Re: [time-nuts] 3.0GHz Channel 3 installation in Agilent 53132A counter
On 3/19/2014 8:26 AM, James Robbins wrote: Thanks for everyone's help here. I have done some further sleuthing. I have a second 53132A which has a 3.0GHz Channel 3. So, I switched the new channel 3 board into the old 53132A and it reads properly. Then, I switched the old 3.0GHz Channel 3 board into the new 53132A and it also read four times (4x) the input frequency. From this I conclude that the issue is with the new 53132A counter box and not the channel 3 board. Then I powered up each counter and measured at the pins on the ribbon cable connector at the Channel 3 board to the main board on both the new and old counters (channel 3 boards plugged in and powered). They each read the same voltages and/or grounds (pin1 = 2v; 2,5,7,9,10 = ground; 3,8 = +12v; 4 = -12v with numbering based on 1 shown on channel board). Someone suggested that maybe the new main board had been set up for the 12.5 or 6GHz channel 3 but was sold without that channel. The idea was that such a main board would cause a 4x reading. To my mind this is opposite to what I would think in that the division ratio for 12.5 or 6GHz would be higher than the ratio for the 3.0GHz board and would result in a fraction of the frequency rather than 4x frequency. Of course, it could be a FW mod (rather than a HW mod) which has been applied also. Any other thoughts are much appreciated. 73, Jim Robbins N1JR ___ 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. Jim, I think the problem is with the Ch3 board as the issue migrates to the other counter with the board. Also the know good board works properly with the first counter that has issues with that board. I don't think that it would be a firmware issue as the board from the working counter works properly in the other counter with the non-working board. Hope this helps Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] Need Fluke 6071A synthesizer info
On 10/14/2013 8:44 AM, ed breya wrote: I recently acquired a Fluke 6071A, and have found some pieces of the service and operating manuals, but not the schematics. Does anyone know where the schematics can be found? This unit looks pretty good except the FREQ and UNCAL indicators are flashing. I managed to decipher enough of the diagnostic error code info to find the sub-synthesizer loop is unlocked, and I hope that adjustment of its VCO will fix it. This section is of course buried inside the inner layers of the RF deck stack, so will be tricky to get at and rig for temporary running while opened up. The manual info is good for figuring this out, but the schematics would of course be a big help for this and future maintenance. Is there any kind of fluke-nuts group on febo.com? I think there's a fluke group at yahoo, but that stupid neo form of groups interface is so screwed up that I'm reluctant to join any more yahoo groups. I will probably have to try anyway for this one. I also vaguely recall that in recent months this model was noted as being pretty good in terms of phase noise for time-nuts purposes, but I couldn't find it in the discussions. Ed ___ 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. The Fluke group on Yahoo is geared more to the meters. Arteck Media has the complete manual available on CD-Rom. I wound up with 2 of them. Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] Case for Rb Standard?
On 9/27/2013 9:14 AM, Collins, Graham wrote: One of my favourite cases for housing projects is to use an HP 37203 HPIB extender. Remove the PC Board and you are left with a power supply that is suitable for many things (or remove if not up the job), plus there is a BNC connector on the back side plus a spot where the GPIB connector poked through which can be repurposed for a D connector suitable for the task at hand. I pick these up whenever I see them at surplus places, online, or at swaps when the price is right. They can be had at such places for $20 or so but eBay prices tend to often be much higher. Cheers, Graham ve3gtc -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Tim Shoppa Sent: September-27-13 10:49 AM To: Bob Stewart; Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Case for Rb Standard? I am a fan of old stamped sheet metal mini-PC cases, and also a fan of the clamshell A/B switch cases. Usually the PC case is thin stamped sheet metal but often has a plastic fascia that goes over the sheet metal. They have lots of ventilation holes, unlike the clamshell A/B switches which tend to be thicker metal (didn't need stamping for rigidity) with fewer holes. If I need a DB-25 or DB-9 hole... the A/B serial switches are real attractive because most of them have that kind of holes and sockets in them already. Usually I just pick these out of the trash but if need be they are only a few bucks new. http://www.b2b-computer-case.com/mini-itx-case/04.htm http://www.cablesdirect.com/prodimages/CA260X_LR.jpg Tim N3QE On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 11:03 PM, Bob Stewart b...@evoria.net wrote: I've had the Rb on the shelf for a few days next to a few old 3.5 disk drives, and it suddenly struck me that they're about the same size. External drive cases and PSUs are cheap as chips, as they say, so I was wondering how many people are using an external drive case to hold their Rb standard? Any brand favorites? Bob - AE6RV ___ 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. Picked up a pair on EBay awhile back for this very purpose. Paid $20 for them. I needed a case and PS for a pair of HP attenuators... Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] HPZ3816A config - can't enter correct co-ords
On 7/12/2013 10:51 AM, Mark C. Stephens wrote: When I try to enter my antenna location as per surveyor: -33.763698 151.092111 With this scpi command: :GPS:POS S,+33,+79,3.69800E+001,E,+151,+9,+2.11100E+001,+9.45600E+001 For some reason, the Z3816A displays this: LAT S 33:59:36.980 LON E 151:09:21.110 Which is correct except the south should say 33:79:36.980. I can enter lower values that 59 for parameter 3 and it displays correct. Can't seem to find a manual for these chaps either. Shooting off the subject, Just had one arrive with a loose OCXO. Yes loose, the solder joint on the OCXO had broken away from the PCB. The intermittent contact was causing all sorts of chaos. Most noticeably, the red ALARM LED came on, but none of the scpi commands could tell me why. Health monitor reported [ OK ] shrug Anyway, Any idea how I can enter the correct co-ordinates? --marki ___ time-nuts mailing list --time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go tohttps://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there. There is only 60 minutes in a degree. thus the 79 minutes in 33:79:36.980 in incorrect. KI6WAS ___ 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 5370B dropping mains voltage...
