NetBSD/dist/ntp/html/pps.htm

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Pulse-per-second (PPS) Signal Interfacing
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Pulse-per-second (PPS) Signal Interfacing
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<P>Some radio clocks and related timekeeping gear have a
pulse-per-second (PPS) signal that can be used to discipline the local
clock oscillator to a high degree of precision, typically to the order
less than 20 <font face=Symbol>m</font>s in time and 0.01 PPM in
frequency. The PPS signal can be connected in either of two ways: via
the data leads of a serial port or via the modem control leads. Either
way requires conversion of the PPS signal, usually at TTL levels, to
RS232 levels, which can be done using a circuit such as described in the
<A HREF=gadget.htm>Gadget Box PPS Level Converter and CHU Modem</A>
page.
<P>The data leads interface requires regenerating the PPS pulse and
converting to RS232 signal levels, so that the pulse looks like a
legitimate ASCII character to a serial port. The <TT>tty_clk</TT> line
discipline/streams module inserts a timestamp following this character
in the input data stream. The <A HREF=driver22.htm>PPS Clock
Discipline</A> driver uses this timestamp to determine the time of
arrival of the PPS pulse to within 26 us at 38.4 kbps while eliminating
error due to operating system queues and service times.
<P>The modem control leads interface requires converting to RS232 levels
and connecting to the data carrier detect (DCD) lead of a serial port.
The <TT>ppsclock</TT> and <TT>ppsapi</TT> streams modules capture a
timestamp upon transition of the DCD signal. Note that the
<TT>ppsclock</TT> module functionality has been subsumed by the new
<TT>ppsapi</TT> interface specification, which is supported by the NTP
daemon. As the latter is expected to become an IETF cross-platform
standard, it should be used in new configurations. The PPS Clock
Discipline driver reads the latest timestamp with a designated system
call or interface routine to determine the time of arrival of the PPS
pulse to within a few microseconds. Alternatively, if provisions have
been made in the kernel for PPS signals, the signal is captured directly
by the kernel serial driver without using the PPS driver.
<P>The <TT>tty_clk</TT> module is included in the NTP software
distribution, while the <A
HREF=http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/ntp/ntp/ppsclock.tar.Z><TT>
ppsclock</TT></A> module can be obtained via the web at that link or by
anonymous FTP from ftp.udel.edu in the <TT>pub/ntp</TT> directory. Both
the <TT>tty_clk</TT> and <TT>ppsclock</TT> modules are described in the
<A HREF=ldisc.htm>Line Disciplines and Streams Drivers</A> page.
Directions for building the modules themselves are in the
<TT>./kernel</TT> directory. Directions on how to configure
<TT>ntpd</TT> to operate with these modules is described in <A
HREF=build.htm>Building and Installing the Distribution </A>page.
<P>The PPS driver is operates in conjunction with another reference
clock driver that produces the PPS pulse, as described in the <A
HREF=prefer.htm>Mitigation Rules and the <TT>prefer</TT> Keyword
</A>page. One of the drivers described in the <A
HREF=refclock.htm>Reference Clock Drivers</A> page furnishes
the coarse timecode used to disambiguate the seconds numbering of the
PPS pulse itself. The NTP daemon mitigates between the radio clock
driver and <TT>PPS</TT> driver as described in that page in order to
provide the most accurate time, while respecting the various types of
equipment failures that could happen.
<P>For the utmost time quality, some Unix system kernels support a PPS
signal directly, as described in the <A HREF=kern.htm>A Kernel Model
for Precision Timekeeping </A>page. Specifically, the ppsclock module
can be used to interface the PPS signal directly to the kernel for use
as discipline sources for both time and frequency. These sources can be
separately enabled and monitored using the <TT>ntp_adjtime()</TT> system
call described in that page and the <TT>/usr/include/sys/timex.h</TT>
header file. The presence of these kernel provisions is automatically
detected and supporting code compiled.
<P>In some configurations may have multiple radio clocks, each with PPS
outputs, as well as a kernel provisions for the PPS signal. In order to
provide the highest degree of redundancy and survivability, the kernel
PPS discipline, <TT>tty_clk</TT> module, <TT>ppsclock</TT> module and
kernel modifications may all be in use at the same time, each backing up
the other. The sometimes complicated mitigation rules are described in
the Mitigation Rules and the <TT>prefer</TT> Keyword page.
<hr><a href=index.htm>Home</a><address><a
href=mailto:mills@udel.edu> David L. Mills &lt;mills@udel.edu&gt;</a>
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