Meinberg TCR510 User manual

Technical Data
Operating Instructions
TCR510
FUNKUHREN
Incl. Software TCRMON

Impressum
Werner Meinberg
Auf der Landwehr 22
D-31812 Bad Pyrmont
Telefon: 0 52 81 / 9309-0
Telefax: 0 52 81 / 9309-30
Internet: http://www.meinberg.de
Email: [email protected]
November, 11, 2005

Impressum ............................................................................................ 2
Introduction .......................................................................................... 5
Description of IRIG-Codes................................................................... 5
IRIG-Standard format ........................................................................... 6
AFNOR-Standard format ..................................................................... 7
Overview..................................................................................... 8
Function principle ................................................................................. 9
Setting into operation .......................................................................... 10
Supply Voltage.......................................................................... 10
Input Signals.............................................................................. 10
Input for umodulated codes ....................................................... 10
Input for modulated codes ......................................................... 10
Input impedance ........................................................................ 11
Pulse and frequency outputs...................................................... 12
TIME_SYN-Output .................................................................. 12
Serial Ports ................................................................................ 12
Status LEDs .............................................................................. 12
Configuration of the board.................................................................. 13
Selecting the IRIG format.......................................................... 13
Baudrate and framing of the serial ports ............................................. 14
Output mode of the serial ports.................................................. 15
DCF Simulation.................................................................................. 16
Updating the Firmware ....................................................................... 17
Replacing the Lithium-Battery............................................................ 17
Technical Specifications TCR510 ...................................................... 18
CE-Label................................................................................... 19
Format of the Meinberg Standard Time String .......................... 21
Table of contents

4
Signals at Rear Connector .................................................................. 22
Rear Connector Pin Assignements ............................................ 23
Diskette with Windows Software TCRMON..................................... 25
The program TCRMON..................................................................... 26
Online Help............................................................................... 27

5
Introduction
The transmission of coded timing signals began to take on widespread importance in
the early 1950´s. Especially the US missile and space programs were the forces behind
the development of these time codes, which were used for the correlation of data. The
definition of time code formats was completely arbitrary and left to the individual ideas of
each design engineer. Hundreds of different time codes were formed, some of which
were standardized by the „Inter Range Instrumantation Group“ (IRIG) in the early 60´s.
Except these „IRIG Time Codes“ other formats, like NASA36, XR3 or 2137, are still
in use. The board TCR510 however only decodes IRIG-A, IRIG-B or AFNOR NFS
87-500 formats. The AFNOR code is a variant of the IRIG-B format. Within this code
the complete date is transmitted instead of the ‘Control Functions’ of the IRIG-telegram.
Description of IRIG-Codes
The specification of individual IRIG time code formats is defined in IRIG Standard 200-
98. They are described by an alphabetical character followed by a three-digit number
sequence. The following identification is taken from the IRIG Standard 200-98 (only the
codes relevant to TCR510 are listed):
character bit rate designation A 1000 pps
B 100 pps
1st digit form designation 0 DC Level Shift
width coded
1 sine wave carrier
amplitude modulated
2nd digit carrier resolution 0 no carrier (DC Level Shift)
1 100 Hz, 10 msec resolution
2 1 kHz, 1 msec resolution
3 10 kHz, 100 µsec resolution
3rd digit coded expressions 0 BCD,CF,SBS
1 BCD,CF
2 BCD
3 BCD,SBS
BCD: time of year, BCD-coded
CF: Control-Functions (user defined)
SBS: seconds of day since midnight (binary)

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IRIG-Standard format
x 3x
TYPICAL MODULATED CARRIER IRIG-A : 10000 Hz
IRIB-B : 1000 Hz
binary 0 binary 1

7
AFNOR-Standard format

8
Overview
The Board TCR510 was designed for the decoding of unmodulated and modulated
IRIG- and AFNOR time codes. Modulated codes transport the time information by
modulating a sinusoidal carrier signals amplitude whereas unmodulated signals employ a
pulse width modulated DC signal.
The receivers automatic gain control allows the reception of signals within a range
from abt. 600mVpp up to 8Vpp. The potential free input can be jumper selectable
terminated in either 50Ω,600Ωor 5kΩ. Modulated codes are applied to the board via an
on board SMB connector.
The unmodulated or 'DC Level Shift' time codes are applied via pins 21c and 22c of
the 64pin VG connector. Galvanic insulation of this input is obtained by an opto coupler
device.
TCR510 provides two configurable serial ports ( RS232 or 1xRS485 option ), a pulse
per minute and per second ( PPS / PPM ) as well as a DCF Simulation port at TTL Level.
Further three fixed frequency outputs at 100kHz, 1MHz and 10MHz at TTL Level are
available
The boards micro controller provides a Bootstrap-Loader that allows updating the
firmware stored in Flash-Memory via serial port COM0 by using the program
mbgflash.exe.

9
Function principle
After the received IRIG code has passed a consistency check, the software clock and
the battery backed real time clock of TCR510 are synchronized to the external time
reference. If an error in the IRIG telegram is detected, the boards system clock switches
into holdover mode.
Apart from the codes AFNOR NFS 87-500 and IEEE1344, IRIG codes do not carry a
complete date but the number of the day within the current year ( 1...366 ). Hence the
date that is output in the serial telegram must be completed by the date stored in the
buffered real time clock. The day within the current year calculated from the RTCs date
is compared with the day number from the IRIG code every minute. When a mismatch
between these two day numbers is detected the board signalizes freewheeling mode,
however the systems time base will continue to synchronize with the IRIG signal. The
DCF-Simulation is suppressed in this case.
Time and date of the real time clock can be set by a Meinberg Standard Telegram via
serial port COM0. Received IRIG-Time can be re-calculated into UTC provided that no
time zone changeovers such as daylight saving appear in the received IRIG telegrams.
For more information please see chapter 'UTC-Offset' in the online documentation of the
enclosed software TCRMON.
IRIG telegrams don’t include announcers for the change of time
zone (daylight saving on/off) or for the insertion of a leap second.
Hence the clock will switch into freewheeling mode in case of such
event, and resynchronize afterwards.
The board TCR510 decodes the following formats:
A133: 1000pps, amplitude modulated sine wave signal, 10 kHz carrier frequency
BCD time of year, SBS time of day
A132: 1000pps, amplitude modulated sine wave signal, 10 kHz carrier frequency
BCD time of year
A003: 1000pps, DC Level Shift pulse width coded, no carrier
BCD time of year, SBS time of day
A002: 1000pps, DC Level Shift pulse width coded, no carrier
BCD time of year
B123: 100pps, amplitude modulated sine wave signal, 1 kHz carrier frequency
BCD time of year, SBS time of day
B122: 100pps, amplitude modulated sine wave signal, 1 kHz carrier frequency
BCD time of year
B003: 100pps,DC Level Shift pulse width coded, no carrier
BCD time of year, SBS time of day
B002: 100pps, DC Level Shift pulse width coded, no carrier
BCD time of year
AFNORNFS87-500:100pps, amplitude modulated sine wave signal, 1 kHz carrier frequency
BCD time of year, complete date, SBS time of day

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Setting into operation
To ensure proper operation, please pay attention to the following points.
Supply Voltage
The boards microprocessor system needs a supply voltage of +5V / 200mA. Additional-
ly the Oscillator supply voltage ( +5V or +12V depends on type ) must be applied via
64pin VG connector. The voltage feed shall be low impendance and for each of the
voltages pins a + c at VG connector shall be used.
Input Signals
Modulated IRIG or AFNOR-Codes are applied via the on board SMB connector. The
lead should be shielded. Unmodulated codes are applied at Pins 21c ad 22c of the 64pin
VG connector. Voltages applied to this input shall not exceed 12V. The IRIG-Code to
be used must be set at the DIP Switch.
Input for unmodulated codes
Unmodulated IRIG-Codes, often referred to as pulse with coded or DC-Level Shift
Codes ( DCLS ), are fed into the board via pins C21 and C22 off the 64pin VG
connector. Insulation of this input is done by a opto coupler device. The input circuitry is
shown below.
Input for modulated codes
Modulated codes must be applied to the on board SMB Connector. An automatic gain
control allows decoding of codes within an amplitude range from abt. 600mVpp up to
8Vpp. To allow adaptation of different time code generators, the boards input impedance
can be selected by an on board jumper.

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Input impedance
The IRIG-specification doesn’t define values for the output impedance of generators or
the input impedance of receivers. This fact led to incompatibility of some modules,
because the manufacturers could choose the impedances freely. For example: if the
output impedance of the generator is high and the input impedance of the receiver low,
the signal level at the receiver input might be too low for correct decoding. Therefore the
board TCR510 provides a jumper to select the impedance (50 Ω, 600 Ωor 5 kΩ)of the
input for modulated codes ( SMB ) to comply with the requirements of several systems.
Meinberg IRIG-generators have an output impedance of 50 ΩΩ
ΩΩ
Ω, to build a matched
transmission system when using a coaxial cable. If such a generator is used to synchroni-
ze TCR510, the input impedance has to be set to 50 Ωaccordingly (default on delivery).
In addition to the telegram, the AFNOR-code defines the input/output impedances
also. If TCR510 is synchronized by this code, an input impedance 600 ΩΩ
ΩΩ
Ωof must be set.
The setting „5 kΩ“ may be necessary if the generator has a high output impedance (see
specifications of manufacturer). The driver software shows a bar chart for evaluation of
the signal level at the receiver input.
The following detail of the place plan of TCR510 shows the possible jumper setting
with the related input impedance:
JP1 in position 1 - 50
JP1 in position 2 - 600
JP1 open - abt. 5k
Ω
Ω
Ω

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Pulse and frequency outputs
The board provides pulses on second and minute changeover ( P_SEC, P_MIN ).
Additionally fixed frequencies at 100kHz, 1MHz and 10MHz are derived from the
master oscillator. Each of these signals is available at TTL Level on the rear panel 64pin
connector.
TIME_SYN-Output
This TTL output can be used to monitor the synchronization state of the board. The
TIME_SYN signal is in high state whenever the clock is synchronized with the applied
IRIG-Code. It shows low state when the applied code cannot be read, the consistency
check fails or a system failure like brown-out or watchdog reset occurs.
Serial Ports
The board provides two indepentently configurable serial ports at RS232 level. Optio-
nally, the port COM1 is available as RS485 version. Both serial ports output the
Standard Meinberg telegram. Telegrams can either be output automatically on second
changeover or on request ( ASCII char '?' received ). Serial port COM0 can additionally
be used to communicate with the enclosed monitor software. A firmware update using
mbgflash.exe is done via this channel as well.
Status LEDs
The boards state is signalized by two front panel leds. The red FAIL led indicates the free
wheeling mode. It is activated when the board has switched into freewheling mode, and
turned off when the clock is synchronized. The green LOCK led shows the state of the
internal time. LOCK is turned on when the timebase regulation has settled.

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Configuration of the board
Configuration of the IRIG format to be used as well as the serial ports can be done by an
on board DIP-Switch.
Selecting the IRIG format
The IRIG or AFNOR format to be used can be selected by switches SW1-7 to SW1-10.
Please note that modulated and unmodulated code formats are applied to the board at
separate inputs.
Code SW1-7 SW1-8 SW1-9 SW1-10
B122/B123 Off Off Off Off
A132/A133 On Off Off Off
B002/B003 Off On Off Off
A002/A003 On On Off Off
AFNOR NFS 87-500 Off Off On Off
AFNOR NFS 87-500 ( DC ) On Off On Off
The code AFNOR NFS 87-500 ( DC ) is the unmodulated version of the AFNOR code.
This unmodulated code is not standardized. The standard AFNOR-NFS 87-500 confi-
nes to the modulated signal.

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Baudrate and framing of the serial ports
Baudrate and framing can be configured independently for each serial port by two DIP-
switches.
SW1-1 Baudrate COM0
off 19200
on 9600
Baudrate of COM0
SW1-2 Framing COM0
off 8N1
on 7E2
Framing of COM0
SW1-4 Baudrate COM1
off 19200
on 9600
Baudrate of COM1
SW1-5 Framing COM1
off 8N1
on 7E2
Framing of COM1

15
Output mode of the serial ports
Two diffrent modes are configurable for each of the serial ports. Mode 'per second'
causes the port to output a timestring automatically on second changeover. In 'on request'
mode the timestring is output on the next second changeover after a serial char '?' ( ASCII
Code 3Fh ) has been received.
SW1-3 Mode COM0
off on request '?'
on per second
Mode of serial port COM0
SW1-6 Mode COM1
off on request '?'
on per second
Mode of serial port COM1

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DCF Simulation
The DCF_MARK output ( TTL ) produces a time mark signal similar to the signals
transmitted by the german VLF time code transmitter DCF77. Within one minute a
complete time code frame is transmitted. Since there are no timezone and leap second
announcements in the IRIG time code, these announcement flags (daylight saving flag,
leap second flag) are neglected. The generated DCF telegram always contains the time
information which is derived from the IRIG Signal and the system clock. When
receiving a time code telegram containing a leap second ( field sec. is 60 ) the DCF
simulation is turned off for a minute. By this the re-synchronization of all clocks
connected to the simulation outputs is enforced. The issued DCF time code frame
contains a date information which is derived from the system clock. The validity of the
system clock date is ensured by a 'day of year' comparison. In case of an invalid system
clock date the DCF simulation is turned off. System clocks initial date can be set via
COM0. In case of brown out or power failure a lithium battery guarantees the system
clocks operation for at least ten years.
M StartofMinute (0.1s)
R RFTransmissionviasecondary antenna
A1 Announcementofachangeindaylightsaving
Z1,Z2 Timezoneidentification
Z1,Z2=0,1: Daylightsavingdisabled
Z1,Z2=1,0: Daylightsavingenabled
A2 Announcementofaleapsecond
S Startof timecodeinformation
P1,P2,P3 Evenparitybits
0
10
20
30
40
50
R
M
1
4
2
1
20
10
8
4
2
1
P2
20
10
8
4
2
1
2
4
8
10
1
2
4
8
10
20
40
80
P3
A1
Z1
Z2
A2
S
1
2
4
8
10
20
40
P1
Minute
(reserved)
Hour
Day of Month
Day of Week
Year of the Century
Month of Year