On 7/6/2013 5:26 PM, Mark C. Stephens wrote: The elephant in the room thing with me is SAFETY :) I mean, can this be a fire hazard, what about the insulation breakdown on the secondary winding etc.. -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Burt I. Weiner Sent: Sunday, 7 July 2013 9:28 AM To: time-nuts@febo.com Subject: [time-nuts] HP 5370B dropping mains voltage... This is an old trick that I learned many years ago. By taking a transformer, driving its primary from the mains and then feeding that transformer's secondary voltage in series (either in phase or out of phase) will either add (in phase) voltage to the transformer primary, or subtract (out of phase) voltage to the transformer thereby reducing the transformer's primary voltage by the amount of the buck/boost transformers secondary voltage. It's important to use a transformer for the buck or boost circuit that can handle the amps necessary for the particular load. I often used Healthy filament transformers to do the job.For example... At one time I had a Kenwood 820S transceiver that I picked up in Japan. Japan's mains voltage was 100 VAC. When I got back home I needed to get the 120 VAC stepped down to 100 VAC to properly run this rig. What I did was to take a Triad multi-voltage Dry-Disk transformer and connect the primary winding across the 120 VAC mains. In this case I used the 18 VAC secondary windings and put that in series but out of phase, with the Kenwood Radio's primary. This reduced the 120 VAC going into the Kenwood to about 102 VAC (120V-18V=102 Volts). Had I connected the Dry-Disk transformer's winding in series and in phase I would've had 138 volts. I hope this helps. Burt, K6OQK Subject: Re: [time-nuts] HP 5370B dropping mains voltage How Does that Work Robert? I mean why out of phase? -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Robert Atkinson Subject: Re: [time-nuts] HP 5370B dropping mains voltage Hi Marki, Dropping the mains voltage is easy. Get a mains to low voltage transformer. Connect the primary across the mains and the secondary in series opposition (out of phase) with the mains supply. Foar example a 100VA 12V transformer will drop your mains to just under 238V with a maximum load of 8A (the current rating of the secondary). HTH, Robert G8RPI. Burt I. Weiner Associates Broadcast Technical Services Glendale, California U.S.A. b...@att.net www.biwa.cc K6OQK ___ 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. Check the ARRL Radio AmateurHandbook. This trick has been around for years. KI6WAS ___ 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 5370B dropping mains voltage
On 7/6/2013 2:39 PM, Mark C. Stephens wrote: How Does that Work Robert? I mean why out of phase? -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Robert Atkinson Sent: Sunday, 7 July 2013 12:57 AM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] HP 5370B dropping mains voltage Hi Marki, Dropping the mains voltage is easy. Get a mains to low voltage transformer. Connect the primary across the mains and the secondary in series opposition (out of phase) with the mains supply. Foar example a 100VA 12V transformer will drop your mains to just under 238V with a maximum load of 8A (the current rating of the secondary). HTH, Robert G8RPI. From: Mark C. Stephens ma...@non-stop.com.au To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@febo.com Sent: Saturday, 6 July 2013, 13:25 Subject: Re: [time-nuts] HP 5370B Leds pulsing slowly, buttons selecting normally, PB ... Hi Nigel, The only screw type electro can find is 29000uf@10V. it's the same dimensions. Should I risk the strain on the rectifiers (another 10Kuf is rather a lot)? Without this timer I am dead in the water so I need to do the right thing here... That's why I posted on the Agilent group too, I need to be sure that I do the right thing! By the way, the failed electro measures 39uf :) I reckon, the line voltage here is 250v and the equipment is set for 240V, that extra 10V on the mains is why I am having so much equipment failure. Also the Heat sink on the 5370B got so hot I mounted a 5 fan across it to keep it at a respectable temperature. How can I drop the Mains to 240V, I have a boat load of gear that needs to be powered concurrently. (8566A, 8568B, 3585A, 5335A, 5370B, 8901A, etc, powered on together) we are starting to talk some serious current there. -marki -Original Message- ___ 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. Because, when you wire the secondary in series with the primary out of phase, the voltage sum drops. this is because when thewave in the primary is high positive, the wave in the secondary is high negative. so a 12 volt transformer will reduce the voltage by 12 volts. If you wire them in series, it will add 12 volts. It is nothing more than an auto-transformer. KI6WAS ___ 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] OT: eBay Contact Congress
On 4/22/2013 6:13 AM, J. Forster wrote: Hi, I recieved a very odd communication, apparently from eBay, this morning. It is a request to contact Congress about sales taxes on internet sales. It APPEARS to be genuine, but I'm unconvinced. Has anybody else received this email, and is it for real? Puzzled, -John ___ 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. I have not and have been doing quite a bit of business on there lately too. Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] ***SPAM*** Exploratorium, timekeeping, pendulums, mirror
On 4/20/2013 1:59 AM, Hal Murray wrote: For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the Exploratorium is the great grandaddy of the hands-on science museums. It was started by Frank Oppenheimer way back in 1969. Anybody nutty enough to be on the time-nuts list would have a great time there. They welcome big kids as well as little kids and everything inbetween. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploratorium http://exploratorium.edu/ (time sink warning) (The best exhibits are fascinating to both toddlers and PhD physicists, but maybe not for the same reason.) I highly recommend it to anybody in the San Francisco area, either as a local or as a visitor. (Locals might want to wait until the new rush calms down, but that might take a while.) They recently moved to a new location at Pier 15 on San Francisco's Embarcadero. Last Wed was their official grand opening for the general public. They had many preview events in the previous week or two: donors, press, members, ... http://blog.makezine.com/2013/04/15/san-franciscos-new-exploratorium-unveiled/ A good friend of mine works there. He got me in last Sunday for the employees and friends (and teachers) preview. They have a good collection of pendulum exhibits, obvious bait for time-nuts. Google for Pendulum Exploratorium will get lots of hits. -- One is a set of pendulums with decreasing lengths. You start them all in sync. The lengths are carefully adjusted to an integer number of cycles in 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, they all come back in sync again. http://exs.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/pendulum-snake/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3KRWJ7ScB0 -- You can make a pendulum of length X run slower by putting a counterbalance weight on the other side. Is there a similar trick with crystals? -- From the old place: http://jackaperkins.wordpress.com/2010/12/23/the-exploratoriums-harmonic-pen dulum/ http://exs.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/resonant-pendulum/ I didn't see it last Sunday, but I could easily have missed it. -- One neat exhibit is poor by the Exploratorium standards because there is nothing to do or touch, but it's so neat they have it out on the floor anyway, and it's clearly time-nuts bait. It's a movie, taken from above, projected onto a 5ft dia screen. The field of view is roughly 30 feet across. It shows the hands of a clock. They are made out of trash. 2 guys with brooms are continually adjusting it, moving the hands to keep time. Here is a 5 minute video. Sweepers clock http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXNT4T56EmM Anybody want to estimate the adev? :) --- They have several coupled pendulum exhibits. Are coupled pendulums (or oscillators?) useful for timekeeping? They sure are weird face to face. The best one is out front as an art exhibit. It's a T with swivel arms on each end of the T. http://exs.exploratorium.edu/exhibits/chaotic-pendulum/ Total chaos, but fascinating. I've seen small plastic versions. This one is big, serious, made out of steel. It's enclosed in a plastic box so the flailing arms won't break any human arms, fingers or skulls. It's amazingly seductive especially if you approach when it is idle (rare), all you have to do is give the obvious knob a gentle twist and it goes berserk. I gather it's very good at testing the bearings. (Fortunately, the Exploratorium staff is very good at fixing things. It's part of their culture.) --- They had two honest to goodness clocks. One was a classic tower clock driven by weights. There were motors to automagically rewind the weights. It was packaged inside a glass box so you could walk around and look at everything. (It was nice to look at, but there was nothing to do/touch so it was low on the Exploratorium goodness scale (my opinion).) The other was a new art exhibit. Once, I saw it doing it's dance, but mostly it just sat there so I wasn't very interested. It was big so you couldn't see the details. Tinkerer's Clock http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/south-gallery/tinkerers-clock http://blog.makezine.com/2013/04/15/san-franciscos-new-exploratorium-unveiled/ It didn't have anything to do or poke that I noticed. --- I think the coolest new exhibit is a giant mirror. http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/central-gallery/giant-mirror I can't think of any way to link it to time, so the rest of this is OT. :) The place closed at 5. We weren't going to make the 5:15 train, so we sat down and relaxed for a while before heading for the 6:15 train. On the way out, we stopped by the mirror. The mirror is 12 ft wide and 8 ft tall, facing you. The focal distance is about 6 feet. If you are outside the focal distance, everything behind you is inverted. Your brain adapts quickly. As you step inside that line, your giant head turns right side up. The background stuff is still upside down. Your brain locks on to you and flips to normal mode. For me, the place was
Re: [time-nuts] 57600 baud rate with Basic???
On 10/9/2012 11:55 AM, shali...@gmail.com wrote: I am pretty sure good old Visual Basic Pro version 6.0 (and newer) supports to 115kb. GW Basic officially makes you a dinosaur... Didier KO4BB Sent from my Droid Razr 4G LTE wireless tracker. -Original Message- From: cdel...@juno.com To: time-nuts@febo.com Sent: Tue, 09 Oct 2012 12:46 PM Subject: [time-nuts] 57600 baud rate with Basic??? Hi, I'm currently using a GWBasic program at 9600 Baud to get 1 second T.I. data (12 digits) from an SR620 counter, display the reading , put the reading into a file, name the file sequentialy, and either save or delete the file via a function key. I'm switching to a new counter that outputs at 57600 Baud (9 digits). Is there a version of Basic I can use that would support that 57600 Baud rate? Thanks, Corby Woman is 53 But Looks 25 Mom reveals 1 simple wrinkle trick that has angered doctors... http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/507462c97549762c919e3st02duc ___ 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. How about BasicA?? ___ 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] Why the fuss?
On 9/27/2012 2:06 PM, Bob Camp wrote: Hi Hit send to soon. The title stuff comes from the developer not the builder. All the developers seem to subscribe to the same newsletter that comes up with a standard set of stuff to add to the title. Bob -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of d.sei...@comcast.net Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 4:34 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Why the fuss? These are amoung other reasons why I will never buy a house in a development or with a HOA. -Dave - Original Message - From: Bob Camp li...@rtty.us To: j...@quikus.com, Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@febo.com Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 11:36:23 AM Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Why the fuss? Hi and indeed many of the likely hiding places are also on the list of things you are not supposed to do. Bob -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of J. Forster Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 2:20 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Why the fuss? Vent pipes are not usually 20-30 feet tall. -John = Which for all intents and purposes means nothing that looks like an antenna to John Q. Public. What if your GPS antenna looked like a vent pipe? or a Bird House? It may be difficult to hide a decent HF antenna, But, a 1.5 GHz antenna can be virtually invisible. Dale NV8U -Original Message- From: Bob Camp Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 1:02 PM To: 'Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement' Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Why the fuss? Hi Right here in PA for one. You essentially can not buy a new house without there being various conditions written into the title. One universal one is no antennas. The only exception is for one 19 sat dish for TV, since that's a federal mandate. Bob -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of brent evers Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2012 10:57 AM To: j...@quikus.com; Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Why the fuss? Zoning, Legal? Where? Brent On Thu, Sep 27, 2012 at 10:41 AM, J. Forster j...@quikus.com wrote: Because: LORAN-C is gone. Not all can use GPS because of siting, horizon, zoning, legal, and other issues. Not everyone can erect antenna towers. There is nothing else, except perhaps WWV or CHU on HF. -John == I cannot think of a time-nuts WWVB reference requirement that cannot be better satisfied with a GPSDO. Will NIST publish a public domain reference circuit? That would allay patent concerns. -- Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX N2469R c...@omen.com www.omen.com Developer of Industrial ZMODEM(Tm) for Embedded Applications Omen Technology Inc The High Reliability Software 10255 NW Old Cornelius Pass Portland OR 97231 503-614-0430 ___ 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. ___ 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. ___ 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. Most of the stuff is boiler plate
Re: [time-nuts] BPSK Receiver GPS Antenna siting
On 9/27/2012 4:20 PM, Bob Camp wrote: Hi At least in my back yard, a 6' tall tripod would be very noticeable from a number of directions. There are many others in similar situations. If I were to interpret the restrictions literally as written, an antenna that was inside the house, but visible through an open window is also a violation. Bob On Sep 27, 2012, at 7:11 PM, johncr...@aol.com wrote: Various comments - Hal mentioned SNR for the scheme I suggested. A PLL can be a coherent demodulator of arbitrary bandwidth. Thus the PLL at the output of the doubler can have a small bandwidth since at that point there is no PSK, it having been removed by the doubler. So given a stable VCXO you can probably get down to 1 Hz and thereby achieve a good SNR. There is a lot of stuff out there on phase tracking receivers that do exactly that. You know the frequency so the loop does not have to search far and the BW can be increased for acquisition and closed up for tracking. On writing reams of code - my point was that it is not required to used the admittedly more powerful software techniques to do this job - I noted that one reason to write reams of code is for the fun of it, this is after all a hobby. GPS Antenna Siting - Lets not make this so hard. Mine is at 6 ft elevation and is blocked to an elevation angle of 20 to 30 degrees by a house within 15 ft and a forest of trees. I have room and no restrictions but I also have severe thunderstorms - so the house plays lightning protect for the antenna. My T bolt tracks a Rb to better than 1e-12 over 24 hours with no serious 10 MHz phase bumps as plotted on a strip chart recorder. So - Put your antenna at 6 ft in back yard. Start out on a photo tripod - who is gonna notice? set up a t bolt at EL=5 AMU=0 Damping = 1.2 and Time Constant = 100 sec. get the t bolt manual get Tbolt monitor get Lady Heather and read all that stuff. Run Lady Heather antenna survey (command SAS) for at least two days - you get a map of signal level in dBc vs elevation Reset the Tbolt elevation mask to reject anything that is shown as blocked using the signal level map. Likewise experiment with the AMU setting to reject the weak = poor signals. Mine works good with AMU all the way up to 10 as fewer good satellites are better than lots of weak ones. The satellites are in high orbits so masking those below 25 degrees is OK and the AMU sets the acceptable signal level - at AMU 10 my setup throws out those below about 40 dBc - the strong guys go up to 50. This is a function of you antenna performance so some experimentation is required. -73 john k6iql ___ 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. Put up a flagpole. Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] BPSK Receiver GPS Antenna siting
On 9/27/2012 7:27 PM, Peter Gottlieb wrote: Flagpoles need caps, right? A GPS antenna would be just perfect. And a fiberglass flagpole could hide a significant HF vertical! On 9/27/2012 10:24 PM, Randy D. Hunt wrote: Put up a flagpole. Randy, KI6WAS ___ ___ 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. exactly!! See the ads in the Ham mags. . . Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] RE; New Wrist watch
