Re: [time-nuts] TV Signals as a frequency reference

[Chris Waldrup]

When the transition to digital only happened, I happened to ask a ham friend 
who was chief engineer at the local Fox station what they were doing with all 
their gear. He said probably taking it to a hamfest. 
I said if you chuck your rubidium or cesium standard let me know. He started 
laughing and said we don’t have anything that precision, you’d be lucky for it 
to be a TCXO. 

Chris
KD4PBJ

> On Mar 31, 2018, at 9:46 AM, jimlux  wrote:
> 
> On 3/30/18 10:43 PM, Hal Murray wrote:
>>> As noted earlier, color burst references were a big deal a long time ago.
>> Thanks.  I was fishing for something modern, maybe a bit clock out of the
>> digital receiver.
>> I'm assuming that the digital stream is locked to the carrier.  That may not
>> be correct.
> Maybe locked, but probably not in a 'integer number of cycles per symbol' 
> sense, more in the "derived from the same master 10 MHz reference" sense.
> 
> All stations use the same data rates, but have different carrier frequencies, 
> and the carrier frequencies are the same ones we've always had, which don't 
> necessarily have nice ratios between them.
> 
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Re: [time-nuts] Thunderbolt question

[Chris Waldrup]

Thanks everyone. This has given me a lot of things to check as I further 
investigate over the next few evenings. I'll let you know what I find. 

Chris 

> On Aug 5, 2017, at 3:07 PM, Charles Steinmetz  wrote:
> 
> Arthur wrote:
> 
>> I’d say it would be an MMIC amp similar to this device  [Avago MGA-87563]
> 
> If a chip similar to the Avago part Arthur referenced is what is installed, 
> which seems plausible, the 0.749v on the RF input (Pin 3) is a fault and is 
> caused by an external source of voltage (3.417v) imposed on the RF output 
> (Pin 6) through the internal feedback resistor to Pin 3, attenuated by the 
> gate resistor.
> 
> Avago says this particular chip needs to have 0vDC at Pins 3 and 6, so if the 
> connected parts would impose any DC voltage on those pins, external blocking 
> capacitors must be used on Pins 3 and 6.  You might check to see if there are 
> blocking caps (at least at Pin 6), and if they are good.  (Alternatively, the 
> internal output capacitor from Pin 6 back to the output FET source may be 
> bad.)
> 
> Of course, don't expect a bad external cap to be the only other problem -- if 
> it is bad, the 6-pin amp may well be bad, as well as whatever is connected to 
> the other side of the cap.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Charles
> 
> 
> 
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Re: [time-nuts] Thunderbolt question

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,

I've changed the blown MMBT3904 in the antenna sense circuit and I still have 
no 5V to the antenna. I measure 0.5V DC on the F connector. 
There are two Murata filters (F2 and F3) on the RF path to the antenna. In 
between the two silver colored filters  is a 6 lead SOT package marked 51A. The 
PCB silkscreen says Q13. 
 I have measured the following voltages on this part:
Pin 1= 0v
Pin 2= 0v
Pin 3= 0.749V
Pin 4= 4.892v
Pin 5= 0v
Pin 6= 3.417v

The trace from pin 3 of this part goes to the F2 filter and the output of F2 
goes to the F connector. I'm getting 0.5V on the output of this filter.   I'm 
suspecting this Q13 part may be bad but I'm not sure what the part is. 
Searching the net for 51A marking came up with a large 2 pin shottky which this 
isn't. 

Chris
KD4PBJ

> On Aug 4, 2017, at 5:27 PM, Chris Waldrup <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Thanks guys. 
> I've opened up my T bolt and noticed a SOT23 packaged part has the top blown 
> off. 
> The PPS BNC jack has U19 beside it. 
> The next part is blown. Could someone take a closeup of the five parts around 
> U19?
> The intact parts are marked:
> 5Dz
> 1AM
> and two 2Az parts. 
> 
> 
> Chris
> 
>> On Aug 4, 2017, at 4:13 PM, Arthur Dent <golgarfrinc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Actually that isn't my photo I linked to but one I just Googled. That is
>> probably a board revision most people don't have but it was the first one
>> I saw so I used it just to show that the GPS receiver is part of the
>> only circuit board and not another easily replaceable board like in some
>> other units.
>> 
>> I just took a couple of photos of the later revision of the board for
>> anyone interested in seeing what might be fried. In the photo of the
>> top of the board the signal comes into a filter then to a 25db amp
>> marked AM50002 by Macom. Above the filter near the input is where the
>> decoupled +5VDC for the antenna is connected. If you are only reading
>> 0.5VDC, if your're lucky it might only be the amp is fried and that
>> could be an easy fix. If the 5VDC is ok with the amp input pin lifted,
>> it might be the only problem. I wouldn't bet on it though. The 4031 I
>> believe is a 1575.42 SAW filter
>> 
>> The photo of the bottom of the receiver area shows a Sawtek filter and
>> other parts. At the bottom of the photo is C460, a feedthrough capacitor
>> and that might be where the receiver output is but where my Tbolts are
>> working I don't feel the need to look into whether you could connect
>> the output of a seperate GPS receiver there to make it work.
>> 
>> I do have one Tbolt that has no oscillator. I brought the EFC and 10Mhz
>> connections to SMA connectors on the back so I can test other oscillators
>> or GPSDOs that don't have an easy way to monitor of graph the stability
>> of those units and using Lady Heather gives me a good way to compare the
>> graphs to ones I'm used to. You might possibly be able to replace the
>> built-in receiver but it might be easier to buy a working Thunderbolt.
>> 
>> 
>> http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac262/rjb1998/GPS%20top%201_zpslgxunnyw.jpg
>> 
>> http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac262/rjb1998/GPS%20bottom%201_zpschvruppt.jpg
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Re: [time-nuts] Closeup photo of Thunderbolt PCB around U19 needed- found

[Chris Waldrup]

Part is MMBT3904

> On Aug 4, 2017, at 5:39 PM, Chris Waldrup <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Sorry. Should have changed subject line before. Just changed it. 
> 
> The EEV blog link shows the transistors but it's too fuzzy to read SMT part 
> markings. If I can get a code I'll try and look it up online. 
> 
> Thank you. 
> 
> Chris
> 
>> On Aug 4, 2017, at 5:27 PM, Chris Waldrup <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Thanks guys. 
>> I've opened up my T bolt and noticed a SOT23 packaged part has the top blown 
>> off. 
>> The PPS BNC jack has U19 beside it. 
>> The next part is blown. Could someone take a closeup of the five parts 
>> around U19?
>> The intact parts are marked:
>> 5Dz
>> 1AM
>> and two 2Az parts. 
>> 
>> 
>> Chris
>> 
>>> On Aug 4, 2017, at 4:13 PM, Arthur Dent <golgarfrinc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Actually that isn't my photo I linked to but one I just Googled. That is
>>> probably a board revision most people don't have but it was the first one
>>> I saw so I used it just to show that the GPS receiver is part of the
>>> only circuit board and not another easily replaceable board like in some
>>> other units.
>>> 
>>> I just took a couple of photos of the later revision of the board for
>>> anyone interested in seeing what might be fried. In the photo of the
>>> top of the board the signal comes into a filter then to a 25db amp
>>> marked AM50002 by Macom. Above the filter near the input is where the
>>> decoupled +5VDC for the antenna is connected. If you are only reading
>>> 0.5VDC, if your're lucky it might only be the amp is fried and that
>>> could be an easy fix. If the 5VDC is ok with the amp input pin lifted,
>>> it might be the only problem. I wouldn't bet on it though. The 4031 I
>>> believe is a 1575.42 SAW filter
>>> 
>>> The photo of the bottom of the receiver area shows a Sawtek filter and
>>> other parts. At the bottom of the photo is C460, a feedthrough capacitor
>>> and that might be where the receiver output is but where my Tbolts are
>>> working I don't feel the need to look into whether you could connect
>>> the output of a seperate GPS receiver there to make it work.
>>> 
>>> I do have one Tbolt that has no oscillator. I brought the EFC and 10Mhz
>>> connections to SMA connectors on the back so I can test other oscillators
>>> or GPSDOs that don't have an easy way to monitor of graph the stability
>>> of those units and using Lady Heather gives me a good way to compare the
>>> graphs to ones I'm used to. You might possibly be able to replace the
>>> built-in receiver but it might be easier to buy a working Thunderbolt.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac262/rjb1998/GPS%20top%201_zpslgxunnyw.jpg
>>> 
>>> http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac262/rjb1998/GPS%20bottom%201_zpschvruppt.jpg
>>> ___
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[time-nuts] Closeup photo of Thunderbolt PCB around U19 needed

[Chris Waldrup]

Sorry. Should have changed subject line before. Just changed it. 

The EEV blog link shows the transistors but it's too fuzzy to read SMT part 
markings. If I can get a code I'll try and look it up online. 

Thank you. 

