931 lines
39 KiB
HTML
931 lines
39 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN">
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<html>
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<head>
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<meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy, see www.w3.org">
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<title>Radio WWV/H Audio Demodulator/Decoder</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h3>Radio WWV/H Audio Demodulator/Decoder</h3>
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<hr>
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<h4>Synopsis</h4>
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Address: 127.127.36.<i>u</i> <br>
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Reference ID: <tt>WWV</tt> or <tt>WWVH</tt> <br>
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Driver ID: <tt>WWV_AUDIO</tt> <br>
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Autotune Port: <tt>/dev/icom</tt>; 1200/9600 baud, 8-bits, no
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parity <br>
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Audio Device: <tt>/dev/audio</tt> and <tt>/dev/audioctl</tt>
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<h4>Description</h4>
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This driver synchronizes the computer time using data encoded in
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shortwave radio transmissions from NIST time/frequency stations WWV
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in Ft. Collins, CO, and WWVH in Kauai, HI. Transmissions are made
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continuously on 2.5, 5, 10, 15 and 20 MHz. An ordinary shortwave
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receiver can be tuned manually to one of these frequencies or, in
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the case of ICOM receivers, the receiver can be tuned automatically
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by the driver as propagation conditions change throughout the day
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and night. The performance of this driver when tracking one of the
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stations is ordinarily better than 1 ms in time with frequency
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drift less than 0.5 PPM when not tracking either station.
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<p>The demodulation and decoding algorithms used by this driver are
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based on a machine language program developed for the TAPR DSP93
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DSP unit, which uses the TI 320C25 DSP chip. The analysis, design
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and performance of the program running on this unit is described
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in: Mills, D.L. A precision radio clock for WWV transmissions.
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Electrical Engineering Report 97-8-1, University of Delaware,
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August 1997, 25 pp. Available from <a href=
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"http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/reports.htm">
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www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/reports.htm</a>. For use in this driver,
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the original program was rebuilt in the C language and adapted to
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the NTP driver interface. The algorithms have been modified
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somewhat to improve performance under weak signal conditions and to
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provide an automatic station identification feature.</p>
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<p>This driver incorporates several features in common with other
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audio drivers such as described in the <a href="driver7.htm">Radio
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CHU Audio Demodulator/Decoder</a> and the <a href="driver6.htm">
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IRIG Audio Decoder</a> pages. They include automatic gain control
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(AGC), selectable audio codec port and signal monitoring
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capabilities. For a discussion of these common features, as well as
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a guide to hookup, debugging and monitoring, see the <a href=
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"audio.htm">Reference Clock Audio Drivers</a> page.</p>
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<p>The WWV signal format is described in NIST Special Publication
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432 (Revised 1990). It consists of three elements, a 5-ms, 1000-Hz
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pulse, which occurs at the beginning of each second, a 800-ms,
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1000-Hz pulse, which occurs at the beginning of each minute, and a
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pulse-width modulated 100-Hz subcarrier for the data bits, one bit
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per second. The WWVH format is identical, except that the 1000-Hz
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pulses are sent at 1200 Hz. Each minute encodes nine BCD digits for
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the time of century plus seven bits for the daylight savings time
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(DST) indicator, leap warning indicator and DUT1 correction.</p>
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<h4>Program Architecture</h4>
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<p>As in the original program, the clock discipline is modelled as
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a Markov process, with probabilistic state transitions
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corresponding to a conventional clock and the probabilities of
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received decimal digits. The result is a performance level which
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results in very high accuracy and reliability, even under
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conditions when the minute beep of the signal, normally its most
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prominent feature, can barely be detected by ear with a shortwave
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receiver.</p>
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<p>The analog audio signal from the shortwave radio is sampled at
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8000 Hz and converted to digital representation. The 1000/1200-Hz
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pulses and 100-Hz subcarrier are first separated using two IIR
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filters, a 600-Hz bandpass filter centered on 1100 Hz and a 150-Hz
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lowpass filter. The minute sync pulse is extracted using a 800-ms
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synchronous matched filter and pulse grooming logic which
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discriminates between WWV and WWVH signals and noise. The second
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sync pulse is extracted using a 5-ms FIR matched filter and
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8000-stage comb filter.</p>
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<p>The phase of the 100-Hz subcarrier relative to the second sync
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pulse is fixed at the transmitter; however, the audio highpass
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filter in most radios affects the phase response at 100 Hz in
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unpredictable ways. The driver adjusts for each radio using two
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170-ms synchronous matched filters. The I (in-phase) filter is used
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to demodulate the subcarrier envelope, while the Q
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(quadrature-phase) filter is used in a tracking loop to discipline
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the codec sample clock and thus the demodulator phase.</p>
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<p>The data bit probabilities are determined from the subcarrier
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envelope using a threshold-corrected slicer. The averaged envelope
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amplitude 30 ms from the beginning of the second establishes the
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minimum (noise floor) value, while the amplitude 200 ms from the
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beginning establishes the maximum (signal peak) value. The slice
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level is midway between these two values. The negative-going
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envelope transition at the slice level establishes the length of
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the data pulse, which in turn establish probabilities for binary
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zero (P0) or binary one (P1). The values are established by linear
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interpolation between the pulse lengths for P0 (300 ms) and P1 (500
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ms) so that the sum is equal to one. If the driver has not
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synchronized to the minute pulse, or if the data bit amplitude,
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signal/noise ratio (SNR) or length are below thresholds, the bit is