On 9/12/2012 2:21 AM, Azelio Boriani wrote: Interesting: trying to hear a low frequency crystal using a microphone... it should be hard: the crystal has to make the case vibrate and this is energy consuming (unless it resonates). I don't expect to pick up nothing, except the step motor driving the hands. On Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at 9:45 AM, Hal Murray hmur...@megapathdsl.net wrote: I have a $49 Casio Wave Ceptor, white face black numerals, analog hands including second hand, date, alarm and WWVB syncing in the middle of the night. Only had to replace the battery once and it ticks are closer than I can discern when comparing to WWV @ 10or 15 Mhz. Has anybody listened to such a watch? (with a microphone) Can you hear both the 32KHz basic timekeeping as well as the tick when the second hand takes a step? -- These are my opinions. I hate spam. ___ 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. Not only that, but 32,000 Hz is about 12,000 Hz higher than the highest frequency that we are supposed to be able to hear. . . Randy ___ 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] Fwd: Re: Lucent GPS and RB pair
Original Message Subject:Re: [time-nuts] Lucent GPS and RB pair Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:00:29 -0700 From: Randy D. Hunt randy_hunt...@yahoo.com To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@febo.com On 8/20/2012 9:09 AM, paul swed wrote: Asking the wrong guy. No clue Regards Paul On Sun, Aug 19, 2012 at 11:09 PM, Tom Knox act...@hotmail.com wrote: Hi Paul; Has anyone played with these Lucent units much to see if LH could be tweaked to work? Thanks; Thomas Knox Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2012 22:44:38 -0400 From: paulsw...@gmail.com To: time-nuts@febo.com Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Lucent GPS and RB pair Boy do I agree with Bobs comment. But I have several of the lucent RBs and at least most of mine are quite old. Hey $20 you can't really argue. Or as they say you get what you pay for. So reasonable is a curious question. Or a caution. By the way I am not at all complaining actually. Regards Paul. WB8TSL On Sun, Aug 19, 2012 at 9:13 PM, Bob Camp li...@rtty.us wrote: Hi Compared to the other two, there is a lot less support for the RFTG parts. Lady Heather is a *very* good reason to use a TBolt. Bob On Aug 19, 2012, at 9:06 PM, Jerry jster...@att.net wrote: Hi, I am looking for opinions on the RFT Gm II- XO and RFT Gm II- RB combination compared to TBolt or HP 3815A. I can get the Lucent pair at a very reasonable price. Are manuals easily obtained for them? Thanks Jerry K1JOS ___ 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. ___ 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. list: I don't know about LH. But the Lucent software is out there. It just takes some searching to find it. I have it around here somewhere. I moved in Feb and still have not got the bench set up. There is some documentation out there too. Just takes some hunting to find it. Check to archives of this list for a lot of it. I have a pair that that had been running 24x7 for about 9 months. no problems. Hope this helps. Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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 117/10509a
On 7/4/2012 11:09 PM, Charles P. Steinmetz wrote: Don wrote: the fet breakdown voltage has of course got to be high enough. If the nuvistor is used as a common-cathode or common-grid amplifier, you can cascode the fet with a bipolar to extend its drain voltage range. You will need to come up with an appropriate bias source for the bipolar. Generally, you would want at least 10-15 volts across the FET channel. Choose an appropriate JFET (transconductance, drain current, and gate-drain voltage similar to the nuvistor at the nuvistor's operating point). You can add degeneration (source resistance) to lower the FET's transconductance if it is higher than the nuvistor's. Best regards, Charles ___ 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. I have a PDF document that covers this for Fetrons. This is from Teledyne. It shows some of the more common tube replacements with the circuit and actual device number. Let me know if you would like a copy and I will sent it to you. Or, maybe a better option would be to upload it to something like Didiers site. . . Randy ___ 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 117/10509a
On 7/5/2012 3:57 PM, bill wrote: On 7/5/2012 9:49 AM, Randy D. Hunt wrote: On 7/4/2012 11:09 PM, Charles P. Steinmetz wrote: Don wrote: the fet breakdown voltage has of course got to be high enough. If the nuvistor is used as a common-cathode or common-grid amplifier, you can cascode the fet with a bipolar to extend its drain voltage range. You will need to come up with an appropriate bias source for the bipolar. Generally, you would want at least 10-15 volts across the FET channel. Choose an appropriate JFET (transconductance, drain current, and gate-drain voltage similar to the nuvistor at the nuvistor's operating point). You can add degeneration (source resistance) to lower the FET's transconductance if it is higher than the nuvistor's. Best regards, Charles ___ 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. I have a PDF document that covers this for Fetrons. This is from Teledyne. It shows some of the more common tube replacements with the circuit and actual device number. Let me know if you would like a copy and I will sent it to you. Or, maybe a better option would be to upload it to something like Didiers site. . . Randy ___ 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. Yes do upload it. I have some Fetrons and want to know what they replace. And in my other life, I ordered some custom Fetrons to replace some WE tubes that was used in WE K carrier. If you don't upload it, send a copy. Bill K7NOM ___ 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. I uploaded the PDF to Didiers' site. Hope this helps some of you out there. . . Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] question about Thunderbolt geo acuracy
On 5/11/2012 6:46 AM, Jim Lux wrote: On 5/11/12 5:23 AM, swingbyte wrote: s disappointing! I need to measure the height of my house floor to be above the flood plane contour. I might have a look at some dted from work. Might have to pay a real surveyor to measure the height datum. Thanks for all the info though guys for that, you need a real surveyor who can provide a legally accepted measurement. Someone who can a) know from the flood level definition what vertical datum they are using (probably NOT something normal in the geodesy world) b) knows the legalities of establishing the difference The mechanics of surveying (leveling in this case) are straightforward to learn. The legalities and local practices in documentation are not. This is what getting a Land Surveyor's license is all about. There's also a question of what the legal height of your house is, relative to the property (from a flood insurance standpoint). They might have some arbitrary offset in the rules. Sort of like how baseline electrical power consumption is actually about 2/3 of the expected minimum consumption in the area for a given size house and appliances (e.g. nobody is likely to consume less than baseline) There are some mortgage servicers, by the way, who take property addresses that have been geolocated and FEMA flood plain definition maps to determine whether you definitely don't, definitely do, or just might need flood insurance. The maps change (as does the geolocation). From what I understand, about 3-5% of the properties scanned require some sort of manual intervention (maybe the address doesn't geolocate, or it's right on the line, or) ___ 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. Actually, The percentage can be higher. The scale of the FEMA flood panels are usually around 1=2000. Some of the older panels were 1=4000. The newest panels can be around 1=1000 (approx 5 to the section). Horizontal scale is not the problem, it's the vertical scale. Also how the stream bed profile was established (surveyed). There can be a lot of change in the real world compared to was gets plotted on the panel and in the profile. When there is an obvious discrepancy between the two (mapped profile and real world) a registered surveyor or engineer must be called in to reconcile the difference. The cost for doing this might seem high, but when compared to the cost of flood insurance paid over the life of a mortgage, it's very cheep. Just my 2 cents worth. . . Randy Hunt, retired Engineering Technician, Flood Plain Administrator (32years) ___ 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] Oh dear
