[time-nuts] Short term 10MHz source

[John Ackermann N8UR]

Hi Scott --

The TICC is a fully-assembled "shield" that mounts on an Arduino Mega 
2560 controller.  What you get from TAPR is the shield and Arduino with 
firmware loaded.  The TICC talks to a host computer using ASCII on USB. 
John Miles' TimeLab software can read data directly from it, or you can 
just save the data as a text file with a terminal program.

The firmware is open source and the latest version is on Github 
(https://github.com/TAPR/TICC).  The code has been updated from the 
version shipped, and you can load new firmware a couple of ways -- there 
are instructions at the repository.

And just a note to those interested -- I'm targeting a modest update to 
the firmware in the next month or so.  There are a couple of bug fixes, 
and one new feature contributed by a 3rd party to improve functioning 
with TimeLab.

73,
John
----

On 1/8/19 10:31 AM, W7SLS wrote:
>>> "Kits: TICC Timestamping/Time Interval Counter”
>>> https://www.tapr.org/kits_ticc.html <https://www.tapr.org/kits_ticc.html>
> 
> Is the TICC a kit in the sense that SMD and/or through-hole component soldering required?
> Or perhaps kit = no case, see your favorite 3D printer?
> Or?
> 
> Thanks,
> Scott
> W7SLS
> 
>> On Jan 8, 2019, at 7:23 AM, Tom Van Baak <tvb at LeapSecond.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi All sorry for a new be question but
>>> what is a TICC
>>> regards Paul B  UK
>>
>> Hi Paul,
>>
>> That is an acronym we often use here on time-nuts; one that a simple google search doesn't answer.
>>
>> Ok, there's "TIC" and there's "TICC".
>>
>> 1)
>> A TIC (Time Interval Counter) is a common 2-input electronic bench instrument that precisely measures time interval; in other words, the elapsed time between a pulse on input A ("start") to a pulse on input B ("stop"). It's like a stopwatch.
>>
>> This is very useful for making comparisons between two oscillators or clocks. Often a frequency counter is combined with a period counter + time interval counter + other features and the whole package is called a "universal counter".
>>
>> There are dozens of amateur and commercial TIC products. The key feature is often the resolution; that is, how fine a difference between A and B can be measured. For $1 you can time to 1 us or 100 ns. For $10 you can measure down to 10 ns or even 1 ns. Note that complexity and price goes up significantly as the resolution improves to 100 ps or 10 ps or even 1 ps levels.
>>
>> A classic example of a TIC is the hp 53131A/53132A universal counter.
>>
>> 2)
>> The TICC is the cute name for a DIY project by fellow time-nut John Ackerman, N8UR. It cleverly combines a pair of special-purpose TI chips to do sub-nanosecond timing along with an Arduino. The result is an open source time interval counter with specs better than HP's 53132A at a fraction of the cost.
>>
>> In addition, the TICC is more than just a plain start/stop TIC; it is actually an independent dual-channel TSC (time stamping counter). This design permits a wider variety of functions than a traditional TIC. The resolution of the TICC is under 100 ps.
>>
>> 3)
>> Some useful TICC links:
>>
>> "Kits: TICC Timestamping/Time Interval Counter"
>> https://www.tapr.org/kits_ticc.html
>>
>> "TAPR TICC User Manual"
>> https://github.com/TAPR/TICC/raw/master/docs/TAPR%20TICC%20User%20Manual.pdf
>>
>> "The TICC Timestamping/Time Interval Counter"
>> https://www.febo.com/pages/TICC/
>>
>> "A High-Resolution Time Interval Counter Using the TAPR TADD-2 and TICC Modules"
>> http://www.stable32.com/A%20High-Resolution%20Time%20Interval%20Counter%20Using%20the%20TAPR%20TADD-2%20and%20TICC%20Modules.pdf
>>
>> "tutorials and publications, frequency stability measurements"
>> http://www.wriley.com/Freq%20Stab%20Meas%20Links.htm
>>
>> "Exploring TICC resolution"
>> http://leapsecond.com/pages/ticc/
>>
>> 4)
>> Because the name "TICC" is rather ambiguous I and others prefer to type "TAPR/TICC" instead. Not only does this give TAPR some visibility, but it also makes google searches far better. If you ask google, what is TICC, you don't get a good answer at all. But if you ask google, what is TAPR/TICC, it brings you directly to the description/order page.
>>
>> /tvb
>>
>>
>>
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