Re: [time-nuts] Us Time Nuts and... Wrist Watches.
On 26/12/2010, shali...@gmail.com shali...@gmail.com wrote: My favorite watches all use the 7T32 calibre from Seiko. I have 4 at the moment. This calibre is quite accurate enough (the drift is minimum, considering this quartz analog has to be readjusted every 2 months anyway (calendar is 31 days/month). It has a second hand, calendar, a very convenient alarm and also stopwatch functions, in a very elegant package. It is the only quartz analog watch I know that has 3 buttons and two crowns, so the user interface is quite friendly. I have never actually measured the drift rate, but it would be interesting to compare the four and see how well they track each others. My Seiko uses the 7T34 calibre and was 3 seconds slow in it's first year some 25 years ago. I don't have an exact current figure but it's running 8 seconds slow after having a battery replaced about a year ago. Now you have prompted me I will set it and record the drift accurately. What's more it has a slide rule bezel and I'm sure I'm not the only time-nut who is into slide rules. Steve Didier KO4BB Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -Original Message- From: Michael Poulos poulo...@gmail.com Sender: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:00:53 To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurementtime-nuts@febo.com Reply-To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@febo.com Subject: [time-nuts] Us Time Nuts and... Wrist Watches. We all enjoy good accurate time keeping. :) What is your favorite watch? My watch (so far) is a Casio WaveCeptor digital watch that gets the WWVB signal and calibrates itself that I bought for $50 at a WalMart - the price of one Chicago parking ticket. Less than half a second off at any time, it is plenty accurate. The one exact drawback is that during night driving, you can't read it when you need to check the time. The lesser drawback is that it is not dressy. A nice dressy radio controlled watch would be that Citizen EcoDrive watch shown on those adverts during football games. If it has glow in the dark hands and 5 minute markers it would be great if expensive. So, let's have it with the best watch for a time nut! (not including Tom van Baak's REAL atomic watch) ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. -- Steve Rooke - ZL3TUV G8KVD The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. - Einstein ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Us Time Nuts and... Wrist Watches.
On 26/12/2010, Steve Rooke sar10...@gmail.com wrote: On 26/12/2010, shali...@gmail.com shali...@gmail.com wrote: My favorite watches all use the 7T32 calibre from Seiko. I have 4 at the moment. This calibre is quite accurate enough (the drift is minimum, considering this quartz analog has to be readjusted every 2 months anyway (calendar is 31 days/month). It has a second hand, calendar, a very convenient alarm and also stopwatch functions, in a very elegant package. It is the only quartz analog watch I know that has 3 buttons and two crowns, so the user interface is quite friendly. I have never actually measured the drift rate, but it would be interesting to compare the four and see how well they track each others. My Seiko uses the 7T34 calibre and was 3 seconds slow in it's first year some 25 years ago. I don't have an exact current figure but it's running 8 seconds slow after having a battery replaced about a year ago. Now you have prompted me I will set it and record the drift accurately. Although, of course, I would have changed the time on it back in October (duh!) when we went to NZ Summer Time down here so that 8 seconds may be the drift in the last 2 months. Steve What's more it has a slide rule bezel and I'm sure I'm not the only time-nut who is into slide rules. Steve Didier KO4BB Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -Original Message- From: Michael Poulos poulo...@gmail.com Sender: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:00:53 To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurementtime-nuts@febo.com Reply-To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@febo.com Subject: [time-nuts] Us Time Nuts and... Wrist Watches. We all enjoy good accurate time keeping. :) What is your favorite watch? My watch (so far) is a Casio WaveCeptor digital watch that gets the WWVB signal and calibrates itself that I bought for $50 at a WalMart - the price of one Chicago parking ticket. Less than half a second off at any time, it is plenty accurate. The one exact drawback is that during night driving, you can't read it when you need to check the time. The lesser drawback is that it is not dressy. A nice dressy radio controlled watch would be that Citizen EcoDrive watch shown on those adverts during football games. If it has glow in the dark hands and 5 minute markers it would be great if expensive. So, let's have it with the best watch for a time nut! (not including Tom van Baak's REAL atomic watch) ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. -- Steve Rooke - ZL3TUV G8KVD The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. - Einstein -- Steve Rooke - ZL3TUV G8KVD The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. - Einstein ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Us Time Nuts and... Wrist Watches.
I like my Suunto Vector Wrist Computer. It's the Swiss Army knife of watches. Has Date, Time, Alarms, stopwatch, etc plus barometer, altimeter, thermometer, bubble level . . . . [1]http://www.prc68.com/I/Watch-Real-Fake.shtml#SVWC - watch [2]http://www.prc68.com/I/PT.html - Swiss Army Knife I had (actually, still have in a drawer somewhere), a Suunto Vector. It's a great geek watch, but didn't find it to be a great Time Nut watch. The graphic seconds indicator around the limb of the watch has a funky pattern that it goes through as the number of pixels around the periphery doesn't divide into 60 (Suunto says this is to make it a better compass). Also, you can reset the second display to zero, but you can't set the actual zero time, so you can't set the watch to better than +/- 0.5 sec. And, it doesn't have WWVB capability. I replaced it with the Casio Pathfinder. It has all the geek functions of the Suunto (altimeter, barometer, compass, etc), plus adds the WWVB, MSF, DFC77, JJY self-setting capability. I've found it to hold good time when it hasn't set. It's also quite rugged and holds up well to an active lifestyle. For the astro-geek time nut, I like the Emerald Time app for the iPod Touch/iPhone. I wish they made real watches like these! -- ~~ Col Keith E. Brandt, MD, MPH [3]keith.bra...@gmail.com The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him -- G. K. Chesterton *This message transmitted with 100% recycled electrons -- ~~ Col Keith E. Brandt, MD, MPH [4]wd9...@amsat.org Goodbye cruel world that was my home- there's cleaner space out here to roam Put my feet up on the moons of Mars- sit back, relax, and count the stars *This message transmitted with 100% recycled electrons References 1. http://www.prc68.com/I/Watch-Real-Fake.shtml#SVWC 2. http://www.prc68.com/I/PT.html 3. mailto:keith.bra...@gmail.com 4. mailto:wd9...@amsat.org ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
[time-nuts] Burst mode TADD-2 divider modification?
Fellow time-nuts, To support the kind of burst measurements I am playing around with it would be good to be able to generate bursts of transitions rather than even clocks. Depending on the counter it may be simple (say using a HP5372A) or a little more difficult (DTS 2070C). Creating a burst of 10 kHz transitions for 10 or 100 ms should be possible to do in the PIC code with some hacking. Similarly creating a burst of 5 or 10 MHz clocks for 1 ms should not be too hard by sniffing the clock after the input shaper and the enable pulse from the PIC. I thought I would bounce this and see if people have any ideas other than mine... anyone else interest... Cheers, Magnus ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Us Time Nuts and... Wrist Watches.
I have a 1991 vintage Rolex GMT-II that I wear daily and it stays within about 2.4 sec/day fast averaged over a 2 week period. I had a local watchmaker mess with it to get it that close, which considering a mechanical movement and variations in temperature, barometric pressure, differing orientation and so on is pretty good. But my real time-nut piece is a 1978 vintage gold Rolex Submariner that I inherited from my father. That thing is a total fluke and keeps almost perfect time: it will still be within 1 second of my 5065A after 30+ days. It really needs to be serviced as the seals have started to leak and the face is discoloring around the edges - I'm scared to even wear it in the shower anymore, but I REALLY don't want the timing messed with. It'll never be it that close again. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Burst mode TADD-2 divider modification?
Magnus Danielson wrote: Fellow time-nuts, To support the kind of burst measurements I am playing around with it would be good to be able to generate bursts of transitions rather than even clocks. Depending on the counter it may be simple (say using a HP5372A) or a little more difficult (DTS 2070C). Creating a burst of 10 kHz transitions for 10 or 100 ms should be possible to do in the PIC code with some hacking. Similarly creating a burst of 5 or 10 MHz clocks for 1 ms should not be too hard by sniffing the clock after the input shaper and the enable pulse from the PIC. I thought I would bounce this and see if people have any ideas other than mine... anyone else interest... Cheers, Magnus Since an external gate is required to implement the 5/10MHz clock burst it would be simpler to have a selectable pulse width for say the PPS output and use this to gate either the 5MHz/10MHz or 10kHz as required. Bruce ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Us Time Nuts and... Wrist Watches.