On 5/6/2012 7:39 PM, Jim Palfreyman wrote: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Antelope-Audio-Isochrone-10M-Rubidium-Atomic-Clock-/270809581736?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0hash=item3f0d8248a8 Make sure you read the description to discover what it's being sold for. My chuckle for the day. Jim Palfreyman ___ 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. Audiophools strike again Randy ___ 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] Oh dear
On 5/7/2012 2:20 AM, Attila Kinali wrote: On Mon, 07 May 2012 13:40:15 +0530 Rajvu2...@gmail.com wrote: I once did a test with a audio expert and compared a CD and a digital copy. He confirmed that the copy was the original and when I showed him which was which he still refused to believe.. I know a local guy who gold plated the PCBs for his home brewed amp! Well.. there is lots of bogus information going around in the audiophile scene... Probably mostly because todays audio technology is so advanced, that Clarke's 3rd Law applies... But to bring this back to time nutty topics, have a look at http://www.colorfly.eu/product.html It's an MP3 player with high precision timing. It does not only use two TCXOs with5ps Jitter.. No! It also employes a technique known as Jitter Kill for the ultimate mobile sound experience! :-) Attila Kinali Yup! Audiophools strike again. . . Randy ___ 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] FS700 antenna
On 5/5/2012 11:23 AM, Poul-Henning Kamp wrote: In message4fa56efa.8080...@verizon.net, Stan, W1LE writes: The classical approach: Look at the spectrum and notch or filter out what is not wanted. The problem with this is that the switch-mode supply is not a very good radio-transmitter, so it wanders all over the place and your notch filter will only catch it every so often. The only thing that works for this, is to move your antenna away from the (primarily magnetic) fields of switch mode power supplies. Dump the switch mode PS. . . Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] PICTIC II ready-made?
On 4/25/2012 7:44 AM, Attila Kinali wrote: On Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:24:50 +0200 Azelio Borianiazelio.bori...@screen.it wrote: I agree, nevertheless let me add: because it is a hobby project it is good also starting to learn how to use the soldering iron. But for that, you need someone who shows you how to solder. You can learn it yourself, but it takes a lot more time and you waste a lot of electronics... and often you dont even know that the joints aren't good... Attila Kinali Then there is also the matter of surface mount components. Some people my not physically be able to work with them, learning to solder or not. I am rapidly joining that group be cause of my vision. Just my 2 cents worth. . . Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] Best location for a GPS antenna...?
On 4/12/2012 5:06 PM, Mark Spencer wrote: I was a guest in a home that lost power due to a lightning strike on the power pole across the street. Once the power company replaced the transformer on the pole the power came back on and as far as I know there was no lasting damage to any of the electronics in the house. I was sleeping in the bedroom that was closest to the pole that was hit and the flash woke me up. None of my electronic gear (laptop, cell phone, black berry etc) that was plugged in seemed any worse for wear. I was lucky. This was in a lightning prone area and and I believe the owners had surge suppressors on their electronics. I realize all lightning strikes will be different but my experience was similar to the ones outlined by Bob. -- On Thu, 12 Apr, 2012 7:54 PM EDT Bob Camp wrote: Hi In the same area of what I have seen. I used to live in a neighborhood where strikes were quite common. It was a rare summer month that there was not one or more hits in the neighborhood. Nobody's house burned down. They (I) did not loose every electronic device within 100' or 1000' of the strike. The thing *least* likely to be bothered turned out to be stuff with receivers in them (radios and the like). Bob On Apr 12, 2012, at 6:58 PM, EB4APL wrote: Hi, I have a personal reference: In the Deep Space tracking facility where I used to work some 20 years ago it was very common to have minicomputers damaged by strikes in the antenna. This antenna was located about 1000' from the control room and there were an elaborate grounding system both in the antenna (mainly intended to protect from lightning) and in the control room, but we got TTL chips damaged very often during thunderstorms. The common believe was the high currents induced in the ground cabling caused voltage spikes inside the computer cabinets enough to fry the chips. I don't remember failures in the receivers, transmitters or other subsystems, but minicomputers were the usual targets, one or two chips each time. Regards, Ignacio, EB4APL On 12/04/2012 23:21, Bob Camp wrote: Hi Do you have a reference for 100' distant strikes routinely destroying receivers? Bob -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Chris Albertson Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 3:25 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Best location for a GPS antenna...? On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 11:56 AM, Randy D. Hunt randy_hunt...@yahoo.comwrote: On 4/12/2012 1:10 AM, Heinzmann, Stefan (ALC NetworX GmbH) wrote: What about mounting the antenna on the side of the metal pole, with the top of the pole extending a foot or more above the antenna? Typically when a receiver or other radio is destroyed it was NOT because of a direct strike. A strike within maybe 100 feet is enough. There is a _huge_ EMP field around the strike. The field will induce large currents in any nearby conductors. Even if the strike is to bare Earth many feet from the antenna the potential of the earth is raised by say 1,000 volts so now anything connected between ground the power has 1KV across it. Chris Albertson Redondo Beach, California ___ ___ 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. I lived in a 2-story townhouse a lot of years ago and experienced a strike in an oak tree about 2 blocks away. It was a spring storm that turned black. When the lightning hit the tree, it made a flash that looked liked it hit the building where i lived. The boom shook everything. The next day it was discovered that the strike blew off a limb that was about a foot and a half in diameter and scattered it for about a block and a half damaging cars and buildings. anyway, I came to a new respect for lightning. Randy ___ 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] Best location for a GPS antenna...?
On 4/12/2012 1:10 AM, Heinzmann, Stefan (ALC NetworX GmbH) wrote: What about mounting the antenna on the side of the metal pole, with the top of the pole extending a foot or more above the antenna? The idea is to have the lightning bolt strike the pole, but not the antenna. The cable shield would need to be insulated from the pole, but grounded on entry to the building. Would the pole disturb the GPS signal to any noticeable extent? Cheers Stefan ___ 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. I would think that if a lightning bolt hit that close to the antenna, it would still cause considerable damage. Think EMP. Randy ___ 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] Holy cesium clock, Batman!
On 4/7/2012 8:18 PM, Brent Gordon wrote: Same Bat Time! Same Bat Channel! On 4/7/2012 8:38 PM, J. Forster wrote: So, what's the time? -John - On 08/04/12 02:59, Mark Sims wrote: One of the nose-bleed channels (MeTV) just showed an old 1980's Batman show where the infamous, evil, dastardly villain Clock King attempted to steal a Cesium Clock (worth over one million dollars!). He was unsuccessful and is still out there. All time-nuts, protect your Cesium Clocks! We cannot let him be successful in obtaining this vital technology. http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/The_Clock_King_(Walter_Slezak) (BTW, did you know there is a town named Batman in Turkey?) ___ 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. Does Batman use a Cesium clock to determine Bat Time? ___ 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] 5370B Manual - Searchable?
On 4/6/2012 11:46 PM, Rix Seacord wrote: Ed Is that a function of the pdf file or the reader? I've been using Foxit Phantom that will even search multiple pdf files in the same folder. Good luck in your quest. Ewing (Rix) Seacord K2AVP/4/499 eseac...@verizon.net 845-628-0892 Home 914-262-9186 Cell 914-233-3886 Skype Notebook On 4/7/2012 12:00 AM, Ed Palmer wrote: Is there a pdf of the HP 5370B Manual that allows you to search for text? Thanks in advance, Ed ___ 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. the reader ___ 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] 60Hz More or Less
On 4/1/2012 3:18 PM, Ed Mersich wrote: My Heathkit, and other AC clocks have been broken for months now. I started a project to figure out how bad it was. It's getting interesting as I am approaching my goal of coding a software emulation of an AC line clock. During the process I developed a couple of web pages to help me understand the problem better. Frequency meter: http://wa6rzw.homelinux.net/addon/grid/gauge/hertz.html Grid history graph: http://wa6rzw.homelinux.net/addon/grid/graph/wgraph_1.html The meter requires a real HTML5 browser, anything but MSIE. When I started this my goal was to provide an external reference source to the Heathkit CG-1005, so that it will keep correct time. Since I began I have considered a number of hardware solutions to correct or modify the Heathkit. I think I am dragging my feet because there are no replacement clock chips (in case of disaster,) to be found for this model. At the moment I am thinking about modifying a DC-AC inverter and syncing it to an audio oscillator, (don't laugh, my Heathkit 30 year old audio generator is way better, more stable, than the grid). 73, Ed - WA6RZW ___ 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. I used to have a webpage bookmarked where they did this. The author of the page hooked up a hydrogen maser to an HP3325b set to 60 Hz then drove an HP bipolar amplifier with the 3325 to drive a mechanical flip clock at 100 VAC @ 60.00 Hz. Interesting page, is billed as Worlds most accurate mechanical clock. OBTW, he had several HP cesiums available too. . . Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] Fail on HP5065A PSU repair
On 4/1/2012 4:53 PM, paul swed wrote: Yes thats what makes old gear fun. It costs $0 up front and lots of time ongoing. :-) On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 7:44 PM, Magnus Danielsonmag...@rubidium.dyndns.org wrote: Fellow time-nuts, I'm sure you all have done this at least once. Repaired something up, feeling happy about it, slap it in and then if fails on you again. The transformer in the DC-DC converter failed again. Popped the lid even. *sigh* I think I will have to rebuild that from scratch. Cheers, Magnus __**_ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/** mailman/listinfo/time-nutshttps://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. This is where you find another junker for pennies or free for parts and hope it isn't the same problem. I had an HP 54502a scope that started to reboot randomly. Instead of fixing it, I feel I would be money ahead and bought another one for parts. Got it at a better price than the first one and guess what, it worked better too. . . Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] Distribution amp - Use a video amp unit ?
On 3/26/2012 8:15 AM, Charles P. Steinmetz wrote: Bruce wrote: A circuit schematic for a current feedback triple with reasonably low noise and distortion is attached. Quite a good performer for such a simple circuit. I found, both in modeling and on the bench, that there is the usual noise bump at 200-300 MHz and non-monotonic behavior out in the 900 MHz region. The latter can be solved by using an MPSH10 for Q1, which also brings the in-band noise and phase noise down a little. The former can be addressed by adding 8-10 pF across R2, at the expense of lowering the 3 dB point from around 150 MHz to around 80 MHz. For use as a 5 or 10 MHz distribution amp, I'd include the cap. The input impedance stays decently high everywhere the amp has useful gain -- there should be no problem paralleling 10 of them on a 50 ohm source. You can raise R2 just a tad to get back to unity gain, if needed. The reverse isolation is about 35 dB. This can be improved to around 50 dB by adding an emitter follower at the input, adjusting R7 and R8 to maintain Q1's base voltage. The noise increase is negligible. It is fairly sensitive to power supply noise, so you want a nice quiet supply. I used a regulator built with an LM399 and LT1028. Since the transformer is 1:1, one might be tempted to omit it. For a distribution amp that will be connected to a number of different instruments, however, one is well advised to include it to isolate the various returns. 6 bifilar turns on a T43-37 toroid core and 14 bifilar turns on a T61-37 both worked fine for me. If you have 1:1 transformers from a spare Ethernet card, those should, too. For a QD distribution amp, this would be a pretty good candidate. Best regards, Charles ___ 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. if one is distributing 10 Mhz, does it really matter what the circuit does at 300 and 900 Mhz?? 73's, Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] OT - Portable Digital 'scope
On 2/23/2012 12:32 PM, Robert LaJeunesse wrote: Looks interesting, but... 1) The probe connectors are not the usual BNC. Are they anything common? 2) No mating cables or connectors provided for channels 3,4, and function generator output. 3) Function generator output will have significant DC bias and no anti-aliasing. 4) Does not appear to be able to save files to a flash drive. 5) When connected to a PC the PC's earthing is carried through to the probes. No experience, sorry. Bob LaJeunesse From: Tom Knoxact...@hotmail.com To: time-nuts@febo.com Sent: Thu, February 23, 2012 3:10:26 PM Subject: Re: [time-nuts] OT - Portable Digital 'scope Two things that jumps out is they have the schematic on the listing and the price. Thomas Knox From: robkimber...@btinternet.com To: time-nuts@febo.com Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:01:18 + Subject: [time-nuts] OT - Portable Digital 'scope I'm looking at Item: 300658066641 on EBay, and wanted to know if anyone in the group had any experience of this product. I know this is way off topic, but as a group it's nice to know what's out there and possibly useful in our mutual hobby. Thanks for reading. Rob Kimberley ___ 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. Ch's C D are on other side. ___ 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] Lucent RFTGm-II-XO and RFTGm-II-Rb pin outs andinterconnect
