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Tekron TCG 01 User Manual

Time code generator
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TCG 01
TIME CODE GENERATOR
User Manual
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  • Page 1 TCG 01 TIME CODE GENERATOR User Manual Edition...
  • Page 2 www.tekroninternational.com Page 2 of 49...
  • Page 3 TCG-01 Time Code Generator User Manual Edition February 2007 This document supports all TCG-01 with firmware revision D1—D8 R R evision History: For 0, A-B TCG-01 For 0, A-B and C4-C7 TCG-01 All C and D up to D1 version TCG-01 All C and D up to D1 version TCG-01 All C and D up to D4 version TCG-01 (This document) For D up to and including D8 version TCG-01...

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    6.2 Identification..........................13 6.3 Programmable outputs (P2, P3, P4-pin1) .................13 6.4 Isolation & Protection ......................14 FACTORY HARDWARE OPTIONS..............15 7.1 TCG 01 High Voltage Output Option .................15 7.2 Power Supply Options ......................16 7.3 Lightning Protection Option ....................16 7.4 Multi-port Hub Option......................16 TCG 01 CONFIGURATION SOFTWARE............17...
  • Page 5 APPENDIX C EVENT TIME-TAGGING OPTION ..........32 C.1 Introduction..........................32 C.2 TCG 01 Command / Response Message structure ............33 C.3 TCG 01 Commands related to Event Time Tagging ............33 APPENDIX D NETWORK TIME SERVER OPTION ..........36 D.1 Configuration Requirements....................36 D.2 Methods for Accessing Set-Up Mode ................

  • Page 7: Introduction

    Non-fibre outputs that can be ordered are TTL, RS422, or high voltage switching. All TCG 01 units feature a front panel display, giving visual feedback about the time data being generated on the outputs. LED indicators provide “at a glance” status information.

  • Page 8: Installation

    A lightning protection kit is available for installation in the antenna lead-in cable for additional protection of the equipment. (See section 7.3 on page 16 for details.) All TCG 01 antenna installations should follow the guidelines above. Page 2 of 49...

  • Page 9: Operation

    ANEL Figure 2 – TCG 01 Front Panel TCG 01 features two LED indicators on the front panel, together with a 2-line by 16- character LCD display. The display is optimised for viewing straight on, or from below, as the clock is a lightweight device, normally mounted at eye level or higher in an equipment bay.

  • Page 10: Lcd Display

    LED indicators. The display examples below all show the same instant in time. TEKRON TCG01-D:0 UTC+1200 17MAR03 (C)2003 Sn02749 076 11:16:53 87A...
  • Page 11 This occurs if the unit has been in storage for an “B”=11 extended period, or if the GPS receiver has been reset. It may “C”=12 take up to two hours for the TCG 01 to operate normally again. Satellites “0”=0 This digit represents the number of satellites currently being Tracked used to compute the time solution.

  • Page 12: Front Panel Led Indicators

    www.tekroninternational.com Front Panel LED Indicators: The GPS LED shows the status of the GPS receiver, while the SYN LED shows the status of the time synchronisation to UTC reference time derived from the GPS satellites. By default, all outputs become active within a few seconds of initial power-up even when the unit is not synced to GPS satellite time! Output time data is not precise until the unit is synced to the GPS satellite 4.2.1 Warning Status Indications (SYN LED = OFF)

  • Page 13: Connections

    Edition: February 2007 ONNECTIONS F F igure 4 – Rear Panel of TCG 01, with 2-pin connectors (P2 and P3) and NTS output (P8) P1: Power Input Power is applied to the unit via this plug. Maximum steady state power consumption is 6W, and surge protection is provided.

  • Page 14: P2, P3: Outputs

    www.tekroninternational.com A Lightning Protection device may be inserted into the antenna lead. A suitable device complete with additional cable connectors, a connector crimping tool and mounting hardware is available as an option (see Section 7.3 on page 16). Introduction of the Lightning protector does not degrade the performance of the antenna system.

  • Page 15: P4: Rs232 I/O (Serial Port Plus Programmable Output)

    2 (serial data OUT from TCG 01), p p in 3 (serial data IN to TCG 01) and p p in 5 (signal ground) together with a programmable signal output on p p in 1. The programmable output shares the p p in 5 (signal ground).