Right now my favorite watch is a $13.99 U.S. Time military style watch that was made in China. I replaced the band with one that I like better so I guess maybe it's worth $14.99 now. It keeps pretty good time (better than Harrison's clocks but that's not really hard with a quartz oscillator), takes a beating with my day to day and it's cheap enough that I don't care about scratches although I don't seem to have any major ones. I generally don't care about what time is it now? time as much as intervals, and this thing has a second hand for when I need to measure huge intervals with low precision! http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=9981tabid=548 -Bob On Sun, Dec 26, 2010 at 1:16 PM, Chris Erickson erickso...@comcast.netwrote: I have a 1991 vintage Rolex GMT-II that I wear daily and it stays within about 2.4 sec/day fast averaged over a 2 week period. I had a local watchmaker mess with it to get it that close, which considering a mechanical movement and variations in temperature, barometric pressure, differing orientation and so on is pretty good. But my real time-nut piece is a 1978 vintage gold Rolex Submariner that I inherited from my father. That thing is a total fluke and keeps almost perfect time: it will still be within 1 second of my 5065A after 30+ days. It really needs to be serviced as the seals have started to leak and the face is discoloring around the edges - I'm scared to even wear it in the shower anymore, but I REALLY don't want the timing messed with. It'll never be it that close again. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Burst mode TADD-2 divider modification?
Bruce Griffiths wrote: Magnus Danielson wrote: Fellow time-nuts, To support the kind of burst measurements I am playing around with it would be good to be able to generate bursts of transitions rather than even clocks. Depending on the counter it may be simple (say using a HP5372A) or a little more difficult (DTS 2070C). Creating a burst of 10 kHz transitions for 10 or 100 ms should be possible to do in the PIC code with some hacking. Similarly creating a burst of 5 or 10 MHz clocks for 1 ms should not be too hard by sniffing the clock after the input shaper and the enable pulse from the PIC. I thought I would bounce this and see if people have any ideas other than mine... anyone else interest... Cheers, Magnus Since an external gate is required to implement the 5/10MHz clock burst it would be simpler to have a selectable pulse width for say the PPS output and use this to gate either the 5MHz/10MHz or 10kHz as required. Bruce A simple external circuit accomplish this would use an octal gated D flipflop (74AC377) plus a quad NOR gate (74AC02). For a 100ms burst every second connect 10PPS to the enable input of the 377, clock the 377 with the 10MHz signal, wire the 377 as a 2 bit gated shift register with the shift register input connected to PPS and use the output of the second stage of the shift register to gate the 10MHz output using the NOR gate (remember to invert the shift register output first). Bruce ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Burst mode TADD-2 divider modification?
Bruce Griffiths wrote: Bruce Griffiths wrote: Magnus Danielson wrote: Fellow time-nuts, To support the kind of burst measurements I am playing around with it would be good to be able to generate bursts of transitions rather than even clocks. Depending on the counter it may be simple (say using a HP5372A) or a little more difficult (DTS 2070C). Creating a burst of 10 kHz transitions for 10 or 100 ms should be possible to do in the PIC code with some hacking. Similarly creating a burst of 5 or 10 MHz clocks for 1 ms should not be too hard by sniffing the clock after the input shaper and the enable pulse from the PIC. I thought I would bounce this and see if people have any ideas other than mine... anyone else interest... Cheers, Magnus Since an external gate is required to implement the 5/10MHz clock burst it would be simpler to have a selectable pulse width for say the PPS output and use this to gate either the 5MHz/10MHz or 10kHz as required. Bruce A simple external circuit accomplish this would use an octal gated D flipflop (74AC377) plus a quad NOR gate (74AC02). For a 100ms burst every second connect 10PPS to the enable input of the 377, clock the 377 with the 10MHz signal, wire the 377 as a 2 bit gated shift register with the shift register input connected to PPS and use the output of the second stage of the shift register to gate the 10MHz output using the NOR gate (remember to invert the shift register output first). Bruce Correction: make that a 3 input NOR and use the output of both the first and second stages of the 2 bit shift register to gate the clock. BURST = SR(0)*/SR(1)*/CLK If one wants a burst of 10kHz pulses, invert the 10KHz signal and use this to clock the 2 bit gated shift register Bruce ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
[time-nuts] HP 54100 scope eproms images to Diddiers site Ko4bb
Though I have a bad eprom and its unclear which one. I have uploaded the eprom images to Diddiers site. Much of the 54100 still works just need to stay clear of some functions that lock the scope up. Not perfect but better then nothing. Also have to say the HP service manuals not great. Change the eproms till it works. There you go. It would be nice if the trouble code gave you a clue as to which of the 12 eproms it is. Can still compare timebases with the scope. Regards Paul WB8TSL ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
[time-nuts] Advice on a freq time standard.
