[time-nuts] Thunderbolt initial check out?

[k6rtm at comcast.net]

Go with Lady Heather. Install it using John's files 
(from http://www.thegleam.com/ke5fx/heather/readme.htm), and use the 3.0 Beta code -- it's far more solid than the "production" code shipped by a lot of vendors. 

One of the really great things that happens when you install it is that you get a shortcut to a Tbolt at John's place. You can double-click on that icon and see a working Tbolt! A lot of the parameters are going to look different, but you can get a look at one that's working. 

If you're serious about this (you'll know in a few hours) I recommend setting up Lady Heather in its client/server mode, even if you think you're only going to be running it for yourself. This is described in the documentation; as mentioned earlier the most complex part may be figuring out which COM port you're on. 

A big advantage to the server-client setup is that you can ask a Thunderbolt Wizard (such as Warren) to take a look at it, opine on its qualities, and give you insightful and useful suggestions for getting the most out of your particular beast. You can also check in on it remotely. 

Yes, this requires punching a hole in your firewall. Hopefully you're using a (hardware) stateful firewall such as in a stand-alone router or switch, in addition to the Windows firewall. (a different approach is to allow ssh or other secure tunnel into the box and use a tool such as VNC). 

Have fun! There's a wealth of information (and opinion) in the archives. 

73 Bob K6RTM 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "russell" <rstanphill at austin.rr.com> 
To: time-nuts at febo.com 
Sent: Sunday, September 19, 2010 4:47:54 PM 
Subject: [time-nuts] Thunderbolt initial check out? 

This is my first attempt at having a time reference for my home lab. I have recently ordered a pulled / untested Tbolt (board in box wo/ power supply) from ebay. It has a 5 day right to return if non functional. While waiting to receive the unit, I have been getting things ready here (antenna, power supplies w/ connector, and TboltMon). 

My question..... Is there a check out procedure or list of things that I can test quickly to determine if I have received a functional unit with a decent oscillator? I just want to make sure I have not been sent a dud. Longer term I can read more, learn, monitor and tweak its performance. I am only trying to make sure I have a good platform to start with. 

Thanks for you advice / comments. 
_______________________________________________ 
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts at febo.com 
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts 
and follow the instructions there. 


------------------------------ 

Message: 6 
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:31:09 +0200 
From: francesco messineo <francesco.messineo at gmail.com> 
Subject: Re: [time-nuts] Thunderbolt initial check out? 
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement 
<time-nuts at febo.com> 
Message-ID: 
<AANLkTimQJXpyhxrReF3XsX03rHG_B35b9Qop_eFdyfV7 at mail.gmail.com> 
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 

Hello, 

On Mon, Sep 20, 2010 at 12:21 PM, <d.seiter at comcast.net> wrote: 
> Between Tboltmon and Ladyheather, you'll see that your unit either works or it doesn't. My bet is that it will work just fine, even if the antenna is indoors- and then you won't be able to stop watching it (esp. with lady heather) for at least a few hours... Have fun! 

well, this is not entirely true. I once witnessed a tbolt that 
partially worked, it wasn't able to save the position so it needed to 
do a self survey at each power down and the temperature sensor 
appeared also not working as it reported always the same (improbable) 
temperature. It also wouldn't save any parameter different from a 
factory default. 
10 MHz output and pps were present. The vendor sent a replacement unit 
by the way. 
Just for the record anyway... 

best regards 

Frank 



------------------------------ 

_______________________________________________ 
time-nuts mailing list 
time-nuts at febo.com 
https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts 

End of time-nuts Digest, Vol 74, Issue 90 
*****************************************