Lady Heather's Disciplined Oscillator Control Program

Lady Heather's Disciplined Oscillator Control Program

This program monitors and controls the operation of a Trimble Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt-E GPS frequency standard.

The latest release (2.00) is available for downloading here (650 KB).

The current beta (3.00) is available for downloading here (850 KB)).

Version 3.00 (Beta) of 8-Feb-10
Copyright (C) 2008-2010 Mark S. Sims - all rights reserved
Permission granted for free noncommercial use and distribution

Win32 version and TCP/IP server by John Miles, KE5FX (jmiles@pop.net)
Allan deviation code adapted from Tom Van Baak's adev1.c

Command-line Options

Note: These options apply to Heather V2. For updated command-line options available in the 3.00 beta version, run heather /? or type ? from within the program.

             /#               - use COM# instead of COM1 default
             /0               - disable com port processing (if just reading a log file)
             /ip=addr[:port#] - connect to TSIP server instead of local COM port
             /a[=#]           - number of points to calc Adevs over (default=330000)
                                If 0,  then all adev calculations are disabled.
             /c[=#]           - set Cable delay to # ns (default=77.03 ns (50 ft std coax))
             /e               - do not log message/time Errors and state changes
             /f               - start in Fullscreen mode
             /g[#]            - toggle Graph enable (#= a,b,c,d,e,h,l,m,o,p,s,t,u,x,z)
                                (Adevs  Both map and adev tables  sat_Count  Dac  Errors  Holdover
                                 Location  Map,no adev tables   Osc  Pps  Sound  Temperature  Updates
                                 X-dops  Z-clock)
             /h=file          - read command line options from file
             /i[=#]           - set plot Interval to # seconds (default=10 seconds)
             /j[=#]           - set ADEV period to # seconds (default=10 seconds)
             /k               - disable Keyboard commands
             /kc              - don't exit on com port errors
             /l[=#]           - write Log file every # seconds (default=1)
             /m[=#]           - Multiply all plot scale factors by # (default is to double)
             /ma              - Toggle auto scaling
             /md[=#]          - set DAC plot scale factor (microvolts/divison)
             /mo[=#]          - set OSC plot scale factor (parts per trillion/divison)
             /mp[=#]          - set PPS plot scale factor (nanoseconds/divison)
             /mt[=#]          - set TEMPERATURE plot scale factor (millidegrees/divison)
             /n=hh:mm:ss      - end program at specified time (optional: /n=month/day/year) 
             /na=hh:mm:ss     - sound alarm at specified time (optional: /n=month/day/year) 
             /o[#]            - select ADEV type (#=A,H,M,T, O,P)
             /p               - disable PPS output signal
             /q[=#]           - set size of plot Queue in seconds (default=30 days)
             /r[=file]        - Read log file into queues (default=TBOLT.LOG)
             /ss[=#]          - do Self Survey (# fixes,  default=2000)
             /sp[=#]          - do Precison Survey (# hours,  default/max=48)
             /sf              - enter 3D fix mode and map fixes
             /tg              - sync outputs to GPS Time (default is GPS time)
             /tu              - sync outputs to UTC Time (default is GPS time)
             /ts[dh]          - set system time from GPS (once,daily,hourly)
             /t#zzz           - show time at local time zone (#=gmt offset, zzz=zone id)
             /tf              - use Fahrenheit temperature (default is Celsius)
             /t"              - use degrees.minutes.seconds for lat/lon
             /u               - toggle plot/adev queue Updates
             /vs              - Small (800x600) Video screen
             /vm              - Medium (1024x768) Video screen (default)
             /vl              - Large (1280x1024) Video screen
             /vv              - Very large (1440x900) Video screen
             /vx              - eXtra large (1680x1050) Video screen
             /vh              - Huge (1920x1080) Video screen
             /wa=file         - set log file name to Write (append) (default=TBOLT.LOG)
             /w=file          - set log file name to Write (default=TBOLT.LOG)
             /x[=#]           - set plot display data filter count (default=10)
             /y               - optimize plot grid for 24 hour display (/y /y = 12hr)
             /y=#             - set plot view time to # minutes/division
             /z[#][=val]      - toggle or set graph zero line ref value (#=d,o,p,t)
                                (D)ac volts  (O)sc   (P)ps ns  (T)temp deg
             /+               - sync PPS signal rising edge to time
             /-               - sync PPS signal falling edge to time
             /^               - sync OSC signal falling edge to time

Remote Operation

In addition to the Thunderbolt's usual serial connection, Lady Heather can communicate with a remotely-located Thunderbolt using the /ip=addr[:port] command-line option. To enable remote access to your Thunderbolt, you'll need to connect a PC to both the Thunderbolt and your LAN or Internet gateway, then run Heather's TCP/IP server. This server is a Windows batch file, located at c:\program files\heather\serve.bat by default.

The server will allow up to eight instances of heather.exe to access your Thunderbolt at once. Each client instance can access all of Heather's supervisory and control functions, just as if it were connected directly to the Thunderbolt.

As an example:

	Start... Run cmd.exe
	cd "\program files\heather"
	serve com1

... will launch the server, allowing network access to a Thunderbolt at COM1. The server's startup banner will include the PC's TCP/IP host address; e.g.:

        _______________________________________________________________________________
        
        Lady Heather's Control Server V0.90 of Dec  6 2009            John Miles, KE5FX
        Press ESC to terminate                                        jmiles@pop.net
        _______________________________________________________________________________

[12/6/2009 1:36:53 PM] Initializing host "jmcore", address 192.168.1.101:45000, Windows Sockets V1.1 (WinSock 2.0)

You can now launch Heather with a command or Windows shortcut such as the following:

	heather /ip=192.168.1.101

This will work from any Windows PC on your LAN, including the one running the server if desired. If you want to access the Thunderbolt from a PC on the Internet at large, you'll need to open port 45000 in your cable/DSL modem or NAT gateway and associate it with the host located at 192.168.1.101 (in this case).

