[time-nuts] How to properly characterize 32kHz oscillators manually and with a microcontroller?

Vlad time at patoka.org
Mon Jun 27 15:26:21 EDT 2016


For very long time, may be Main Frequency (60 Hz) could be utilised. 
Say, MCU could count and compare Zero-Crossings and impulses from DS32xx 
chips. After several days, you'll see where it goes.

On 2016-06-27 11:22, Pete Stephenson wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I have a few Maxim DS3231 temperature-compensated real-time clock
> chips I use for various embedded hobby projects. They're specced to
> have an accuracy +/-2ppm between 0 Celsius and 40 Celsius. One is from
> a standard, reputable vendor, while a few are from somewhat more
> dubious internet sellers. While all the chips work and seem to
> maintain reasonable time over a period of a few weeks, it's possible
> that some don't meet spec and I'd like to test them and make sure they
> do what they're supposed to.
> 
> Here's what I've been doing manually, and what I hope to accomplish
> using a microcontroller. Any tips are very welcome.
> 
> ===== Manual Approach =====
> 
> I've manually tested a few of the chips using a digital storage
> oscilloscope and a Trimble Thunderbolt's PPS output. Here's how I've
> set things up:
> 
> 1. Enable the 32kHz output on the DS3231 and wire it appropriately.
> (The 32kHz output shows up on the oscilloscope.)
> 
> 2. Set the oscilloscope to trigger on the Thunderbolt's PPS output. As
> expected, the DS3231's 32kHz output drifts slowly relative to the PPS,
> so the pulse train seems to move slowly to the left or right
> (depending on the chip) on the scope.
> 
> 3. Wait until the rising edge of one of the 32kHz pulses is (visually)
> lined up with an arbitrary line on the scope's graticule, then start a
> timer.
> 
> 4. Wait until the rising edge of the next pulse drifts to the same
> line on the graticule -- that is, it has drifted by one cycle -- and
> then stop the timer.
> 
> If I'm particularly motivated, I'll watch the scope for longer and
> count the time it takes for the clock to drift two or three cycles.
> 
> As an example, one of the clocks drifts by one cycle in 120 seconds.
> 
> I then calculate the stability as follows:
> 
> Stability = (1 cycle / 120 seconds) / (32768 Hz)
> = (1 cycle / 120 seconds) / (1 second / 32768 cycles)
> = 2.54*10^(-7)
> = 0.254 ppm.
> 
> Is this right so far? If so, that clock seems to be well-outperforming
> the specs.
> 
> I've tested a few chips at a few different temperatures (e.g in the
> freezer, in direct sunlight, etc.) and they seem to drift faster for a
> minute until the chip measures and corrects for the temperature
> change, at which case the drift returns to the normal value.
> 
> ===== Automated Approach =====
> 
> The manual approach is handy, but only measures short-term drift and
> is subject to errors. I'd like to automate the measurements using a
> microcontroller (I'm familiar with AVRs, mainly the ATmega328 and
> ATtiny85 using the Arduino IDE, for what it's worth).
> 
> My plan was to have the microcontroller count the number of cycles of
> the 32kHz clock over a period of time, say 1000 seconds. If all was
> perfect, it'd count exactly 32768000 cycles during this time.
> 
> I'm a little concerned about the speed at which the pulses need to be
> counted. The 32kHz pulses come in every ~30.5 microseconds, and
> handling an interrupt on an ATmega328 running at 16MHz takes about
> 5.125 microseconds[1] plus whatever's done in the interrupt routine
> (e.g. incrementing the PPS counter). Would it make sense to use
> interrupts for both the PPS counter and the 32kHz counter? Even if the
> CPU is doing something, it knows an interrupt is pending so it
> wouldn't miss any counts (assuming it could handle the interrupt
> before the next one comes in). Alternatively, I could use a tight loop
> to see if the pin for the 32kHz signal goes high and just use
> interrupts for the PPS pulse. Time-sensitive code on microcontrollers
> straddles the edge of my knowledge, so any advice would be
> appreciated.
> 
> Seem reasonable? Any tips on doing this better?
> 
> Cheers!
> -Pete
> 
> [1] http://www.gammon.com.au/interrupts

-- 
WBW,

V.P.


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