GPS Controlled Time Server
There are many reasons to have an accurate time source in your station. Getting the best performance from WSJT-X modes like FT8 requires your computer clock to be synchronized within a second for example. You can set your clocks accurately using NTP servers on the Internet. This is the most common way that most stations set their clocks.
What if you are portable and don’t have Internet access or what do you do if your Internet connection goes down? One way to solve these problems is to use a GPS-controlled NTP time server in your station. We recently installed one from Leo Bodnar in our station.
GPS Antenna
This device is simple to install. It just requires an Ethernet connection to your network and a GPS antenna. The antenna is included with the unit. The antenna will need to be outdoors with a reasonably clear view of the sky.
GPS Satellite Lock Screen
After a minute or so after it is installed and powered up, the unit will synchronize to the visible GPS satellites in your location and report its coordinates. This indicates that you have a good GPS system lock and that the clock in the unit is accurate to within a microsecond.
NTP Summary Screen
The unit gets its IP either from DHCP or via a fixed IP address that you can program. Once the unit is set, you use its IP address as the NTP server in your software to set your clocks. You would set your NTP server in a program like Dimension 4 to accurately set your computer’s clock for example. You will want to disable your computer’s normal Internet clock setting function to avoid conflicts with Dimension 4. Once this is set up, your computer clock will be synchronized to the GPS system and will be very accurate and you will get the best performance from WSJT-X.
Fred, AB1OC
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There is no need for a GPS antenna to favor the south. There is equal probability for receiving a GPS satellite from anywhere in the local hemisphere. And the antenna pictured is best situated on a larger groundplane, perhaps a disk 6-inches in diameter.
This looks like a nice gadget. But if you want it more plain and simple, you can also build one with a Raspberry Pi and a GPS module for it. I agree with Spencer, but not just because of the orbits. It appears not to need a full position lock to get good time. I just have my antenna stuck above a ceiling panel in my basement–it is not below grade, but there is a concrete wall and it faces NNW or so