nope, in any case of a spectral estimator (like the FFT), you'd get variance in your estimation – so, no, there's no free lunch, and you can't get 12 significant digits with a clock source only exact to (at most, with the most expensive add-on) 9 digits. \$\endgroup\$– Marcus MüllerDec 13, 2017 at 22:35
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1 Answer
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Carmel Instruments products page for time interval analyzers / frequency counters explains it as follows:
Freq. Resolution - The resolution for Frequency Average and Period Average functions is dependent on the single-shot time resolution and the duration of the measurement (effective gate time). It is easier to specify it as a number of digits per second. For example, 12 digits/s means that you will get 12 digits of frequency resolution with a 1 second gate time, or 9 digits in 1 millisecond. If the signal input is 1 MHz, 9 digits of resolution translates to 0.001 Hz resolution.
So some of the comments were on the right track. I note that this specification gives no indication of accuracy and, as posted in the comments.
Back to your question:
What's the difference between measurement resolution and digits per second in time measurement devices?
According to Carmel there isn't a difference other than it is easier to relate meter resolution to time interval when using digits per second.
answered Dec 14, 2017 at 19:45
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\$\begingroup\$ You're right. I must have missed that information while reading their page. Thank you very much. \$\endgroup\$– LukeDec 14, 2017 at 19:54