Portable Receiver Delivers GPS Reference Accuracy

Sept. 29, 2004

When locked to Global Positioning System (GPS), the 58503 GPS time and frequency reference receiver from Symmetricom (San Jose, CA) generates a 10-MHz reference sine-wave signal with accuracy of better than 1 x 10-12 for a one-day average. The generator also provides a 1 pulse-per-second (PPS) signal with less than 750-ps root-mean-square (RMS) timing jitter. Even when the GPS signal is lost, the receiver enters an intelligent holdover mode in which frequency accuracy is maintained to better than 1 x 10-10 per day using the company's proprietary SmartClock technology. Although based on a quartz-crystal oscillator, the SmartClock technology enables the 58503 receiver to approach the performance of a more expensive rubidium-based time-and-frequency standard. The receiver is ideal for any measurement application requiring a precise external reference source for improved stability and enhanced synchronization capability.

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About the Author

Jack Browne

Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.