On 2/3/2012 5:32 AM, J. L. Trantham wrote: Randy, I checked Didier's site and there is some information there but I seem to remember a more detailed description with pictures of the cables, etc. I can't remember if it applied to the RFTGm or the RFTGm-II. Perhaps they are the same. I still haven't found what I seem to remember though. Thanks, Joe -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Randy D. Hunt Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2012 11:05 PM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTGm-II-XO and RFTGm-II-Rb pin outs andinterconnect check Dedier's site ___ ___ 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. There is a lot of info in the archives on this list. The most detailed connection i recall was for the 'RFG' series units Do a search for RFTG and be prepared to read a lot of hits. I have a 'RFTG' pair wired per info from this site and are very happy with the results. unfortunately I just moved (last weekend) and don't have access to my equipment. ___ 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] Lucent RFTGm-II-XO and RFTGm-II-Rb pin outs and interconnect
On 1/29/2012 5:52 PM, J. L. Trantham wrote: I seem to recall seeing this (or perhaps for the 'non-II' units) in the past but can't seem to find it. Can anyone point me to the pin outs and interconnects for these units? Thanks in advance. Joe ___ 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. check Dedier's site ___ 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] FE-5680A arrived
On 1/11/2012 12:22 PM, Tom Holmes wrote: You might also consider adding the TAPR Fat PPS to stretch the pulse. See TAPR.org. Tom Holmes, N8ZM Tipp City, OH EM79 -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of David Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 10:17 AM To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement Subject: Re: [time-nuts] FE-5680A arrived On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:35:56 -0600, Bob Smithersmit...@c-c-i.com wrote: Joseph Gray wrote: I'm not seeing a PPS on either of these. All I see is about 17 mV P-P of noise that looks like a multi-stepped sine wave. I'm using a TDS 340 scope. I can see the 1 usec, 1pps on mine, but only if I use an analog storage scope. Although my HP54000 series scope triggers at 1PPS, for the life of me I cannot get it to display the 1 usec pulse :-(. You might need to darken the oscilloscope environment or use a viewing hood. Some analog non-storage oscilloscopes, either because of design or age, are not going to be able to display a short pulse at 1 second intervals. I tested this on my old but in good condition 2230 and it could display it dimly in normal room light but my older worn 7603 can not. ___ 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. Or you might take a look at Don Lancaster's TTL Cookbook. All kind of pulse stretchers in there. Randy ___ 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] Differences / Jitter Between Frequency Standard Sources
On 11/24/2011 10:01 AM, Robin Kimberley wrote: Any frequency counter will have an given accuracy +/- the LSD (least significant digit), so alternating between 10.000 and 9.999 looks perfectly normal to me. Rob Kimberley -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Frederick Bray Sent: 24 November 2011 17:56 To: time-nuts@febo.com Subject: [time-nuts] Differences / Jitter Between Frequency Standard Sources I have what would probably be considered to be a newbie question, so please excuse my likely ignorance. I have a HP 5385A frequency counter, which I am using with an external standard. If I try to compare one 10 MHz standard against another, using one as the external standard and the other as the device being measured, the readout fluctuates between 10.000 and 9.999. This happens when I am comparing a Z3801A and the Trimble look-a-like using the same GPS antenna and identical cables (including length) between the GPS antenna splitter and the two units. I have also used identical cables between the 10 MHz outputs and the counters. Hence, cable variations shouldn't be the issue. The same thing happens comparing the Timesource 2700 against either of the GPS standards. Is this attributable to the different standards or the frequency counter? I haven't yet set up a dual trace scope to compare the various sources directly, but that will be my next step. Thanks for any comments, etc. Fred Bray W6WAW ___ 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. actually, any digital display system would be +-1 count in the least significant position. counters, voltmeters, etc. randy ___ 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] Lucent RFTG-m-XO GPSDO
On 10/11/2011 6:28 PM, Peter Bell wrote: For some reason, the No GPS LED is back - although the GPS is tracking 8 satellites in 3D mode and according to the TRAIM status the timing error is below the alarm threshhold (alarm = 1300ns, current = 43ns) - I guess the uinit has it's own standards for the GPS quality, and they are being violated in some way. Still. at ;least I have seen it running with that LED off, which is a positve sign :) On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 5:42 AM, k4...@aol.comk4...@aol.com wrote: If I recall, the firmware in the RFTGm collects about an hours worth of position info and does an average to establish a self-survey. The next time you cycle power, it will check the new position against the stored one and if within 50 feet or so, it will use the stored position. That's probably why it took a while for the LED to extinguish. Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless -Original message- From: Peter Bellbell.pe...@gmail.com To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurementtime-nuts@febo.com Sent: Tue, Oct 11, 2011 12:49:45 GMT+00:00 Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTG-m-XO GPSDO The Rx was defective - I just got the new one, hooked it up to my little test rig anf the antenna, and it happily picked up satellites and got a position fix. Swapped it into the box, and found a TTL level copy of the RX data stream from the encore on pin 2 of the interface connector, so hooked that up to a TTL-RS232 converter so I could monitor what was happening. It all seemed to be tracking OK, although the No GPS LED was still on, so I just left it and after a couple of hours the LED went out. Next step is getting the Rb working :) On Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 2:41 AM, k4...@aol.comk4...@aol.com wrote: Hi Peter, yes it sounds like the UT+ is defective if it never gets any sats. You can probably find one on eBay. Someone probably fired RF into the receiver front-end and zapped it. I think the antenna you are using should be OK. I will look for my drawings on this unit and send copies to you. And I know I have the software too, just need to find it! I have read in some of the notes here on time-nuts that people may be able to use RS232 for communicating with the RFTG units. But it was designed for RS422 and I would suggest you use RS422 for best results. I use a little RS422-4S232 converter which has worked fine for me. The early units had FRS rubidiums in them. The LPRO was used in the newer units. So, you have the more recent design. Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless -Original message- From: Peter Bellbell.pe...@gmail.com To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurementtime-nuts@febo.com Sent: Sun, Oct 9, 2011 05:52:25 GMT+00:00 Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTG-m-XO GPSDO On Sun, Oct 9, 2011 at 3:31 AM, k4...@aol.comk4...@aol.com wrote: Peter, do you have the software for this unit? The GPS antenna is supposed to draw apx. 20 mA at 5 volts in order for the NO GPS LED to turn off. ATT (Lucent) used the MicroPulse timing antenna (later sold and now provided by PCTE). You are correct in that Efratom used the Motorola UT+ 8 channel GPS receiver on these units. The rubidium companion box used the data from the same receiver (via an interconnect cable between the two units). Let me know if you have questions on this unit, Regards, Doug Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless -Original message- From: Peter Bellbell.pe...@gmail.com To: time-nuts@febo.com Sent: Fri, Oct 7, 2011 14:13:31 GMT+00:00 Subject: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTG-m-XO GPSDO I have been playing with one of these units, and noticed that there has been some discussion on them before on this list, so I wondered if anyone might have any suggestions. Basically, the unit powers up correctly, but the No GPS LED never goes off - this obviously could be because it's broken or doesn't like my antenna, but with some of these telecom GPSDOs you have to manually trigger a site survey if you move them to another location. Does anyone know if this Lucent box is like that? Everything else seems to be working - once the OK light comes on the 15MHz output is enbled, the No GPS LED goes from solid to blinking if you disconnect the antenna - it just doesn't want to get GPS lock. I suppose I could pull the Oncore board (a UT+ according to the label) out of it and test that on it's own - but I thiought I would see if maybe it's a known issue first. Hi, Doug I don't have any documentation at all - just the actual box. The antenna is one that originally came with a Furuno marine GPS, but the spec looks plausible (+5V @ 40mA, Internal L1 preamp with 26dB gain - and it has worked with several other GPS units without problems. I just pulled the oncore out, and connected it up outside the box - and it doesn't work. It passes the self test with a response code of (or 8000 with the antenna disconnected / 4000 with a short on the antenna socket - so it seems the current consumption
Re: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTG-m-XO GPSDO
On 10/9/2011 6:55 AM, EB4APL wrote: Peter, My UT+ works ok with common antennas, I tested it with a Trimble 28367-00 and with a INPAQ AAF-03B 5V. Both are quite old garden variety GPS antennas intended for car navigators so your problem can be in the receiver. I bought mine from fluke.l and he still have some available on his other shop: http://www.ebay.com/itm/130303889204?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 http://www.ebay.com/itm/130303889204?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 They are cheap enough to buy one as a spare just in case. Also you can try with another antenna anyway, because the receiver checks only that an antenna is connected (that is, the current range is right) but your antenna could became defective. Regards, Ignacio On 09/10/2011 7:52, Peter Bell wrote: On Sun, Oct 9, 2011 at 3:31 AM, k4...@aol.comk4...@aol.com wrote: Peter, do you have the software for this unit? The GPS antenna is supposed to draw apx. 20 mA at 5 volts in order for the NO GPS LED to turn off. ATT (Lucent) used the MicroPulse timing antenna (later sold and now provided by PCTE). You are correct in that Efratom used the Motorola UT+ 8 channel GPS receiver on these units. The rubidium companion box used the data from the same receiver (via an interconnect cable between the two units). Let me know if you have questions on this unit, Regards, Doug Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless -Original message- From: Peter Bellbell.pe...@gmail.com To: time-nuts@febo.com Sent: Fri, Oct 7, 2011 14:13:31 GMT+00:00 Subject: [time-nuts] Lucent RFTG-m-XO GPSDO I have been playing with one of these units, and noticed that there has been some discussion on them before on this list, so I wondered if anyone might have any suggestions. Basically, the unit powers up correctly, but the No GPS LED never goes off - this obviously could be because it's broken or doesn't like my antenna, but with some of these telecom GPSDOs you have to manually trigger a site survey if you move them to another location. Does anyone know if this Lucent box is like that? Everything else seems to be working - once the OK light comes on the 15MHz output is enbled, the No GPS LED goes from solid to blinking if you disconnect the antenna - it just doesn't want to get GPS lock. I suppose I could pull the Oncore board (a UT+ according to the label) out of it and test that on it's own - but I thiought I would see if maybe it's a known issue first. Hi, Doug I don't have any documentation at all - just the actual box. The antenna is one that originally came with a Furuno marine GPS, but the spec looks plausible (+5V @ 40mA, Internal L1 preamp with 26dB gain - and it has worked with several other GPS units without problems. I just pulled the oncore out, and connected it up outside the box - and it doesn't work. It passes the self test with a response code of (or 8000 with the antenna disconnected / 4000 with a short on the antenna socket - so it seems the current consumption is OK) - but no matter how long you leave it it still says it's tracking 0 satellites, although it happiy generates status reports. I wonder if this UT+ version is expecially sensitive to the antenna? I remember that the oncore VP would work with pretty much anything you hooked up to it. Of course, it's equally possible that the GPS module is defective. I'm tending towards broken - I also got an RTFG-m-RB with this unit, and that has a faulty LPRO-101 in it (it's probably fixable - it looks like the FET that heats up the Rb cell had gone open circuit) - and the two units together only cost me $40 supplied on a status unkown, but likely defective basis. I should get at least $40 of entertainment out of trying to fix them :) ___ 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. That's the route I had to go to fix my RTFG pair. I replaced the receiver with one of a pair I purchased from *-Bay. They seem to be working. Randy, KI6WAS ___ 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] My Custom GPS clock
That's what I come up with from their web site. . . Great Clock!! 73's, Randy Hunt, KI6WAS -Original Message- From: time-nuts-boun...@febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-boun...@febo.com] On Behalf Of Bert, VE2ZAZ Sent: Friday, July 22, 2011 1:54 PM To: Brooke Clarke; time-nuts@febo.com Subject: Re: [time-nuts] My Custom GPS clock Hi Brooke, I go by memory here, but I believe it is a pair of DE-DP13112 (P4 32X8 3208 Red LED Dot Matrix Unit Board SPI Like), which are currently on sale for $11 ea. I bought mine on eBay. Cheers, Bert, VE2ZAZ From: Brooke Clarke bro...@pacific.net To: Bert, VE2ZAZ ve2...@yahoo.ca; Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@febo.com Sent: Friday, July 22, 2011 4:36:33 PM Subject: Re: [time-nuts] My Custom GPS clock Hi Bert: Which Sure Electronics display board did you use (they make a bunch of different ones)? http://www.sureelectronics.net/category.php?id=60 Have Fun, Brooke Clarke http://www.PRC68.com http://www.End2PartyGovernment.com/ Bert, VE2ZAZ wrote: Hello Everyone, I thought some of you might be interested in the following. A few months ago, a few time-nuts discussed what they had done to convert existing equipment to a large GPS clock. I elected to design my own clock display instead. Mine is fed by a Garmin GPS-35 GPS and it uses a 64 x 8 LED array for the display. It is driven by a PIC18F1220 with custom firmware. I have posted a Youtube video that shows the unit in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJE-PeUtxfU The unit is described in more detail on my website at: http://ve2zaz.net/GPS_Clock/GPS_Clock.htm Cheers, Bert, VE2ZAZ ___ 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.
