[time-nuts] WWVB PM Time Questions

[paul swed]

Ray watch out for my comment on the KD2BD solution. That oscillator isn't
available and I have not been able to map something else into it. Tried
several good grade Oven oscillators. Just be aware of that issue.
Would need to do more tinkering and simply don't have that time right now.
Also it would be great if the oscillator was something that could be
obtained at a reasonable cost. I do not believe at all it has to be a
OCXO as the older true time and spectracoms were not and they locked solid.
So its a case of getting the control voltages right.
Regards
Paul.

On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 3:29 PM <rcbuck at atcelectronics.com> wrote:

> Thanks to all for the suggestions. I dug a ferrite rod AM radio antenna
> out of the box this morning. I have a box of 10 left over from the late
> 80s. It measures 0.950 mH so I will add some turns to get it to 1.5 mH
> which will be easier to resonate at 60 kHz. Then I need to build up the
> RF amp and run the output through a 60 kHz crystal filter. I have to
> order the crystals since I don't have any on hand. It will take a couple
> of weeks to get the front end working.
>
> I am in Phoenix so the WWVB signal is of decent quality here even during
> the daytime. My 25 year old cheap Casio watch will sync up within 2-3
> minutes any time of day or night. It normally syncs at 2 am but I have
> done tests to confirm daytime sync works reliably.
>
> Mark, I know virtually nothing about SDR other than it works. I bought a
> RTL-SDR.Com module a couple of years ago and played with it a little
> bit. But it quit working and I haven't thought about SDR since then. My
> Icom 7300 is a SDR and it works very well. I think to attempt to design
> a SDR would be well over my head. I anticipate this project taking 2-3
> months. If I get it working I will be glad to share everything with the
> group.
>
> Lester and Paul, I will test with the Costas loop as it may be the
> easiest way to go. To test the Costas loop I am basically going to
> duplicate the KD2BD design. I was reluctant about it in the beginning
> but more reading seems to indicate it will be fine. My AWG allows me to
> set the phase from 0 to 360 degrees independently on each channel so I
> can use that for initial testing. That testing can be done prior to
> getting the front end working.
>
> Richard, is your software posted somewhere? I assume it allows you to
> specify the time and date you want it to send. That would come in handy
> for writing the code to extract the timer/date data. I have seen
> examples of the Arduino transmitting the old AM signal but don't recall
> seeing one that sends the BPSK stream.
>
> I have a GPS time receiver with a 1.2 inch LED display that I built a
> couple of years ago. I have it setup so the UART outputs the gprmc NEMA
> string in case I want to look at it. I have a couple of spare GPS
> modules lying around and several Arduino Uno modules. I have no problem
> picking up the GPS satellites using only the patch antenna that is built
> into the modules.
>
> Ray,
> AB7HE
>
>
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