Chris

> On Aug 4, 2017, at 5:27 PM, Chris Waldrup <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Thanks guys. 
> I've opened up my T bolt and noticed a SOT23 packaged part has the top blown 
> off. 
> The PPS BNC jack has U19 beside it. 
> The next part is blown. Could someone take a closeup of the five parts around 
> U19?
> The intact parts are marked:
> 5Dz
> 1AM
> and two 2Az parts. 
> 
> 
> Chris
> 
>> On Aug 4, 2017, at 4:13 PM, Arthur Dent <golgarfrinc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Actually that isn't my photo I linked to but one I just Googled. That is
>> probably a board revision most people don't have but it was the first one
>> I saw so I used it just to show that the GPS receiver is part of the
>> only circuit board and not another easily replaceable board like in some
>> other units.
>> 
>> I just took a couple of photos of the later revision of the board for
>> anyone interested in seeing what might be fried. In the photo of the
>> top of the board the signal comes into a filter then to a 25db amp
>> marked AM50002 by Macom. Above the filter near the input is where the
>> decoupled +5VDC for the antenna is connected. If you are only reading
>> 0.5VDC, if your're lucky it might only be the amp is fried and that
>> could be an easy fix. If the 5VDC is ok with the amp input pin lifted,
>> it might be the only problem. I wouldn't bet on it though. The 4031 I
>> believe is a 1575.42 SAW filter
>> 
>> The photo of the bottom of the receiver area shows a Sawtek filter and
>> other parts. At the bottom of the photo is C460, a feedthrough capacitor
>> and that might be where the receiver output is but where my Tbolts are
>> working I don't feel the need to look into whether you could connect
>> the output of a seperate GPS receiver there to make it work.
>> 
>> I do have one Tbolt that has no oscillator. I brought the EFC and 10Mhz
>> connections to SMA connectors on the back so I can test other oscillators
>> or GPSDOs that don't have an easy way to monitor of graph the stability
>> of those units and using Lady Heather gives me a good way to compare the
>> graphs to ones I'm used to. You might possibly be able to replace the
>> built-in receiver but it might be easier to buy a working Thunderbolt.
>> 
>> 
>> http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac262/rjb1998/GPS%20top%201_zpslgxunnyw.jpg
>> 
>> http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac262/rjb1998/GPS%20bottom%201_zpschvruppt.jpg
>> ___
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Re: [time-nuts] Thunderbolt question

[Chris Waldrup]

Thanks guys. 
I've opened up my T bolt and noticed a SOT23 packaged part has the top blown 
off. 
The PPS BNC jack has U19 beside it. 
The next part is blown. Could someone take a closeup of the five parts around 
U19?
The intact parts are marked:
5Dz
1AM
and two 2Az parts. 


Chris

> On Aug 4, 2017, at 4:13 PM, Arthur Dent  wrote:
> 
> Actually that isn't my photo I linked to but one I just Googled. That is
> probably a board revision most people don't have but it was the first one
> I saw so I used it just to show that the GPS receiver is part of the
> only circuit board and not another easily replaceable board like in some
> other units.
> 
> I just took a couple of photos of the later revision of the board for
> anyone interested in seeing what might be fried. In the photo of the
> top of the board the signal comes into a filter then to a 25db amp
> marked AM50002 by Macom. Above the filter near the input is where the
> decoupled +5VDC for the antenna is connected. If you are only reading
> 0.5VDC, if your're lucky it might only be the amp is fried and that
> could be an easy fix. If the 5VDC is ok with the amp input pin lifted,
> it might be the only problem. I wouldn't bet on it though. The 4031 I
> believe is a 1575.42 SAW filter
> 
> The photo of the bottom of the receiver area shows a Sawtek filter and
> other parts. At the bottom of the photo is C460, a feedthrough capacitor
> and that might be where the receiver output is but where my Tbolts are
> working I don't feel the need to look into whether you could connect
> the output of a seperate GPS receiver there to make it work.
> 
> I do have one Tbolt that has no oscillator. I brought the EFC and 10Mhz
> connections to SMA connectors on the back so I can test other oscillators
> or GPSDOs that don't have an easy way to monitor of graph the stability
> of those units and using Lady Heather gives me a good way to compare the
> graphs to ones I'm used to. You might possibly be able to replace the
> built-in receiver but it might be easier to buy a working Thunderbolt.
> 
> 
> http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac262/rjb1998/GPS%20top%201_zpslgxunnyw.jpg
> 
> http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac262/rjb1998/GPS%20bottom%201_zpschvruppt.jpg
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Re: [time-nuts] Thunderbolt question

[Chris Waldrup]

Couldn't wait till morning on this as it was on my mind this evening. I 
unplugged the Thunderbolt from the wall and plugged it back in.  Immediately 
the frequency counter attached went from 9.. to zero then when it was 
powered back up went to the other side of 10 MHz at 10.000 and 
"Disciplining" came up on the control program. I measured the voltage on the 
coax and it was 0.5V. 
So no voltage out to antenna. I do have one of those 6V max polyphasers but we 
did get some really close strikes recently.
I've had to change the Oncore UT Plus receiver board once in my Datum Starloc 
II and it was easy. Hope this is a similar Motorola Oncore. I'll open it up 
tomorrow and see.   I need to find a better source of the Oncore UT Plus 
modules rather than waiting for the Chinese slow boat. 

Chris

> On Aug 3, 2017, at 10:21 PM, Chris Waldrup <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Thank you Didier. 
> I'll check tomorrow for further issues. 
> 
> Chris 
> 
>> On Aug 3, 2017, at 10:05 PM, Didier Juges <shali...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> "If the Thunderbolt loses satellites, does it still put out a 10 Mhz
>> signal?"
>> 
>> Yes of course. When that happens, the Thunderbolt is said to be in holdover.
>> 
>>> On Aug 3, 2017 9:29 PM, "Chris Waldrup" <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi,
>>> 
>>> I just noticed the laptop that is always connected to my Thunderbolt had a
>>> yellow block under COM1 on the Tboltmon program where it normally is green.
>>> Also the date up on the screen was in early July. Satellites were still
>>> shown.
>>> The counter I leave connected still shows a 10 Mhz output.
>>> I reset the program and this time all fields are ??? and com not detected.
>>> I had thought maybe the laptop hung up.
>>> I'll look at my system tomorrow. I'm trying to do a divide and conquer. If
>>> the Thunderbolt loses satellites, does it still put out a 10 Mhz signal?
>>> 
>>> Thank you.
>>> 
>>> Chris
>>> KD4PBJ
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Re: [time-nuts] Thunderbolt question

[Chris Waldrup]

Thank you Didier. 
I'll check tomorrow for further issues. 

Chris 

> On Aug 3, 2017, at 10:05 PM, Didier Juges <shali...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> "If the Thunderbolt loses satellites, does it still put out a 10 Mhz
> signal?"
> 
> Yes of course. When that happens, the Thunderbolt is said to be in holdover.
> 
>> On Aug 3, 2017 9:29 PM, "Chris Waldrup" <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> I just noticed the laptop that is always connected to my Thunderbolt had a
>> yellow block under COM1 on the Tboltmon program where it normally is green.
>> Also the date up on the screen was in early July. Satellites were still
>> shown.
>> The counter I leave connected still shows a 10 Mhz output.
>> I reset the program and this time all fields are ??? and com not detected.
>> I had thought maybe the laptop hung up.
>> I'll look at my system tomorrow. I'm trying to do a divide and conquer. If
>> the Thunderbolt loses satellites, does it still put out a 10 Mhz signal?
>> 
>> Thank you.
>> 
>> Chris
>> KD4PBJ
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[time-nuts] Thunderbolt question

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,

I just noticed the laptop that is always connected to my Thunderbolt had a 
yellow block under COM1 on the Tboltmon program where it normally is green. 
Also the date up on the screen was in early July. Satellites were still shown. 
The counter I leave connected still shows a 10 Mhz output. 
I reset the program and this time all fields are ??? and com not detected. 
I had thought maybe the laptop hung up. 
I'll look at my system tomorrow. I'm trying to do a divide and conquer. If the 
Thunderbolt loses satellites, does it still put out a 10 Mhz signal?

Thank you.  

Chris
KD4PBJ
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[time-nuts] TAPR kit- Success!!!!!

[Chris Waldrup]

Just sent this to in response to an off list response from a member but I 
wanted to share with the group. 
I'm now seeing at least 8 satellites with just the tiny patch antenna sitting 
out on a chair on my deck (not connected to my main time system antenna out in 
the back yard) 
Success! Thanks to all for the help. 

Chris
> 
> Hi Francis,
> 
> Well, I got home tonight and connected up the receiver to the PC and opened 
> Lady Heather. No com port detected. Closed and opened Trimble Tboltmon.  
> Nothing. Hyperterminal. Nothing. 
> I then downloaded WinOncore12 and went through receiver setup. It did a self 
> diagnosis and passed. I unplugged the antenna and reran and it said low 
> antenna current. So it must be talking. 
> I'm now in signal quality screen and seeing satellites!
> The receiver must have been in some weird state and needed to be set up 
> again. I'll leave for a while then try Lady Heather again just to see what 
> will happen. 
> For some reason tonight, now the RX LED isn't on (it comes on if I unplug the 
> serial connector from the laptop) but now the TX is flashing. 
> Thanks for the help and encouragement. 
> 
> Chris
> 
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Re: [time-nuts] Problems with TAPR Oncore M12+ kit

[Chris Waldrup]

I'm using a little 5V Trimble mag mount patch at the bench for testing. 

Chris 

> On Jul 4, 2017, at 12:02 PM, Gregory Beat  wrote:
> 
> Chris -
> 
> I was not aware that you were having issues with the TAPR Experimenters Kit.
> I am finishing a DIY GPS kit build from "assorted parts sources" for Jim 
> Pruitt.
> Jim missed purchasing the TAPR kit in May 2017 (sold out before he ordered).
> --
> I acquired ($) a Synergy SynPaQ/E carrier board with a dead M12+ receiver.  
> Since I happen to have a couple spare Oncore M12+ boards (inventory, 
> working), 
> it was just a matter of swapping those receiver boards.
> --
> You need to be careful in selection of the GPS antenna, since there are a 
> wide variety on the surplus market: Passive (no pre-amp); Active with 
> different voltage requirements (12, 5, or 3.3 VDC) from GPS receiver.
> At the electronics bench, I try to use 5 Volt antennas (or 3.3V that are 5v 
> tolerant) with similar GPS receivers (5V preferred).
> 
> greg
> w9gb
> 
> Sent from iPad Air
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Re: [time-nuts] Problems with TAPR Oncore M12+ kit

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,

Definitely RX LED on and not TXD. I'll look more into this tomorrow night when 
back at my bench. 