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considered invalid and all three probabilities are set to zero.</p>
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<p>The difference between the P1 and P0 probabilities, or
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likelihood, for each data bit is exponentially averaged in a set of
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60 accumulators, one for each second, to determine the semi-static
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miscellaneous bits, such as DST indicator, leap second warning and
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DUT1 correction. In this design, an average value larger than a
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positive threshold is interpreted as a hit on one and a value
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smaller than a negative threshold as a hit on zero. Values between
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the two thresholds, which can occur due to signal fades or loss of
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signal, are interpreted as a miss, and result in no change of
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indication.</p>
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<p>The BCD digit in each digit position of the timecode is
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represented as four data bits, all of which must be valid for the
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digit itself to be considered valid. If so, the bits are correlated
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with the bits corresponding to each of the valid decimal digits in
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this position. If the digit is invalid, the correlated value for
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all digits in this position is assumed zero. In either case, the
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values for all digits are exponentially averaged in a likelihood
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vector associated with this position. The digit associated with the
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maximum over all of the averaged values then becomes the maximum
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likelihood selection for this position and the ratio of the maximum
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over the next lower value becomes the likelihood ratio.</p>
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<p>The decoding matrix contains nine row vectors, one for each
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digit position. Each row vector includes the maximum likelihood
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digit, likelihood vector and other related data. The maximum
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likelihood digit for each of the nine digit positions becomes the
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maximum likelihood time of the century. A built-in transition
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function implements a conventional clock with decimal digits that
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count the minutes, hours, days and years, as corrected for leap
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seconds and leap years. The counting operation also rotates the
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likelihood vector corresponding to each digit as it advances. Thus,
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once the clock is set, each clock digit should correspond to the
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maximum likelihood digit as transmitted.</p>
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<p>Each row of the decoding matrix also includes a compare counter
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and the difference (modulo the radix) between the current clock
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digit and most recently determined maximum likelihood digit. If a
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digit likelihood exceeds the decision level and the difference is
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constant for a number of successive minutes in any row, the maximum
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likelihood digit replaces the clock digit in that row. When this
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condition is true for all rows and the second epoch has been
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reliably determined, the clock is set (or verified if it has
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already been set) and delivers correct time to the integral second.
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The fraction within the second is derived from the logical master
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clock, which runs at 8000 Hz and drives all system timing
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functions.</p>
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<p>The logical master clock is derived from the audio codec clock.
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Its frequency is disciplined by a frequency-lock loop (FLL) which
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operates independently of the data recovery functions. At averaging
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intervals determined by the measured jitter, the frequency error is
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calculated as the difference between the most recent and the
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current second epoch divided by the interval. The sample clock
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frequency is then corrected by this amount using an exponential
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average. When first started, the frequency averaging interval is
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eight seconds, in order to compensate for intrinsic codec clock
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frequency offsets up to 125 PPM. Under most conditions, the
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averaging interval doubles in stages from the initial value to over
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1000 seconds, which results in an ultimate frequency precision of
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0.125 PPM, or about 11 ms/day.</p>
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<p>It is important that the logical clock frequency is stable and
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accurately determined, since in most applications the shortwave
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radio will be tuned to a fixed frequency where WWV or WWVH signals
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are not available throughout the day. In addition, in some parts of
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the US, especially on the west coast, signals from either or both
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WWV and WWVH may be available at different times or even at the
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same time. Since the propagation times from either station are
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almost always different, each station must be reliably identified
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before attempting to set the clock.</p>
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<p>Station identification uses the 800-ms minute pulse transmitted
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by each station. In the acquisition phase the entire minute is
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searched using both the WWV and WWVH using matched filters and a
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pulse gate discriminator similar to that found in radar acquisition
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and tracking receivers. The peak amplitude found determines a range
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gate and window where the next pulse is expected to be found. The
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minute is scanned again to verify the peak is indeed in the window
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and with acceptable amplitude, SNR and jitter. At this point the
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receiver begins to track the second sync pulse and operate as above
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until the clock is set.</p>
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<p>Once the minute is synchronized, the range gate is fixed and
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only energy within the window is considered for the minute sync
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pulse. A compare counter increments by one if the minute pulse has
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acceptable amplitude, SNR and jitter and decrements otherwise. This
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is used as a quality indicator and reported in the timecode and
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also for the autotune function described below.</p>
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<h4>Performance</h4>
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<p>It is the intent of the design that the accuracy and stability
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of the indicated time be limited only by the characteristics of the
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propagation medium. Conventional wisdom is that synchronization via
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the HF medium is good only to a millisecond under the best
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propagation conditions. The performance of the NTP daemon
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disciplined by the driver is clearly better than this, even under
