In this paper a logic circuit for digital clocks is discussed. Using high frequency radio time signals, it corrects errors upto Plus Minus 30 seconds with an accuracy of a millisecond. The circuit also monitors the clock errors, using the time display unit of the clock itself, and carries out synchronization even in relatively noisy reception conditions

Bhat, C.L.

Razdan, H.

English

Defence Science Journal

v J A CLOCK SYNCI4RONIZATION CIRCUIT USING TRANSMITTED TIME-CODES ' Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Nuclear Research Laboratory, Srinagar, Kashmir ) (Received 19  October 1977) In this paper a, logic synchronization circuit for digital clocks is discussed. Using high frequency radio time signals, i t  corrects errors upto f 30 seoonds &ith an accuracy of a milli~lecond. The circuit also moni- tors the clock errors, using the time display unit of the dock 'itself, and carries out synchronization even in relatiP'ely noisy reception conditions. A digital clock needs to be synchrodized periodically to keep its error within a permissible limit. The logic clock synchronization can, in general, be affected in two different ways : eithel the accumulated error in the clo~k is directly compensated fml or the offset removed in an --direct manner by first  topping the clock and then restarting it at a preset time synchronous with the standard time signaly2. The synclwoni- zation circuit discussed here is baeed on the latter approach. I t  is designed to work with the high frequency time oode from RWM (Moscow), but can readily be adapted to time signals from ATA (Delhi), JJY (Tokyo) and MSF (Rugby). The circuit mqy also be used to start a digital c$ck on time. The synchronization accuracyof the circuit is limited to around one m i l l i ~ c ~ ~ n d  because of the use of the high frequency transmit- ted code. The circuit can display the clock error and has a high immu~lity  toward^ the noise during the process of synchronization. The circuit is in opcration with a clock giving time of occurrence of an event in an atmobpheric fluorescknce monitor at Gulmarg (India) set up for the detection of cosmic ganuna-ray b ~ s t s . ~  The circuit logic is briefly as follows. At the '01' second of a minute in which the syr~chronization is desired to be carried out, the clock oscillator feeding the clock decades is blocked and the time display cir- , cuit of the clock triggered simultaneou~ly .From the stable time display of the clook counters at the '01' second of the known minute, the error in the clock is determined in sign and magnitude. Subsequent to the time display, the clock decades are automatically set to the '02' second of the minute and next the c lo~k restarted synchronous with the '02' code second's pulse. The code p d e ,  which follows within approximate- ly 10 milliseconds of the resetting of the clock decades, reopens the clock gates and an offset within 2 30 seconds is removed. If the error is more, or if the clock is to be started after a long pause, the clook minuterj and other higher decades itre first preset manually within an accuracy of half a pinute and then the synch- ronization circuit used to start the clock oa time. C I R C U I T  O P E R A T I O N  The RWM (Moscow)'hourly transmitted time code oousists of seconds' pip an$ a longer minute's pip at the '00th' second of each minute (Pig. la). The second's signal, starting at the onset of the second, is actually 100 cycles and the minute's signal 400 cycles, of a 1 KHz mod~lat~ion a 10 MHz carrier (Fig. lb). These time signals from the audio-stage of an Airmec Receiver (bandwidthd.2 KHz) are fed into a Fig. 1-(a) Hourly broadcast scheduIe of RWM, Moscow, st 10MHz. The siequenoe of station call in Morse code. continuous and modulated tones 4ud time code arc shown. Time signals are broadcast for 24 minutes every hcur (b) RWM time signals a t  the output of the reoeiver audio-stage. The '00th' s e m d  oomprises 400 ~Yoles and other seoonds 100 cyoles of a 1 KHz sine wave. 163 REF* J., VOL 28, JULY 1978 discrimin.;tor (Fig. 2a) with the discrimination level adjusted just a h *  the receiver noise. The discrimi- nator output which is 100 or 400 half-cjcles correspsndiqj to a second's or a minute's marker respectively, ip passed after amplification, through an integrating network with a time constant of approximately 4 milliseconds and then through a Schmitt trigger discriminator. As sl~own in Pig. 2b, the Schmitt trigger output, taken across an emitter follower is a pulse of 4 volts amplitude and a width of 100 milliseconds or 400 milliseconds. This pulse train at  1 pulse per second is led into the actual synchronizatim circuit about 30 seconds before the synchronization is to take place. Fig. 2-(a) Black diagram of the demodulator circuit. It shapes the output of the receiver audio-stage (Fig. Ib) to pulses of 4@0 ms and 100 ms duration corresponding reapegtively to minutes' and seconds' pulses. (b) Code seconds' pulse-train a t  the demodulator oircuit output it  is fed t o  the synchronization circuit around 30 seconds before the wider minute's pulse is expected. I 0  MUt RECEIVER T O  CLL T l W  rnSPL4.l C R T  TO CLOSE CLY GbTLS 1.3 CLEAR UILL~SLCOUOI- b LOWER O E C A M S  TO UNIT-OF-MINUTE OLCAOI CLJI ulns. r u r s r s  - VnYAL IWMCAIO(I 'b- AtJP Fig. 3-Cirouit diagram of the synchraqization system. All resistors and capacitors are in ohms, picofarads except where i t  is stated otherw se. V,, and V* are 58 and 3.5V respeotively. - INTEGRATOR - !%WHIT7 *lb a W M  KTECTION WlCUlt  BRAT & RAZDAN :Cloc]i Synchrolrizstion Circuit The circuit diagram of the synchronization circuit is shown in Pig. 3. The switch S, is closed about 30 seconds before the synchronizing '02' code second's pulse is due or just before the maximum expected value of the error. Each code pulse going through C-R and Ihv. 1 triggers, at its positive edge, the monoshot 74121- 1. The nearly 400 ms pulse at the monoshot output is ANDed at its negative edge in NAND 1 with the direct code pulse if the latter is still 'ON'. NAND 1 6utput will be there only when the input code pulse is equal to or greater than 400 ms in width. It triggers the morioshot 74121-2 to, give a 20 ms pulse. The latter in turn is ANDed in NAND 2 with the trailing edge of the code pulse. NAND 2 thus gives an output only ii the input code pulse is between 400 ms and 420 ms in width, the typical width of the RWM minute's or '00' second's pulse. No output at NAND 2 results if the input pulse width falls outside this range, which mini- mises the possibility of the minute's detection circuit to respond to a spurious pulse. When, triggered by NAND 2 output, the monoshot 74121-3 gives a blocking gate about 590 ms wide Its negative edge clocks flip-flop 1 to change its Q t o  high and thereby opens NAND 3 about 590 ms follow- ing the detection of the code tOO' second's pulse. Within the next 10 ms, during which the chance of a spurious noise pulse passing is small the leading edge of the code '01' second's pulse, passing through C-R, Invs. 1 and 4 and through NAND 3, performs the following operations. ( i) It returns to reset flip-flop 1 and thus blocks subsequent code seconds' pulses at NAND 3 input. (ii) It passes through Tnv. 5 and NOR 2 to close the clock gates feeding the clock oscilla- tor pulses to the clock counters and the counts on the latter remain steady. (iii) It passes through Inv. 5 and NOR 1 to trigger the time display circuit of the clock. From the difference betwegn the time displayed by the clock, and the '01' second of some known minute, the error in the clock is inferred. The clock time at  the onset of the '01' code second may be recorded by $he photographic method, as done tin our experiment to find the time of occurrence of an event ' of interest. In a situation where the time display of the clock is constantly 'ON', the time display does not change with time for about one second and can, therefore, be read directly to find the error. In  this case the circuit comprising NOR 2 and beyond is rendered redun- dant. (iv) The leiding edge of the code '01' second's pulse also triggers the monoshot 74121-4 to give an approximately 990 ms wide pulse whose negative edge resets the clock seconds- decades to '02' through Invs. 6 and 7 and clears the milliseconds-and other lower decades at  the same tiye. I In regard to the adjustment of the minutecdecades two posdibilities arise : ( i) where the clock is slow by less than 1 second or is fast upto 30 seconds. (ii) where it is slow by anywhere between 1 second and 30 seconds. In the former case the minutes-decades would be storing the proper time before the clock gates are closed and no resetting of the minutes-decades is required. But in the latter case the minutes-counter will be storing a