[rescue] NTP and Fuzzballs, was Re: Linux wet paint, was Re: Spark10 CPU question (must fix - SPARC damnit :-) )

[Carl R. Friend]

On 12/24/2016 02:11 AM, Patrick Giagnocavo wrote:
> Could you implement what you need with an $8 ESP 8266 / NodeMCU and the GPS add-on mentioned here?
>
> https://blog.squix.org/2016/05/esp8266-peripherals-ublox-gps-module.html

    That's an interesting notion.  I see that the GPS module has a
PPS output, but I don't see any mention of the accuracy of it in the
spec-sheet (from another site).

    The module I bought back in '02 is a Motorola ONCORE UT+ timing
receiver with the PPS signal which is rated for < 500 ns accuracy
even with Selective Availability on (which I've never seen active,
but am interested in acquiring a receiver that supports GLONASS
(the Russian GPS) and Galileo (the EU's version) as a backup).

    The problem with satellite receivers, however, is that they really
want a good view of the sky, hence the antennas need to be outdoors
or on roofs/masts.  Putting one in a window can work, but the view
of the sky is not good.
>
> A true stratum-0 time source that runs off 4 D cell batteries for weeks!

    ... or off a small solar panel.

    Fuzzballs...  I need to ask my pals at RCS/RI whether anybody has a
copy of the last Fuzzball disk image.  I had one, but given the recent
upheaval am unlikely to find it.

    Cheers!
-- 
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin)            | Boylston            |
| Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast            | Massachusetts, USA  |
| mailto:crfriend at rcn.com                        +---------------------+
| http://users.rcn.com/crfriend/museum           | ICBM: 42:20N 71:43W |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+