When providing access to multiple Thunderbolts on one PC, you'll need to specify different port numbers for each device's server instance. To continue the example, a server launched with

        serve com1 /port=40000

could be accessed with

        heather /ip=192.168.1.101:40000

Hints and Kinks

You can run in fullscreen mode by adding /f to the Target line in your Windows shortcut. (Click on the image above to see an example of how to add command-line options to your shortcut.) You can also use the Maximize button to enter fullscreen mode, or alt-Enter to toggle it.
The default window size is 1024x768, plus the standard borders and caption. If your desktop isn't large enough to accommodate the entire window, it will be rendered at half-size. Use the /vs (800x600 window size) and/or /f (fullscreen mode) command-line options to obtain a readable display.
The default serial port is COM1. COM ports from COM2 to COM99 are supported by adding a parameter of the form /2 ... /99 to your command line or Windows shortcut.
The Thunderbolt's communications settings must be configured at its factory default values (9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit).
The logfile generated if the /l option is used will be placed in the current user's home directory (e.g., c:\Documents and Settings\johnm in Windows XP) under the filename TBOLT.LOG, assuming heather.exe is installed in its default location in Program Files. If heather.exe is executed from another subdirectory, any requested logfile will be written in that directory. This feature lets you use the "Start in..." shortcut field to determine where the logfile is placed. New logfile entries are appended to TBOLT.LOG if the file already exists.
If you receive serial-port access errors, make sure that any other programs or windows that may have accessed the Thunderbolt have been closed, even if they're no longer connected to the port. It may also be necessary to disable any serial mouse devices in Device Manager (which may be present even if your computer doesn't have a serial mouse.)
HEATHDOS.EXE is a copy of the original DOS executable. Run heathdos /help for available DOS-specific options. This version may not be compatible with Windows DOS boxes on many systems unless you use the /t option to disable graphics, but you can use it as a "real" DOS application to recycle an obsolete PC as a dedicated monitoring terminal. One user reports mounting the Thunderbolt in an old laptop's CD-ROM drive bay and powering it from the drive bay's +12V connection, yielding an elegant self-contained GPS clock/control package with battery backup.

History

V1.00 of 10-Feb-09: Initial release
V1.01 of 13-Feb-09
- Fixed bug in temperature-scale calculation with /m or /mt options
- Fixed user holdover mode and pps indicators when mode was already active when the program started
- Highlighted disabled filters in yellow
V1.02 of 20-Feb-09
- Added keyboard lockout command
- Added plot interval display
- Added confirmation for ESC to exit program
- Disabled DOS version com port timeout check (was corrupting packets)
- Added support for disabling plot by setting plot interval to 0
V1.03 of 22-Feb-09
- Added /r command for reading data from log file
- Added /w command for setting name of log file to write
- Added /j command for changing ADEV period
- Added support for disabling adevs by setting adev_period to 0
- Tweaked positioning of DOS help screen and plot erasing
V1.04 of 24-Feb-09
- Flagged time interval gaps in plot data
- Added logging of time/packet errors
- Added /e command to disable logging of most errors
V1.05 of 12-Mar-09
- Text in Windows version updates every second (was updating every plot interval)
- Added /n command to disable plot/adev updates (useful if reading in a log file and you don't want incoming data to update the screen)
- n key toggles update mode
- Changed survey command from /s to /ss to reduce chances of inadvertently triggering a self-survey
V1.06 of 13-Mar-09
- Refreshed Windows screen when toggling pause mode (so ADEV tables show properly)
- Exited plot review mode when unpausing screen updates
- Exited pause mode when exiting plot review mode
V2.00 of 8-May-09
- Various new commands -- see online help for details
- Numerous bug fixes and cosmetic tweaks. Highlights include:
  - Mouseover support for graph data in both DOS and Windows version
  - EMS memory support in DOS version
  - Default ADEV queue size is now 33,000 entries in DOS, 330,000 in Windows
  - Windows version plot queue size defaults to 7 days, or 30 days if /q is used without a specific size
  - Clicking on a column in the graphs will enter scroll mode and zoom the plot in or out. The selected column will be centered in the plot window if possible
  - Added auto-scaling of graph amplitudes -- most users will no longer need to specify manual scale factors
  - All graphs can be individually disabled. Center line reference values and scale factors can be manually set
  - Added mode to display and plot all adev types simultaneously
  - Added support for HDEV, MDEV, TDEV calculations.
  - Added support for changing oscillator disciplining parameters
  - Added support for displaying plots at different time scales
  - Added support for reading and writing log files
- Several changes to command-line options and keyboard commands
  - /tg and /tu options replace previous /g and /u options
  - /g option now toggles individual graph traces
  - /o option now selects ADEV type
  - /u option replaces previous /n option
  - /x option disables mouse-over-graph queries
  - /y options specify plot window length in hours
  - /z options now toggle individual trace baselines
Source code compilable with any version of MSVC from VS6 to current Visual Studio .NET release, including the free Microsoft Visual Studio Express package.
No warranties, expressed or implied, are offered with this program.
Use at your own risk!