Re: [time-nuts] Simple AC mains zero-cross detector

2014-12-21 Thread Charles Steinmetz
Mike wrote: From a Time-Nut perspective, isn't phase/frequency of the (nominal) 60 Hz all we'd be interested in? Phase is best measured at a zero crossing as this is the (only) phase measurement point which is independent of amplitude. That is the primary interest (as I understand it -- I am

[time-nuts] Lucent KS-24361; resolution TI 10 ns only?

2014-12-21 Thread Hans Holzach
i noticed that the resolution of the PPS TI relative to GPS is 10 ns. is there a scpi command to get a better resolution? a few trivial observations: my boxes have been up and running for a few days only, but they seem to behave pretty well. however, a few things kept me busy for a while: i

Re: [time-nuts] Homebrew frequency counter, new board test result

2014-12-21 Thread Magnus Danielson
Li ang, Bob, On 12/20/2014 06:22 PM, Bob Camp wrote: Hi On Dec 20, 2014, at 10:28 AM, Li Ang lll...@gmail.com wrote: 4) add 74ALV2G14 since FPGA does not support schmitt input I would suggest trying it with a non-schmitt trigger part as well. It should be a simple swap out since it’s a

Re: [time-nuts] Simple AC mains zero-cross detector

2014-12-21 Thread Didier Juges
Charles, A commend regarding your ZCD. You propose to use a dual 120V primary transformer to generate the isolated 120V AC needed by your circuit. Unless specifically designed for that purpose, the isolation between the two 120V primaries of a common transformer is probably not as good as the

Re: [time-nuts] DeLorme Tripmate GPS receiver

2014-12-21 Thread ed breya
I opened it up and found a 4 by AA cell battery holder for power, and a single module that looks pretty proprietary. One side of the module has a patch antenna, and the other has the brain. I assume there's an RF board in between, but cannot open it further without possible damage - the

Re: [time-nuts] Simple AC mains zero-cross detector

2014-12-21 Thread Chuck Harris
Hi Charles, I have a question about the accuracy of your scheme, given transient effects. Transformers, such as are in wall warts, etc..., are wound in a way that is pretty good for 50Hz/60Hz operation, but have had nothing intentionally done to normalize operation at any other frequency. Nor

Re: [time-nuts] Simple AC mains zero-cross detector

2014-12-21 Thread ed breya
It seems to me that a low voltage secondary should be OK by using a fast comparator IC rather than a transistor to decide - the gain of the IC allows for much smaller detection levels, so the equivalent zero-crossing velocity could be the same. An IC tripping in a 10 mV band should provide the

Re: [time-nuts] Simple AC mains zero-cross detector

2014-12-21 Thread Charles Steinmetz
Didier wrote: A commend regarding your ZCD. You propose to use a dual 120V primary transformer to generate the isolated 120V AC needed by your circuit. Unless specifically designed for that purpose, the isolation between the two 120V primaries of a common transformer is probably not as good as

[time-nuts] New NTP client software (preview) released

2014-12-21 Thread Poul-Henning Kamp
I have just put the first preview release of my new NTP client software up on github. https://github.com/bsdphk/Ntimed You can read more about it here: http://phk.freebsd.dk/time/ We'll see where it goes from there... -- Poul-Henning Kamp | UNIX since Zilog Zeus 3.20

Re: [time-nuts] Did a member of time-nuts buy this?

2014-12-21 Thread Magnus Danielson
Mike, That was a nice set of homework reading you provided for us. People might have missed it. Cheers, Magnus I have a few Rubidiums and OCXOs I'd like to get running for a month or so to stabilize. During this time, I'd like to monitor the performance to discover any bad units and see

Re: [time-nuts] Simple AC mains zero-cross detector

2014-12-21 Thread Charles Steinmetz
Ed wrote: It seems to me that a low voltage secondary should be OK by using a fast comparator IC rather than a transistor to decide - the gain of the IC allows for much smaller detection levels, so the equivalent zero-crossing velocity could be the same. An IC tripping in a 10 mV band should

Re: [time-nuts] Simple AC mains zero-cross detector

2014-12-21 Thread Charles Steinmetz
Chuck wrote: Transformers, such as are in wall warts, etc..., are wound in a way that is pretty good for 50Hz/60Hz operation, but have had nothing intentionally done to normalize operation at any other frequency. Nor have they had anything done to improve the fidelity of the signal they pass.

[time-nuts] LNA and Alias

2014-12-21 Thread Loïc Moreau
Hi all, My phase noise measurements system give erroneous results in close in phase noise measurements, I got humps in the 1Hz-1000Hz area as high à 20 dB more than expected. The setup is using a mixer to compare reference and DUT witch drive an LNA

Re: [time-nuts] DeLorme Tripmate GPS receiver

2014-12-21 Thread ed breya
I peeled open the shield can without too much deformation, so it can be restored. I found that it's a single board, with the DSP on one side, and the RF section on the other. It is a Rockwell chipset, with 11577-11 DSP, and 6732-13 RF. On searching I found that this seems to be called their