[time-nuts] Trimble Mini-T end of life

[SAIDJACK at aol.com]

Hi guys,
 
thanks so much for all the great suggestions on how to make this product  
better!
 
Yes, cost targets are a very important goal here, and we are looking into  
adding options that make sense for most customers and don't add excessive 
cost  or delay to the schedule. We definitely will improve the performance of 
the unit  over the original Mini-T though, because we feel that the Mini-T 
had sub-par  performance on many fronts, and don't want to make the same 
mistakes. Some of  the improvement items we have already decided upon are:
 
* 50 channels GPS with WAAS/EGNOS/MSAS and Position-Hold mode with  
automatic initialization of the Auto-Survey process by default. Alternatively,  the 
unit can be put into mobile mode, with Auto-Kalman filter  optimization 
depending on vehicle velocity. -160dBm GPS tracking  capability
 
* A secondary 10MHz output (SMA or SMB connector, only the connector needs  
to be stuffed onto the PCB) to have access to the +13dBm output  signal
 
* Internal +3.3V antenna supply, that is automatically over-driven by the  
externally applied antenna supply
 
* USB connector for command/control, RS-232 option, and TTL serial port for 
 legacy compatibility
 
* RoHs 6/6 for compatibility, and RoHs 5/6 option for much longer life and  
better MTBF than Mini-T
 
* more than 3x better thermal stability, and at the same time more than  
double the temperature range (+/-5ppb over -40C to +85C versus +/-10ppb from  
only 0C to +60C) standard, and DOCXO option for even higher thermal 
stability  performance and low-g sensitivity/ruggedized crystal options.
 
* Better phase noise
 
* Status LED's on board
 
* TTL lock/ALARM indicator
 
* External 1PPS input option on unused pin 1 of the main connector
 
* Fully field-upgradable firmware, no FPGA programmer needed
 
* Support for NMEA and SCPI commands
 
* 3-axis accelerometer built-in
 
* lower height: 0.47 inches OCXO height versus 0.75 inches
 
* Much better ADEV performance
 
* Factory-testing for crystal-jumps on every unit
 
We also had several folks ask for alternative frequency outputs, and are  
currently investigating if we could use the secondary 10MHz connector to add  
another VCXO to generate any output frequency from 10MHz to 120+MHz such as 
is  done on our ULN-1100 boards. This would add some cost though, and may 
just end  up in a secondary version of the board so that customers who don't 
need it won't  have to pay for it..
 
The most important item to get feedback on is the TSIP port, we cannot  
implement the entire TSIP command set as this is quite complex, most customers  
probably only use a handful of actual commands, and we believe the 
SCPI/NMEA  command/control/status interface is much superior over the proprietary 
binary  TSIP port.
 
We are however open to implement a couple of useful and common TSIP  
outputs, and would greatly appreciate feedback and suggestions on this, for  
example a minimum set to make Lady Heather work..?
 
Thanks,
Said
 
 
In a message dated 7/19/2012 13:41:07 Pacific Daylight Time, wb6bnq at cox.net 
 writes:

Hi  Said,

I know everyone is going to ask for the kitchen sink to be thrown  in.  
BUT, how about
just making a replacement that does exactly the  same job with no added 
thrills ?
That way your spending the least amount to  produce a product and keeps the 
cost down
to the customer which may cause  them to want to keep designing with that 
particular
product.

just  saying........

Bill....WB6BNQ