Chris

> On Jul 4, 2017, at 12:02 PM, Gregory Beat  wrote:
> 
> Chris -
> 
> I was not aware that you were having issues with the TAPR Experimenters Kit.
> I am finishing a DIY GPS kit build from "assorted parts sources" for Jim 
> Pruitt.
> Jim missed purchasing the TAPR kit in May 2017 (sold out before he ordered).
> --
> I acquired ($) a Synergy SynPaQ/E carrier board with a dead M12+ receiver.  
> Since I happen to have a couple spare Oncore M12+ boards (inventory, 
> working), 
> it was just a matter of swapping those receiver boards.
> --
> You need to be careful in selection of the GPS antenna, since there are a 
> wide variety on the surplus market: Passive (no pre-amp); Active with 
> different voltage requirements (12, 5, or 3.3 VDC) from GPS receiver.
> At the electronics bench, I try to use 5 Volt antennas (or 3.3V that are 5v 
> tolerant) with similar GPS receivers (5V preferred).
> 
> greg
> w9gb
> 
> Sent from iPad Air
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[time-nuts] Problems with TAPR Oncore M12+ kit

[Chris Waldrup]

Has anyone else received a unit they can't get to work?
I got my unit finally boxed up a few weeks back. The PPS LED flashes and power 
LED and RXD LED's light but the TxD doesn't. 
I've ordered replacement MAX chips and 74ACT04 chips from Digi-Key but this 
didn't solve the problem. 
As a next step I've found a Oncore M12 board on eBay coming from China and this 
should come in a few weeks. 
No serial communications unfortunately. 
I've also tried swapping pins 2 and 3 on the DB9 just in case RX and TX were 
swapped (although I had originally built the cable as per the schematic with 
the kit) but still no luck. 
Thanks for any comments. 

Chris
KD4PBJ

> On Apr 29, 2017, at 11:10 AM, Chris Albertson  
> wrote:
> 
> On this product people are going to want holes drilled and I think a "D"
> shape hole for the DB type connector.   The holes would allow easy clamping
> but in a two step operation.If I were making these I'd first clamp the
> stock over a pair of 123 blocks, mill the holes, then after I hade a batch
> of these made,  hole the holes to hold the part a fixture and then mill the
> edges.
> 
> But that said, I could make a pair of these by hand with hack saw, file and
> drill press in about 15 minutes.
> 
> 
> 
>> On Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 1:41 PM, Jerry Hancock  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Generally, the way I mill plates such as these is I surface a piece of
>> scrap and then glue (using superglue) the stock down onto the scrap.  I can
>> then machine around the edges without worrying about clamping.  With
>> pockets though, the torque even when ramping down might break the part
>> loose.
>> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Chris Albertson
> Redondo Beach, California
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Re: [time-nuts] TAPR GPS Experimenters Kit

[Chris Waldrup]

Last night I measured the voltages on the serial lines with a DMM. The TXD 
coming from the GPS was a solid -5.9 V. The RxD was 0 V. 

Chris 

> On Jun 14, 2017, at 10:53 PM, Chris Waldrup <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Greg,
> 
> I'm using a 12 V 7 Ah gel cell for the power and have a small Trimble 
> magnetic puck antenna connected just for testing. 
> 
> Chris
> 
>> On Jun 14, 2017, at 1:22 PM, Gregory Beat <w...@icloud.com> wrote:
>> 
>> What is your DC power source?
>> https://www.tapr.org/images/com-cbl.jpg
>> 
>> I used pin 7 (Black, DC GND) and pin 8 (Red, +8 to +32 VDC)  
>> and old +12 VDC, 1 Amp Wall Wart for my build.
>> 
>> greg
>> w9gb
>> 
>> Sent from iPad Air
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Re: [time-nuts] TAPR GPS Experimenters Kit

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi Greg,

I'm using a 12 V 7 Ah gel cell for the power and have a small Trimble magnetic 
puck antenna connected just for testing. 

Chris

> On Jun 14, 2017, at 1:22 PM, Gregory Beat  wrote:
> 
> What is your DC power source?
> https://www.tapr.org/images/com-cbl.jpg
> 
> I used pin 7 (Black, DC GND) and pin 8 (Red, +8 to +32 VDC)  
> and old +12 VDC, 1 Amp Wall Wart for my build.
> 
> greg
> w9gb
> 
> Sent from iPad Air
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Re: [time-nuts] TAPR GPS Experimenters Kit

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,

I have my board packaged up and am trying to get it working. 
Last night I built the cable to split out serial, 1 PPS and power. 
My unit powers up, and the 1 PPS and RxD LEDs are flashing and the green power 
LED is solid on. 
However I can't get serial to work and the TxD LED isn't flashing. 
I verified the pinout of the cable I made with a DMM. Pins 2 and 3 are swapped 
between connectors so the RX is going to TX for each of the two lines and pin 5 
ground is the same on both D sub 9 connectors. 
I have tried Lady Heather, Tboltmon, and even just pulling up hyperterminal and 
I'm getting nothing. 
My settings are COM1 9600 8-N-1 and I'm using a Dell laptop that has an actual 
serial port and am running XP.
When I'm Thunderbolt Monitor program, the green TX LED icon on the screen 
flashes and when it does the RxD lights on the M12+.
Just no TxD coming out of the M12+.
Has anyone else had a problem with this? If so is it fixable?
Thank you. 

Chris


> On Jun 3, 2017, at 11:22 AM, Gregory Beat  wrote:
> 
> Jerry -
> 
> I rarely use "raw" Oncore M12 commands these days, using one of the 3 common 
> PC programs: Lady Heather, TAC32/SynTAC, M12Oncore(old Moto pgm).
> 
> How are you routing that 1 PPS signal?  Does your front LED pulse?
> I wire 1 PPS to the DCD pin (DE-9M, standard RS-232), TAC32 can be configured 
> for "which pin" (DE-9M) to sense that PPS signal.  
> This is why I prefer to use Mark Sims' Lady Heather or Rick Hambly's TAC32.  
> TAC32 program has a quick setting for config. receiver as Timing or 
> Navigation.
> 
> IF you continue to have issues, perform the Hardware Reset (Lady Heather).
> That will return your receiver to default factory with cleared settings.
> 
> greg
> ---
> Greg, Funny.  
> Some of the Lucent boxes have been in strange places as well.  
> Can you please check your PPS to see if you get a signal when in that other 
> mode (where it needs at least one sat locked)?
> 
> Sent from iPad Air
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Re: [time-nuts] HP 5062C Service Manual

[Chris Waldrup]

Another good source is X-1 Technology in Melbourne FL. The owner is Mike Daly. 
We used them at a previous employer and Mike always got us circular connectors 
at a fraction of the price Mouser or Digi-Key could. 

Chris




> On Jan 8, 2017, at 11:47,   wrote:
> 
> Dick,
> 
> The AC connector used depends on if the unit is an option 010 or not!
> 
> Regular unit MS3106-14S-5S
> 
> Option 010 MS3126F14-12S
> 
> Service manual PN is 05062-90029
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Corby
> 
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[time-nuts] DirecTV question in regards to leap second

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,

I noticed something interesting tonight. Right after I took the leap second 
photos out in my workshop I came inside to show the photos to my wife and son. 
My wife was in the living room yelling at the TV, apparently the hockey game 
she was watching was messing up and the audio was dropping out repeatedly every 
second or two. The words we were hearing didn't match the commentators lips. 
Resetting the DirecTV receiver power fixed the problem, but she said it 
happened about the same time I was out watching my Thunderbolt laptop. 
Maybe the leap second affected our receiver?
Did anyone else happen to notice this?
Thanks. 

Chris
KD4PBJ
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Re: [time-nuts] I love the smell of tantalum in the morning

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi Tom,

I'm a SMT rework technician for a large satcom and defense company. 
I have a shop at home too and all the equipment to repair this if I can be 
provided with the replacement cap. 
Please let me know if I can be of help. 

Chris
KD4PBJ

> On Nov 5, 2016, at 14:12, Tom Van Baak  wrote:
> 
> See C13 in the attached photo. I need to replace some blown caps on a few 
> boards [1]. In one instance the cap got so hot it melted itself off the 
> board. Quiet convenient, actually -- it acts like its own fuse -- but I don't 
> think the 5071 designers had that clever feature in mind.
> 
> Having not done SMT before, how should I do it with minimal risk to the very 
> precious PCB. Or, what equipment should I use this as a good excuse to buy?
> 
> Thanks,
> /tvb
> 
> [0] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078788/quotes
> [1] http://leapsecond.com/museum/hp5071a/A1-mother.htm
> 
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Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTFm-II-XO- Lady Heather question-having issues

[Chris Waldrup]

Fantastic thanks for the help guys!!
I now have LH seeing com 6. 
Is it possible to check/change the baud rate of LH? When I connect up the 
Lucent box it says "No COM6 serial port data seen".
I exited LH and opened Hyper terminal and with 9600 baud and COM6 I am getting 
a data stream that stops when I unplug the 422 cable from the Lucent box so it 
looks like the GPSDO is talking to the laptop. 

I'm hoping it's just LH is set to another speed. 

I pressed spacebar for help but didn't see it as an option. 

I also appreciate the information about the first LH icon that comes up with 
TBolt, Seattle. I was curious how on first opening up the program it was seeing 
satellites and plotting signal strength before  I had even connected the GPSDO. 
Now I know. 

Chris
KD4PBJ
Monteagle TN

> On Sep 24, 2016, at 13:55, Ken Winterling <wa2...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Chris,
> 
> Right click on the Lady Heather icon (not the KE5FX one).  At the bottom of
> the list, click on "Properties".  You will see a number of tabs.  Click on
> the "Shortcut" tab.  In the "Target" text box you should see
> "C:\Heather\heather.exe" if you installed LH on the C: drive.  If that is
> the case just add " /6" for COM6, that is a space folowed by /6, to the end
> of the line.  It should oook ike this: C:\Heather\heather.exe /6.  Click
> 'OK".  Now when you click on the LH icon it will use COM6.
> 
> I have assumed that your GPSDO and the COM port have the same baud, stop
> bits(s), and parity.
> 
> Ken
> WA2LBI
> 
> 
>> On Sat, Sep 24, 2016 at 1:30 PM, Chris Waldrup <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> I downloaded the latest version 4.00 beta of lady Heather on my win XP
>> laptop.
>> Installation creates two icons on my desktop. One says KE5FX TBolt
>> (Seattle USA) and has the lady Heather icon and the other has the icon and
>> simply says Lady Heather.
>> When I try and open the Lady Heather icon (not TBolt one) an error box
>> pops up and says Can't open com port:\\.\COM1 and will not open the
>> software. Opening the TBolt version icon instead will open the program.
>> 
>> What did I do wrong?
>> Also the RS422 adapter shows up as com6 and I see in the instructions to
>> change a command line to /6 for com6 but I am not sure where to find the
>> command line.
>> 
>> Thank you.
>> 
>> Chris
>> 
>>> On Sep 14, 2016, at 00:05, Mark Sims <hol...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Yes.  The device supports a SCPI command set.   The next version of Lady
>> Heather supports it... well at least my modified Z3812A does.
>>> 
>>> You probably don't need an RS422 converter.   You can cobble an RS-232
>> connection into the RS-422 port.  This usually works, but some hardware
>> serial ports have voltage threshold issues reading data from the device
>> (the RS-422 signals don't swing as much as the RS-232 ones do).  All my
>> USB-serial dongles work well, but I have had some issues with genuine
>> hardware serial ports.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> If I build or buy a 422 to 232 converter can I expect to be able to
>> view the unit's data output with something like Lady Heather or Tboltmon?
>> Or at least see an output with Hyperterminal?
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>> mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
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Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTFm-II-XO- Lady Heather question-having issues

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,

I downloaded the latest version 4.00 beta of lady Heather on my win XP laptop. 
Installation creates two icons on my desktop. One says KE5FX TBolt (Seattle 
USA) and has the lady Heather icon and the other has the icon and simply says 
Lady Heather. 
When I try and open the Lady Heather icon (not TBolt one) an error box pops up 
and says Can't open com port:\\.\COM1 and will not open the software. Opening 
the TBolt version icon instead will open the program. 

What did I do wrong?
Also the RS422 adapter shows up as com6 and I see in the instructions to change 
a command line to /6 for com6 but I am not sure where to find the command line.

Thank you. 

Chris

> On Sep 14, 2016, at 00:05, Mark Sims  wrote:
> 
> Yes.  The device supports a SCPI command set.   The next version of Lady 
> Heather supports it... well at least my modified Z3812A does.
> 
> You probably don't need an RS422 converter.   You can cobble an RS-232 
> connection into the RS-422 port.  This usually works, but some hardware 
> serial ports have voltage threshold issues reading data from the device (the 
> RS-422 signals don't swing as much as the RS-232 ones do).  All my USB-serial 
> dongles work well, but I have had some issues with genuine hardware serial 
> ports.
> 
> 
> 
>> If I build or buy a 422 to 232 converter can I expect to be able to view the 
>> unit's data output with something like Lady Heather or Tboltmon? Or at least 
>> see an output with Hyperterminal?
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Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTFm-II-XO

[Chris Waldrup]

I also wanted to mention that I can't get the Lucent to communicate at all with 
the TBoltMon program so that's why I decided to try LadyHeather. 
I do hope I connected the cable pins right, I connected Lucent RS 422 TX pins 
to the USB to 422 adapters RX pins and the Lucent 422 RX pins to the adapters 
TX pins. 

Chris 

> On Sep 14, 2016, at 00:05, Mark Sims  wrote:
> 
> Yes.  The device supports a SCPI command set.   The next version of Lady 
> Heather supports it... well at least my modified Z3812A does.
> 
> You probably don't need an RS422 converter.   You can cobble an RS-232 
> connection into the RS-422 port.  This usually works, but some hardware 
> serial ports have voltage threshold issues reading data from the device (the 
> RS-422 signals don't swing as much as the RS-232 ones do).  All my USB-serial 
> dongles work well, but I have had some issues with genuine hardware serial 
> ports.
> 
> 
> 
>> If I build or buy a 422 to 232 converter can I expect to be able to view the 
>> unit's data output with something like Lady Heather or Tboltmon? Or at least 
>> see an output with Hyperterminal?
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Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTFm-II-XO

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,

The USB to RS422 adapter arrived.  According to the online manual for the 
adapter, the RS422 signals I'm looking for are:
Send A+
Send B-
Receive A+
Receive B-

Is there a pinout posted somewhere  for the Lucent box RS422 D sub 9 connector?

Thank you. 

Chris
KD4PBJ

> On Sep 14, 2016, at 06:12, Bob Camp <kb...@n1k.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi
> 
> These days, a RS-422 to USB adapter is a sub $20 item, even from a “name 
> brand” outfit with real
> drivers. . If you shop a bit, you can get some dirt cheap USB to 422 adapters 
> at the risk of having 
> issues with the drivers (now or down the road). 
> 
> Bob
> 
>> On Sep 13, 2016, at 11:44 PM, Chris Waldrup <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> Regarding the Lucent box- I wanted to let everyone know that once it locked 
>> to satellites, I have a 10 MHz out. 
>> The output was a square wave with some ringing, but I built a three element 
>> low pass filter and now I have a really nice 10 MHz sine wave. 
>> Thanks to all!
>> 
>> Last question I see it has a RS-422 output on one of the connectors. If 
>> I build or buy a 422 to 232 converter can I expect to be able to view the 
>> unit's data output with something like Lady Heather or Tboltmon? Or at least 
>> see an output with Hyperterminal?
>> 
>> Thank you. 
>> 
>> Chris
>> KD4PBJ
>> 
>>> On Sep 6, 2016, at 16:42, Bob Camp <kb...@n1k.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hi
>>> 
>>> One might *think* a redundant system would work fine with the plug yanked. 
>>> In this case …. nope. It needs to have a dummy connector on it to get the 
>>> device
>>> running. I agree that this is an “interesting” way to do it. Regardless of 
>>> that, they
>>> did the units need the signals from the other box (or fake signals)  before 
>>> they 
>>> will do useful stuff.
>>> 
>>> Bob
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Sep 5, 2016, at 10:22 PM, Bill Hawkins <bill.i...@pobox.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Fake connections? Isn't a redundant system supposed to allow one box to
>>>> be disconnected?
>>>> 
>>>> Bill Hawkins 
>>>> 
>>>> -Original Message-
>>>> From: time-nuts [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Bob
>>>> Camp
>>>> Sent: Monday, September 05, 2016 8:20 PM
>>>> To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
>>>> Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTFm-II-XO
>>>> 
>>>> Hi
>>>> 
>>>> If you only have one box, you need to be sure the "fake" connections on
>>>> the interconnect are correct. If they are not, you will not get it to
>>>> operate correctly. 
>>>> 
>>>> There also is a survey process if you have not had it running in your
>>>> location before. That could take a few hours to a few days depending on
>>>> your antenna.
>>>> 
>>>> Bob
>>>> 
>>>> 
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Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTFm-II-XO

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,

Regarding the Lucent box- I wanted to let everyone know that once it locked to 
satellites, I have a 10 MHz out. 
The output was a square wave with some ringing, but I built a three element low 
pass filter and now I have a really nice 10 MHz sine wave. 
Thanks to all!

Last question I see it has a RS-422 output on one of the connectors. If I 
build or buy a 422 to 232 converter can I expect to be able to view the unit's 
data output with something like Lady Heather or Tboltmon? Or at least see an 
output with Hyperterminal?

Thank you. 

Chris
KD4PBJ

> On Sep 6, 2016, at 16:42, Bob Camp  wrote:
> 
> Hi
> 
> One might *think* a redundant system would work fine with the plug yanked. 
> In this case …. nope. It needs to have a dummy connector on it to get the 
> device
> running. I agree that this is an “interesting” way to do it. Regardless of 
> that, they
> did the units need the signals from the other box (or fake signals)  before 
> they 
> will do useful stuff.
> 
> Bob
> 
> 
>> On Sep 5, 2016, at 10:22 PM, Bill Hawkins  wrote:
>> 
>> Fake connections? Isn't a redundant system supposed to allow one box to
>> be disconnected?
>> 
>> Bill Hawkins 
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: time-nuts [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Bob
>> Camp
>> Sent: Monday, September 05, 2016 8:20 PM
>> To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
>> Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTFm-II-XO
>> 
>> Hi
>> 
>> If you only have one box, you need to be sure the "fake" connections on
>> the interconnect are correct. If they are not, you will not get it to
>> operate correctly. 
>> 
>> There also is a survey process if you have not had it running in your
>> location before. That could take a few hours to a few days depending on
>> your antenna.
>> 
>> Bob
>> 
>> 
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Re: [time-nuts] GPS? Antenna

[Chris Waldrup]

It's a Huber Suhner. 

