[time-nuts] Designing an embedded precision GPS time
Hal Murray
hmurray at megapathdsl.net
Wed Nov 1 03:45:30 UTC 2017
> I'm intending to add a "precision" (well, precision to the Pi world) RTC to
> my Pi 3 to use for a holdover source when it hasn't got PPS from the GPS
> module.
> An RTC that +/- 3 PPM over 24 hours would be great for holdovers of one to
> 20 minutes.
Run some experiments to collect some data and play with the numbers.
How stable is the temperature in your environment?
The key to keeping sane time on a PC or Raspberry PI is to calibrate the
crystal. Most CPUs have a register that counts at the CPU clock frequency -
or something in that range. Most systems smear the clock to keep the FCC
happy...
Most OSes keep time by watching that register and dividing by the clock rate.
The actual clock rate doesn't usually match the number printed on the
crystal. It's close, but ntpd can easily measure the error and tell the
kernel so the kernel can use the right value. If you turn on loopstats, ntpd
will log it and you can graph it.
If you are writing an embedded system, you will want that sort of logic too.
My guess is that in the under 30 minute range, you will get better results by
just coasting with the system clock rather that using a RTC. It would be an
interesting experiment. Implement both clocking schemes and compare them.
--
These are my opinions. I hate spam.
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