low cost, high accuracy gps timing - cns sys.pptVIP

What is VLBI ? Why did this effort get started? The VLBI community (Radio Astronomy and Geodesy) uses Hydrogen Masers at 40-50 remote sites all around the world. To achieve ~10° signal coherence for ~1000 seconds at 10 GHz we need the two oscillators at the ends of the interferometer to maintain relative stability of ? [10°/(360°?1010Hz?103sec)] ? 2.8?10-15 @ 1000 sec To correlate data acquired at 16Mb/s, station timing at relative levels ~50 nsec or better is needed. After a few days of inactivity, this requires ? [50?10-9/ 106 sec] ? 5?10-14 @ 106 sec In Geodetic applications, the station clocks are modeled at relative levels ~30 psec over a day ? [30?10-12/86400 sec] ? 3.5?10-16 @ 1 day Since VLBI defines UT1, we need to control [UTC(USNO) - UTC(VLBI)] to an accuracy ~100 nsec or better. How to get ~30 nsec timing despite S/A Start with a good timing receiver, like the Motorola ONCORE Average the positioning data for ~1-2 days to determine the station’s coordinates. With S/A on, a 1-2 day average should be good to 5 meters. Or if the site has been accurately surveyed, use the survey values. Lock the receiver’s position in “Zero-D” mode to this average. Make sure that your Time-Interval Counter (TIC) is triggering cleanly. Start the counter with the 1 PPS signal from the “house” atomic clock and stop with the GPS receiver’s 1PPS. Average the individual one/second TIC reading over ~5 minutes. ______________ These steps were automated in the SHOWTIME and TAC32Plus Software. Joe Taylor tests TAC Accuracy at Arecibo Our Intent for this Paper Changed . . . We originally planned to discuss the performance and some applications of single frequency GPS-Based timing receivers based primarily on our experiences with the Motorola VP and UT+ timing receivers. We planned to discuss some of the “tricks” we have used to mitigate against S/A’s effects . . . -- BUT -- DoD turned off S/A in early May -- AND -- Motorola discontinued the VP receiver So Now we will