[time-nuts] PICTIC II questions

[John Miles]

> I know it has been a while since the boards were sent out, but I
> finally placed an order with Mouser to populate the two boards I
> bought. I already have the "unobtainium" chips and can program the
> PICs, so no problems there.
> 
> The question is, how do I use the PICTIC II after I've assembled it? I
> have read the information on the KO4BB WIKI and downloaded the files,
> but what I really need is an explanation of how to adjust the circuit
> after assembly and then a simple example of its use. Comparing a
> FE-5680A with a HP Z3801A would be a good example, since I have those
> :-)
> 
> I've lurked on this list for quite some time, but I'm still a newbie,
> compared to most here.
> 
> Joe Gray
> W5JG

Let me see if I can set up a demo/example use case later on today.  I was
getting good results in 1pps-triggered 10 MHz measurements a couple of years
ago, but my software platform was then rewritten for other reasons and I
haven't gotten the PICTIC running with the new code yet.

Unfortunately it won't have the stability to measure a rubidium standard
very effectively, at least at timescales shorter than a few hours.  The
PICTIC II's residual ADEV crosses into the E-13s at around 1000 seconds,
while a small Rb clock in good working order will get there at about t=80
seconds.   If sufficiently ambitious, you could fix that problem with W. R.
Riley's "Small DMTD" system, which used a PICTIC as the back end
(http://www.wriley.com/A%20Small%20DMTD%20System.pdf ). 

-- john, KE5FX