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marginal conditions. Ordinarily, with marginal to good signals and
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a frequency averaging interval of 1024 s, the frequency is
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stabilized within 0.1 PPM and the time within 125 <font face=
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"Symbol">m</font>s. The frequency stability characteristic is
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highly important, since the clock may have to free-run for several
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hours before reacquiring the WWV/H signal.</p>
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<p>The expected accuracy over a typical day was determined using
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the DSP93 and an oscilloscope and cesium oscillator calibrated with
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a GPS receiver. With marginal signals and allowing 15 minutes for
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initial synchronization and frequency compensation, the time
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accuracy determined from the WWV/H second sync pulse was reliably
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within 125 <font face="Symbol">m</font>s. In the particular DSP-93
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used for program development, the uncorrected CPU clock frequency
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offset was 45.8±0.1 PPM. Over the first hour after initial
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synchronization, the clock frequency drifted about 1 PPM as the
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frequency averaging interval increased to the maximum 1024 s. Once
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reaching the maximum, the frequency wandered over the day up to 1
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PPM, but it is not clear whether this is due to the stability of
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the DSP-93 clock oscillator or the changing height of the
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ionosphere. Once the frequency had stabilized and after loss of the
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WWV/H signal, the frequency drift was less than 0.5 PPM, which is
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equivalent to 1.8 ms/h or 43 ms/d. This resulted in a step phase
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correction up to several milliseconds when the signal returned.</p>
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<p>The measured propagation delay from the WWV transmitter at
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Boulder, CO, to the receiver at Newark, DE, is 23.5±0.1 ms.
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This is measured to the peak of the pulse after the second sync
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comb filter and includes components due to the ionospheric
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propagation delay, nominally 8.9 ms, communications receiver delay
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and program delay. The propagation delay can be expected to change
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about 0.2 ms over the day, as the result of changing ionosphere
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height. The DSP93 program delay was measured at 5.5 ms, most of
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which is due to the 400-Hz bandpass filter and 5-ms matched filter.
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Similar delays can be expected of this driver.</p>
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<h4>Program Operation</h4>
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The driver begins operation immediately upon startup. It first
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searches for one or both of the stations WWV and WWVH and attempts
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to acquire minute sync. This may take some fits and starts, as the
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driver expects to see three consecutive minutes with good signals
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and low jitter. If the autotune function is active, the driver will
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rotate over all five frequencies and both WWV and WWVH stations
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until three good minutes are found.
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<p>The driver then acquires second sync, which can take up to
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several minutes, depending on signal quality. At the same time the
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driver accumulates likelihood values for each of the nine digits of
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the clock, plus the seven miscellaneous bits included in the WWV/H
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transmission format. The minute units digit is decoded first and,
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when five repetitions have compared correctly, the remaining eight
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digits are decoded. When five repetitions of all nine digits have
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decoded correctly, which normally takes 15 minutes with good
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signals and up to an hour when buried in noise, and the second sync
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alarm has not been raised for two minutes, the clock is set (or
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verified) and is selectable to discipline the system clock.</p>
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<p>As long as the clock is set or verified, the system clock
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offsets are provided once each second to the reference clock
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interface, where they are saved in a buffer. At the end of each
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minute, the buffer samples are groomed by the median filter and
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trimmed-mean averaging functions. Using these functions, the system
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clock can in principle be disciplined to a much finer resolution
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than the 125-<font face="Symbol">m</font>s sample interval would
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suggest, although the ultimate accuracy is probably limited by
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propagation delay variations as the ionspheric height varies
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throughout the day and night.</p>
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<p>As long as signals are available, the clock frequency is
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disciplined for use during times when the signals are unavailable.
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The algorithm refines the frequency offset using increasingly
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longer averaging intervals to 1024 s, where the precision is about
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0.1 PPM. With good signals, it takes well over two hours to reach
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this degree of precision; however, it can take many more hours than
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this in case of marginal signals. Once reaching the limit, the
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algorithm will follow frequency variations due to temperature
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fluctuations and ionospheric height variations.</p>
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<p>It may happen as the hours progress around the clock that WWV
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and WWVH signals may appear alone, together or not at all. When the
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driver is first started, the NTP reference identifier appears as
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<tt>NONE</tt>. When the driver has acquired one or both stations
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and mitigated which one is best, it sets the station identifier in
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the timecode as described below. In addition, the NTP reference
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identifier is set to the station callsign. If the propagation
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delays has been properly set with the <tt>fudge time1</tt> (WWV)
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and <tt>fudge time2</tt> (WWVH) commands in the configuration file,
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handover from one station to the other will be seamless.</p>
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<p>Once the clock has been set for the first time, it will appear
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reachable and selectable to discipline the system clock, even if
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the broadcast signal fades to obscurity. A consequence of this
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design is that, once the clock is set, the time and frequency are
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disciplined only by the second sync pulse and the clock digits
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themselves are driven by the clock state machine and ordinarily
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never changed. However, as long as the clock is set correctly, it
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will continue to read correctly after a period of signal loss, as
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long as it does not drift more than 500 ms from the correct time.
