🚀 go-pugleaf

Archive-name: internet/ntp/dcf77/1990-12-08
Archive: louie.udel.edu:/pub/ntp/dcf77.txt [128.175.1.3]
Original-posting-by: Mills@udel.edu
Original-subject: DCF77 poop
Reposted-by: emv@ox.com (Edward Vielmetti)

Folks,

For the intrepid trivia collectors I have put up the file dcf77.txt in the
pub/ntp directory on louie.udel.edu. This gem describes the transmission
format and other useful details of the German time/frequency standard
station DCF77, located near Frankfurt, and was provided in English from
the German by Peter Lamb. You will note this station has two delightful
features, one the inclusion of year/leap-warning information and the
other a pseudorandom phase dither intended to increase accuracy. The
pseudoramdom thing I love, but it shouldn't stop there. I submit the
entire timecode should be remodulated on the pseudorandom code, the
generator polynomial of which is not stated in the document. This 
technique essentially improves the millisecond accuracy of the amplitude-
modulated timecode to microsecond accuracy for the phase code.

Spectracom, TrueTime - are you listening. Call your congressman.

If I can find it in my junquebox, I will put up Jon Crowcroft's description
of the MSF scheme. Then, we get to hear from Bob Cunningham what the 
Japanese GOES clone does. (Kanji timecodes?) The Aussies are invited to
sniff their chronons, too. We got a MISSION!

Dave