Novus Kronos I User manual

USERS
MANUAL
NR9000
Kronos 1
REVISION
C
DATE
2/22/23
Page 1of 59
www.novuspower.com
NR9000
Kronos Ι
10MHz Rubidium Frequency Reference, High Performance, Low
Noise, GNSS-Locked
All information provided herein is the property of Novus Power Products LLC. The information
included may be reproduced without the permission of Novus Power Products LLC. for the
purpose of operating the equipment.

USERS
MANUAL
NR9000
Kronos 1
REVISION
C
DATE
2/22/23
Page 2of 59
www.novuspower.com
Table of Contents
Safety.....................................................................................................................................................4
Mounting................................................................................................................................................5
Summary...............................................................................................................................................6
Thermally Isolated Reference (HS3).........................................................................................................9
Controls and Indicators......................................................................................................................13
Front Panel......................................................................................................................................13
LEDs.............................................................................................................................................13
Navigation Paddle....................................................................................................................... 13
Menu Layers....................................................................................................................................14
Display Navigation..............................................................................................................................15
Time and Date................................................................................................................................. 15
Analog Clock Face......................................................................................................................16
Time Display Preference................................................................................................................16
GNSS Data Display........................................................................................................................ 17
GNSS MultiBand SNR Meter.........................................................................................................19
Survey Mode...................................................................................................................................20
Frequency Data, Reporting, and Monitoring ................................................................................ 21
Frequency Statistics.......................................................................................................................23
Save Now Button ........................................................................................................................24
Clear Stats Button.......................................................................................................................24
Frequency Statistics History.......................................................................................................25
Latch Channel Values ....................................................................................................................27
Setting Amplitude and Threshold Alert .........................................................................................28
Amplitude Reference Point ........................................................................................................29
Threshold Alert Point.................................................................................................................. 29
Rubidium Module Status................................................................................................................33
OCXO Module Status.....................................................................................................................35

USERS
MANUAL
NR9000
Kronos 1
REVISION
C
DATE
2/22/23
Page 3of 59
www.novuspower.com
System Status.................................................................................................................................37
Power Supply Status ..................................................................................................................37
System Faults..............................................................................................................................38
Channel Faults............................................................................................................................ 38
Channel Outputs –BNC or SMA...................................................................................................39
Antenna Input A/B –SMA.............................................................................................................. 39
AC Input........................................................................................................................................... 39
Power Switch / Circuit Breaker......................................................................................................39
DC Input...........................................................................................................................................40
Performance........................................................................................................................................42
Phase Noise....................................................................................................................................42
Allan Deviation................................................................................................................................43
Crystal..................................................................................................................................................44
Calibration...........................................................................................................................................48
Programming Guide (RS232 Port)....................................................................................................49
Technical Specifications.............................................................................................................55
Environmental and Mechanical.................................................................................................. 57
LIMITED HARDWARE WARRANTY................................................................................................58

USERS
MANUAL
NR9000
Kronos 1
REVISION
C
DATE
2/22/23
Page 4of 59
www.novuspower.com
Safety
This product has been designed and manufactured to recognized safety standards and rules.
This product is a sophisticated electronic instrument that should be installed and operated by
highly trained professionals.
Installation of this equipment should comply with all local electrical codes.
Utilization of this equipment in a manner inconsistent with the operating instructions can be
dangerous.
There are no user-serviceable parts within the unit. Removal of the cover to access interior
parts will expose the user to dangerous voltages.
The unit may be powered from more than one power source. Care must be taken to be certain
all power sources are removed before installation or during removal of the equipment.
The unit must be operated with a secure earth ground to the chassis. The electrical path for
earth ground is through the power connector. The power switching device that controls power to
the equipment must never interrupt the chassis ground connection.
The equipment contains complex electronic components that can be damaged by electrostatic
discharge. Observe all recognized standards for the handling of complex electronic devices to
avoid high voltage discharge to the equipment. Be certain the equipment chassis and operator
are at equipotential before handling the equipment.