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Assuming the clock frequency can be disciplined within 1 PPM, the
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clock could coast without signals for some 5.8 days without
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exceeding that limit. If for some reason this did happen, the clock
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would be in the wrong second and would never resynchronize. To
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protect against this most unlikely situation, if after four days
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with no signals, the clock is considered unset and resumes the
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synchronization procedure from the beginning.</p>
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<p>To work well, the driver needs a communications receiver with
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good audio response at 100 Hz. Most shortwave and communications
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receivers roll off the audio response below 250 Hz, so this can be
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a problem, especially with receivers using DSP technology, since
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DSP filters can have very fast rolloff outside the passband. Some
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DSP transceivers, in particular the ICOM 775, have a programmable
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low frequency cutoff which can be set as low as 80 Hz. However,
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this particular radio has a strong low frequency buzz at about 10
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Hz which appears in the audio output and can affect data recovery
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under marginal conditions. Although not tested, it would seem very
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likely that a cheap shortwave receiver could function just as well
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as an expensive communications receiver.</p>
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<h4>Autotune</h4>
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<p>The driver includes provisions to automatically tune the radio
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in response to changing radio propagation conditions throughout the
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day and night. The radio interface is compatible with the ICOM CI-V
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standard, which is a bidirectional serial bus operating at TTL
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levels. The bus can be connected to a serial port using a level
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converter such as the CT-17. The serial port speed is presently
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compiled in the program, but can be changed in the driver source
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file.</p>
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<p>Each ICOM radio is assigned a unique 8-bit ID select code,
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usually expressed in hex format. To activate the CI-V interface,
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the <tt>mode</tt> keyword of the <tt>server</tt> configuration
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command specifies a nonzero select code in decimal format. A table
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of ID select codes for the known ICOM radios is given below. Since
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all ICOM select codes are less than 128, the high order bit of the
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code is used by the driver to specify the baud rate. If this bit is
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not set, the rate is 9600 bps for the newer radios; if set, the
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rate is 1200 bps for the older radios. A missing <tt>mode</tt>
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keyword or a zero argument leaves the interface disabled.</p>
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<p>If specified, the driver will attempt to open the device <tt>
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/dev/icom</tt> and, if successful will activate the autotune
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function and tune the radio to each operating frequency in turn
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while attempting to acquire minute sync from either WWV or WWVH.
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However, the driver is liberal in what it assumes of the
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configuration. If the <tt>/dev/icom</tt> link is not present or the
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open fails or the CI-V bus or radio is inoperative, the driver
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quietly gives up with no harm done.</p>
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<p>Once acquiring minute sync, the driver operates as described
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above to set the clock. However, during seconds 59, 0 and 1 of each
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minute it tunes the radio to one of the five broadcast frequencies
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to measure the sync pulse and data pulse amplitudes and SNR and
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update the compare counter. Each of the five frequencies are probed
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in a five-minute rotation to build a database of current
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propagation conditions for all signals that can be heard at the
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time. At the end of each rotation, a mitigation procedure scans the
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database and retunes the radio to the best frequency and station
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found. For this to work well, the radio should be set for a fast
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AGC recovery time. This is most important while tracking a strong
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signal, which is normally the case, and then probing another
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frequency, which may have much weaker signals.</p>
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<p>Reception conditions for each frequency and station are
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evaluated according to a metric which considers the minute sync
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pulse amplitude, SNR and jitter, as well as, the data pulse
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amplitude and SNR. The minute pulse is evaluated at second 0, while
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the data pulses are evaluated at seconds 59 and 1. The results are
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summarized in a scoreboard of three bits</p>
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<dl>
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<dt><tt>0x0001</tt></dt>
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<dd>Jitter exceeded. The difference in epoches between the last
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minute sync pulse and the current one exceeds 50 ms (400
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samples).</dd>
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<dt><tt>0x0002</tt></dt>
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<dd>Minute pulse error. For the minute sync pulse in second 0,
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either the amplitude or SNR is below threshold (2000 and 20 dB,
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respectively).</dd>
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<dt><tt>0x0004</tt></dt>
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<dd>Minute pulse error. For both of the data pulses in seocnds 59
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and 1, either the amplitude or SNR is below threshold (1000 and 10
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dB, respectively).</dd>
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</dl>
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<p>If none of the scoreboard bits are set, the compare counter is
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increased by one to a maximum of six. If any bits are set, the
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counter is decreased by one to a minimum of zero. At the end of
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each minute, the frequency and station with the maximum compare
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count is chosen, with ties going to the highest frequency.</p>
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<h4>Diagnostics</h4>
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<p>The autotune process produces diagnostic information along with
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the timecode. This is very useful for evaluating the performance of
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the algorithm, as well as radio propagation conditions in general.
