[time-nuts] Looking for info about first true radio controlled clock

[Bob Camp]

Hi

The power people have a tough time with RF based timing. Their equipment
makes picking up anything below VHF difficult at the "point of use". Their
traditional solutions were more wire line oriented. GPS was the first RF
system to really get them interested. There's a FCS paper on it from the
80's(?).

Closer to the original topic. The IRIG stuff dates to 1956 according to
Wikipedia. There were similar setups running around when IRIG was being
worked on. The whole reason for doing it was the proliferation of
incompatible gear. There must be mid 1950's gear around that did one sort of
time code or another. 

If your definition of time code is loose enough, the electro mechanical
master / slave clock could be considered a time code transmitter and
receiver. That puts you back past 1900. Pretty loose definition though. 

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: time-nuts-bounces at febo.com [mailto:time-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On
Behalf Of Hal Murray
Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 3:11 AM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Looking for info about first true radio controlled
clock


michaelalombardi at comcast.net said:
> I'm trying to determine the first product that could automatically decode
> and display a digital time code.  Digital time codes were added to WWV in
> 1960 and WWVB in  1965.  This was before they were added to any satellite
> signals, or before they were added to LF stations in Europe, such as
DCF77.
> Telegraphic time codes, of course, were around much earlier. 

Interesting question...

In roughly the late 1950s, I got a tour of Niagara Mohawk's control room.  
That was arranged by RAGS (Radio Amateurs of Greater Syracuse).   Niagara 
Mohawk was/is the local power company for central NY state   Wikipedia says 
they have been borged by National Grid.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Mohawk


I remember a pair of clocks (digital, I think) on the wall.  I wasn't enough

of a time-nut (yet) to check out the details.  I'm pretty sure it was the 
obvious PLL, perhaps with a human in the loop.

Unfortunately, I don't remember where the reference clock came from.

Of course, maybe my memory is bogus.  I'm pretty sure that there was 
something time-nut related going on.   I'm petty sure that the idea of  
locking on to a reference clock seemed like a good one, even if I didn't
know 
what a PLL was back then.


-- 
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's.  I hate spam.




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