Saturday, October 16, 2021

Time-sync'ing a PC with a GPS dongle

In preparation for portable operation with my incoming QDX transceiver, I ordered a $12 GPS dongle from Amazon yesterday.

Reviews are almost universally 5-star and, at only $12 and a good refund policy, why not give it a try.

BktTimeSync is a small (and free) 3.7MB program that synchronizes a PC's clock with time signals received by the GPS dongle.

The GPS dongle arrived today. Nothing in the way of documentation was included but I was still able to have it working and maintaining my PC's time within 10 minutes of opening the package, thanks to this video from Troy KF7SEY. 

If you're interested in this device for accurate time while portable, here is the sequence of setting up:

  • Download and install BktTimeSync but don't run it yet
  • Plug in the GPS dongle. Wait while Windows installs the driver and assigns a COM port
  • Initially, a red LED will be illuminated on the dongle. After about two minutes (initially, then 20 seconds) the red LED will blink green once per second, indicating reception of satellites
  • Open BkTimeSync and configure it as shown below, replacing "COM5" with whatever port was assigned


 

I had no problem getting a lock on GPS satellites indoors. Simple, cheap and it works great.

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Posted by John AE5X at

12 comments:

  1. w1pidOctober 17, 2021 at 5:31 AM

    Thanks John. Perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  2. PA2RFOctober 17, 2021 at 6:01 AM

    Nice gadget John. Would it be possible to derive an ultra stable 10 MHz (e.g.) from this device ?73 Ron PA2RF

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John AE5XOctober 17, 2021 at 4:51 PM

      Hi Ron - that's a good question! These seem to do it with GPS:
      https://tinyurl.com/d6k7peax
      https://tinyurl.com/4kn74avz

      but I don't know what's involved in going from NMEA to a 10MHz sine wave.

      73,
      John

      Delete
  3. W1ANDDecember 24, 2021 at 3:59 PM

    John,
    ICOM recently came up with their own solution for the time sync from PC to the radio:
    https://www.icomjapan.com/support/firmware_driver/3428
    or from Android OS device to the radio:
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.icom.st4003a&hl=en
    or search for ST-4003A in Google Play

    Also, GPStool for Android OS:
    https://www.icomjapan.com/lineup/options/ST-4002A
    It allows automatically input GPS location data from Android device to the radio

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 14, 2023 at 10:29 AM

    Hey John— there is a free program called JTSync written by a German ham that will let you sync the time on your computer with no internet or extra equipment needed. It works by listening to FT8 signals. It works perfectly. Great when your are in remote areas. Please spread the word. 73, Chrissy KA5PXK

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousAugust 9, 2024 at 11:57 PM

    Hey John,

    Nice post & info. Thanks.

    This is a new field to me and I have two questions and hope you'd have answer.

    What's accuracy & precision of the time of the sync.ed computer?

    Have you tried to timestamp data using this time and if so, do you know if accuracy & precision?

    Thanks,
    Paul

    ReplyDelete
  6. John AE5XAugust 13, 2024 at 7:56 AM

    Hi Paul,

    I'm afraid I can't answer your questions. I'm satisfied with syncing the PC to the accuracy required to decode digital signals - anything beyond that is over my head! Some folks on the io.group for WSJT could probably answer those questions.

    73,
    John

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousAugust 15, 2024 at 11:30 PM

    Thanks John.

    Regards,
    Paul

    ReplyDelete
  8. Peter TiagunovSeptember 14, 2024 at 5:28 PM

    Worked just fine for me, using "Manual Sync" with GNSS 200L receiver

    ReplyDelete

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