[ntp:questions] Timing issue with Linux and kernel PPS?

[james machado]

David,

running RPi with GPS+PPS here.

I compiled my own kernel and the one major gotcha I had was an RTFM
issue.  The kernel used on the RPi is not the compressed vmlinuz
kernel used on PC's.  I recompiled my kernel 10 times or more before I
went back scouring the 'net to find out the kernel in use was the
kernel.img file.  Reason I say this is the first time I thought I had
this working I was seeing kernel generated PPS signals and not GPS
generated PPS signals.  Life got much easier when I figured that out
:)

Having said all that this is what I see in my syslog when my system
restarts, my GPS has battery backup so it's not a cold start on it
when I reboot my RPi.

Nov 15 19:17:41 pisces kernel: [  102.192261] pps_core: LinuxPPS API
ver. 1 registered
Nov 15 19:17:41 pisces kernel: [  102.192269] pps_core: Software ver.
5.3.6 - Copyright 2005-2007 Rodolfo Giometti <giometti at linux.it>
Nov 15 19:17:41 pisces kernel: [  102.195682] pps_core: source
pps-gpio.-1 got cdev (251:0)
Nov 15 19:17:41 pisces kernel: [  102.195702] pps pps0: new PPS source
pps-gpio.-1
Nov 15 19:17:41 pisces kernel: [  102.195745] pps pps0: Registered IRQ
194 as PPS source
Nov 15 19:17:41 pisces kernel: [  102.470452] pps pps0: PPS event at
1353035851.050598985
Nov 15 19:17:41 pisces kernel: [  102.470479] pps pps0: capture assert seq #1

my /etc/modules consists of:
loop
pps_gpio

my /etc/ntp.conf consists of:

# NEMA data on /dev/gps0
server 127.127.20.0 mode 48 minpoll 3 iburst prefer
fudge 127.127.20.0 flag1 0 time2 0.400

#PPS on /dev/pps0
server 127.127.22.0 minpoll 4 maxpoll 4
fudge 127.127.22.0 flag3 1 flag4 1

/dev:
crw-rw---T 1 root dialout 204, 64 Nov 19 17:46 /dev/ttyAMA0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 7 Dec 31  1969 /dev/gps0 -> ttyAMA0
crwxrwxrwt 1 root tty 251, 0 Nov 15 19:17 /dev/pps0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 4 Nov 15 19:17 /dev/gpspps0 -> pps0

and this is what I am seeing in ntp:
ntpq -c lpeers
     remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay   offset  jitter
==============================================================================
*GPS_NMEA(0)      .GPS.                0 l    1    8  377    0.000
-55.452   9.778
oPPS(0)                 .PPS.                0 l    8   16  377
0.000   -0.001   0.001
+69.85.88.32          128.4.1.1            2 u   26   64  377  101.895
   4.132   1.447
-irc.indoforum.o       64.147.116.229   2 u   37   64  377   18.260
4.336   2.875
-ntp1.ResComp.Be 128.32.206.55     3 u   51   64  377   38.992    6.287   2.307
+199.241.31.96      164.244.221.197  2 u    7   64  377   70.261
-21.524   3.039

I don't see any problems with the RPi creating the /dev/pps0 device on
startup and since I've done more RTFM I actually get good PPS data :)

I did contribute to the thread listed at the RPi forums but need to go
back and add what got it working for me.  I also moved to a more
current kernel.  I compiled a bunch of extra stuff in there as I want
to play with the networking stuff too so my kernel is not a small one.

uname -a
Linux pisces 3.6.1+ #1 Fri Nov 2 02:10:35 PDT 2012 armv6l GNU/Linux

James