[time-nuts] WWVB Chronverter update progress

paul swed paulswedb at gmail.com
Sun Sep 9 15:38:23 UTC 2018


 Hello to the group its time for a wwvb chronverter update. I used the loop
antenna as Alex suggested. I added caps to resonate it sort of. This added
a nice 6DB increase in output power as measured by a reference antenna to a
HP 3586 slvm. I did try a transformer going from 50 ohm to .75 ohm of the
antenna at 60 KHz. I fear the core material isn't correct. No matter lots
of others I can try. Looks like the signal gets through 3 walls and some 30
ft. Getting to be Gud-enuf for setting clocks in the house. Input power to
the antenna is approx -10 dbm.
Plan to run the loop in the basement and that will cover the house.
Bob you may want t reachout and get an updated software if yours is not V2.
Bad news the DC60 expects the carrier to be within =/-.5Hz at 60 KHz I
measured the tuetime and spectracoms. So I built a simple chain with
atreasonable oscillator and simple modulator. The clocks lock up solid.
Since then another time nut suggested using the common 15.36 oscillator
that divides by 256 to give 60 KHz. Boy I sure would have liked to build
the system using that simple divider chain. I used a 9.6 MHz osillator and
divided by 160. Using TTL its what I had. So I must be consuming a
mega-watt in the dividers. ;-)
The key you need  real divider chain and modulator and the DC60 will be
very happy.
By the way the chronveryer puts out the Julien date so the dc60 even
displays that.
Regards
Paul
WB8TSL


On Thu, Aug 30, 2018 at 3:06 PM, paul swed <paulswedb at gmail.com> wrote:

> The UnusualElectronics Chronverter with NEO 6 GPS, 9.6 MHz oscillator.
> dividers and such are all up and working. Watching GPS time, Spectracoms
> and Truetime  clocks all tick at the same time while listening to WWV.
> exactly as they should. Now I have a alternate for wall clocks should WWVB
> be turned off. Though that said the next step is to test those out by
> setting up an antenna. Then time to mount everything in a case.
> If anyone else follows this path let me know offline happy to help you.
> Regards
> Paul
> WB8TSL
>
> On Wed, Aug 29, 2018 at 11:36 AM, paul swed <paulswedb at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Its a LPF and its not effecting anything. Square waves worked fine
>> actually. But do want to be able to feed an antenna so a bit of filtering
>> plus the loops stick should do the job.
>>
>> On Wed, Aug 29, 2018 at 9:16 AM, Bob kb8tq <kb8tq at n1k.org> wrote:
>>
>>> HI
>>>
>>> If you are feeding “Time Nuts” gear, a fancy filter on the output of the
>>> WWVB gizmo may be an issue. Temperature impacts the value of the
>>> components and that value change impacts the phase of the signal….
>>>
>>> Bob
>>>
>>> > On Aug 28, 2018, at 9:33 PM, paul swed <paulswedb at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > LPF filter added 2.2mH choke to a .0022uf cap 1K R pretty simple and
>>> > anttenuators and isolation to drive up to 4 receivers.
>>> > Have not looked at the power amp and loops stick antenna yet. But it
>>> really
>>> > is time for GPS a neo.
>>> > Looking very good.
>>> >
>>> > On Tue, Aug 28, 2018 at 7:29 PM, paul swed <paulswedb at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> Ed appreciate the details but no intent to generally run a GPSDO in
>>> fact
>>> >> the 5 V @ 50 ma is a serious power pig. The chronverter draws 5 ma.
>>> Clearly
>>> >> the TTL is a heater. Chuckle. I do want to drive the chronverter with
>>> GPS
>>> >> as its designed for.
>>> >> Whats pretty interesting is you can adjust its offset. I just jammed
>>> time
>>> >> into it several days and its been fairly good with power ups and
>>> down. Its
>>> >> impressive. Though not in an ultimate time-nuts way.
>>> >> GPS just assures it is accurate. But there is a lot of flexibility.
>>> >> Main goal of this whole project is to replace wwvb if it goes away.
>>> If it
>>> >> does the project doesn't even have to run 24/7. Fire up at 10 pm to 3
>>> am
>>> >> and power down. Thats enough to set my wall clocks for a day. Its
>>> just nice
>>> >> to know it can also set the spectracoms and Truetimes. Icing on the
>>> cake.
>>> >> I am impressed with what Dave did with the 8 pin pic. He has all of
>>> the LF
>>> >> time signals in there. (No wwvb BPSK though) DSTs settings, zone
>>> offsets,
>>> >> half zones, etc.
>>> >> Just looking at low pass filters for the 60 KHz ttl out right now.
>>> Simple
>>> >> LR or RC. Since this particular output feeds coax to the quality
>>> receivers
>>> >> I don't need to be that careful. Its working great without any
>>> filtering.
>>> >> Reality if it draws little power I will let it run 24/7 but then you
>>> just
>>> >> have to stick a display on at that point.
>>> >> Regards
>>> >> Paul
>>> >>
>>> >> On Tue, Aug 28, 2018 at 7:11 PM, ed breya <eb at telight.com> wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >>> Paul,
>>> >>> If you're going to reference it from a GPSDO anyway, why worry about
>>> a
>>> >>> TCXO reference (and power too, for that matter). You can easily make
>>> the 60
>>> >>> kHz from the 10 MHz.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> For example, with two 74HC390s and a 74HC86 you can make 50 kHz and
>>> 10
>>> >>> kHz and mix them with one EXOR section of the '86 to have 60 kHz
>>> available.
>>> >>> Some fairly simple bandpass filtering should select and clean it up
>>> >>> sufficiently. Two other sections of the '86 can be set up as
>>> inverters and
>>> >>> self-biased as amplifiers - one to convert the 10 MHz sine reference
>>> to
>>> >>> logic, and the other from the filter output to logic, if needed.
>>> And, you'd
>>> >>> still have a divide by 5 and an EXOR left over to fool around with.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> The same parts and process can be done at a higher frequency and then
>>> >>> divided down afterward. (5+1) MHz/100, and (500+100) kHz/10 would
>>> work too.
>>> >>> It depends on what frequency you prefer for the BPF. If you go high
>>> at 6
>>> >>> MHz, you then have the option to make a crystal filter from readily
>>> >>> available parts.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> Going the high way also provides for higher logic frequencies that
>>> are
>>> >>> more or less in sync, in case you want to do any I-Q modulation type
>>> stuff
>>> >>> - you can even use synchronous counters instead, to really make sure.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> Overall, I think I'd recommend going at 5+1= 6 MHz, filtering with 6
>>> MHz
>>> >>> crystals, then dividing down to 60 kHz, with 2f and 4f clocks
>>> available for
>>> >>> I-Q use. I sketched out a quickie circuit that's quite simple and I
>>> think
>>> >>> would do. It would take two HC390s for the dividing, as before. Each
>>> HC390
>>> >>> is two divide by 10 counters, including a 1/2 and 1/5 in each, usable
>>> >>> separately. So, with two parts, there are four 1/5s and four 1/2s
>>> available.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> Here's a verbal process description: 10 MHz sine convert to logic
>>> with
>>> >>> HC86, 10 MHz/2=5, 10 MHz/10=1 with first HC390, add 5+1=6 with EXOR,
>>> BPF 6
>>> >>> MHz, convert to logic with HC86, 6 Mhz/25=240 kHz=4f, 240/2=120
>>> kHz=2f,
>>> >>> 120/2=60 kHz=f, with second HC390.
>>> >>>
>>> >>> Ed
>>> >>>
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>>> >>
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>>
>>
>



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