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The message is produced once each minute for each frequency in turn
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after minute sync has been acquired.</p>
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<p><tt>wwv5 port agc wwv wwvh</tt></p>
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|
|
<p>where <tt>port</tt> and <tt>agc</tt> are the audio port and
|
|
gain, respectively, for this frequency and <tt>wwv</tt> and <tt>
|
|
wwvh</tt> are two sets of fields, one each for WWV and WWVH. Each
|
|
of the two fields has the format</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>ident score comp sync/snr/jitr</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>where <tt>ident</tt>encodes the station (<tt>C</tt> for WWV,
|
|
<tt>H</tt> for WWVH) and frequency (2, 5, 10, 15 and 20), <tt>
|
|
score</tt> is the scoreboard described above, <tt>comp</tt> is the
|
|
compare counter, <tt>sync</tt> is the minute sync pulse amplitude,
|
|
<tt>snr</tt> the SNR of the pulse and <tt>jitr</tt> is the sample
|
|
difference between the current epoch and the last epoch. An example
|
|
is:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>wwv5 2 111 C20 0100 6 8348/30.0/-3 H20 0203 0
|
|
22/-12.4/8846</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Here the radio is tuned to 20 MHz and the line-in port AGC is
|
|
currently 111 at that frequency. The message contains a report for
|
|
WWV (<tt>C20</tt>) and WWVH (<tt>H20</tt>). The WWV report
|
|
scoreboard is 0100 and the compare count is 6, which suggests very
|
|
good reception conditions, and the minute sync amplitude and SNR
|
|
are well above thresholds (2000 and 20 dB, respectively). Probably
|
|
the most sensitive indicator of reception quality is the jitter, -3
|
|
samples, which is well below threshold (50 ms or 400 samples).
|
|
While the message shows solid reception conditions from WWV, this
|
|
is not the case for WWVH. Both the minute sync amplitude and SNR
|
|
are below thresholds and the jitter is above threshold.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>A sequence of five messages, one for each minute, might appear
|
|
as follows:</p>
|
|
|
|
<pre>
|
|
wwv5 2 95 C2 0107 0 164/7.2/8100 H2 0207 0 80/-5.5/7754
|
|
wwv5 2 99 C5 0104 0 3995/21.8/395 H5 0207 0 27/-9.3/18826
|
|
wwv5 2 239 C10 0105 0 9994/30.0/2663 H10 0207 0 54/-16.1/-529
|
|
wwv5 2 155 C15 0103 3 3300/17.8/-1962 H15 0203 0 236/17.0/4873
|
|
wwv5 2 111 C20 0100 6 8348/30.0/-3 H20 0203 0 22/-12.4/8846
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
<p>Clearly, the only frequencies that are available are 15 MHz and
|
|
20 MHz and propagation may be failing for 15 MHz. However, minute
|
|
sync pulses are being heard on 5 and 10 MHz, even though the data
|
|
pulses are not. This is typical of late afternoon when the maximum
|
|
usable frequency (MUF) is falling and the ionospheric loss at the
|
|
lower frequencies is beginning to decrease.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h4>Debugging Aids</h4>
|
|
|
|
<p>The most convenient way to track the driver status is using the
|
|
<tt>ntpq</tt> program and the <tt>clockvar</tt> command. This
|
|
displays the last determined timecode and related status and error
|
|
counters, even when the driver is not discipline the system clock.
|
|
If the debugging trace feature (<tt>-d</tt> on the <tt>ntpd</tt>
|
|
command line)is enabled, the driver produces detailed status
|
|
messages as it operates. If the <tt>fudge flag 4</tt> is set, these
|
|
messages are written to the <tt>clockstats</tt> file. All messages
|
|
produced by this driver have the prefix <tt>chu</tt> for convenient
|
|
filtering with the Unix <tt>grep</tt> command.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>In the following descriptions the units of amplitude, phase,
|
|
probability and likelihood are normalized to the range 0-6000 for
|
|
convenience. In addition, the signal/noise ratio (SNR) and
|
|
likelihood ratio are measured in decibels and the words with bit
|
|
fields are in hex. Most messages begin with a leader in the
|
|
following format:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>wwvn ss stat sigl</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>where <tt>wwvn</tt> is the message code, <tt>ss</tt> the second
|
|
of minute, <tt>stat</tt> the driver status word and <tt>sigl</tt>
|
|
the second sync pulse amplitude. A full explanation of the status
|
|
bits is contained in the driver source listing; however, the
|
|
following are the most useful for debugging.</p>
|
|
|
|
<dl>
|
|
<dt><tt>0x0001</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>Minute sync. Set when the decoder has identified a station and
|
|
acquired the minute sync pulse.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>0x0002</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>Second sync. Set when the decoder has acquired the second sync
|
|
pulse and within 125 <font face="Symbol">m</font>s of the correct
|
|
phase.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>0x0004</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>Minute unit sync. Set when the decoder has reliably determined
|
|
the unit digit of the minute.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>0x0008</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>Clock set. Set when the decoder has reliably determined all
|
|
nine digits of the timecode and is selectable to discipline the
|
|
system clock.</dd>
|
|
</dl>
|
|
|
|
<p>With debugging enabled the driver produces messages in the
|
|
following formats:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Format <tt>wwv8</tt> messages are produced once per minute by
|
|
the WWV and WWVH station processes before minute sync has been
|
|
acquired. They show the progress of identifying and tracking the
|
|
