My GPS disciplined Rubidium OCXO Frequency Standard and NTP server project

Part 1

he Doctor: People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, butactually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint—it’s more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly… timey-wimey… stuff.

Amy Pond: It’s spacey-wacey, isn’t it?

—Dr. Who?

Though delightfully silly, there is some truth to that quote! Time is an amazing phenomenon to me. Concepts of time—whether philosophical, subjective, or rooted in the equations of Modern Physics—exist at the core of so much that governs our lives. Time is a measurement like the orthogonal dimensions of length. Everything in the universe contains a dimension of time. But time is also a where as much as a when. The relative experience of time that any object is at once unique, yet, within some conditions, is still relatable to other spacey-timey stuff around it. We can sense time, but we can’t hold a “1 Second” of anything in our hand.

My GPS disciplined Rubidium OCXO Frequency Standard and NTP server project

Like any system of measurement, when thinking of time we are usually concerned with two key descriptors: precision and accuracy. Within the time reference we all more or less share, precision is the ability to resolve the difference between two events. Accuracy is the ability to line up contemporaneous events—usually an event with a mutually agreed upon standard reference. We are all accurate about lunchtime, but maybe not as precise about a “lunch hour.”

Time, and its polymorph frequency, is very important in practical, day-to-day ways. In our IT infrastructure at Safari Books time is very important to decoding the events of a system failure, to accounting for distribution payments, to securing our systems, and to planning lunch. Time is also of critical importance for Amateur Radio (de KR6AU, cm88. QSL?), astronomy, auto racing, and many other activities, like lunchtime.

So, tell me about the project…

GPS receivers are an ever-present part of our lives these days. They are in our phones, cars, and computers and they are popping up in many surprising places. Our popular understanding of GPS technology is that it tells us where we are on the planet. It is accurate enough that we even measure the polar eccentricity and spherical deviation of the earth (it is actually an ovoid!). What fewer people understand is that the GPS system satellites are based on sophisticated atomic clocks, each coordinated and compensated for the relativistic effects of their orbital velocity. The messages GPS satellites send back to earth tell us the UTC time and a very precise pulse per second (PPS) signal. Given those messages from a range of different satellites (each with a slightly different time relative to their distance), a GPS receiver calculates where it is within a big spherical model of space and maps it to a location on earth. It is kind of like mapping textures on an object in a game or animated movie.

GPS receivers have a liability, though. When one looks at their precision—in the short-term, say, seconds to minutes and hours, they “jitter” about their ideal. In the long term—days to months and years—a GPS receiver will average within a few tens ofnanoseconds (that is 1/1,000,000,000ths, a billionth of a second!) or 1 second every 3 years or so!

tl;dr: GPS is great for long time span precision and accuracy, but not too super for short term

This is where Rubidium (Ru) comes in. Crystal oscillators are one of the oldest technologies in electronics. Actually they are electro-mechanical devices! Crystal oscillators have a teeny-tiny little electrode that completes a circuit through the crystal that makes use of the structure of the crystal and its properties to generate an electrical signal at a proscribed frequency. You will often see them on a schematic abbreviated asXO. Among XOs, Ru crystal oscillators have terrific short-term stability—but over time their frequency can drift. There are a variety of ways this is addressed. In the case of time and frequency standards it is desirable to use a combination of techniques. XOs are sensitive to temperature. It is common to encase them in a small heater or “oven” that controls the temperature in the XO and stablizes them. An additional means of stabilizing the XO is to use a feedback loop to apply a voltage to the XO that will slightly change shape to the crystal, changing its electrical-mechanical properties. The XO I have chosen (ok the WHOLE world have chosen for this application) uses both types of stablization. These are called Ovenized Voltage Controlled Crystal Oscillators or OCXOs.

tl;dr, again: OCXO’s—short-term super, long term drifty

So, um, what about the project?

Combining the characteristics of the two devices (GPS and OXCOs), we can create a time and frequency standard that can drive an NTP server, and be used for other nifty nerd-hobbies.

How will this all fit together?

There are two inputs to the GPSDO circuit: the OCXO and the GPS signal from the satellites. The GPS signal is processed in a timing optimized GPS receiver module, which sends out a PPS precise 10KHz signal. It also send PPS signal to the Raspberry Pi that I am using for the NTP host. The OCXO signal is amplified so it will operate at the signal levels of the integrated circuits then fed to a frequency divider that besides providing handy reference frequencies for Amateur Radio and other projects produces a 10KHz signal. The 10KHz signals from the GPS and the OXCO are compared in a type of circuit called a Phase Locked Loop (PLL). A PLL compares the waveforms of the two inputs and produces an error signal that is used to provide correction back to the OCXO. This feedback control loop is the key to generating a signal that is stable in both the short term and long term.

My GPS disciplined Rubidium OCXO Frequency Standard and NTP server project schemetic

Some GPS disciplined frequency and time standards will sync the PLL with other frequencies (the lower the frequency the higher phase noise) to reduce jitter that is generated by the limited sampling and longer stabilization times. I went with this GPS receiver because it fit what I had sketched out and was doable for me. I am reading up on more advanced means of frequency discipline for my next project.

For more detail: My GPS disciplined Rubidium OCXO Frequency Standard and NTP server project


About The Author

Ibrar Ayyub

I am an experienced technical writer with a Master's degree in computer science from BZU Multan University. I have written for various industries, mainly home automation and engineering. My writing style is clear and simple, and I am skilled in using infographics and diagrams. I am a great researcher and am able to present information in a well-organized and logical manner.

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