[time-nuts] Setting Time on WSPR Radio Transmitter

[Bo Hansen]

Hello Brooke

I do have some experience with beacon solutions that can also be used for WSPR among all the different modes available:

The Next Generation Beacons platform: <http://www.rudius.net/oz2m/ngnb> also used by some REAL time nuts :-)

PI4ino: <http://www.rudius.net/oz2m/pi4ino> OK not WSPR but PI4 but the principle is the same.

But I can't find much information about the technical capabilities of the WSPRLite in respect to what you need to know, e.g. what is the accuracy of the MCU clock, how does it perform vs temperature, is there an on-board external sync?

As pointed out by others the WSPR decoder accepts some time offset. But even if you start your WSPRLite at the correct second for how long will it stay inside the time capture window of WSPR before the above mentioned factors make it useless?

For another application I have built a GPS simulator that sends out NMEA frame. But after some time it has to be reset because the MCU ceramic resonator clock has drifted to much. I have made this last a bit longer by adjusting the 1 s interrupt controlling value but it still drifts.

For a remote operation I would not recommend a non synced device. As far as I can see there is no such possibility in the WSPRLite so a GNS controlled on/off-switch may be the way forward to make the WSPRLite start at the correct time over time. Far from elegant I must admit.

Bo, OZ2M