minute pulse of each station.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>wwv8 port agc ident comp ampl snr epoch jitr offs</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>where <tt>port</tt> and <tt>agc</tt> are the audio port and
|
|
gain, respectively. The <tt>ident</tt>encodes the station
|
|
(<tt>C</tt> for WWV, <tt>H</tt> for WWVH) and frequency (2, 5, 10,
|
|
15 and 20). For the encoded frequency, <tt>comp</tt> is the compare
|
|
counter, <tt>ampl</tt> the pulse amplitude, <tt>snr</tt> the SNR,
|
|
<tt>epoch</tt> the sample number of the minute pulse in the minute,
|
|
<tt>jitr</tt> the change since the last <tt>epoch</tt> and <tt>
|
|
offs</tt> the minute pulse offset relative to the second pulse. An
|
|
example is:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>wwv8 2 127 C15 2 9247 30.0 18843 -1 1</tt><br>
|
|
<tt>wwv8 2 127 H15 0 134 -2.9 19016 193 174</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Here the radio is tuned to 15 MHz and the line-in port AGC is
|
|
currently 127 at that frequency. The driver has not yet acquired
|
|
minute sync, WWV has been heard for at least two minutes, and WWVH
|
|
is in the noise. The WWV minute pulse amplitude and SNR are well
|
|
above the threshold (2000 and 6 dB, respectively) and the minute
|
|
epoch has been determined -1 sample relative to the last one and 1
|
|
sample relative to the second sync pulse. The compare counter has
|
|
incrmented to two; when it gets to three, minute sync has been
|
|
acquired.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Format <tt>wwv3</tt> messages are produced after minute sync has
|
|
been acquired and until the seconds unit digit is determined. They
|
|
show the results of decoding each bit of the transmitted
|
|
timecode.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>wwv3 ss stat sigl ampl phas snr prob like</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>where <tt>ss</tt>, <tt>stat</tt> and <tt>sigl</tt> are as above,
|
|
<tt>ampl</tt> is the subcarrier amplitude, <tt>phas</tt> the
|
|
subcarrier phase, <tt>snr</tt> the subcarrier SNR, <tt>prob</tt>
|
|
the bit probability and <tt>like</tt> the bit likelihood. An
|
|
example is:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>wwv3 28 0123 4122 4286 0 24.8 -5545 -1735</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Here the driver has acquired minute and second sync, but has not
|
|
yet determined the seconds unit digit. However, it has just decoded
|
|
bit 28 of the minute. The results show the second sync pulse
|
|
amplitude well over the threshold (500), subcarrier amplitude well
|
|
above the threshold (1000), good subcarrier tracking phase and SNR
|
|
well above the threshold (10 dB). The bit is almost certainly a
|
|
zero and the likelihood of a zero in this second is very high.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Format <tt>wwv4</tt> messages are produced for each of the nine
|
|
BCD timecode digits until the clock has been set or verified. They
|
|
show the results of decoding each digit of the transmitted
|
|
timecode.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>wwv4 ss stat sigl radx ckdig mldig diff cnt like
|
|
snr</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>where <tt>ss</tt>, <tt>stat</tt> and <tt>sigl</tt> are as above,
|
|
<tt>radx</tt> is the digit radix (3, 4, 6, 10), <tt>ckdig</tt> the
|
|
current clock digit, <tt>mldig</tt> the maximum likelihood digit,
|
|
<tt>diff</tt> the difference between these two digits modulo the
|
|
radix, <tt>cnt</tt> the compare counter, <tt>like</tt> the digit
|
|
likelihood and <tt>snr</tt> the likelihood ratio. An example
|
|
is:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>wwv4 8 010f 5772 10 9 9 0 6 4615 6.1</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Here the driver has previousl set or verified the clock. It has
|
|
just decoded the digit preceding second 8 of the minute. The digit
|
|
radix is 10, the current clock and maximum likelihood digits are
|
|
both 9, the likelihood is well above the threshold (1000) and the
|
|
likelihood function well above threshold (3.0 dB). Short of a
|
|
hugely unlikely probability conspiracy, the clock digit is most
|
|
certainly a 9.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Format <tt>wwv2</tt> messages are produced at each master
|
|
oscillator frequency update, which starts at 8 s, but eventually
|
|
climbs to 1024 s. They show the progress of the algorithm as it
|
|
refines the frequency measurement to a precision of 0.1 PPM.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>wwv2 ss stat sigl avint avcnt avinc jitr delt freq</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>where <tt>ss</tt>, <tt>stat</tt> and <tt>sigl</tt> are as above,
|
|
<tt>avint</tt> is the averaging interval, <tt>avcnt</tt> the
|
|
averaging interval counter, <tt>avinc</tt> the interval increment,
|
|
<tt>jitr</tt> the sample change between the beginning and end of
|
|
the interval, <tt>delt</tt> the computed frequency change and <tt>
|
|
freq</tt> the current frequency (PPM). An example is:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>wwv2 22 030f 5795 256 256 4 0 0.0 66.7</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Here the driver has acquired minute and second sync and set the
|
|
clock. The averaging interval has increased to 256 s on the way to
|
|
1024 s, has stayed at that interval for 4 averaging intervals, has
|
|
measured no change in frequency and the current frequency is 66.7
|
|
PPM.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>If the CI-V interface for ICOM radios is active, a debug level
|
|
greater than 1 will produce a trace of the CI-V command and
|
|
response messages. Interpretation of these messages requires
|
|
knowledge of the CI-V protocol, which is beyond the scope of this
|
|
document.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h4>Monitor Data</h4>
|
|
|
|
When enabled by the <tt>filegen</tt> facility, every received
|
|
timecode is written to the <tt>clockstats</tt> file in the
|
|
following format:
|
|
|
|
<pre>
|
|
sq yy ddd hh:mm:ss.fff ld du lset agc stn rfrq errs freq cons
|
|
|
|
s sync indicator
|
|
q quality character
|
|
yyyy Gregorian year
|
|
ddd day of year
|
|
hh hour of day
|
|
mm minute of hour
|
|
fff millisecond of second
|
|
l leap second warning
|
|
d DST state
|
|
dut DUT sign and magnitude
|
|
lset minutes since last set
|
|
agc audio gain
|
|
ident station identifier and frequency
|
|
comp minute sync compare counter
|
|
errs bit error counter
|
|
freq frequency offset
|
|
avgt averaging time
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
The fields beginning with <tt>year</tt> and extending through <tt>
|
|
dut</tt> are decoded from the received data and are in fixed-length
|
|
format. The <tt>agc</tt> and <tt>lset</tt> fields, as well as the
|
|
following driver-dependent fields, are in variable-length format.
|
|
|
|
<dl>
|
|
<dt><tt>s</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The sync indicator is initially <tt>?</tt> before the clock is
|
|
set, but turns to space when all nine digits of the timecode are
|
|
correctly set.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>q</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The quality character is a four-bit hexadecimal code showing
|
|
which alarms have been raised. Each bit is associated with a
|
|
specific alarm condition according to the following:
|
|
|
|
<dl>
|
|
<dt><tt>0x8</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>Sync alarm. The decoder may not be in correct second or minute
|
|
phase relative to the transmitter.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>0x4</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>Error alarm. More than 30 data bit errors occurred in the last
|
|
minute.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>0x2</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>Symbol alarm. The probability of correct decoding for a digit
|
|
or miscellaneous bit has fallen below the threshold.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>0x1</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>Decoding alarm. A maximum likelihood digit fails to agree with
|
|
the current associated clock digit.</dd>
|
|
</dl>
|
|
|
|
It is important to note that one or more of the above alarms does
|
|
not necessarily indicate a clock error, but only that the decoder
|
|
has detected a condition that may in future result in an
|
|
error.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>yyyy ddd hh:mm:ss.fff</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The timecode format itself is self explanatory. Since the
|
|
driver latches the on-time epoch directly from the second sync
|
|
pulse, the fraction <tt>fff</tt>is always zero. Although the
|
|
transmitted timecode includes only the year of century, the
|
|
Gregorian year is augmented 2000 if the indicated year is less than
|
|
72 and 1900 otherwise.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>l</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The leap second warning is normally space, but changes to <tt>
|
|
L</tt> if a leap second is to occur at the end of the month of June
|
|
or December.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>d</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The DST state is <tt>S</tt> or <tt>D</tt> when standard time or
|
|
daylight time is in effect, respectively. The state is <tt>I</tt>
|
|
or <tt>O</tt> when daylight time is about to go into effect or out
|
|
of effect, respectively.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>dut</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The DUT sign and magnitude shows the current UT1 offset
|
|
relative to the displayed UTC time, in deciseconds.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>lset</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>Before the clock is set, the interval since last set is the
|
|
number of minutes since the driver was started; after the clock is
|
|
set, this is number of minutes since the time was last verified
|
|
relative to the broadcast signal.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>agc</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The audio gain shows the current codec gain setting in the
|
|
range 0 to 255. Ordinarily, the receiver audio gain control or IRIG
|
|
level control should be set for a value midway in this range.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>ident</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The station identifier shows the station, <tt>C</tt> for WWV or
|
|
<tt>H</tt> for WWVH, and frequency being tracked. If neither
|
|
station is heard on any frequency, the station identifier shows
|
|
<tt>X</tt>.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>comp</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The minute sync compare counter is useful to determine the
|
|
quality of the minute sync signal and can range from 0 (no signal)
|
|
to 5 (best).</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>errs</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The bit error counter is useful to determine the quality of the
|
|
data signal received in the most recent minute. It is normal to
|
|
drop a couple of data bits under good signal conditions and
|
|
increasing numbers as conditions worsen. While the decoder performs
|
|
moderately well even with half the bits are in error in any minute,
|
|
usually by that point the sync signals are lost and the decoder
|
|
reverts to free-run anyway.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>freq</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The frequency offset is the current estimate of the codec
|
|
frequency offset to within 0.1 PPM. This may wander a bit over the
|
|
day due to local temperature fluctuations and propagation
|
|
conditions.</dd>
|
|
|
|