17
Updating the Firmware
Whenever it is necessarry to upgrade the on-board software, the new firmware can be
downloaded using the serial port COM0.
If the /BOOT input, which is available on the 64 Pin VG-Connector, is pulled low
during at power up reset or the on board boot key is pressed, an internal bootstrap-loader
is activated and waits for instructions from the serial port COM0. A loader program will
be shipped together with the file containing the image of the new firmware. The current
fimware is retained in the flash memory until the download program sends a command to
erase the flash. So if the boot sequence was initiated erroneously, the program memory is
not deleted accidently. The system is ready to go after the next power up.
Replacing the Lithium-Battery
The life time of the lithium battery on the board is at least 10 years. If the need arises to
replace the battery, the following should be noted:
ATTENTION!
Danger of explosion in case of inadequate replacement
of the lithium battery. Only identical batteries or batte-
ries recommended by the manufacturer must be used for
replacement. The waste battery must be disposed as pro-
posed by the manufacturer of the battery.

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Technical Specifications TCR510
RECEIVER INPUT: AM INPUT ( SMB-Connector ) :
insulated by transformer
impedance : 50 Ω, 600 Ω, 5 kΩ
selectable by jumper
input signal: abt.600mVpp to 8V (Mark)
other ranges on request
DC-Level Shift Input ( VG-Connector )
insulated by opto-coupler device
internal series resistor : 330Ω
max. input current: 25mA
diode forward voltage : 1.0V...1.3V
DECODING: decoding of the following codes possible :
IRIG-A133/A132/A003/A002
IRIG-B123/B122/B003/B002
AFNOR NFS 87-500
ACCURACY OF TIME BASE : +/- 10us compared to IRIG reference marker
REQUIRED ACCURACY OF
TIME CODE SOURCE : +/- 100ppm
HOLDOVER MODE: automatic switching to crystal time base,
accuracy : see. accuracy of Oscillator
BACKUP BATTERY : onboard realtime clock keeps time and date
in case of power supply failure. System parameters
are stored in battery buffered ram
lifetime of Lithium battery at least 10 years
RELIABILITY OF
OPERATION: microprocessor supervisory circuit generates reset
in case of brown-out, software watchdog generates
reset in case of improper program execution
INITIALIZATION: initial time and date can be set by standard
meinberg telegram via serial port COM0
PULSE OUTPUTS: pulse per second PPS,
TTL-Level pulse, active high, 200ms pulse width
pulse per minute PPM,
TTL-Level pulse, active high, 200ms pulse width

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FREQUENCY OUTPUTS: 10MHz TTL-Level
1MHz TTL-Level
100kHz TTL-Level
RELATIVE ACCURACY OF
FREQUENCIES COMPARED +/- 1e-8 with TCXO-HQ option
TO IRIG SOURCE: +/- 5e-9 with OCXO-LQ option
STATUS OUTPUT: TIME_SYN, TTL LEVEL,
active high when clock is synchronuos
SERIAL PORTS: two independent RS232 ports
BAUDRATES: 9600Bd, 19200Bd
FRAMINGS: 7E2, 8N1
OUTPUT CYCLE: per second or per minute
SERIAL TELEGRAM: Meinberg Standard Telegram
REAR EDGE CONNECTOR: according to DIN41612, type C 64,
rows a+c ( male )
POWER CONSUMPTION: VCC +5V, abt. 300mA
VDD +5V, abt. 50mA with TCXO-HQ option
max. 500mA OCXO-LQ/MQ
PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS: Eurocard 100mm x 160 mm, 1,5mm Epoxy
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE: 0...50°C
HUMIDITY: max. 85%
CE-Label
Thisdeviceconformstothedirective89/336/EWGonthe
approximationofthelawsoftheMemberStatesoftheEuropean
Communityrelatingtoelectromagnetccompatibility.

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