[time-nuts] How do I know my GPS stabilizedoscillator is working?

[Glenn]

Tom Van Baak wrote:

>1PPS -- Lastly, there is one convention I found handy
>with 1 PPS sources, specifically those GPS boards
>that are designed to suppress the 1PPS signal when
>they loose lock. In this scenario make the reliable
>1PPS ref the start channel and the GPS 1PPS the
>stop channel. If lock is ever lost -- your TI readings
>will reveal the number of missing pulses.
>

That's a great idea. Thanks.

Here's the setup I'm working toward:
* Motorola Mag Mount GPS Antennta attached to our DISHtv dish
  (The dish makes a decent mount and the ant. stays stuck, even in storms!)
* 6m ant. cable down to a "nice box" in the bedroom w/LPRO, UT+, TVB-DIV 
and interface board
* 3x ~30' coax down to the 5334A in the server closet
  * 1: 10 Mhz Ref. to 5334A ext. osc.
  * 2: 1 PPS from GPS to INPUT A
    * Since I'm testing the TVB-DIV and the UT+ doesn't shut off the 1 
PPS, this is the more reliable of the 1 PPS's.
  * 3: 1 PPS from the TVB-DIV
* 1 CAT5 cable, also down to the server closet, to the NTP server
  * GPS TX/RX
  * TVB-DIV STOP signal / 1 PPS (RS232 level)
  * +12V/GND
  * 1-wire interface (for temp. monitoring and a separate counter)
* GP-IB/USB adaptor from the 5334A to the NTP server.

This should allow me to measure time and freq. offset and drift.

What about a lightning arrestor on the GPS ant? The dish I'm mounting it 
on is grounded, there is a tree ~10' taller than the dish ~20' to the 
NE, more trees to the west, plus feeder power lines at about the same 
hieght to the east. So, it's not a great place for antennas, but I think 
lightning is much more likely to hit something other than the GPS ant. 
Although, "more likely" and what actually happens are often very 
different. What are other people doing about this?

Any comments on this setup?

thanks,
glenn