I am looking for a time/frequency standard for use with my ham radio and test equipment. There seem to be several surplus units available at inexpensive prices. I bought a Z3801A/58503A which would have meet my needs but had to return it when I found that the firmware would not control the outer oven. I am seeing Z3816A's and Tbird units that seem to be readily available at reasonable prices and I am wondering if I need to continue to look for a Z3801A with the HP 10811 OCXO or if either the Z3816A or the Tbird unit would be a good replacement to generate a 10 MHz signal with a 10 -12 spec locked to the GPS satellites. If either of these two are acceptable which is the best and are there any gotchas to look out for. Reading this group is being very informative and I would appreciate any suggestion. Thanks, Jerry W5RCQ ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] HP 54100 scope eproms images to Diddiers site Ko4bb
Don't guess it would help if I open my HP 54501A and backup the eproms ? Stanley - Original Message From: paul swed paulsw...@gmail.com To: Time-nuts time-nuts@febo.com Sent: Sun, December 26, 2010 4:24:45 PM Subject: [time-nuts] HP 54100 scope eproms images to Diddiers site Ko4bb Though I have a bad eprom and its unclear which one. I have uploaded the eprom images to Diddiers site. Much of the 54100 still works just need to stay clear of some functions that lock the scope up. Not perfect but better then nothing. Also have to say the HP service manuals not great. Change the eproms till it works. There you go. It would be nice if the trouble code gave you a clue as to which of the 12 eproms it is. Can still compare timebases with the scope. Regards Paul WB8TSL ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Advice on a freq time standard.
Hi Jerry, I use a Tbolt for my shack standard. It locks my Kenwood TS-850 and all my counters and signal generators. They are excellent units for this job. I use the TAPR TADD-2 distribution board kits to distribute the signal to each device. http://www.tapr.org/kits_tadd-2.html I also have the Trimble hooked up to an old pc along with the PPS signal to provide a Stratum 1 clock reference for my computers. I also have a rubidium standard locking my Icom IC-910. This is a portable unit that I use in the field. You can read more about it here http://bmarc.org/TechCorner/locking-icom-ic-910-rubidium-standard regards Tim -- VK2XTT :: QF56if :: BMARC :: WIA :: AMSAT-VK :: AMSAT ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Advice on a freq time standard.
Jerry-- We'll be happy to give you advice, and that advice will be worth every penny you've paid for it! Some of us on the list find a GPSDO (such as a thunderbolt, or Z3801A/58503A) quite adequate for providing time and frequency for racks of test gear. Add a distribution amp (such as the TAPR one) and you can serve 10 MHZ to lots of gear. With something like a tbolt and the Lady Heather program running on a spare PC, you'll have not only disciplined frequency, but a good time standard as well. You didn't say what you wanted to do as far as the ham gear was concerned. If it's providing a frequency standard to gear in the shack, a GPSDO should work well; one caveat being who wins when you transmit on the low bands such as 40 and 20 meters and RF is wandering about the shack. If you're looking for something to stabilize your 10 GHz and higher bricks while on mountain tops, a different answer may be better. I'll call myself a novice-time-nut, and offer my suggestion that a rubidium may be better for that kind of use, as once it warms up it will be on frequency and stay there; that warmup time is on the order of minutes, compared to the half hour or more for a GPSDO to figure things out. You could keep the rubidium trimmed with the shack GPSDO so it's pretty close when you need to haul it. As with ham radio, the price ranges associated with different levels of advice vary substantially. Watching the crazies on eBay can get you a good used rubidium for under $100, and a thunderbolt for about the same, or less if you're lucky. Then again, your own cesium standard might be nice... Don't know how it's going to interact with the Henry 4K in the corner of the room, but that's what makes these hobbies fun, right? 73 bob k6rtm in not yet raining again silicon valley -- Message: 8 Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:56:33 -0700 From: Jerry jreed...