Chris

> On Sep 5, 2016, at 21:26, Glenn Little WB4UIV  
> wrote:
> 
> Pete,
> 
> I do not know if I can send a picture to the mailing list.
> 
> I am sending this to you and the list.
> 
> The antenna is 4 inches from tip of cone to bottom of type-N connector.
> It is 2 5/8" in diameter.
> 
> Thanks
> Glenn
> 
> 
> 
>> On 9/5/2016 8:25 PM, Pete Lancashire wrote:
>> Nemko is the Norwegian "UL", my guess is the numbers are the
>> test/certification numbers. A picture would help
>> 
>> -pete
>> 
>> On Mon, Sep 5, 2016 at 5:14 PM, Glenn Little WB4UIV
>> > wrote:
>> 
>>At the last hamfest that I attended, I bought an antenna that looks
>>like a GPS antenna.
>>The price was right.
>>This is a Nemko Article number: 84097323, Type number 1315.17.0018.
>>It has a manufacturing date of 09/2012.
>>Can anyone tell me if this is in fact a GPS antenna and what voltage
>>wold be required.
>>I would suspect that it would be either 5VDC or 3.3 VDC based on the
>>date.
>>Any help appreciated.
>> 
>>Thanks
>>73
>>Glenn
>>WB4UIV
>> 
>>--
>>---
>>Glenn LittleARRL Technical Specialist   QCWA  LM 28417
>>Amateur Callsign:  WB4UIVwb4...@arrl.net
>>AMSAT LM 2178
>>QTH:  Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx)  USSVI LM   NRA LM   SBE ARRL TAPR
>>"It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class
>>of the Amateur that holds the license"
>>
>> ---
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>>and follow the instructions there.
> 
> -- 
> ---
> Glenn LittleARRL Technical Specialist   QCWA  LM 28417
> Amateur Callsign:  WB4UIVwb4...@arrl.netAMSAT LM 2178
> QTH:  Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx)  USSVI LM   NRA LM   SBE ARRL TAPR
> "It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class
> of the Amateur that holds the license"
> ---
> 
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[time-nuts] Lucent RFTFm-II-XO

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,

I managed to get one of these Lucent boxes from a local ham that moved away a 
couple years back. 
I finally got around to modifying it today with Skip Withrow's mod to add 10 
MHz output. 
I connected an antenna and after a few minutes the yellow and  No GPS and Fault 
LEDs go out and the green Online LED comes on. 
I put my scope on both the 15 MHz out and the new 10 MHz out port and get no 
output. 
Before I dig into this with my scope tomorrow night, is it as something as 
simple as a signal I'm missing to enable the outputs?
I only have the antenna connected and two pins for 24 VDC, nothing else. 
Thanks for the bandwidth. 

Chris
KD4PBJ

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Re: [time-nuts] Lucent boxes

[Chris Waldrup]

I sure did. 
Thank you for the follow up. I really appreciate it. 

Chris
KD4PBJ

> On Jul 19, 2016, at 21:16, Douglas Baker <kfour...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Chris,
> I didn't see that anyone had answered your question about the XO unit
> running by itself.  Yes, the XO unit is or was a hot standby for the
> rubidium unit.  So it had to be able to function if there was a failure of
> the primary unit.
> Have you found the hook-up cable drawings on KO4BB's web site?
>> On Jul 19, 2016 2:56 PM, "Richard W. Solomon" <w1...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> 
>> Got it, many thanks. I have a pair of these, NIB,
>> time to hook them up.
>> 
>> 73, Dick, W1KSZ
>> 
>> -Original Message-
>> From: time-nuts [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Artek
>> Manuals
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2016 1:11 PM
>> To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
>> Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Lucent boxes
>> 
>> Ahhh no  ...I have the MANUALS page book marked
>> 
>> try this one
>> 
>> http://www.ko4bb.com/getsimple/index.php?id=manuals
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On 7/19/2016 2:49 PM, Richard W. Solomon wrote:
>>> This Home Page ??
>>> 
>>> http://www.ko4bb.com/getsimple/index.php?id=index-1
>>> 
>>> Don't see any search box there ???
>>> 
>>> 73, Dick, w1KSZ
>>> 
>>> -Original Message-
>>> From: time-nuts [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Artek
>>> Manuals
>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2016 10:19 AM
>>> To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
>>> Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Lucent boxes
>>> 
>>> Dick
>>> 
>>> Not rocket science ...go to KO4BB main page and enter "RFTGm"
>>> 
>>> In the search box
>>> 
>>> Dave
>>> NR1DX
>>> 
>>>> On 7/19/2016 12:42 PM, Richard W. Solomon wrote:
>>>> KO4BB's site is massive, can you pin down the cable drawing ?
>>>> 
>>>> Tnx, Dick, W1KSZ
>>>> 
>>>> -Original Message-
>>>> From: time-nuts [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of
>>>> Douglas Baker
>>>> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2016 2:39 PM
>>>> To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
>>>> Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Lucent boxes
>>>> 
>>>> Chris,
>>>> The RFTGm ("m" for miniature even though still a large box) is a later
>> version of the RFTG line.  The XO unit houses the GPS receiver which is
>> essential for disciplining.  Both boxes operate at 24 VDC and there is an
>> interface cable drawing on line at KO4BB's web site. Never tried to hook
>> them up together, but it might work.  Maybe others here may know.  Good
>> luck with it.
>>>> 73's Doug
>>>>> On Jul 18, 2016 12:52 PM, "Chris Waldrup" <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> Hi Everyone,
>>>>> 
>>>>> I have two Lucent RFTG boxes in my workshop. The XO is a loaner.
>>>>> I'm curious if they will interface with each other or (most likely)
>>>>> they are a different series as the interface connectors on each have
>>>>> a different number of pins.
>>>>> One is marked RFTG-u REF 0
>>>>> The other is RFTGm-II-XO
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thanks in advance.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Chris
>>>>> KD4PBJ
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> ___
>>>>> 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.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Dave
>>> manu...@artekmanuals.com
>>> www.ArtekManuals.com
>>> 
>>> ---
>>> This email has been 

Re: [time-nuts] Lucent boxes

[Chris Waldrup]

Thanks Bill. 
I can use the RTFGm-XO by itself though, right?
I found a site with mods to extract the 10 MHz Signal rather than use the 15 
MHz. 

Chris

> On Jul 18, 2016, at 20:54, Bill Hawkins <bill.i...@pobox.com> wrote:
> 
> No, it does not work, unless you can reprogram the microprocessors. I
> speak from experience.
> 
> The older boxes used a GPS receiver that reported up to 6 satellites.
> The newer boxes report 8.
> 
> The messages that report satellite health have different lengths.
> 
> If the micro reports an error in the message, the box goes into
> "flywheel" mode (aka holdover).
> 
> The oscillators are undisciplined, wasting all of that GPS info.
> 
> An external PPS signal, if you could couple it in, would be ignored
> because the micro won't even try to use it.
> 
> Bill Hawkins
> 
> Note: I can't reprogram micros with unknown code.
> 
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: Douglas Baker
> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2016 4:39 PM
> 
> Chris,
> The RFTGm ("m" for miniature even though still a large box) is a later
> version of the RFTG line.  The XO unit houses the GPS receiver which is
> essential for disciplining.  Both boxes operate at 24 VDC and there is
> an interface cable drawing on line at KO4BB's web site. Never tried to
> hook them up together, but it might work.  Maybe others here may know.
> Good luck with it.
> 73's Doug
> On Jul 18, 2016 12:52 PM, "Chris Waldrup" <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
> - snip 
> 
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[time-nuts] Lucent boxes

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi Everyone,

I have two Lucent RFTG boxes in my workshop. The XO is a loaner. 
I'm curious if they will interface with each other or (most likely) they are a 
different series as the interface connectors on each have a different number of 
pins. 
One is marked RFTG-u REF 0
The other is RFTGm-II-XO

Thanks in advance. 

Chris
KD4PBJ


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[time-nuts] UPS for my time rack

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,


I have decided I'd like to get a UPS to put on the rack containing my 
Thunderbolt, the laptop that runs Lady Heather, and frequency counter. 
Has anyone had bad experience noise wise with the APC brand units like are 
available on Amazon and at Staples? I'd like to get one that doesn't generate 
lots of RFI. Thank you. 


Chris
KD4PBJ

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Re: [time-nuts] UPS for my time rack

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,

Thanks for the comments this morning. 

I'm not looking for something huge, maybe in the under $200 range. Just enough 
for the Thunderbolt, laptop, and Agilent 53131A counter. I'd like a little 
headroom though, as I may add another Thunderbolt or a rubidium standard 
someday. 

I do like the 12 V battery idea. I run my ham gear off a 12 V gel cell (I'm 
mainly QRP so a 32 Ah cell works for me) and I have a 12 V distribution system 
with Anderson Power Poles on my operating bench. 

I do a lot of VLF and LF listening but my antennas are outside.  Nothing at 
this time above 2 meters. 

 I live in a very quiet rural area on top of a mountain in Tennessee. So not 
much man made noise at all and I wanted to keep it quiet emission wise. 

Thanks for all your help.




Chris

KD4PBJ



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On Sat, Oct 10, 2015 at 10:05 AM, Mark Spencer <m...@alignedsolutions.com>
wrote:

> Hi over the last 10 years or so I've purchased several consumer / small 
> office grade UPS's from sources such as Staples and Costco.   I've never 
> noted any RFI from them but I live in a (rf) noisy urban neighbourhood so any 
> noise they put out is probably hard to notice.
> Other than occasionally turning some of them off and on and seeing if I can 
> see or hear any (additional) RFI on frequencies of interest I've never really 
> looked for RFI from them.   
> Several years ago I started putting ferrite chokes on the feed lines for my 
> antennas and have almost completely  switched to double shielded cables for 
> my amateur radio and time nuts activities.
> Hope these comments are of some interest.
> Mark S
> VE7AFZ
> Sent from my iPhone
>> On Oct 10, 2015, at 6:20 AM, Chris Waldrup <kd4...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> 
>> I have decided I'd like to get a UPS to put on the rack containing my 
>> Thunderbolt, the laptop that runs Lady Heather, and frequency counter. 
>> Has anyone had bad experience noise wise with the APC brand units like are 
>> available on Amazon and at Staples? I'd like to get one that doesn't 
>> generate lots of RFI. Thank you. 
>> 
>> 
>> Chris
>> KD4PBJ
>> 
>> —
>> Sent from Mailbox
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>> and follow the instructions there.
>> 
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Re: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi Bob,




Yes I think they are definitely related.I have a suppressor in line but that 
didn't stop the surge but probably made it cause less damage than if it hadn't 
been there. 

The antenna was mounted on one of the plumbing vent pipes on the roof of my 
house. 

I have an Alpha Delta TransiTrap inline, which is bolted to an 8 foot ground 
rod. I have three 8 foot rods, all tied together and cad welded with a total of 
250 feet of buried bare #6 which is also tied to the utility ground rod. 