USERS
MANUAL
NR9000
Kronos 1
REVISION
C
DATE
2/22/23
Page 5of 59
www.novuspower.com
Mounting
The equipment is meant to operate in a horizontal - top up configuration.
The equipment is meant to mounted into a 19-inch standard NMEA cabinet. The unit occupies a
single “1RU”. Mounting spaces above and below the equipment may be used as required.
Please observe the operating temperature range for the equipment. If mounted into a closed
rack, be certain that the total heat load in the cabinet does not result in an interior operating
temperature that exceeds the equipment maximum rated temperature.
If cooling must be used, care should be given to prevent cooling mechanical vibration from the
coupling into the equipment. Mechanical shock and vibration may introduce noise into the
electronic signals inside the equipment that may degrade the performance of the equipment.
For applications where there is significant shock and vibration, Novus offers equipment with
interior mechanical design features to minimize the effects of vibration and shock on the
equipment performance.

USERS
MANUAL
NR9000
Kronos 1
REVISION
C
DATE
2/22/23
Page 6of 59
www.novuspower.com
Summary
The NovusKronos Ιrepresents our highest performance reference for the most
demanding master reference applications.
The 184 channel GNSS receiver provides critical timing information that is highly processed to
minimize reference jitter and noise. The receiver supports GPS L1C/A L2C, GLO L1OF L2OF,
GAL E1B/C E5b, BDS B1I B2I, QZSS L1C/A L1S L2C, SBAS L1C/A. To assure the integrity of
the reference, a separate GNSS receiver is used as an independent time base for an internal
gapless frequency counter to monitor the master reference.

USERS
MANUAL
NR9000
Kronos 1
REVISION
C
DATE
2/22/23
Page 7of 59
www.novuspower.com
Our most advanced designs address long time constants digitally. High performance
picosecond measurement techniques provide greater timing resolution. Advanced algorithms
coupled with precise analog designs that are thermally controlled, and vibration-isolated allow
Allan Deviation performance approaching E-14. Performance over a standard loop is improved
by almost two orders of magnitude.

USERS
MANUAL
NR9000
Kronos 1
REVISION
C
DATE
2/22/23
Page 8of 59
www.novuspower.com
Our algorithms process the radio information to achieve a more stable reference. The curve
below is a plot of timing jitter after processing:
The standard deviation improved from 17 ns to approximately 400 picoseconds. The most
advanced loop reports calculated Allan Deviation between the filtered PPS and the OCXO
output on real time basis locally on a display and/or a selected serial port. This level of
monitoring will quickly detect a reference variation far in advance of a complete failure, avoiding
system outages. No one in the industry - that we are aware of - provides this level of monitoring.
To represent the Allan Deviation, we compare the real time deviation of an OCXO derived pulse
to the filtered PPS of the GNSS locked source. To see this calculation, read the section titled
“Allan Deviation.”

USERS
MANUAL
NR9000
Kronos 1
REVISION
C
DATE
2/22/23
Page 9of 59
www.novuspower.com
Thermally Isolated Reference (HS3)
A real time continuous calculation of Allan Deviation is performed and is likely the best indicator
of reference health one could have. Data logging allows the user to review timing performance
on any day from a performance log that is more than a year deep.

USERS
MANUAL
NR9000
Kronos 1
REVISION
C
DATE
2/22/23
Page 10 of 59
www.novuspower.com
To further enhance stability, the timing control network and reference are vibration and
thermally- isolated. The timing loop operates with a 40 ps resolution to enhance process control.
Power supplies include wide bandwidth linear regulators to eliminate ripple noise from the
amplifiers. Amplifiers are further isolated with individual passive filters and the amplifiers have
over 100 dB of 60 Hz rejection. Every element of the design is focused on stability and noise
reduction.
•dual time base
•Rubidium stability
•low phase noise OCXO
•real-time Allan Deviation calculation
•low noise linear regulators
•184 channel GNSS receiver
•10 channels
•low jitter PPS
•40 psec control loop
•Allan Deviation less than <E-13
•phase noise <-160dBc/Hz @ 1kHz