@cox.net Subject: [time-nuts] Advice on a freq time standard. To: time-nuts@febo.com Message-ID: aanlktimqkro7qfo+ef8ibyfdpkg-ht=won8c+nba7...@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 I am looking for a time/frequency standard for use with my ham radio and test equipment. There seem to be several surplus units available at inexpensive prices. I bought a Z3801A/58503A which would have meet my needs but had to return it when I found that the firmware would not control the outer oven. I am seeing Z3816A's and Tbird units that seem to be readily available at reasonable prices and I am wondering if I need to continue to look for a Z3801A with the HP 10811 OCXO or if either the Z3816A or the Tbird unit would be a good replacement to generate a 10 MHz signal with a 10 -12 spec locked to the GPS satellites. If either of these two are acceptable which is the best and are there any gotchas to look out for. Reading this group is being very informative and I would appreciate any suggestion. Thanks, Jerry W5RCQ -- ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] HP 54100 scope eproms images to Diddiers site Ko4bb
Stanley might be a very good idea. The 54100s were dated 1984 and by golly thats kind of the life expectancy of a eprom. Granted if I erased and reprogrammed them they would be good for quite a while. Unfortunately though I have been capturing the eproms of new gear I have picked up and putting them on Diddiers site, I kind of did not go into this particular unit. Sloppy I started gathering this info when I purchased a nice modern usb eprom programmer a year ago. Makes it all very easy. I suppose the only real excuse I have is I dislike messing with working older equipment. Cause more trouble that way. Good news is the 54100 does work but there are 3 functions I need to stay clear of. Two I can recover from by powering off. The 3rd was a real tough one. Had to pull the memory board and let the charge drain off so it was very very reset. Won't be trying that function again. But the scope basics are indeed still all there. Trigger timbase verticals etc. Just missing several fancy functions that I actually never used. So a 54501 must be a really nice scope I will have to look it up. Only other thing is that the 54100 service manually really does not help you find the bad eprom out of the 12 in the unit. Though I have a hunch. These special functions may live in the last 2 eproms. I may simply pull them and see what happens. Regards Paul. On Sun, Dec 26, 2010 at 7:00 PM, Stanley Reynolds stanley_reyno...@yahoo.com wrote: Don't guess it would help if I open my HP 54501A and backup the eproms ? Stanley - Original Message From: paul swed paulsw...@gmail.com To: Time-nuts time-nuts@febo.com Sent: Sun, December 26, 2010 4:24:45 PM Subject: [time-nuts] HP 54100 scope eproms images to Diddiers site Ko4bb Though I have a bad eprom and its unclear which one. I have uploaded the eprom images to Diddiers site. Much of the 54100 still works just need to stay clear of some functions that lock the scope up. Not perfect but better then nothing. Also have to say the HP service manuals not great. Change the eproms till it works. There you go. It would be nice if the trouble code gave you a clue as to which of the 12 eproms it is. Can still compare timebases with the scope. Regards Paul WB8TSL ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Advice on a freq time standard.
On 12/27/2010 01:54 AM, Tim Tuck wrote: Hi Jerry, I use a Tbolt for my shack standard. It locks my Kenwood TS-850 and all my counters and signal generators. They are excellent units for this job. I use the TAPR TADD-2 distribution board kits to distribute the signal to each device. http://www.tapr.org/kits_tadd-2.html Um, the TADD-3 is the distribution amp, the TADD-2 is a PIC-based divider, which I use myself. The Thunderbolt is a nice GPSDO so it should fit your needs. The Z3801A is also not a bad choice if it behaves. Cheers, Magnus ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Advice on a freq time standard.
On 27/12/2010 12:40, Magnus Danielson wrote: [ snip] Um, the TADD-3 is the distribution amp, the TADD-2 is a PIC-based divider, which I use myself. yup, my bad copied the wrong URL without looking too closely :) should have been this url for 10 mhz dist... http://www.tapr.org/kits_tadd-1.html cheers Tim -- VK2XTT :: QF56if :: BMARC :: WIA :: AMSAT-VK :: AMSAT ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Advice on a freq time standard.
Jerry, I have both and they work very well. There are programs available to monitor both the TBolt and the Z3816A. The Z3816A has an LED on the front panel to announce when it is 'locked' while the TBolt does not, thus the ability to get some information about the 'quality' of the signal without a computer. There is a small external LED monitor that is available on the Bay (300373959536) to connect to the TBolt to alleviate the need for a computer. No connection to the seller except a satisfied customer. Both communicate via an RS232 serial port. The Z3805A is also on the Bay and also communicates via an RS232 serial port although you will need to build a DB25 to DB9 adapter. You might want to look at http://www.realhamradio.com/ for a comparison of the Z3801A and the Z3816A. The oscillator for the Z3816A and the Z3805A is the same. I have used them as reference standards for my workshop but not for the ham shack. The TBolt requires +12 VDC, -12 VDC, and +5 VDC where the Z3816A requires about +24 VDC. Either way you cut it, to go portable, you will need some extra equipment. I suspect it is easier to build a +12 VDC supply for the TBolt than the Z3816A. As long as the antenna is stationary, the signal should be good once it is 'locked'. In a 'new' location, this can take upwards of an hour. In my shop, it is about 20 minutes. The Z3816A is a bit smaller than the Z3805A but a similar package and relatively easy to rack mount. The TBolt is a 'modular' item and could be incorporated in a box that includes a power supply and the LED monitor. Ideally, it could be a 12 VDC/120 VAC supply with connections to allow an external computer or the internal LED monitor to function. (I wonder if you could have both active at the same time?) This has been a plan of mine for 'a while' but not in action yet. Hope this helps. Joe -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Jerry Sent: Sunday, December 26, 2010 5:57 PM To: time-nuts@febo.com Subject: [time-nuts] Advice on a freq time standard. I am looking for a time/frequency standard for use with my ham radio and test equipment. There seem to be several surplus units available at inexpensive prices. I bought a Z3801A/58503A which would have meet my needs but had to return it when I found that the firmware would not control the outer oven. I am seeing Z3816A's and Tbird units that seem to be readily available at reasonable prices and I am wondering if I need to continue to look for a Z3801A with the HP 10811 OCXO or if either the Z3816A or the Tbird unit would be a good replacement to generate a 10 MHz signal with a 10 -12 spec locked to the GPS satellites. If either of these two are acceptable which is the best and are there any gotchas to look out for. Reading this group is being very informative and I would appreciate any suggestion. Thanks, Jerry W5RCQ ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] HP5370B anomaly
Magnus Danielson wrote: Fellow Time-nuts, When measuring a pair of OSA 8600 oscillators with a HP5370B I see an oscillating behaviour. It's a stable variation of about 5,5 s. I have tried different settings but no luck. I've used the PPS as start and as External Arming. Very stable pattern. None of the other counters show the same pattern for the same signal sources, Have any other time-nut any good idea what it is? Cheers, Magnus Is it present when one 8600 is measured against itself? ie use one 8600 to drive both start and stop inputs with PPS derived from it as the external arm input. If not present in this case then the effect may be due to a periodic linearity error in the 5370B. Bruce ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] HP5370B anomaly
On 12/27/2010 05:01 AM, Bruce Griffiths wrote: Magnus Danielson wrote: Fellow Time-nuts, When measuring a pair of OSA 8600 oscillators with a HP5370B I see an oscillating behaviour. It's a stable variation of about 5,5 s. I have tried different settings but no luck. I've used the PPS as start and as External Arming. Very stable pattern. None of the other counters show the same pattern for the same signal sources, Have any other time-nut any good idea what it is? Cheers, Magnus Is it present when one 8600 is measured against itself? ie use one 8600 to drive both start and stop inputs with PPS derived from it as the external arm input. If not present in this case then the effect may be due to a periodic linearity error in the 5370B. Considering that: 1) I've measured the same signals on similar or higher performance counters and not seen it with those units. 2) The frequency difference is so low that I do not experience a phase-wrap for the 2476 s long measurement run. 3) The phase slope is much lower than the amplitude of the oscillation, so the linearity error can be ruled out completely. 4) The amplitude is stable and does not change with the slope. 5) The unit does not have the 5 MHz noise as I disabled that feature. I do howver realize that the START and STOP channels blinks at a fairly high rate. These LEDs are driven with signals coming from the A22 board, where all the critical timing also passes by... will try to figure out a way to handle it, but right now it severely degrades the performance of my HP5370B. I think I discovered the effect at least, with a suspect mechanism for it. It would be nice if others would see if they could achieve the same effect. Cheers, Magnus ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
[time-nuts] Datum Starrloc II
Sorry to bug the list, but I don't see a way to search the archives. I have a Datum Starloc II. It seems to run under the Thunderbolt Monitor and Lady Heather, but the oven temperature isn't sensed correctly. I can tell the oven is working since it is warm. However, the temperature never varies from 30 deg C. Lady Heather has better resolution than Thunberbolt Monitor, and I can't believe the temperature isn't changing one millidegree C. ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] HP5370B anomaly
Magnus Danielson wrote: On 12/27/2010 05:01 AM, Bruce Griffiths wrote: Magnus Danielson wrote: Fellow Time-nuts, When measuring a pair of OSA 8600 oscillators with a HP5370B I see an oscillating behaviour. It's a stable variation of about 5,5 s. I have tried different settings but no luck. I've used the PPS as start and as External Arming. Very stable pattern. None of the other counters show the same pattern for the same signal sources, Have any other time-nut any good idea what it is? Cheers, Magnus Is it present when one 8600 is measured against itself? ie use one 8600 to drive both start and stop inputs with PPS derived from it as the external arm input. If not present in this case then the effect may be due to a periodic linearity error in the 5370B. Considering that: 1) I've measured the same signals on similar or higher performance counters and not seen it with those units. 2) The frequency difference is so low that I do not experience a phase-wrap for the 2476 s long measurement run. 3) The phase slope is much lower than the amplitude of the oscillation, so the linearity error can be ruled out completely. Why? What about a periodic effect due to crosstalk at the interpolator mixer FFs inputs? 4) The amplitude is stable and does not change with the slope. 5) The unit does not have the 5 MHz noise as I disabled that feature. I do howver realize that the START and STOP channels blinks at a fairly high rate. These LEDs are driven with signals coming from the A22 board, where all the critical timing also passes by... will try to figure out a way to handle it, but right now it severely degrades the performance of my HP5370B. I think I discovered the effect at least, with a suspect mechanism for it. You suspect the LED drive signal? It would be nice if others would see if they could achieve the same effect. Cheers, Magnus What is the amplitude of the effect? How good a source pair is required to see it? Bruce ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] Burst mode TADD-2 divider modification?
Bruce Griffiths wrote: Bruce Griffiths wrote: Bruce Griffiths wrote: Magnus Danielson wrote: Fellow time-nuts, To support the kind of burst measurements I am playing around with it would be good to be able to generate bursts of transitions rather than even clocks. Depending on the counter it may be simple (say using a HP5372A) or a little more difficult (DTS 2070C). Creating a burst of 10 kHz transitions for 10 or 100 ms should be possible to do in the PIC code with some hacking. Similarly creating a burst of 5 or 10 MHz clocks for 1 ms should not be too hard by sniffing the clock after the input shaper and the enable pulse from the PIC. I thought I would bounce this and see if people have any ideas other than mine... anyone else interest... Cheers, Magnus Since an external gate is required to implement the 5/10MHz clock burst it would be simpler to have a selectable pulse width for say the PPS output and use this to gate either the 5MHz/10MHz or 10kHz as required. Bruce A simple external circuit accomplish this would use an octal gated D flipflop (74AC377) plus a quad NOR gate (74AC02). For a 100ms burst every second connect 10PPS to the enable input of the 377, clock the 377 with the 10MHz signal, wire the 377 as a 2 bit gated shift register with the shift register input connected to PPS and use the output of the second stage of the shift register to gate the 10MHz output using the NOR gate (remember to invert the shift register output first). Bruce Correction: make that a 3 input NOR and use the output of both the first and second stages of the 2 bit shift register to gate the clock. BURST = SR(0)*/SR(1)*/CLK If one wants a burst of 10kHz pulses, invert the 10KHz signal and use this to clock the 2 bit gated shift register Bruce Oops the 10PPS signal is 50ms wide not 100ns. Use a 74AHC164 clocked by the 10PPS signal and use a 3 input NOR gate to generate a 100s burst of a 10kHz clock as follows: BURST_CLK = SR(0)*/SR(1)*/10KHZ Where SR(0) is the output of the first shift register stage and Q(1) is the output of the second shift register stage. The fastidious can use a 74AHC74 or similar to resync the burst clock with the 10MHz input signal. Bruce ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
Re: [time-nuts] how to open a Trimble mushroom ?
On 26/12/10 06:47, Hal Murray wrote: Seem to recall they may be rs422. Trimble has/had at least 2 units like that: Palisade and Acutime. There have been several variations of the Acutime. So I can't just plug a Palisade into an Acutime rack? ___ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
