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THG TIM 2015 Technical Manual

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TIM 2015 Speaking Clock
TECHNICAL MANUAL
TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018)
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Summary of Contents for THG TIM 2015

  • Page 1 TIM 2015 Speaking Clock TECHNICAL MANUAL TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 1...

  • Page 2: How To Use This Manual

    Document doesn’t print properly? All TIM 2015 documentation is produced in the DIN A4 format (8.27" x 11.69"), which may cause problems when printing onto US Letter size (8.5" x 11") paper. With Acrobat Reader for instance under Size Options, you will see four options: Fit, Actual size, Shrink oversized pages and Custom Scale.

  • Page 3: User Feedback

    Accuracy. The claim that we make for TIM 2015 is that it is accurate to within a second but no more. In other words, if you synchronise TIM 2015 to a source of GPS signal or to a radio time signal transmitter such as MSF, DCF77 or WWVB, it is of ‘indicative’ but not ‘absolute’...
  • Page 4 The latest version of this manual will be available to download at www.TIM2015.uk as soon as the website has been created. TIM 2015 IS DESIGNED AND MADE IN BRITAIN TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 4...
  • Page 5 3. Troubleshooting (problem solving) 4. Background information 5. Upgrades 6. The Catalex serial MP3 player 7. Creating new ‘voices’ for TIM 2015 8. Revisions to this manual 9. Safety notice and legal disclaimer Each section begins on a fresh page.

  • Page 6: Technical Description

    Technical description People can use TIM 2015 very happily without reading anything in this manual! The information in this section is provided for people who like to look ‘under the bonnet’ (British English) or ‘under the hood’ (US English) of TIM 2015.
  • Page 7 90%, resulting in much reduced power consumption. Only one audio channel of the amplifier is used because the sound in TIM 2015 is mono (not stereo). The volume control also incorporates a switch output, which is inverted by transistor T5 to place the PAM8403 chip into very low power shutdown mode (consuming less than 1µA) when the (switched) volume control is turned off.

  • Page 8: Specifications

    Unadjusted RTC accuracy ±2ppm from 0°C to +40°C (about ± 5.4 seconds per month). Timekeeping may be improved by timekeeping fine adjustment menu setting. Crystal ageing: First year: ±1ppm 1-10 Years: ±5ppm (RTC manufacturer’s estimate). TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 8...
  • Page 9 Board dimensions (140 x 85mm) TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 9...
  • Page 10 Board layout TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 10...
  • Page 11 Circuit diagram TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 11...
  • Page 12 It was last made in the 1990s and supplies are now hard to find, particularly in one-off quantities. However, there is no equivalent product nor anything even vaguely comparable produced currently, which is why we were forced to employ it again in TIM 2015. We have secured supplies to make at least 70 speaking clocks but must warn do-it-yourself constructors to ensure that you have one of these devices before starting work.

  • Page 13: Chapter 2 Diagnostic Messages

    Chapter 2 Diagnostic messages TIM 2015 performs various diagnostics at power-on. If a problem is detected one of the following seven messages should be displayed. The parts mentioned that may require your attention are illustrated on the following page. Please set Time This indicates no valid time has been set and retained in the RTC module.
  • Page 14 (The reset does not change any network configuration stored in the Wi-Fi module, if fitted.) To gain access to the interior of TIM 2015, turn off the power and then loosen the four screws in the base of the plastic case and remove the upper part of the case.
  • Page 15 Micro SD card (projecting slightly). Side Catalex player (blue module) with lettering uppermost Microcontroller chip (the longest Coin cell in its holder (with engraved lettering chip on the board) visible and uppermost) TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 15...

  • Page 16: Chapter 3 Troubleshooting

    Chapter 3 Troubleshooting This chapter is in two halves. The first Chapter lists faults that may occur during construction and prevent you from getting TIM 2015 to work at all, whilst the second section covers things that may come to light once you start using the completed clock.
  • Page 17 In general a good-looking soldered joint is a good joint. As mentioned, it should be smooth, bright, and shiny. If the joint has lumps or balls of otherwise shiny solder the metal has not ‘wetted’ properly. Not being bright and shiny suggests a weak, dry joint. Graphic courtesy of Instructables.com TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 17...
  • Page 18 If you find one, the solder on the joint should be removed with solder-wick braid or a solder sucker and care taken to ensure that a good joint is made when re-soldering it. TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 18...
  • Page 19 4. There is a discernible delay before audio is heard when switching on TIM 2015. This is intentional. There is no audio output until the pips or toneburst is sounded for the first time. As you may switch on TIM 2015 at any random moment a delay of up to eight seconds may occur until the next pips or toneburst moment.
  • Page 20 ‘tin’ the gold pad. Then bridge both pads with the tip of the soldering iron and add a tiny amount of solder so that the two pads are linked. Make sure the link you make does not touch the P pad. TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 20...
  • Page 21 6. The liquid crystal display does illuminate but it shows gibberish that changes constantly. This is usually a loose wire connection in the flylead or else JP2 is connected wrongly or not at all (see Problem 5 above). TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 21...

  • Page 22: Electrical Problems

    Electrical problems If your TIM 2015 displays an error code on the screen, please go back to Chapter 7, Diagnostic Messages, where these are discussed. 1. Weak audio The volume control on the front panel (right-hand knob) adjusts only the loudness of the monitor speaker. There is also a ‘master’ volume control that you can operate by pressing the left-hand knob and entering the Settings menu.

  • Page 23: Chapter 4 Background Information

    Timekeeping accuracy The claim we make for TIM 2015 is that it is accurate to within a second but no more. In other words if you synchronise TIM 2015 to a source of GPS signal or to a radio time signal transmitter such as MSF, DCF77 or WWVB, it is of ‘indicative’ but not ‘absolute’ accuracy, making it adequate for all everyday purposes.

