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

Fri Jun 5 14:46:22 UTC 2020

OK GPStat is yet some version of GPStar from odetics.

On Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 10:41 AM Steve - Home <steve-krull at cox.net> wrote:

> I just proved my memory isn’t what it used to be. My unit is a GPStat
> Frequency Measurement System, Model 345-200. Not a GPStar as I thought. I
> just dug it out and the label on the bottom says input +5, +12V 3W. I’ll
> dig into it later as I have another dig to do - 35’ trench 6” wide, 18”
> deep for power to a utility building.
>
> Steve
>
>
>
>
> > On Jun 5, 2020, at 9:10 AM, paul swed <paulswedb at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > 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)
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at lists.febo.com
> >>>> To unsubscribe, go to
> >>>> http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com
> >>>> and follow the instructions there.
> >>>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at lists.febo.com
> >>> To unsubscribe, go to
> >> http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com
> >>> and follow the instructions there.
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at lists.febo.com
> >> To unsubscribe, go to
> >> http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com
> >> and follow the instructions there.
> >>
> > _______________________________________________
> > time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at lists.febo.com
> > To unsubscribe, go to
> http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com
> > and follow the instructions there.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at lists.febo.com
> To unsubscribe, go to
> http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts_lists.febo.com
> and follow the instructions there.
>