count one less than that which corresponds to the minute in which the spchronization is be- ing carried out and therefore its count need be advanced by one. This is done in the following manner : The negative edge of the monoshot 74121-4 output pulse, avtailable 990 ms after the clock is stopped, goes through Inv. 6, NAND 4, Inv. 9 and NOR 3 to the unit-of-minutes decade to advance its count by one. This happens as long as the 6 of flip-flop 2 is high, which is possible only when the clock is slow by more than 1 second. However, in case the clock minute's pulse (from the output of the tens-of-second decade) passing through the switch L'L, Inv. 8 and NOR 4 precedes the code '01' second's pulse, it will clock the ,flip-flop 2 and change its ij to low and block the monoshot 74121-4 pulse at  NAND 4 input. After resetting the doc$ decades to 02 sec., the monoshot 74121-4 output changes a t  its negative edge the Q of flip-flop 3 to high and opens NAND 5 to the code '02' second's pulse. The latter follows within the sext 10 ms and opens the clock gates and the clock resumes running in, step.. The synchronization is checked by ANDing the code '03' second'g pulse at  its leading edge in NAND 7 with the corresponding clock second's pulse which arrives at NAND 7 through C-R Invs. 10 and 11, NAND 6 and Inv. 12. When the code and clock pulses are synchronous at the input of NAND 7, the & of flip-flop 4 changes to high to trigger the lamp L and thus provides a visual indication that the synchronization is propwly affected. Subsequently the flip-flops 2, 3 and 4 are reset by pressing the $witch Sa which triggers the monoshot formed by NAND 8 and Inv. 14 to provide a 70 ns reset pulse after NANDS 9 and 10. Sometimes the offset mak exceed 30 seconds such as when the clock i ~ t o  b e  started after a 10% pause. This may necessitate the setting of days, bours-and hinutes-decades a$ weU. In this case the switah 8, ig pressed which triggers the mor~oshot formed by NAND 11 and In? 1% T+ 70 nsmonoshot pulse sbobos the minutes-and other higher clocG decades and sets them to values to which tb clock thumbwheel switohes have'beforehand been changed. The same pulse goes through NOR 2 to clbse the ;look gates, and in effect stops the clock, if it, is not already stopped. The monaehotoutput also.gms,throagh NOR 4 fo change the 6) of flip-flop 2 to low and to block NAND 4 to the delayed '01' code secand-'s pulse (monoshot 74121-4 output). This ensures that the unit-of-minute decade count which is already Chat of the synchronizing minute, does not advance in this case. With. the switch hf', closed as bdom about 30 seconds priar to the arrival of the synchronizing pulse, the secondsyand other bwer decades will be reset by the monoshot 7C121- 4 pulse and the clock will resume running with 6he leading edge of the code '02' second's pulse in exactly the same way as discussed above. I - 1 < The circuit is designed to have high immanity towards noise. The code minute's pulse detection cir- ' cuitr-y at the circuit input responds to a limited range of pulse widths between 400 and 420 ms and as such a longer duration, noisit puke cennot easily be mistaken for the code minute's pulse. The gates to the code '01' and '02' second's pulses are opened for only 10 ms ~ r i o r  to their arrival and the chance of a noise pip appearihg within this short exposure time is small. The noise pulses appearing before the obening of the circuit gates do not interfere*with thec circuit operation, unless the noise is persistent. Finally, any faulty synchronization is indicated by the visual indicator, and the synchronization process may then be repeated at  the next minute. b t h e r  interesting feature of the circuit is the,provision for error display which may be useful for keeping a log of the drift in %he clock osciihtor a d  for making corrections, whenever necessary. , 1. BBAT, C.L.) RAZDA,~, H., SAPRU, M.L. & KAUL, I.K., Journal of Electronics and l'elewrnmnication Engineers, 24 (I) (1977), 9 = 13. 2. BATBUN, D.A., Wireless World, 81 (1975), 277. 3. BHAT, C.L., SAPRU, M.L. L% RAZDAN, H., Bulletin of the A~ltronomical Society of India, 4, Dec. 1976. 

A Clock Synchronization Circuit Using Transmitted Time Codes

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A Clock Synchronization Circuit Using Transmitted Time Codes

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