DCS bartok clocking using mutec

@tjs yes, its OCXO from Linger Audio…
*don’t expect it to be dCS quality but for the price, I’m happy with the change to my SQ

That would indeed be a pretty niche market.

If the Mutec clock is an actual improvement over the internal clock system in the dCS, and Mutec can make the business case work for sale to such a niche market, than I’d imagine it’d be a win all round :slight_smile:

This was told to me by someone working at Mutec so probably true.

Moving along though I’m using an Antelope LiveClock into by Bartok. Differences… well with headphones and well recorded music I can hear a small change to clarity… notes seems a little purer. I can’t test with speakers at the moment because of house moving things and the speakers being absent!

Also, just for a play, I’ve ordered one of those gps locked 10MHz clock thingies. Mainly for something to play with whilst cocooned in our virus free home.

Which one? The only one of those I have heard is the CH Precision. But I am talking with Novus about their line of low phase noise rubidium reference clocks (similar to the SRS I am auditioning now) stabilized by GPS/GNSS (though all their units seem spec’ed for a 50Ohm signal. I know there are a lot of kits and boards out there for the ham radio and other electronics needs, but most of what I’ve seen there has an awful lot of jitter.

I don’t think I’m allowed to post a link… but it was approx 100USD. There are loads on ‘the bay’ and they all seem to use either Trimble or Symmetricon modules. They all quote the same specs which look very impressive. I think, not 100% sure, they have a clock which is constantly being correct based upon the GPS signal/time.

Ah yes. But you should be able to post a link. It’s what the little linky icon is for. FWIW, here is a slightly more expensive Symmetricom unit. Many of the listings clearly contemplate that the devices will be used in audio systems, and it’s interesting that the description says this:

It is recommended to use the square wave output of the BNC port without using an antenna for audio use, which greatly saves the time for locking the star.

Sorry I know I can post a link it’s whether I’m allowed to. I posted a link to the item on another forum and got it deleted!

Yes the one you mention was on my short list but when I found out they all use the same second hand modules (this is why they’re described as ‘refurbished’) and the same circuit it seemed all you were paying extra for was the fancy screen and, since this was a simple test/play I reckoned 100USD was enough :slight_smile:

So are you saying the GPS locking is a waste of time? I was going to let it lock and then leave it switched on all the time to maintain the lock.

btw the one I purchased (you can specify sine wave or square wave):
ebay

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Hey Steve, thanks for clarification. Sorry, I definitely wasn’t trying to insult your intelligence. :smiley:

Yeah, I noticed all those fleabay items were refurbed units of pretty much the same receiver. I’m not saying that GOS/GNSS locking is a waste of time at all. A lot depends on how the clock behaves vis-à-vis your master clock. You don’t want to introduce more short-term instability or jitter into your master, and you want the long term stability of the GPS/GNSS to improve your master clock. I offered the quote as something I found odd. I think your experiment is worthwhile. Seems to me a GPS-disciplined reference clock is the next best thing to a cesium clock—as long as it doesn’t make anything else worse. Do you have good open skies for the GPS antenna?

I continue to be very impressed with the SRS Perf10. I am in phase 2 of my evaluation. As I mentioned, I am discussing one more Frequency Reference, another rubidium unit with GOS/GNSS discipline from Novus. Depending on exactly how best to achieve what I want, I expect it will be this unit or this one.

Greg, a couple of points about rubidium clocks. Firstly the longevity appears to be comparatively short for items in the high end audio world. I am seeing 7- 10 years average . So after this time it needs to be disposed of and replaced. The disposal involves radioactive materials ( I don’t think my local council binmen i.e. waste disposal operatives, would be too pleased).

Any thoughts on these issues?

Pete, understood on longevity reputation; am not quite sure what you’re referring to, though. Long-term accuracy is often stated in a 10-year time frame, but that doesn’t mean they stop working. SRS has indicated they would expect much longer functionality [though 10 years from now, they may have been deprecated by newer cheaper tech]. Also, rubidium clocks do not contain radioactive material. That’s a myth generally about atomic clocks. Neither the SRS nor Esoteric contain any radioactive material. And that’s true of the Antelope as well.

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I feel cheated :disappointed:.

:grin:

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I know, right? All along we thought those little glow-in-the-dark watch hands could blow up at any moment. Or turn us into X-men.

Actually I made a bit of a ‘thing’ up with the order. I ordered square wave thinking the liveclock needs square wave… well no! I asked Antelope and it’s sine wave for it’s 10mhz input. So the gpsdo on the way via china post is wrong :frowning: However I think I can fix it… the modules have connections for square wave and sine wave so I’m hoping 10 mins with a soldering iron and I can move the output over to the desired sine wave connection. Assuming, that is, I can figure out which connection on the module.

Yeah, when I checked my SRS and the Novus, both produce sine wave outputs. Hope it’s easily fixable.

Well it’s not then end of the world… heck it’s only money :wink:

I’ve emailed the seller asking how to change it over… I know it’s possible because you have to say at order what you need and he changes it to suite. However getting my request across to Chinese is where the problem might be.

I’ve been very pleased with the SRS Perf10. But it can’t be GPS-ed. So, I am about to finalize the order for this Novus clock. I’ve got good 360 skies visibility for the antenna, and am looking forward to trying it out.

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Update… the el-cheapo 10meg GPSDO has arrived from China and, tbh, to my ears I can’t tell if the WC has the 10meg ref. connected or not! I suppose it’s a good thing it doesn’t make it sound worse and I’m happy it was only seventy quid! Maybe I need to do some more in-depth headphone listening but, if there is a difference then it’s VERY subtle.

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Steve, what sort of GPS antenna did you connect to your clock? Although my Novus clock is still in production, I had them ship the GPS antenna and lead out so I could get it installed and ready to go. I was surprised at its compact size, though maybe I shouldn’t have been. GPS technology is amazing, and the antennae for cars are all but invisible. Anyway, here is the antenna in my hand and now mounted on my roof for a 360 clear sky view.


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Mine is just the cheapo indoor antenna that came with the unit. It works perfectly well just sat on my right hand speaker where there is a window. I’ll be honest though I’m not convinced I can tell, audio wise, if the GPS is connected or not! I know it’s working because the liveclock says there’s a valid signal but I can listen with GPS clock signal cable connected or not, quickly pulling it in/out whilst listening, and I can’t honestly say I can hear a change. Maybe I need an upgrade to my ears? :wink:

You’ll have to get in line behind me! :rofl: