Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Radio controlled clocks are subject to numerous sources of error. However two seconds is pretty bad, according to NIST the RCC "should always be accurate to within one second of UTC, assuming that they synchronize at least every other day and that their quartz oscillator is of reasonable quality." How far do you live from Fort Collins, CO? I have included some WWVB references at the end...

My GPS + Pulse Per Second fed ntp server is remarkably better than a radio controlled clock. The Sure GPS evaluation board probably costs less than your radio controlled clock:)

  dfc@ronin:~$ ntpq -p 
       remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay   offset  jitter
  ==============================================================================
  oGPS_NMEA(0)     .GPS.            0 l   12   16  377    0.000    0.001   0.001
   bonehed.lcs.mit .CDMA.           1 u   32   64  377   51.365    0.670   0.364
   rooster.stonybr .CDMA.           1 u   14   64  377   49.019    6.141   0.445
   navobs1.oar.net .USNO.           1 u    1   64  377   57.310    9.494   0.456
   meg.ee.lbl.gov  .PPS.            1 u    1   64  377   88.639   -2.204   0.270
  dfc@ronin:~$ ntptime
  ntp_gettime() returns code 0 (OK)
    time d3076554.79d48450  Sun, Mar 11 2012 13:54:28.475, (.475899416),
    maximum error 234 us, estimated error 0 us, TAI offset 34
  ntp_adjtime() returns code 0 (OK)
    modes 0x0 (),
    offset 0.856 us, frequency -32.941 ppm, interval 1 s,
    maximum error 234 us, estimated error 0 us,
    status 0x2001 (PLL,NANO),
    time constant 4, precision 0.001 us, tolerance 500 ppm,

Radio clock reference material:

NIST Page on Radio clocks: http://www.nist.gov/pml/div688/grp40/radioclocks.cfm

"How accurate is a radio controlled clock" http://tf.nist.gov/general/pdf/2429.pdf

"WWVB Radio Controlled Clocks: Recommended Practices for Manufacturers and Consumers": http://tf.nist.gov/timefreq/general/pdf/2422.pdf.



>"physical atomic clock"

Are you trolling or did you really miss the whole phrase "physical atomic clock synced clocks?"


I apologize. I will edit my post. I did not see the synched the originally and/or his post was edited.




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: