[ntp:questions] Re: Good GPS for attic?

Ivor Jones ivor at despammed.invalid
Fri Feb 11 19:42:02 UTC 2005


"John Pettitt" <jpp at cloudview.com> wrote in message 
news:8F6Pd.6422$m31.77104 at typhoon.sonic.net...
> Ivor Jones wrote: >
>> Why does it have to be a GPS..? If you only want it for a PC time 
>> reference, why not use one of the many free ntp servers..?
>>
>> Ivor
>>
>
> You could ask the same question of anybody with a ham radio - why not 
> use the phone?  It's not about just getting the service.

I'm a radio amateur..! (G6URP if anyone's interested..!)

> On my home net I set up GPS time because I wanted to see how cheaply I 
> could do it ($350 emachines computer, $85 GPS18 LV, freebsd and about $5 
> of connectors).   I could have done it for under $120 with a used 486 
> box.

Fair enough, I can go along with that.

> Now it's working it's part of the pool.ntp.org system of free servers - 
> (if everybody said "why not use one of the many free ntp servers..?" 
> there would be no free servers).

Ok, but it does seem to me to be a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a 
walnut..! GPS provides for so much more than merely a time server.  If 
it's experimentation you want, it's possible to modify one of the many 
off-air MSF or WWV etc. clocks and use that to set a PC's time by use of 
some very simple software and a minimal hardware interface. I still have 
the details somewhere of one I had to keep an old DOS PC synchronised to 
MSF.

Ivor





More information about the questions mailing list