  • Page 16: Earth Stud

    4k: and 20k:, and maximum allowable peak- to-peak level of 6V or so. The P5 output on TCG 01 is designed to drive many of these devices all in parallel, with a terminating resistor (typically 100-180 ohms) fitted at the far end of the coax line feeding all of the attached loads.

  • Page 17: P6: Event Recording Inputs Or External Sync Input

    1mm cabling. TCG 01 will remain accurate for a time after the loss of satellite sync, and the sync relay can be configured to remain active (indicating “in sync”) for a period following the loss of satellite signals. The default period is one minute, but this can be altered up to a maximum period of 42 minutes and 30 seconds (2550 seconds).

  • Page 18: P8: Nts - Network Time-Server (Optional)

    UTP connection for an office network Each TCG 01 unit equipped with the NTS option is supplied complete with a 2M UTP cable. This cable is designed to connect directly between the TCG 01 unit and a network hub/switch/router.

  • Page 19: Specifications

    1U 19” rack-mount hardware. Shipping weight of the complete TCG 01 kit is 4.5Kg. Identification Each TCG 01 unit is shipped with an identification label on the base. The label provides details of the particular options fitted to the unit, the power supply requirement, and the serial number.

  • Page 20: Isolation & Protection

    Fuse and varistor protection is removed when the switching MOSFET factory option is fitted. The user must provide an external power supply and suitable fusing to use the MOSFET output option. (See 7.1 TCG 01 High Voltage Output Option on page 15 for further information on the MOSFET Output option) Varistor protection and current limiting (nominally 5mA) are employed for protection on the general-purpose input.

  • Page 21: Factory Hardware Options

    PTIONS TCG 01 High Voltage Output Option TCG 01 may be ordered with either or both of the P2 and P3 outputs configured with a high voltage FET switching transistor instead of the standard 5V logic output. When so fitted, each output can switch an external load of up to 300VA, with a maximum “on”...

  • Page 22: Power Supply Options

    28 for specifications and installation information. Multi-port Hub Option F F igure 10 – The Multi-port Hub option adds seven additional I/O to TCG 01 The Multi-port Hub option consists of seven additional BNC I/O ports in a unit that matches and is mounted along-side TCG 01 in a 19"...

  • Page 23: Tcg 01 Configuration Software

    The configuration tool requires a Windows PC (95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, NT all supported) with a spare 9-pin serial port. The serial port of the TCG 01 must be connected to this PC with either a straight through DB9-DB9 plug, or for DTE TCG 01’s a crossover cable. The correct cable for this is supplied with TCG 01.

  • Page 24: Local Time Settings

    . For UTC operation, both values should be set to zero. 8.2.2 Local Time When a TCG 01 is connected, this clock-face will be active, and is a preview of the current time according to the current daylight savings and local time rules shown in the configuration tool.
  • Page 25 8.3.4 Test Mode Test Mode forces TCG 01 to report at all times that it is in sync to satellites, even if this is not true (e.g. there is no antenna attached). In this mode the sync relay will be on at all times, and the TCG 01 display will flash a warning.

  • Page 26: Programmable Outputs

    8.3.5 Suppress Out of Sync Indications This makes TCG 01 operate as if it is in sync at all times, even if there is no antenna attached. The sync relay operation is unaffected by this option and will still indicate the true sync state of TCG 01.
  • Page 27 TCG 01 User Manual Edition: February 2007 1. DCF-77 output pulse simulation 2. IRIG-B NRZI (B000/B001 or B002/B003) 3. IRIG-B Modified Manchester Encoded (B220/B223 or B221/B222) 4. User Defined Pulse Sequence (separate definition stored for each output) In the case of the User-Defined Pulse option being selected for any outputs, further parameters are entered to define the pulse sequence.

  • Page 28: Irig-B Options

    The serial port output P4 operates at the fixed data rate of 9600bd with no flow control and 8-bit, no parity format unless otherwise specified. The standard TCG 01 outputs are broadcast messages sent at regular intervals. The broadcast repetition rates, timings, and...

  • Page 29: Network Time Server Configuration

    Network Time Server Configuration F F igure 14 – “NTS Setup" Page The NTS Set-Up Page is displayed if a TCG 01 unit has a network time server. Click “Configure” to bring up a terminal and configure the time server.
  • Page 30 GPS, with a good antenna connected, to fully recover from a reset. The ability to force any time and date into the instrument means that TCG 01 can be used as a convenient signal source for testing the ability of externally attached equipment to correctly process received time codes through unusual time transitions such as the 28/29 Feb rollover during leap years, or daylight savings transitions.

  • Page 31: Appendix A Antenna Details

    ETAILS Antenna Cable Specification The TCG 01 is supplied with 15, 30, or 60 metres of high performance RF cable factory- fitted with a TNC-type male connector at one end, and a SMA male connector at the other. The TNC-type connector mates with the connector on the antenna and provides a robust and weather-resistant connection.

  • Page 32: Antenna Specification

    Antenna Specification The TCG 01 unit’s standard shipping configuration includes an active GPS antenna specifically designed for industrial/static timing environments, together with a pipe- mounting plinth. Physical Specifications of NAIS Antenna Dimensions Diameter 90mm Height 98mm tall (without connector or plinth)
  • Page 33 Select a suitable location where the antenna has a good view of the sky. Avoid close proximity to antennas from other services where possible. The antenna has excellent rejection characteristics to out-of-band signals, as does the TCG 01 GPS receiver, but high-powered RF signals in close proximity to the antenna may swamp the very low- level signals from the GPS satellites.

  • Page 34: Appendix B Lightning Protection Option

    All Tekron antenna installations should follow the guidelines above – regardless of whether a separate lightning protection device is to be fitted to the antenna lead-in cable.

  • Page 35: Installation

    TCG 01 User Manual Edition: February 2007 Installation The impulse suppressor should be installed as per the instructions provided with the impulse suppressor. For the lightning protector to be effective, it must be firmly mounted to a conductive metal surface that is itself bonded to the building protective earth. P P lease ensure that a good electrical connection is made between the surge protector and the earthing system.
  • Page 36 www.tekroninternational.com F F igure 16 – N-Type connector cable preparation and termination Page 30 of 49...

  • Page 37: Disclaimer

    TCG 01 User Manual Edition: February 2007 Disclaimer TEKRON INTERNATIONAL DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE RESULTS OF IMPROPER OR UNSAFE INSTALLATION PRACTICE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY EXCESSIVE PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION OF THE ANTENNA SYSTEM RESULTING FROM INCORRECT FIELD INSTALLATION OF COAXIAL CABLE CONNECTORS.

  • Page 38: Appendix C Event Time-Tagging Option

    Time Tags use UTC time, and each tag includes the year, day of year, hour, minute and second, as well as fraction of second to a resolution and accuracy of 100ns. TCG 01 measures time internally in 40ns intervals, rounding to the nearest 100ns for time tag storage purposes, thus allowing accuracy to equate to resolution.

  • Page 39: Tcg 01 Command / Response Message Structure

    Units equipped with the Time-Tagging (event recording) option provide four command/response message pairs that specifically support Time Tag management and retrieval. All command and response messages used by TCG 01 have the same structure:- Prefix: 2 bytes (ASCII “@” characters)
  • Page 40 Pc command: Clear Time-Tag Buffer The Pc command invokes a Pc response that returns the number of time-tags that were in TCG 01’s event buffer when the Pc command was received. The event buffer is then cleared. Command (7 bytes [0-6]): Transmitted format: @@Pc3<CR><LF>...
  • Page 41 TCG 01 User Manual Edition: February 2007 P P t command: Get next Time-Tag The Pt command invokes a Pt response that contains a single time-tag record – the oldest one in the data queue. Successive “Pt” commands will result in successive time tag data being retrieved.

  • Page 42: Appendix D Network Time Server Option

    There are two ways to access the timeserver’s configurable options: Access Using Configuration Software: Connect the TCG 01 to a Windows PC using a serial cable and, using the configuration tool, select the “Configure NTS” button in the “NTS Setup” tab of the configuration program.

  • Page 43: Using Telnet To Access Set-Up Mode

    On a Unix host, create an entry in the host’s ARP table using the intended IP address and the hardware MAC address of the NTS (found on the label on the base of TCG 01). The UNIX command (for example addresses IP: 192.168.1.56 and MAC: 00-20-4A-72-08-B7) arp –s 192.168.1.56...

  • Page 44: Nts Set-Up Mode Menu

    The menu display is similar for both configuration tool and network access. Hardware: Ethernet Autodetect IP addr – 0.0.0.0/DHCP/BOOTP/AutoIP, no gateway set DHCP device name : not set ******* Tekron NTS parameters ******* SNTP Ref.Identifier : “GPS” Encryption is disabled Visible Satellites : 1 ******* Tekron NTS parameters ******* Community Name : public Enter 1.
  • Page 45 Broadcast Mode is not used, so the default is the appropriate setting. Encryption Defaults to “N”. Most users will not use encryption. The TCG 01 NTS option supports fully encrypted requests from up to 6 clients simultaneously. If the answer “Y” is selected here, the unit then prompts for six encryption MAC strings.

  • Page 46: Time Server Operation

    SNTP. A sample SNTP client (freeware) for use on Windows- based PC’s (prior to Windows XP) is included with each TCG 01 equipped with the NTS option. Windows XP contains an NTP client as part of the operating system.
  • Page 47 All that is required to use “Dimension 4” is, after the program is installed on the PC, add the IP address of the TCG 01 NTS to the list of Time Servers, and select it. “Dimension 4” will then use this address to fetch time information and sync the PC clock. “Dimension 4”...

  • Page 48: Appendix E Serial Output Strings

    www.tekroninternational.com Appendix E ERIAL UTPUT TRINGS NGTS Time Code O/P on P4 Timing Transmitted once per minute. Sent during the last second before the minute rollover to which the data in the string refers About Normally used in conjunction with 10mS pulse on P4 pin 1 that finishes precisely on the minute.

  • Page 49: String-A Time Code O/P On P4

    TCG 01 User Manual Edition: February 2007 String-A Time Code O/P on P4 About This code is very similar in data content to the IRIG J-17 code, but adds a two-character field containing the year, and uses 8-bit ASCII, no parity...

  • Page 50: String-C Time Code O/P On P4

    N.B. in the above example the three trailing spaces as described in the definition are invisible. String-D Time Code O/P on P4 Tekron-D is IDENTICAL in content to String-B, but the second mark is at the leading edge of the start-bit of the (<CR>). Example Interpretation <SOH>112:12:34:36?<CR><LF>...

  • Page 51: String-E Time Code O/P On P4

    TCG 01 User Manual Edition: February 2007 String-E Time Code O/P on P4 About This provides time, year information, and a sync indicator field. Timing The string is transmitted once every second, with the leading edge of the “start” bit of the <CR> exactly on the second.

  • Page 52: Nmea Zda Time Code O/P On P4

    www.tekroninternational.com NMEA ZDA Time Code O/P on P4 About This string is compatible with and defined by the NMEA-0183 standard Timing Transmission is once every second. The leading edge of the “start” bit of the “$” is exactly on the second. Comms 9600bd, 8-bit ASCII, no parity Definition $GPZDA,hhmmss.00,DD,MM,YYYY,xx,yy*CC<CR><LF>...

  • Page 53: E.10 Nmea Rmc Time Code O/P On P4

    TCG 01 User Manual Edition: February 2007 E.10 NMEA RMC Time Code O/P on P4 About This string is compatible with and defined by the NMEA-0183 standard Timing Transmission is once every second. The leading edge of the “start” bit of the “$”...

  • Page 54: Warranty Statement

    Any such contract states the entire obligation of Tekron. The contents of this document shall not become part of or modify any prior or existing agreement, commitment or relationship.
  • Page 55 Microsoft Corp. WinOncore12 and Oncore are trademarks of Motorola Inc. Copyright ©2003 Tekron International Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this document may be transmitted or reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of Tekron International Ltd.

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