[time-nuts] Tale of Two GPStars...

[paul swed]

Steve and yet another GPStar.
My units are older and just GPStar by Odetics and use ocxo.
These old units actually had external down converters that are quite
complicated but nicely done.
The din plug was +5 and +12. 2 pins for each plus grounds.
Yours may be different if newer. But as you guessed really easy to figure
out.
Regards
Paul
WB8TSL

On Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 10:03 AM Steve - Home <steve-krull at cox.net> wrote:

> I have a GPStar that hadn’t been used in a few years. I’ve misplaced the
> wall wart power supply. Could someone pass along the output voltage and
> current numbers of the wall wart, please? I think I can figure out the DIN
> connector pin numbers but that would be helpful, too. My manual is pretty
> sparse in that area. If I recall it says “plug in the AC adapter”...
>
> Thanks!
>
> Steve K.
> WB0DBS
>
>
>
> > On Jun 4, 2020, at 10:00 PM, paul swed <paulswedb at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Somebody else actually has a GPStar (Odetics) and working?
> > My units stopped working about 4 months ago. They are circa 1994 as I
> > recall. Had 2 neither would work. Have one now as I used the case and
> rack
> > mounts for another project.
> > These are much older then what you have as the GPS receiver is actually
> > discreet components.
> > Regards
> > Paul
> > WB8TSL
> >
> >> On Thu, Jun 4, 2020 at 8:59 PM Bruce Lane <kyrrin at bluefeathertech.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>        After many moons, my trusty GPStar 365 (updated to a 565 through
> >> firmware and a receiver change) finally bit the dust. Symptom: It kept
> >> flipping between 'Coasting' and 'Recovering,' never quite reaching
> >> 'Locked.' The DAC value either ended up maxed (65534) or min'd (00000).
> >>
> >>        Contacted Tim Gavin at Zyfer-FEI for advice. Strongest
> possibility:
> >> OCXO went south. Tried manually setting the DAC for mid-point (32768)
> >> and manually tweaking the coarse tuning on said OCXO against a
> >> known-good 10MHz source of equal precision (translation: Another GPSDO).
> >>
> >>        Didn't work. Tried replacing the OCXO itself, and doing the
> >> alignment
> >> trick. Still no joy.
> >>
> >>        Considering the lack of schematics: Emit large sigh, put unit
> >> aside,
> >> start searching Ebay for replacement.
> >>
> >>        Found a late-model (black case) 565-310 for a reasonable price,
> >> bought
> >> it. Arrived a week later (yesterday at work). Opened it up, delighted to
> >> find I got a better deal than I thought in that the thing's got a
> >> rubidium module (FE-5650A to be exact).
> >>
> >>        Did initial power-up/burn-in test with a local GPS antenna; Unit
> >> went
> >> to TFOM 4 and 'Locked' within a half-hour and stayed that way all day,
> >> DAC number just slightly above mid-point.
> >>
> >>        However -- Date way off due to outdated Motorola UT+ receiver
> >> module.
> >> Replaced said UT+ with the M12M drop-in module from Synergy GPS. Fired
> >> up -- and got NO satellite tracking ID's!
> >>
> >>        Mutter something vulgar. Do more poking around. Suddenly realize
> >> the
> >> firmware in the replacement 565 is at 1.06, while my original unit was
> >> at 1.08. "I wonder if..."
> >>
> >>        Swap 1.08 firmware chip into replacement 565. Power on. Goes
> >> through
> >> factory reset -- and comes up perfectly normal! Sat numbers appearing on
> >> tracking report. Just checked it a moment ago (about 15 minutes after
> >> initial re-power) and it's at TFOM 4 / Locked! And it stayed that way
> >> through a 24-hour burn-in check.
> >>
> >>        Conclusion: In the 565 series, you need version 1.08 firmware to
> >> support Motorola's M12, or similar replacements.
> >>
> >>        And I'm still amazed I lucked out with the rubidium module. ;-)
> >>
> >>        Keep on tickin'...
> >>
> >> --
> >> ---
> >> Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR
> >> http://www.bluefeathertech.com
> >> kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech dot com
> >> "Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (Red Green)
> >>
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