Chris



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On Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 7:30 AM, Bob Camp kb...@n1k.org wrote:

 Hi
 One might think that the dead antenna and blown GPSDO bias could be related….
 One of the things that is probably worth repeating for the 100th time is the 
 need
 for a proper lightning arrestor on your antenna line. Both the antenna and 
 the 
 GPSDO expect there to be a suppressor on the coax. It needs to properly 
 ground the shield *and* clamp the center conductor to shield voltage. Oddly
 enough there are a lot of suitable arrestors on the auction sites. Even more
 oddly, they often show up as part of a “cell site GPSDO installation kit”. 
 The 
 arrestors can be had for  $20. Last time I saw the kits cheap they listed at
 about $30. 
 If you have ever been on a tower when a big cloud rolls over, you have heard 
 the thing “buzz”. That’s a strong suggestion that it’s time to get back to 
 the earth in a
 hurry. You don’t need to have a lightning strike to have significant DC 
 sparking off
 an elevated object. If you can hear the discharges they are *plenty* strong 
 enough
 to nuke a GPS antenna (if they discharge at the right point). 
 Many antennas are designed with an internal DC short. If you look at a common 
 low band VHF FM base antenna, it’s likely to be a Marconi self shorted 
 design. Because
 we feed DC to a GPS antenna, they don’t have this sort of self protection. 
 Depending 
 on who designed the front end of your GPSDO, it may be pretty wide open as 
 well. 
 The tendency is to think about this stuff in terms of “I never get hit by 
 lightning”. That’s 
 generally true on any given day. I’ve had the house hit by lightning years 
 ago. It’s 
 probably not a good guess over a lifetime. I have big clouds roll over the 
 house 
 a few times a month in the summer. That’s a much more common thing. It does 
 not destroy lots of stuff. It can make odd things happen with elevated 
 structures….
 Buy the arrestor. Spend the extra $15 and get a good one from a brand name 
 you have
 heard of in relation to arrestors. Mount it as well as you can. Ground it as 
 well as you can.
 The electrical code in your area probably has some rules about this sort of 
 thing. They
 are well worth considering as well. Their objective is to keep your house 
 from burning 
 down. That’s a worthy goal…having your house burn down *and* finding that your
 insurance does not cover it could be a major bummer.
 Buy the arrestor ….
 Bob
 On Aug 13, 2015, at 9:57 PM, Chris Waldrup kd4...@gmail.com wrote:
 
 Thanks everyone. In addition to the blown transistor that feeds 5V down the 
 coax, the one week out of box Motorola hockey puck antenna was blown too. I 
 bought it in 2006 as a spare and I broke the shrink wrap two weeks ago. 
 
 So I will order another spare but see if I can fix this spare. 
 
 It's definitely worth it to have a few extras!!!
 
 
 
 
 Chris
 
 
 
 —
 Sent from Mailbox
 
 On Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 8:01 PM, Magnus Danielson
 mag...@rubidium.dyndns.org wrote:
 
 Hi,
 On 08/08/2015 07:05 PM, Bob Camp wrote:
 Hi
 
 A factory reset will not brick the unit.
 
 Either:
 
 1) Your TBolt is blown
 2) The cable has an issue
 3) The antenna has an issue.
 I've seen them all over the years, so neither is necessarily the most 
 likely. I'd also add:
 4) Power-issue
 5) Serial cable problem
 For this case 1-3 should be your culprit.
 Oh, do remember that engineers invent the most complex scenarios of what 
 the failure mode is, but fail to identify the simple ones such as power, 
 cables and connectors failing.
 For troubleshooting this sort of thing, multiples of each are a
 handy thing to have. Baring that:
 
 0) Put a DVM on the coax and see if you have bias to the antenna
 1)  Hook up a TDR to the cable and ring it out both with a load and a 
 short on the end.
 2) Put the antenna on a *very good* spectrum analyzer and look at what is 
 coming out.
 3) Grab a signal generator that will simulate a GPS constellation and 
 drive the TBolt with that.
 
 Since nobody (other than Magnus) ever has the sort of gear for 1-3, and 
 it’s all pricey stuff
 TDR is a nifty tool for this sort of thing so 1) is nice, but it won't 
 really help you and you will have to know what to expect from a 
 unpowered LNA. Spectrum analyzer will not directly help you since the 
 satellite signal spectrum is below the noise-floor, but you *might* see 
 the amplified noise as shaped by the LNA pre-filtering, which is 
 hopefully SAW filtered

Re: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon

[Chris Waldrup]

Thanks everyone. In addition to the blown transistor that feeds 5V down the 
coax, the one week out of box Motorola hockey puck antenna was blown too. I 
bought it in 2006 as a spare and I broke the shrink wrap two weeks ago. 

So I will order another spare but see if I can fix this spare. 

It's definitely worth it to have a few extras!!!




Chris



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On Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 8:01 PM, Magnus Danielson
mag...@rubidium.dyndns.org wrote:

 Hi,
 On 08/08/2015 07:05 PM, Bob Camp wrote:
 Hi

 A factory reset will not brick the unit.

 Either:

 1) Your TBolt is blown
 2) The cable has an issue
 3) The antenna has an issue.
 I've seen them all over the years, so neither is necessarily the most 
 likely. I'd also add:
 4) Power-issue
 5) Serial cable problem
 For this case 1-3 should be your culprit.
 Oh, do remember that engineers invent the most complex scenarios of what 
 the failure mode is, but fail to identify the simple ones such as power, 
 cables and connectors failing.
 For troubleshooting this sort of thing, multiples of each are a
 handy thing to have. Baring that:

 0) Put a DVM on the coax and see if you have bias to the antenna
 1)  Hook up a TDR to the cable and ring it out both with a load and a short 
 on the end.
 2) Put the antenna on a *very good* spectrum analyzer and look at what is 
 coming out.
 3) Grab a signal generator that will simulate a GPS constellation and drive 
 the TBolt with that.

 Since nobody (other than Magnus) ever has the sort of gear for 1-3, and it’s 
 all pricey stuff
 TDR is a nifty tool for this sort of thing so 1) is nice, but it won't 
 really help you and you will have to know what to expect from a 
 unpowered LNA. Spectrum analyzer will not directly help you since the 
 satellite signal spectrum is below the noise-floor, but you *might* see 
 the amplified noise as shaped by the LNA pre-filtering, which is 
 hopefully SAW filtered, so 2 is doable but tricky to interpret for the 
 novice. If you have a constellation simulator lying around, it will help 
 you to see if the receiver is working at all, but even I don't have that...
 Having a VNA helps, and the nifty TinyVNA for instance will be quite 
 useful. Similar to the TDR, it sends a signal up the wire and analyze 
 the response, but in frequency plane rather than time-plane. Again, some 
 experience is required but this is a good time to learn.
 the simple answer is:

 1) The antenna is probably the cheapest part of the setup. I’d swap it out 
 first.
 2) The cable is cheap but a pain to run, is it #2 or #3.
 3) Hook up another timing receiver to the cable. There are lots of them out 
 there in the $100 to $150 range.

 TBolts do die. My experience is that roughly 1 or 2 in 50 show up with a 
 fatal issue. Another 1 or 2 show up
 with a (correctable) minor problem. I have had one drop dead after running 
 for a while.
 I would grab an antenna, toss it out a window and see if I get anything. 
 It is always handy to have additional antennas and cables around, and 
 for checking things to be operational, only modest requirements in type 
 and position is needed.
 Similarly, having another GPS receiver to see if I get any form of 
 signal is a great tool.
 Just taking the time to do quick and dirty tests helps. I've found that 
 I made stupid mistakes, so just doing a round of quick reality checks 
 have been important hints to find errors.
 Cheers,
 Magnus
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Re: [time-nuts] Has my TBolt gone south ?

[Chris Waldrup]

I had an issue with mine and worked it out last night thanks to all of you 
great list members!! Thank you!!

Turned out to be a blown PNP SOT package transistor that feeds 5V to the 
antenna. 

Do you have 5V on the F connector?

I saw your Lady Heather screenshot said antenna ok, but this is just a thought. 

Mine was hanging at 1% self survey for days and after replacing the transistor 
and doing a factory reset it picked up all satellites and settled down to 0.04 
ppb error. 

I'll post details of the transistors (there are 5) in the vicinity of U19. 
Thanks to Matthias Jelen for the help. 

On some models the transistors are on the other side of the board. The blown 
one on mine was marked C2N which is a Central Semiconductor CMPT404A and is 
carried by Mouser. It's listed as a PNP chopper transistor. 

I used an On Semiconductor MMBT3906 that I had in stock and it worked fine. 

The other four transistors are marked 5D, 1AM, 2A, and 2A. 

Good luck and I hope you are able to fix your unit. 




Chris

KD4PBJ



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On Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 9:02 PM, Bryan _ bpl...@outlook.com wrote:

 I have had a similar issue occur. For some reason it all of a sudden wanted 
 to do wanted to do a self survey but couldn't. Stuck at 1% on the survey. I 
 switched to Tboltmonitor as my backup program and was able to re input my 
 lat/long and altitude settings, saved and it carried on. Power glitch, 
 firmware issue, who knows.
 p.s. I believe you need a minimum of three satellites to work through the 
 standard or precision survey.
 -=Bryan=-
 To: time-nuts@febo.com
 From: hmur...@megapathdsl.net
 Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2015 11:29:58 -0700
 CC: hmur...@megapathdsl.net
 Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Has my TBolt gone south ?
 
 
 dib...@usa.net said:
  Today I switched on again my TBolt after a few weeks of power down. It 
  looks
  like it has decided to take a period of rest, maybe definitive... 
 
 How long did you wait after turning it on?
 How good is your antenna position?
 Did you tell it to remember the location after a survey finished?
 
 If it's been off for a few weeks, it doesn't know where the satellites are.  
 To get started, it has to find one by a brute force search.  With a good 
 antenna, that doesn't take very long.  Then it takes 15 minutes to collect 
 the satellite info.  With a poor antenna location, it takes longer, maybe a 
 lot longer.
 
 -- 
 These are my opinions.  I hate spam.
 
 
 
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[time-nuts] Thunderbolt issue found

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi Everyone,


Thanks for the suggestions this past weekend for helping get my new Thunderbolt 
fixed. I got back into town last night late so couldn't tackle it until 
tonight. 
I put a DMM on the F connector and I didn't have 5V on it. Opening up the case, 
I found the top blown off one of the SOT package transistors. It's the one 
closest to U19 and is connected to this chip's pin 14. 
I have the Thunderbolt with the three separate input voltages (5, -12,12). Does 
someone have a board they can look at and let me know the code on the 
transistor so I can see about a replacement?
Maybe even a closeup shot of the 5 SOT packaged devices in that area as I may 
find another is bad. 
Thank you in advance.


Chris
KD4PBJ

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Re: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi Everyone,




When I got home last night from work, my thunderbolt was plugging along, 
tracking about 5 satellites. The ppb error was a few hundred though. 

So in Tboltmon I did a factory reset and everything changed to question marks. 
All the critical alarms came up green and self survey went to 1% but after a 
few hours the unit wasn't receiving any satellites and still at 1%. 

So I loaded Lady Heather onto the old 1997 vintage laptop that controls the 
Thunderbolt.  I figured out how to get to the command menu in LH using the 
space at, then typed ! Then H for a hard reset. I left the unit running Lady 
Heather all night and at 4:45 AM it still hadn't acquired any satellites. 

I'm busy until Sunday afternoon but when I get back to it I will see if there 
is a menu setting in LH where after doing a hard reset I need to re-enable the 
receiver. I'm getting serial comms just fine. 

I'll let you guys know what I find. Thanks again. 




Chris

KD4PBJ



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On Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 11:14 PM, Bryan _ bpl...@outlook.com wrote:

 Chris:
 If you did a cold reset I *think* it should have already done that, you would 
 have known because it would have said conducting survey or something like 
 that as opposed to Overdetermined clock. To be safe and force it,use the 
 following keystrokes in LH 
 S   and then P
 -=Bryan=-
 Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2015 04:58:39 -0700
 From: kd4...@gmail.com
 To: time-nuts@febo.com
 Subject: Re: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon
 
 Hi Bryan,
 
 
 
 
 I didn't do that. Is this something accessible under one of the tabs?
 
 
 
 
 Chris
 
 
 
 —
 Sent from Mailbox
 
 On Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 5:21 AM, Bryan _ bpl...@outlook.com wrote:
 
  Did you do 48 hour precision first survey first to get an accurate 
  Lat/Long/ altitude?. You will probably need to start with a cold reset to 
  erase any previously stored data and then perform the survey.
  -=Bryan=-
  Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2015 19:16:23 -0700
  From: kd4...@gmail.com
  To: time-nuts@febo.com
  Subject: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon
  
  Hi,
  
  
  I got my new Thunderbolt up and running this past weekend but I have a 
  few questions. I understand Lady Heather is a better program, and I have 
  downloaded it. However right now I am trying to get things right with 
  Tboltmon first. I had used it with my previous GPSDO, a Starloc II. I 
  hate to say but the Starlic just worked, so I didn't pay much attention 
  to Tboltmon other than to see that I was seeing satellites. Please 
  forgive me if some of the questions may sound simplistic, but I'm sort of 
  new to being a time nut. 
  The Thunderbolt is brand new in package. I purchased a Power One open 
  frame supply from EBay that was also new old stock. Before connecting it 
  to the Thunderbolt, I went ahead and ordered new electrolytic caps from 
  Mouser and spent last Friday night recapping the Power One box. I 
  measured the outputs with a DMM to make sure I had 5 V, -12 V and 12 V. 
  Noticing that in my old antenna location I could now only see 1-2 
  satellites (trees have grown a bit) I moved the antenna to the roof of my 
  house, attached to a plumbing vent pipe, with a completely open view of 
  the sky here on top of a mountain in Tennessee. 
  
  
  Here's what I am noticing:
  To start with I simply turned on the Thunderbolt on Saturday morning 
  without doing a warm or cold reset. Within a few minutes, I was seeing 
  six or seven satellites, with the SV boxes lit up green with various 
  numbers which I assume are satellite ID numbers. When I woke up Sunday I 
  was down to seeing only two satellites. The numbers listed were different 
  than the ones I saw before I went to bed Saturday.  But when I unplugged 
  the AC power from the Thunderbolt and plugged it back in, I was back to 
  six satellites. 
   I had thought that the GPS satellites I am able to see from my location 
  are fixed 24/7. Do they move and different satellites come into view with 
  rotation of the earth?
  I did a warm reset when I got up at 4:45 this morning and when I got 
  home, four satellites were still green on Tboltmon. About an hour ago I 
  went ahead and did a cold reset. 
  I now have 6 satellites where the SV is green, and one with a yellow SV 
  with a value of 7.0. 
  All critical alarms are green, and all minor alarms are green except 
  position questionable which is yellow. That has been yellow since 
  Saturday. 
  Under the Disciplining status, Mode is (0) Normal and Activity is (0) 
  Phase Locking. 
  The Timing Outputs are all over the place and have been since Saturday. 
  Twenty minutes ago I got:
  PPS  -106588.28 ns GPS
  10 MHz  166.08 ppb
  
  
  So far today I have gotten the following ppb readings:
  -41.48
  374.30
  0.48
  0.70
  
  
  Should the Timing output variance concern me? 
  
  
  Thanks in advance for any help or advice. 
  
  
  Chris
  KD4PBJ
  Monteagle, TN
  
  
  
  —
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Re: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon

[Chris Waldrup]

Is it possible I bricked the unit by doing the factory reset?

If so can I update the firmware somehow to get back to where I was? 

Thank you. 




Chris

KD4PBJ



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On Fri, Aug 7, 2015 at 4:14 PM, Chris Waldrup kd4...@gmail.com wrote:

 Hi Everyone,
 When I got home last night from work, my thunderbolt was plugging along, 
 tracking about 5 satellites. The ppb error was a few hundred though. 
 So in Tboltmon I did a factory reset and everything changed to question 
 marks. All the critical alarms came up green and self survey went to 1% but 
 after a few hours the unit wasn't receiving any satellites and still at 1%. 
 So I loaded Lady Heather onto the old 1997 vintage laptop that controls the 
 Thunderbolt.  I figured out how to get to the command menu in LH using the 
 space at, then typed ! Then H for a hard reset. I left the unit running Lady 
 Heather all night and at 4:45 AM it still hadn't acquired any satellites. 
 I'm busy until Sunday afternoon but when I get back to it I will see if there 
 is a menu setting in LH where after doing a hard reset I need to re-enable 
 the receiver. I'm getting serial comms just fine. 
 I'll let you guys know what I find. Thanks again. 
 Chris
 KD4PBJ
 —
 Sent from Mailbox
 On Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 11:14 PM, Bryan _ bpl...@outlook.com wrote:
 Chris:
 If you did a cold reset I *think* it should have already done that, you 
 would have known because it would have said conducting survey or something 
 like that as opposed to Overdetermined clock. To be safe and force it,use 
 the following keystrokes in LH 
 S   and then P
 -=Bryan=-
 Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2015 04:58:39 -0700
 From: kd4...@gmail.com
 To: time-nuts@febo.com
 Subject: Re: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon
 
 Hi Bryan,
 
 
 
 
 I didn't do that. Is this something accessible under one of the tabs?
 
 
 
 
 Chris
 
 
 
 —
 Sent from Mailbox
 
 On Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 5:21 AM, Bryan _ bpl...@outlook.com wrote:
 
  Did you do 48 hour precision first survey first to get an accurate 
  Lat/Long/ altitude?. You will probably need to start with a cold reset to 
  erase any previously stored data and then perform the survey.
  -=Bryan=-
  Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2015 19:16:23 -0700
  From: kd4...@gmail.com
  To: time-nuts@febo.com
  Subject: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon
  
  Hi,
  
  
  I got my new Thunderbolt up and running this past weekend but I have a 
  few questions. I understand Lady Heather is a better program, and I have 
  downloaded it. However right now I am trying to get things right with 
  Tboltmon first. I had used it with my previous GPSDO, a Starloc II. I 
  hate to say but the Starlic just worked, so I didn't pay much attention 
  to Tboltmon other than to see that I was seeing satellites. Please 
  forgive me if some of the questions may sound simplistic, but I'm sort 
  of new to being a time nut. 
  The Thunderbolt is brand new in package. I purchased a Power One open 
  frame supply from EBay that was also new old stock. Before connecting it 
  to the Thunderbolt, I went ahead and ordered new electrolytic caps from 
  Mouser and spent last Friday night recapping the Power One box. I 
  measured the outputs with a DMM to make sure I had 5 V, -12 V and 12 V. 
  Noticing that in my old antenna location I could now only see 1-2 
  satellites (trees have grown a bit) I moved the antenna to the roof of 
  my house, attached to a plumbing vent pipe, with a completely open view 
  of the sky here on top of a mountain in Tennessee. 
  
