[time-nuts] Re: Z3801A Receiver Replacement

[gandalfg8 at aol.com]

The receiver fitted to the Z3801A is/was a Motorola 6 channel Oncore VP.
It should be possible to replace this with a later 8 channel Oncore VP set to run in 6 Channel mode but a copy of Syntac or Tac32 will be needed to change the configuration.It's also possible that an 8 channel Oncore VP obtained as a replacement may not be physically compatible with the Z3801A and some reworking could be required.
There has been past discussion of this here that will be available in the archives, but I have uploaded a small file to Mediafire, approx 3MB, that contains some relevant information that I've saved in the past...

https://www.mediafire.com/file/7w7moa6rd7kmk9r/OncoreVP_Z3801A.zip/file

As well as data sheets and engineering notes this file includes comments on configuring the 8 channel receiver as 6 channel and also regarding the need to power cycle the Oncore VP, and hence the Z3801A, rather than leaving them to run unattended for years.
Another good source of information on the Z3801A is the Real Ham Radio web site.

Nigel GM8PZR