  • Page 24: Web Links

    Users attest to the accuracy of TIM 2015. One customer says: “The new clock seems to agree very well with the GPS time received on my mobile phone, which makes me think it’s accurate.” Our own experience confirms this. The prototype was checked against satellite time nine months after it was first set up, during which time it had still not been resynchronised at all.
  • Page 25 In the fullness of time, voice files will also be available to download (to put on your own microSD cards) from the TIM 2015 website, www.TIM2015.uk . Customers will be notified by e-mail when updates are available.
  • Page 26 2.5 (April 2017). Voice menu no longer mention Pat Simmons by name. This is to simplify reorganisation of the files in future. Most  users will not require this upgrade immediately. Number of voice files on microSD card that can be handled increased from 16 to 64. TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 26...
  • Page 27 Most of these files include periods of silence before and after the actual speech, to ensure that when you assemble and play a string of files, they will sound like natural speech. TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 27...
  • Page 28 Using this file structure If you are creating your own audio files, you must use the standard TIM 2015 file structure, file names and file lengths. File names must be numerical and in the format 001 to 255.WAV or 001 to 255.MP3 (this is a constraint of the Catalex module). According to the Catalex data sheet you should be able to add text to filenames for user reference purposes, such as 001ABC.WAV and 024xyz.WAV.
  • Page 29 Waveform view with a linear vertical scale running from -1.0 (negative values) to +1.0 (positive values), centred on zero (provided you have not changed Audacity's default for the display). Continues on next page. TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 29...
  • Page 30 This carries on up to 012.WAV (‘At the third stroke it will be twelve’). These files run for 3.1 seconds with the audio beginning at around 0.40 seconds. TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 30...
  • Page 31 File 200.WAV contains the word ‘Precisely’. It lasts 2.1 seconds, with the audio beginning at 0.70 seconds. It must not start any  earlier; otherwise you end up with an unnaturally long silence between the end of ‘Precisely’ and the next sequence of three pips. TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 31...
  • Page 32 Note: TIM 2015 has a handy facility for auditioning each of the files that make up any particular ‘voice’. Go to the Settings Menu, use the Select Voice option to select the voice of interest and then use Voice Audition to listen to each of the files in turn.
  • Page 33 In the general nature of things, the length of the various segments varies. For instance the toneburst/pips (080) and the final announcement (200-250 TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 33...
  • Page 34 10 seconds. I understand this entirely. Am I right in thinking that TIM 2015 does not expect these segments to conform to any predetermined length, so long as the sum total does not exceed, say, 9.8 seconds?
  • Page 35 (just make sure the files are mono and the bitrate matches the rates allowed in the Catalex data sheet). TIM 2015 is supplied with a 1GB (gigabyte) microSD card and its large capacity means there is no need to worry about file sizes. Of course TIM 2015 will also works fine with 2GB cards.
  • Page 36 Careful editing of voice files (and not putting more than five voices in a microSD card will avoid these unwanted effects. 10. MP3 files do not work well with TIM 2015. While using some MP3 files, the designer encountered trouble with files not playing properly.
  • Page 37 Mick Champion reports: A voice timing bug has come to light due the increased number of voices now available to TIM 2015. It didn’t take long to spot that the Catalex MP3 player is at the root of the problem but unfortunately little can be done about it. The table below shows the time is takes to complete playing the same one track ‘At the third stroke, it will be Three’.
  • Page 38 1st Play 3.460849047 Folder 14 Track 3 : 3.440948009 2nd Play 3.440625906 0.28314209 Folder 15 Track 3 : 3.481137037 1st Play 3.476700068 Folder 15 Track 3 : 3.461152792 2nd Play 3.461077929 0.303594112 TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 38...
  • Page 39 Extra 1st run Sequence 2nd run Sequence time time Folder Track 80 3.06596899 3.056231022 Folder Track 80 3.056220055 3.056475878 Folder Track 9 : 3.157927036 3.157480001 Folder Track 128 : 1.367619991 1.366471052 TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 39...
  • Page 40 In the next table you will see one full sequence for Folder 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20. Because of the delay I mentioned earlier when changing to a folder, the pips (080.wav) are played twice and the timing calculation starts from the TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 40...
  • Page 41 Folder 10 Track 128 : 1.539644957 1.529073 Folder 10 Track 250 : 2.237846136 10.5117459 2.249000072 10.522053 0.865192 0.856841 Folder 15 Track 80 : 3.473417997 3.473144054 Folder 15 Track 80 : 3.351972103 3.362617016 TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 41...
  • Page 42 10.52981782 0.861019 0.864606 Folder 15 Track 80 : 3.476930141 3.47276783 Folder 15 Track 80 : 3.361520052 3.361459017 Folder 15 Track 9 : 3.759212017 3.756291151 Folder 15 Track 128 : 1.670948029 1.67087698 TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 42...
  • Page 43 Folder 5 10.1531 10.11707 10.14662 10.1643 10.1573 10.12743 Folder 10 10.54544 10.51175 10.50757 10.54735 10.52205 10.52982 Folder 15 11.20375 11.13972 11.17125 11.19316 11.17263 11.16788 Folder 20 11.57783 11.55079 11.52287 11.58661 11.53433 11.5338 TIM 2015 Technical Manual v1 (February 2018) Page 43...
  • Page 44 General Users may well wish to devise additional ‘voices’ for enhancing the range playable with TIM 2015, perhaps to reproduce other speaking clocks past or current or in other languages. Many hours have been spent capturing and editing the audio files available already and we thank the museums who made available their clocks for recording without charge to us.
  • Page 45 You can provide us with a single tape/Mini Disc/CD or digital WAV file of the entire session (leave the editing into segments to us). As this is a spare time activity, it may well take some time to edit and format the recordings for TIM 2015.
  • Page 46 (like playing a number of tracks on a CD). Voice file variables The voice files used for TIM 2015 fall into two basic types, British and USA. They are not the cleverest names we could have chosen but never mind.
  • Page 47 If the new voice fails to run properly, you may have bigger problems. Recording a minute of the audio output from TIM 2015 on your computer and displaying a 10-second sequence as a screenshot may help you identify the problem. More simply you can make a table of...

  • Page 48: Chapter 8 Revisions To This Manual

    Chapter 9 Safety notice and legal disclaimer There are no hazardous voltages inside the case of the TIM 2015 speaking clock, which operates using the low voltage of 9 to 12V DC. The information and advice provided in the User, Assembly and Technical Manuals and any advertisements and leaflets are purely advisory and given in good faith, without any legal engagement or responsibility.

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