  
  Here's what I am noticing:
  To start with I simply turned on the Thunderbolt on Saturday morning 
  without doing a warm or cold reset. Within a few minutes, I was seeing 
  six or seven satellites, with the SV boxes lit up green with various 
  numbers which I assume are satellite ID numbers. When I woke up Sunday I 
  was down to seeing only two satellites. The numbers listed were 
  different than the ones I saw before I went to bed Saturday.  But when I 
  unplugged the AC power from the Thunderbolt and plugged it back in, I 
  was back to six satellites. 
   I had thought that the GPS satellites I am able to see from my location 
  are fixed 24/7. Do they move and different satellites come into view 
  with rotation of the earth?
  I did a warm reset when I got up at 4:45 this morning and when I got 
  home, four satellites were still green on Tboltmon. About an hour ago I 
  went ahead and did a cold reset. 
  I now have 6 satellites where the SV is green, and one with a yellow SV 
  with a value of 7.0. 
  All critical alarms are green, and all minor alarms are green except 
  position questionable which is yellow. That has been yellow since 
  Saturday. 
  Under the Disciplining status, Mode is (0) Normal and Activity is (0) 
  Phase Locking. 
  The Timing Outputs are all over the place and have been since Saturday. 
  Twenty minutes ago I got:
  PPS  -106588.28 ns GPS
  10 MHz  166.08 ppb
  
  
  So far today I have

Re: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon

[Chris Waldrup]

Thank you to all. 

I will check these items and report back to the group what I found. 

The antenna is up in the clear and I am feeding it with somewhere in the range 
of 60-75 feet of RG 6 quad shield. 




Chris



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On Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 12:21 PM, Chris Albertson
albertson.ch...@gmail.com wrote:

 On Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 7:16 PM, Chris Waldrup kd4...@gmail.com wrote:
 Hi,


  But when I unplugged the AC power from the Thunderbolt and plugged it
 back in, I was back to six satellites.
  I had thought that the GPS satellites I am able to see from my location
 are fixed 24/7. Do they move and different satellites come into view with
 rotation of the earth?
 I did a warm reset when I got up at 4:45 this morning and when I got home,
 four satellites were still green on Tboltmon. About an hour ago I went
 ahead and did a cold reset.
 I now have 6 satellites where the SV is green, and one with a yellow SV
 with a value of 7.0.

 They are in 12 hour orbits.  Each satellite is visible twice for a few
 hours each day.  But there are enough of them that a six channel receiver
 should always see six and a 12 channel receiver should always see 12 unless
 you have part of the sky blocked or some other problem with the antenna.
 Can your antenna see the horizon in all directions 360 degrees?  What's the
 gain of the antenna and how is it connected to the receiver (what kind of
 cable and how long is it?)  Is the antenna getting power and the correct
 number of volts?
 I see the comment about the survey, that has more to do with accuracy then
 seeing satellites.  But do let it run for a good long time before you
 decide if it is working well or not.  Wait until after 12 hours then take a
 look.
 -- 
 Chris Albertson
 Redondo Beach, California
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Re: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi Bryan,




I didn't do that. Is this something accessible under one of the tabs?




Chris



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Sent from Mailbox

On Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 5:21 AM, Bryan _ bpl...@outlook.com wrote:

 Did you do 48 hour precision first survey first to get an accurate Lat/Long/ 
 altitude?. You will probably need to start with a cold reset to erase any 
 previously stored data and then perform the survey.
 -=Bryan=-
 Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2015 19:16:23 -0700
 From: kd4...@gmail.com
 To: time-nuts@febo.com
 Subject: [time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon
 
 Hi,
 
 
 I got my new Thunderbolt up and running this past weekend but I have a few 
 questions. I understand Lady Heather is a better program, and I have 
 downloaded it. However right now I am trying to get things right with 
 Tboltmon first. I had used it with my previous GPSDO, a Starloc II. I hate 
 to say but the Starlic just worked, so I didn't pay much attention to 
 Tboltmon other than to see that I was seeing satellites. Please forgive me 
 if some of the questions may sound simplistic, but I'm sort of new to being 
 a time nut. 
 The Thunderbolt is brand new in package. I purchased a Power One open frame 
 supply from EBay that was also new old stock. Before connecting it to the 
 Thunderbolt, I went ahead and ordered new electrolytic caps from Mouser and 
 spent last Friday night recapping the Power One box. I measured the outputs 
 with a DMM to make sure I had 5 V, -12 V and 12 V. 
 Noticing that in my old antenna location I could now only see 1-2 satellites 
 (trees have grown a bit) I moved the antenna to the roof of my house, 
 attached to a plumbing vent pipe, with a completely open view of the sky 
 here on top of a mountain in Tennessee. 
 
 
 Here's what I am noticing:
 To start with I simply turned on the Thunderbolt on Saturday morning without 
 doing a warm or cold reset. Within a few minutes, I was seeing six or seven 
 satellites, with the SV boxes lit up green with various numbers which I 
 assume are satellite ID numbers. When I woke up Sunday I was down to seeing 
 only two satellites. The numbers listed were different than the ones I saw 
 before I went to bed Saturday.  But when I unplugged the AC power from the 
 Thunderbolt and plugged it back in, I was back to six satellites. 
  I had thought that the GPS satellites I am able to see from my location are 
 fixed 24/7. Do they move and different satellites come into view with 
 rotation of the earth?
 I did a warm reset when I got up at 4:45 this morning and when I got home, 
 four satellites were still green on Tboltmon. About an hour ago I went ahead 
 and did a cold reset. 
 I now have 6 satellites where the SV is green, and one with a yellow SV with 
 a value of 7.0. 
 All critical alarms are green, and all minor alarms are green except 
 position questionable which is yellow. That has been yellow since Saturday. 
 Under the Disciplining status, Mode is (0) Normal and Activity is (0) Phase 
 Locking. 
 The Timing Outputs are all over the place and have been since Saturday. 
 Twenty minutes ago I got:
 PPS  -106588.28 ns GPS
 10 MHz  166.08 ppb
 
 
 So far today I have gotten the following ppb readings:
 -41.48
 374.30
 0.48
 0.70
 
 
 Should the Timing output variance concern me? 
 
 
 Thanks in advance for any help or advice. 
 
 
 Chris
 KD4PBJ
 Monteagle, TN
 
 
 
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[time-nuts] A few questions about Tboltmon

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,


I got my new Thunderbolt up and running this past weekend but I have a few 
questions. I understand Lady Heather is a better program, and I have downloaded 
it. However right now I am trying to get things right with Tboltmon first. I 
had used it with my previous GPSDO, a Starloc II. I hate to say but the Starlic 
just worked, so I didn't pay much attention to Tboltmon other than to see that 
I was seeing satellites. Please forgive me if some of the questions may sound 
simplistic, but I'm sort of new to being a time nut. 
The Thunderbolt is brand new in package. I purchased a Power One open frame 
supply from EBay that was also new old stock. Before connecting it to the 
Thunderbolt, I went ahead and ordered new electrolytic caps from Mouser and 
spent last Friday night recapping the Power One box. I measured the outputs 
with a DMM to make sure I had 5 V, -12 V and 12 V. 
Noticing that in my old antenna location I could now only see 1-2 satellites 
(trees have grown a bit) I moved the antenna to the roof of my house, attached 
to a plumbing vent pipe, with a completely open view of the sky here on top of 
a mountain in Tennessee. 


Here's what I am noticing:
To start with I simply turned on the Thunderbolt on Saturday morning without 
doing a warm or cold reset. Within a few minutes, I was seeing six or seven 
satellites, with the SV boxes lit up green with various numbers which I assume 
are satellite ID numbers. When I woke up Sunday I was down to seeing only two 
satellites. The numbers listed were different than the ones I saw before I went 
to bed Saturday.  But when I unplugged the AC power from the Thunderbolt and 
plugged it back in, I was back to six satellites. 
 I had thought that the GPS satellites I am able to see from my location are 
fixed 24/7. Do they move and different satellites come into view with rotation 
of the earth?
I did a warm reset when I got up at 4:45 this morning and when I got home, four 
satellites were still green on Tboltmon. About an hour ago I went ahead and did 
a cold reset. 
I now have 6 satellites where the SV is green, and one with a yellow SV with a 
value of 7.0. 
All critical alarms are green, and all minor alarms are green except position 
questionable which is yellow. That has been yellow since Saturday. 
Under the Disciplining status, Mode is (0) Normal and Activity is (0) Phase 
Locking. 
The Timing Outputs are all over the place and have been since Saturday. Twenty 
minutes ago I got:
PPS  -106588.28 ns GPS
10 MHz  166.08 ppb


So far today I have gotten the following ppb readings:
-41.48
374.30
0.48
0.70


Should the Timing output variance concern me? 


Thanks in advance for any help or advice. 


Chris
KD4PBJ
Monteagle, TN



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[time-nuts] Thunderbolt serial question

[Chris Waldrup]

Hi,


My Datum Starloc recently died after 12 years in service so I am replacing it 
with a Trimble Thunderbolt. 
The Starloc used a DB9 female to female null modem cable but I noticed a minute 
ago when getting ready to connect the Thubderbolt to my laptop that the 
Thunderbolt has a female DB9 connector. 
So the question is do I need a gender changer in order to use my existing null 
modem cable, or does the thunderbolt use a standard M-F serial cable?


Thanks. 


Chris
KD4PBJ

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Re: [time-nuts] Thunderbolt serial question

[Chris Waldrup]

Thanks to all who helped me out. I really appreciate it. 

. I got it working and now see satellites with Tboltmon program. 




Chris

KD4PBJ

Monteagle, TN



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On Sun, Jul 26, 2015 at 10:09 PM, M. George m.matthew.geo...@gmail.com
wrote:

 Hi Chris, it's a standard serial cable.  Here is a good FAQ on the tbolt at
 leapsecond:
 http://www.leapsecond.com/tbolt-faq.htm
 mg NG7M
 On Sun, Jul 26, 2015 at 10:47 AM, Chris Waldrup kd4...@gmail.com wrote:
 Hi,


 My Datum Starloc recently died after 12 years in service so I am replacing
 it with a Trimble Thunderbolt.
 The Starloc used a DB9 female to female null modem cable but I noticed a
 minute ago when getting ready to connect the Thubderbolt to my laptop that
 the Thunderbolt has a female DB9 connector.
 So the question is do I need a gender changer in order to use my existing
 null modem cable, or does the thunderbolt use a standard M-F serial cable?


 Thanks.


 Chris
 KD4PBJ

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 -- 
 M. George
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