<dt><tt>avgt</tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>The averaging time is the interval between frequency updates in
|
|
powers of two to a maximum of 1024 s. Attainment of the maximum
|
|
indicates the driver is operating at the best possible resolution
|
|
in time and frequency.</dd>
|
|
</dl>
|
|
|
|
<p>An example timecode is:</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><tt>0 2000 006 22:36:00.000 S +3 1 115 C20 6 5 66.4
|
|
1024</tt></p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Here the clock has been set and no alarms are raised. The year,
|
|
day and time are displayed along with no leap warning, standard
|
|
time and DUT +0.3 s. The clock was set on the last minute, the AGC
|
|
is safely in the middle ot the range 0-255, and the receiver is
|
|
tracking WWV on 20 MHz. Excellent reeiving conditions prevail, as
|
|
indicated by the compare count 6 and 5 bit errors during the last
|
|
minute. The current frequency is 66.4 PPM and the averaging
|
|
interval is 1024 s, indicating the maximum precision available.</p>
|
|
|
|
<h4>Modes</h4>
|
|
|
|
<p>The <tt>mode</tt> keyword of the <tt>server</tt> configuration
|
|
command specifies the ICOM ID select code. A missing or zero
|
|
argument disables the CI-V interface. Following are the ID select
|
|
codes for the known radios.</p>
|
|
|
|
<table cols="6" width="100%">
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Radio</td>
|
|
<td>Hex</td>
|
|
<td>Decimal</td>
|
|
<td>Radio</td>
|
|
<td>Hex</td>
|
|
<td>Decimal</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>IC725</td>
|
|
<td>0x28</td>
|
|
<td>40</td>
|
|
<td>IC781</td>
|
|
<td>0x26</td>
|
|
<td>38</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>IC726</td>
|
|
<td>0x30</td>
|
|
<td>48</td>
|
|
<td>R7000</td>
|
|
<td>0x08</td>
|
|
<td>8</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>IC735</td>
|
|
<td>0x04</td>
|
|
<td>4</td>
|
|
<td>R71</td>
|
|
<td>0x1A</td>
|
|
<td>26</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>IC751</td>
|
|
<td>0x1c</td>
|
|
<td>28</td>
|
|
<td>R7100</td>
|
|
<td>0x34</td>
|
|
<td>52</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>IC761</td>
|
|
<td>0x1e</td>
|
|
<td>30</td>
|
|
<td>R72</td>
|
|
<td>0x32</td>
|
|
<td>50</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>IC765</td>
|
|
<td>0x2c</td>
|
|
<td>44</td>
|
|
<td>R8500</td>
|
|
<td>0x4a</td>
|
|
<td>74</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>IC775</td>
|
|
<td>0x46</td>
|
|
<td>68</td>
|
|
<td>R9000</td>
|
|
<td>0x2a</td>
|
|
<td>42</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
</table>
|
|
|
|
<h4>Fudge Factors</h4>
|
|
|
|
<dl>
|
|
<dt><tt>time1 <i>time</i></tt></dt>
|
|
|
|
<dd>Specifies the propagation delay for WWV (40:40:49.0N
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|
105:02:27.0W), in seconds and fraction, with default 0.0.</dd>
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<dt><tt>time2 <i>time</i></tt></dt>
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<dd>Specifies the propagation delay for WWVH (21:59:26.0N
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|
159:46:00.0W), in seconds and fraction, with default 0.0.</dd>
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<dt><tt>stratum <i>number</i></tt></dt>
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<dd>Specifies the driver stratum, in decimal from 0 to 15, with
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|
default 0.</dd>
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<dt><tt>refid <i>string</i></tt></dt>
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<dd>Ordinarily, this field specifies the driver reference
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|
identifier; however, the driver sets the reference identifier
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|
automatically as described above.</dd>
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<dt><tt>flag1 0 | 1</tt></dt>
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<dd>Not used by this driver.</dd>
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<dt><tt>flag2 0 | 1</tt></dt>
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|
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<dd>Specifies the microphone port if set to zero or the line-in
|
|
port if set to one. It does not seem useful to specify the compact
|
|
disc player port.</dd>
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|
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|
<dt><tt>flag3 0 | 1</tt></dt>
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|
<dd>Enables audio monitoring of the input signal. For this purpose,
|
|
the speaker volume must be set before the driver is started.</dd>
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|
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|
<dt><tt>flag4 0 | 1</tt></dt>
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<dd>Enable verbose <tt>clockstats</tt> recording if set.</dd>
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|
</dl>
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<h4>Additional Information</h4>
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<a href="refclock.htm">Reference Clock Drivers</a> <br>
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<a href="audio.htm">Reference Clock Audio Drivers</a>
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<hr>
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<a href="index.htm"><img align="left" src="pic/home.gif" alt=
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"gif"></a>
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<address><a href="mailto:mills@udel.edu">David L. Mills
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|
<mills@udel.edu></a></address>
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</body>
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</html>
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