Meinberg TCR167PCI User manual

TCR167PCI
Technical Information
Operating Instructions

Impressum
Meinberg Funkuhren GmbH & Co. KG
Lange Wand 9
D-31812 Bad Pyrmont
Telefon: ++49 (0) 52 81 / 9309-0
Telefax: ++49 (0) 52 81 / 9309-30
Internet: http://www.meinberg.de
Email: [email protected]
October 15, 2009

Table of Contents
Impressum............................................................................................ 2
Content of the USB stick ..................................................................... 5
Introduction.......................................................................................... 6
Description of IRIG-Codes .................................................................. 6
IRIG-Standard format .......................................................................... 7
AFNOR-Standard format ..................................................................... 8
Features TCR167PCI ........................................................................... 9
Block diagram TCR167PCI ..................................................... 11
Functional description of receiver..................................................... 12
Input signals ............................................................................. 13
Input impedance ....................................................................... 14
Photocoupler input ................................................................... 14
Master oscillator ................................................................................ 15
Functionality of generator ................................................................. 15
Outputs ..................................................................................... 15
Modulated output ............................................................ 15
Unmodulated outputs ...................................................... 16
Pulse outputs ...................................................................................... 16
Asynchronous serial port ......................................................... 16
Enabling of outputs ............................................................................ 17
Time capture inputs ........................................................................... 17
Status inputs ....................................................................................... 17
Connectors and LEDs in the bracket ........................................ 18
Pin assignments of the D-Sub connector ................................. 19
Jumper and contact strips .................................................................. 20
Frequency synthesizer (option) ......................................................... 21
Putting into operation ........................................................................ 21

4
Installing the TCR167PCI in your Computer .......................... 21
Power supply ............................................................................ 21
Configuration of TCR167PCI .................................................. 22
Firmware Updates .............................................................................. 22
Replacing the Lithium Battery .......................................................... 23
Technical specification TCR167PCI ................................................. 24
CE Label ................................................................................... 27
Format of the Meinberg Standard Time String ....................... 28
Format of the Capture String ................................................... 29
Format of the time string Uni Erlangen (NTP) ....................... 30
Format of the SAT-Time String ............................................... 32
Declaration of Conformity ................................................................ 33

5
Content of the USB stick
The included USB stick contains a driver program that keeps the computer´s system
time synchronous to the received IRIG-time. If the delivered stick doesn’t include a
driver program for the operating system used, it can be downloaded from:
http://www.meinberg.de/english/sw/
On the USB stick there is a file called „readme.txt“, which helps installing the driver
correctly.

6
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 TCR167PCI 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 TCR167PCI 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)

7
IRIG-Standard format

8
AFNOR-Standard format

9
Features TCR167PCI
The board TCR167PCI was developed for computer systems with PCI-bus. It is
designed as an universal board and can be used in systems with either 3.3 V or 5 V
PCI slots therefore. The module supports clock speeds of 33 MHz and 66 MHz.
TCR167PCI serves to decode and generate modulated (AM) and unmodulated (DC
Level Shift) IRIG and AFNOR time codes. AM-codes are transmitted by modulating
the amplitude of a sine wave carrier, unmodulated codes by variation of the width of
pulses.
As standard the module TCR167PCI is equipped with a TCXO (Temperature
Compensated Xtal Oscillator) as master oscillator to provide a high accuracy in
holdover mode of +/- 1 * 10E-8. Optionally an OCXO (Oven Controlled Xtal
Oscillator) is available for better accuracy.
Receiver:
Automatic gain control within the receive circuit for unmodulated codes allows
decoding of IRIG or AFNOR signals with a carrier amplitude of 600 mVpp to 8 Vpp.
The input stage is electrically insulated and has an impedance of either 50 Ω, 600 Ω
or 5 kΩ, selectable by a jumper. The unmodulated input is accessible via a BNC-
connector in the bracket of TCR167PCI.
Unmodulated or ‘DC Level Shift’ time codes must be connected to the D-Sub-plug
of the module. The receive circuit is insulated by an onboard photocoupler which can
be driven by TTL or RS-422 signals for example. In delivery state of TCR167PCI the
contacts of the D-Sub-plug are not connected to the photocoupler. Two DIP-switches
must be set to the ‘ON’ position for making this connection.
Generator:
The generator of TCR167PCI is capable of producing time codes in IRIG-B or
AFNOR format. They are available as modulated (3 Vpp/1 Vpp into 50 Ω) and
unmodulated (DC Level Shift) signals (TTL into 50 Ωand RS-422). A jumper on the
board allows selection of active-high or active-low time codes.
Regarding time code and its offset to UTC, the receiver and the generator can be
configured independantly. Thus TCR167PCI can be used for code conversion.
As an option the module can be delivered with optical inputs/outputs instead of the
modulated signal paths.

10
The board TCR167PCI provides a configurable serial interface (RS-232), a pulse
per second (PPS) with TTL and RS-232 level and a pulse per minute (PPM) with TTL
level. Like the photocoupler, these signals are only connected to the D-Sub-plug after
setting DIP-switches into the ‘ON’ position.
A contact strip on the board provides four TTL inputs. Two of those (CAP0 and
CAP1) can be used to capture asynchronous time events. These time stamps are
readable via the PCI-bus or the serial interface and can be evaluated by user software.
The state of the other two inputs can be read via PCI-bus also. They can be driven by
external status outputs for example.
As an option TCR167PCI provides a synthesizer which can generate output fre-
quencies from 1/8 Hz up to 10 MHz with TTL level into 50 Ωand as a sine signal.
Software running on the computer can read out information regarding date, time
and status of the IRIG receiver. Access to the board is made via writing to/reading
from I/O ports. It is possible but not necessary to let the board generate periodic
hardware interrupts on the computer bus. Driver software supplied with the board is
keeping the computer’s system time synchronous to the board time.
The microprocessor system of TCR167PCI is equiped with a Bootstrap-Loader and
a Flash-EPROM. These features enable updating of the onboard software via the
serial RS-232 interface COM0 by using the Meinberg program ‘MBG Flash’.

11
Block diagram TCR167PCI

12
Functional description of receiver
After the received IRIG code has passed a consistency check, the software clock
and the battery backed realtime clock of TCR167PCI are synchronized to the external
time reference. If an error in the IRIG telegram is detected, the system clock of the
board switches to holdover mode. IRIG code includes day of year information only
(1...366) and no complete date. The complete date is calculated by using the IRIG day
of year information and the year stored in the battery backed realtime clock. To
achieve synchronization of TCR167PCI, the year stored in the realtime clock must be
set correctly therefore. Date and time kept in the realtime clock can be set by sending
a Meinberg Standard Time Telegram to the serial interface COM0 or via the PCI bus.
The internal system clock is always set to the received IRIG time,
which might have a local offset to UTC. Only if TCR167PCI is
configured with this offset, Meinberg driver software is able to set
the system time of the computer correctly.
Conversion from UTC to local time including handling of daylight saving year by
year can be done by the board´s microprocessor if the corresponding parameters are
set up with the help of the monitor software.
The time zone is entered as offset of seconds from UTC, e.g. for Germany:
MEZ = UTC + 3600 sec, MESZ = UTC + 7200 sec.
The specific date of beginning and end of daylight saving can be generated
automatically for several years. The receiver calculates the switching times using a
simple scheme, e.g. for Germany:
Beginning of daylight saving is the first sunday after March, 25th at two o’clock => MESZ
End of daylight saving is the first sunday after October, 25th at three o’clock => MEZ
The parameters for time zone and switching to/from daylight saving can be set by
using the included monitor program. If the same values for beginning and end of
daylight saving are entered, no switching of time will be made.
The time code output (IRIG, AFNOR) of TCR167PCI can be generated by
using these time zone settings or UTC as reference. This can be set up with by the
monitor program.
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.

13
The board TCR167PCI 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
AFNOR NFS 87-500: 100pps, amplitude modulated sine wave signal, 1 kHz carrier frequency
BCD time of year, complete date, SBS time of day
Input signals
Amplitude modulated IRIG-A/B or AFNOR codes must be connected to the BNC-
jack in the bracket of TCR167PCI. A shielded or a twisted pair cable should be used.
Pulse width modulated (DC Level Shift) signals are applied by using the D-Sub-
plug. Two DIP-switches must be set to the ‘ON’ position for connecting the contacts
of the D-Sub with the onboard photocoupler.
As an option, an optical input can be equipped instead of the modulated input. It is
available as ST-connector for GI 50/125µm or GI 62,5/125µm gradient fiber.
The IRIG code used must be configured with the monitor software.
The board TCR167PCI can’t be used to decode amplitude modu-
lated and DC Level Shift signals simultaneously. Depending on the
selected code, only the signal at the BNC-jack, the D-Sub or the
optional optical input connector is decoded.

14
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 modu-
les, 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 TCR167PCI contains a jumper to select the impedance (50 Ω,
600 Ωor 5 kΩ) of the input for modulated codes (BNC) to comply with the
requirements of several systems.
Meinberg IRIG-generators have an output impedance of 50 ΩΩ
ΩΩ
Ω, to build a mat-
ched transmission system when using a coaxial cable. If such a generator is used to
synchronize TCR167PCI, 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 TCR167PCI is synchronized by this code, an input impedance of 600 ΩΩ
ΩΩ
Ω 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.
Photocoupler input
Pulse width modulated (DC Level Shift) codes are insulated by an onboard photo-
coupler. The connection scheme is shown below:
The internal series resistance allows direct connection of input signals with a
maximum high level of +12 V (TTL or RS-422 for example). If signals with a higher
amplitude are used, an additional external series resistance must be applied for not
exceeding the limit of the forward current of the input diode (50 mA). The forward
current should not be limited to a value of less than 10 mA to ensure save switching
of the photocoupler.

15
Master oscillator
As standard, TCR167PCI is equipped with a TCXO (Temperature Compensated Xtal
Oscillator) optionally an OCXO LQ (Oven Controlled Xtal Oscillator) as master
oscillator. The internal timing of the module, basis for the software clock, the pulses
and the generated time code, is derived from this oscillator. If the reciver is synchro-
nized by an incomming time code, the oscillator is adjusted to its nominal frequency.
The current correction factor is stored in a non volatile memory (EEPROM) of the
system. Therefore a high accuracy in holdover mode of +/- 1 * 10E-8 is achieved, if
the receiver was synchronous for at least one hour.
The 10 MHz standard frequency is available at a contact strip with TTL level into
50 Ω.
Functionality of generator
The time code generator of TCR167PCI is based on a DDS (Direct Digital Synthesis)
frequency generator, which derives the sine carrier of the modulated code from the
reference clock of the master oscillator. The modulation of carrier amplitude (modu-
lated codes) or pulse duration (unmodulated, DC level shift codes) is synchronized to
the pulse per second (PPS) of the system based on the software clock.
The generated time code is independant from the settings for the
received code. It is possible to generated a different format and
offset from UTC therefore.
Outputs
TCR167PCI provides modulated and unmodulated (DC level shift) outputs. As an
option, an optical output can be equipped instead of the modulated output. It is
available as ST-connector for GI 50/125µm or GI 62,5/125µm gradient fiber.
Modulated output
The amplitude-modulated sine carrier is available a BNC-coaxial-plug connector in
the bracket. The carrier for IRIG-B and AFNOR signals is 1 kHz. The signal amplitu-
de is 3Vpp (MARK) and 1Vpp (SPACE) into 50 Ω. The encoding is made by the
number of MARK-amplitudes during ten carrier waves. The following agreements
are valid:
binary ‘0’ : 2 MARK-amplitudes, 8 SPACE-amplitudes
binary ‘1’ : 5 MARK-amplitudes, 5 SPACE-amplitudes
position-identifier : 8 MARK-amplitudes, 2 SPACE-amplitudes

16
Unmodulated outputs
The pulse width modulated DC-signals are coexistent to the modulated output and
are available with TTL level into 50 Ωand as RS-422 signal. After bringing DIP-
switches into the ‘ON’ position, these outputs are available at the D-Sub connector.
The active state of the unmodulated outputs can be set up by a jumper on the board
TCR167PCI.
Pulse outputs
The module TCR167PCI generates pulses at change of second (PPS) and change of
minute (PPM). The PPS signal is available with TTL (0/+5V) and RS-232 (-3..12V/
+3..12V) level, the PPM signal with TTL level only. If required, DIP-switches can be
set up to direct the pulses to a corresponding pin of the D-Sub-connector in the
bracket.
Asynchronous serial port
TCR167PCI provides an asynchronous serial RS-232 interface called COM0. The
serial port sends a time string in the format ‘Standard Meinberg’, ‘Uni Erlangen’, or
‘SAT’ either once per second, once per minute or on request with ASCII ‘?’ only.
Furthermore it can be set up to send telegrams containing time capture events
automatically or on request. The format of these telegrams is described in the
‘Technical Specifications’. The transmission speed and the framing can be set via the
PCI-bus by using the shipped monitor software. The serial interface COM0 is used
for a potential firmware update also. The serial interface transmits the time zone set
up in the appropriate menu. A potential offset to UTC must be set correctly.
If the serial interface sends capture events automatically, they
can’t be read via the PCI-bus, because they are deleted from the
buffer memory after transmission.

17
Enabling of outputs
As standard, the generator, the pulse outputs, the serial interface and the optional
frequency synthesizer are switched off after power up until the receiver is synchroni-
zed. By using the monitor software TCR167PCI can be set up to enable the outputs
immediately after reset without synchronization. This setting can be done indepen-
dant for the pulses, the serial interface and the synthesizer.
Enabling of the generator is coupled with the pulses, because
generation of time codes is synchronized by the pulse per second
(PPS).
Time capture inputs
Two time capture inputs (CAP0 and CAP1) are provided at a contact strip of
TCR167PCI to measure asynchronous time events. A falling TTL slope at one of
these inputs lets the microprocessor save the current real time in its capture buffer.
From the buffer, capture events are transmitted via the PCI-bus or the serial interface
COM0. The capture buffer can hold more than 500 events, so either a burst of events
with intervals down to less than 1.5 msec can be recorded or a continuous stream of
events at a lower rate depending on the transmission speed of COM1 can be measu-
red. The format of the output string is ASCII, see the technical specifications at the
end of this document for details. If the capture buffer is full a message „** capture
buffer full“ is transmitted, if the interval between two captures is too short the
warning „** capture overrun“ is being sent.
Status inputs
TCR167PCI provides two general-purpose TTL inputs that are available at a contact
strip. The state of these inputs can be read via the PCI-bus.

18
Connectors and LEDs in the bracket
The bracket of the board includes the
BNC-connectors for the amplitude mo-
dulated time codes (input/output), two
LEDs, a key for activating the Boots-
trap-Loader and a 9 pin D-Sub-plug.
The LEDs signal the status of the
IRIG receiver. The right, bicolor LED
is switched to red whenever the inter-
nal timing of TCR167PCI is in holdo-
ver mode. This state arises after power
up and if an error in the IRIG telegram
is detected. This LED changes state
only at change of minute. This LED is
switched to green (lock) if the internal
timing of TCR167PCI is synchronized
to the received IRIG code by a PLL
(Phase Locked Loop). If the left, green
LED (code) is switched on, the IRIG
receiver detected a correct telegram at
its input.
Pressing the hidden key BSL is re-
quired for activating the Bootstrap-
Loader before updating the firmware.
The 9 pin D-Sub-connector is wired to the board’s serial port. Pin assignment can
be seen from the figure above. This port can not be used as serial port for the
computer. Instead, the clock uses the port to send out Meinberg's standard time string
in order to control an external display or some other external device. The string is
sent out once per second, once per minute or if requested by an incoming ASCII ‘?’.
It is also possible to change the board’s board time by sending such a string towards
the clock. Transmission speed, framing and mode of operation can be modified using
the monitor software. The string format is described in the section ‘Technical
Specifications’ at the end of this manual.
modulated
timecode input
modulated
timecode output
code lock/holdover
BSL key
RxD
TxD
GND

19
Pin assignments of the D-Sub connector
Only the signals of the serial interface are connected to the D-Sub-plug directly. If
another signal shall be connected to a pin of the plug, a DIP-switch must be set to the
‘ON’ position.
Whenever an additional signal is connected to the rear panel,
special care must be taken to the configuration of the cable used
with the connector. If pins with TTL level and RS-232 levels are
connected to each other, the circuits on the board may be dama-
ged.
Because the pins 1/4/8 of the D-Sub connector could be used for two different
signals, only one of the switches assigned to these pins might be put in the ‘ON’
position. The table below shows the pin assignments for the connector and the DIP-
switch assigned to each of the signals:
niPniP niP niPniPlangiSlangiS langiS langiSlangiSHCTIWSHCTIWS HCTIWS HCTIWSHCTIWS
1)232-SR(tuoSPP/V5+4/3
2)232-SR(niDxR-
3)
232-SR(tuoDxT-
4)224-SR(tuoSLCD-/)LTT(tuoMPP01/6
5DNG-
6)relpuocotohp(niSLCD+1
7)relpuocotohp(niSLCD-2
8)224-SR(tuoS
LCD+/)LTT(tuoSPP9/5
9)LTT(tuoSLCD8
dnocesrepeslup:SPP
etunimrepeslup:MPP
edocemitdetaludomnu,tfihslevelCD:SL
CD
Those signals which do not have DIP-switch assigned are always available at the
connector. All DIP-switches not assigned are reserved and should remain in the
‘OFF’ position.
Because TCR167PCI provides an additional time code generator,
the assignment for the D-Sub couldn’t be held compatible to the
time code receiver (without generator) TCR510PCI for all con-
tacts to provide the genrated codes (DCLS TTL and RS-422) via
this connector also.

20
Jumper and contact strips
The following diagram shows the possible jumper settings and the assignment of the
contact strips of the board TCR167PCI: