GPSDO control programs.
Hi All,
I've been trying to get my Z3805, Z3801, and my Trimble to work another GPS
program other than Lady Heather and Z38xx. On the Jackson Labs GPScon, I
have the latest version (V2.026 14 Mar 2022). Back in October when I
purchased the program, I had it running fine. Now its not doing anything.
I can send the *idn? command and the gpsdo responds, as well as *gps?. I
get responses in the command window, but the other windows do not fill up.
Not the RX status window, not the satellite constellation window, not the
EFC window, no position.. Nothing.
It also does the same thing with VisualGPSView (ver1.1 build 401. Send an
*idn? and the response is E1>, which I suspect is not a response at all, but
just an error. The Z38xx program works great.
I am running Windows 11 on a miniPC and using a USB to RS-232 converter. All
the hardware works with Lady Heather and Z38XX, and this is on two different
computers, a mini Dell 7020, and an Beelink AMD Ryzen 5(?). Has anyone run
into this kind of problem before? It's frustrating, like the two programs
can interrogate, display he response, but it can't parse the data into their
respective destinations.
Does anyone have any other GPSDO programs they use?
Regards,
Bob
Hi
Unfortunately, the outputs of many GPSDO’s are specific to that design. There is no single
“standard” way to talk to all of them. That is what drove the development of very unique programs
like Lady Heather and Z38xx. They may or may not put out this or that message by default. This
or that message likely can be turned off with some command(s).
If it still works with Lady Heather, that suggests it’s not totally broken. It’s likely that some setting is
now a bit off. The not so simple answer is to grab a terminal program like PUTTY. Get it set up and
connecting to the device. See what the messages actually are.
The program is free. You already have the hardware needed. The main fun is working out what
the baud rate on the device actually is now set to. Often the “simple” approach is to just try the dozen
or so likely candidates. In a few cases odd settings for data bits and parity might be involved.
The commands and responses on many (but not all) GPSDO’s are standard serial communication.
There’s no strange binary stuff involved. You can type it in and read the reply. You can make sense of the
reply if you have a manual that shows the commands and responses. If *idn? does come back with E1
as a reply, that should be in the manual.
Fortunately the HP stuff fits into the “many” category.
These devices are now in the “old enough to vote” category, They are not that common (at low
prices) on eBay. In addition, the GPS modules in them are well into the “roll over problems” range.
it’s unlikely that anybody will go back and do all of the work to incorporate them in a newer program.
A lot of work went into Z38xx and Lady Heather.
No, that’s not saying one should toss them in the dumpster. Far from it. With some mods (= new
modules) they are very useful items. Even without mods, some of them can be made to show the
correct time and date (at the hardware level).
Bob
On Jul 9, 2025, at 11:52 PM, rbenward--- via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com wrote:
Hi All,
I've been trying to get my Z3805, Z3801, and my Trimble to work another GPS
program other than Lady Heather and Z38xx. On the Jackson Labs GPScon, I
have the latest version (V2.026 14 Mar 2022). Back in October when I
purchased the program, I had it running fine. Now its not doing anything.
I can send the *idn? command and the gpsdo responds, as well as *gps?. I
get responses in the command window, but the other windows do not fill up.
Not the RX status window, not the satellite constellation window, not the
EFC window, no position.. Nothing.
It also does the same thing with VisualGPSView (ver1.1 build 401. Send an
*idn? and the response is E1>, which I suspect is not a response at all, but
just an error. The Z38xx program works great.
I am running Windows 11 on a miniPC and using a USB to RS-232 converter. All
the hardware works with Lady Heather and Z38XX, and this is on two different
computers, a mini Dell 7020, and an Beelink AMD Ryzen 5(?). Has anyone run
into this kind of problem before? It's frustrating, like the two programs
can interrogate, display he response, but it can't parse the data into their
respective destinations.
Does anyone have any other GPSDO programs they use?
Regards,
Bob
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com
To unsubscribe send an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
Hi Bob,
Thanks for replying. I am not having any of these problems that you mentioned. The three GPSDOs communicate with the GPScon and the VisualGPSView. The replies come up in the window, and it's not gibberish. I can send a command (I usually use something simple like *idn? and *gps:pos?. The problem is the data is not getting formatted and displayed into the various tools. Here is a link to my Flickr page. It should be the top two images of my photostream. Look in the left side of the frame. Both the device ID and the fixed position are visible. So, the baud rate is correct, and the SW is capturing the data stream, but as you can see on the right side, nothing populates into the tools. I am thinking it's something stupid that I did, that is usually the root cause for most of my problems!
I have contacted the seller, and he is contacting Graham Baxter, the author/maintainer of the SW. For now, I am clueless.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/203157635@N08/
From K8CU's website:
GPS Receiver Control Software version 2.026, 14 March 2022 for:
Hewlett-Packard HP Z3801 - Z3805 - Z3812 - Z3816 - 58503A - 55300A
Jackson Labs CSAC - M12M
Symmetricom UCCM-P
Datum 2000
Navsymm Proteus
Trimble UCCM
Regards,
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Camp via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2025 7:34 AM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Cc: Bob Camp kb8tq@n1k.org
Subject: [time-nuts] Re: GPSDO control programs.
Importance: High
Hi
Unfortunately, the outputs of many GPSDO’s are specific to that design. There is no single “standard” way to talk to all of them. That is what drove the development of very unique programs like Lady Heather and Z38xx. They may or may not put out this or that message by default. This or that message likely can be turned off with some command(s).
If it still works with Lady Heather, that suggests it’s not totally broken. It’s likely that some setting is now a bit off. The not so simple answer is to grab a terminal program like PUTTY. Get it set up and connecting to the device. See what the messages actually are.
The program is free. You already have the hardware needed. The main fun is working out what the baud rate on the device actually is now set to. Often the “simple” approach is to just try the dozen or so likely candidates. In a few cases odd settings for data bits and parity might be involved.
The commands and responses on many (but not all) GPSDO’s are standard serial communication.
There’s no strange binary stuff involved. You can type it in and read the reply. You can make sense of the reply if you have a manual that shows the commands and responses. If *idn? does come back with E1 as a reply, that should be in the manual.
Fortunately the HP stuff fits into the “many” category.
These devices are now in the “old enough to vote” category, They are not that common (at low
prices) on eBay. In addition, the GPS modules in them are well into the “roll over problems” range.
it’s unlikely that anybody will go back and do all of the work to incorporate them in a newer program.
A lot of work went into Z38xx and Lady Heather.
No, that’s not saying one should toss them in the dumpster. Far from it. With some mods (= new
modules) they are very useful items. Even without mods, some of them can be made to show the
correct time and date (at the hardware level).
Bob
On Jul 9, 2025, at 11:52 PM, rbenward--- via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com wrote:
Hi All,
I've been trying to get my Z3805, Z3801, and my Trimble to work
another GPS program other than Lady Heather and Z38xx. On the Jackson
Labs GPScon, I have the latest version (V2.026 14 Mar 2022). Back in
October when I purchased the program, I had it running fine. Now its not doing anything.
I can send the *idn? command and the gpsdo responds, as well as
*gps?. I get responses in the command window, but the other windows do not fill up.
Not the RX status window, not the satellite constellation window, not
the EFC window, no position.. Nothing.
It also does the same thing with VisualGPSView (ver1.1 build 401.
Send an *idn? and the response is E1>, which I suspect is not a
response at all, but just an error. The Z38xx program works great.
I am running Windows 11 on a miniPC and using a USB to RS-232
converter. All the hardware works with Lady Heather and Z38XX, and
this is on two different computers, a mini Dell 7020, and an Beelink
AMD Ryzen 5(?). Has anyone run into this kind of problem before?
It's frustrating, like the two programs can interrogate, display he
response, but it can't parse the data into their respective destinations.
Does anyone have any other GPSDO programs they use?
Regards,
Bob
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe send
an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe send an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
On 10/07/2025 04:52, rbenward--- via time-nuts wrote:
Does anyone have any other GPSDO programs they use?
U-blox u-center:
https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/u-center
but I wonder whether it's just a connection issue - baud rate? RS232 vs. TTL
levels?
David
SatSignal Software - Quality software for you
Web: https://www.satsignal.eu
Email: davidtaylor@writeme.com
BlueSky: @gm8arv.bsky.social, Twitter: @gm8arv
David,
I don't think so, I am getting the replies into the command window, so it's
not that, or at least I can't see it being the problem. Same hardware and
com port settings that works with the Z38xx and Lady Heather. I am using
StarTech and Waveshare converters. Still scratching my head.
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: David Taylor via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2025 1:37 AM
To: time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Cc: David Taylor david-taylor@blueyonder.co.uk
Subject: [time-nuts] Re: GPSDO control programs.
Importance: High
On 10/07/2025 04:52, rbenward--- via time-nuts wrote:
Does anyone have any other GPSDO programs they use?
U-blox u-center:
https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/u-center
but I wonder whether it's just a connection issue - baud rate? RS232 vs.
TTL levels?
David
SatSignal Software - Quality software for you
Web: https://www.satsignal.eu
Email: davidtaylor@writeme.com
BlueSky: @gm8arv.bsky.social, Twitter: @gm8arv
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe send an
email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
I've looked at the photo you've attached and it appears that you haven't
started GPScon running yet. That red check mark just above the 'Send'
button should be gray and the gray X mark should be red when GPScon has
been started.
Pressing the red check mark should start GPScon and a successful start
(the com port is opened) turns the red check mark gray and the gray X
should turn red. GPScon will then start monitoring the GPSDO and you
should see the results on the display.
Good luck.
Matt
On 7/10/2025 8:29 PM, rbenward--- via time-nuts wrote:
Hi Bob,
Thanks for replying. I am not having any of these problems that you mentioned. The three GPSDOs communicate with the GPScon and the VisualGPSView. The replies come up in the window, and it's not gibberish. I can send a command (I usually use something simple like *idn? and *gps:pos?. The problem is the data is not getting formatted and displayed into the various tools. Here is a link to my Flickr page. It should be the top two images of my photostream. Look in the left side of the frame. Both the device ID and the fixed position are visible. So, the baud rate is correct, and the SW is capturing the data stream, but as you can see on the right side, nothing populates into the tools. I am thinking it's something stupid that I did, that is usually the root cause for most of my problems!
I have contacted the seller, and he is contacting Graham Baxter, the author/maintainer of the SW. For now, I am clueless.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/203157635@N08/
From K8CU's website:
GPS Receiver Control Software version 2.026, 14 March 2022 for:
Hewlett-Packard HP Z3801 - Z3805 - Z3812 - Z3816 - 58503A - 55300A
Jackson Labs CSAC - M12M
Symmetricom UCCM-P
Datum 2000
Navsymm Proteus
Trimble UCCM
Regards,
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Camp via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2025 7:34 AM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Cc: Bob Camp kb8tq@n1k.org
Subject: [time-nuts] Re: GPSDO control programs.
Importance: High
Hi
Unfortunately, the outputs of many GPSDO’s are specific to that design. There is no single “standard” way to talk to all of them. That is what drove the development of very unique programs like Lady Heather and Z38xx. They may or may not put out this or that message by default. This or that message likely can be turned off with some command(s).
If it still works with Lady Heather, that suggests it’s not totally broken. It’s likely that some setting is now a bit off. The not so simple answer is to grab a terminal program like PUTTY. Get it set up and connecting to the device. See what the messages actually are.
The program is free. You already have the hardware needed. The main fun is working out what the baud rate on the device actually is now set to. Often the “simple” approach is to just try the dozen or so likely candidates. In a few cases odd settings for data bits and parity might be involved.
The commands and responses on many (but not all) GPSDO’s are standard serial communication.
There’s no strange binary stuff involved. You can type it in and read the reply. You can make sense of the reply if you have a manual that shows the commands and responses. If *idn? does come back with E1 as a reply, that should be in the manual.
Fortunately the HP stuff fits into the “many” category.
These devices are now in the “old enough to vote” category, They are not that common (at low
prices) on eBay. In addition, the GPS modules in them are well into the “roll over problems” range.
it’s unlikely that anybody will go back and do all of the work to incorporate them in a newer program.
A lot of work went into Z38xx and Lady Heather.
No, that’s not saying one should toss them in the dumpster. Far from it. With some mods (= new
modules) they are very useful items. Even without mods, some of them can be made to show the
correct time and date (at the hardware level).
Bob
On Jul 9, 2025, at 11:52 PM, rbenward--- via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com wrote:
Hi All,
I've been trying to get my Z3805, Z3801, and my Trimble to work
another GPS program other than Lady Heather and Z38xx. On the Jackson
Labs GPScon, I have the latest version (V2.026 14 Mar 2022). Back in
October when I purchased the program, I had it running fine. Now its not doing anything.
I can send the *idn? command and the gpsdo responds, as well as
*gps?. I get responses in the command window, but the other windows do not fill up.
Not the RX status window, not the satellite constellation window, not
the EFC window, no position.. Nothing.It also does the same thing with VisualGPSView (ver1.1 build 401.
Send an *idn? and the response is E1>, which I suspect is not a
response at all, but just an error. The Z38xx program works great.I am running Windows 11 on a miniPC and using a USB to RS-232
converter. All the hardware works with Lady Heather and Z38XX, and
this is on two different computers, a mini Dell 7020, and an Beelink
AMD Ryzen 5(?). Has anyone run into this kind of problem before?
It's frustrating, like the two programs can interrogate, display he
response, but it can't parse the data into their respective destinations.Does anyone have any other GPSDO programs they use?
Regards,
Bob
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe send
an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe send an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
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To unsubscribe send an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
Bob,
Looks like if the GPS module has been sent a setup command to restrict its responses/status updates? Maybe you can reset the GPS board to its default setup?
Wilko
On 12 Jul 2025, at 01:44, rbenward--- via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com wrote:
David,
I don't think so, I am getting the replies into the command window, so it's
not that, or at least I can't see it being the problem. Same hardware and
com port settings that works with the Z38xx and Lady Heather. I am using
StarTech and Waveshare converters. Still scratching my head.
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: David Taylor via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2025 1:37 AM
To: time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Cc: David Taylor david-taylor@blueyonder.co.uk
Subject: [time-nuts] Re: GPSDO control programs.
Importance: High
On 10/07/2025 04:52, rbenward--- via time-nuts wrote:
Does anyone have any other GPSDO programs they use?
U-blox u-center:
https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/u-center
but I wonder whether it's just a connection issue - baud rate? RS232 vs.
TTL levels?
David
SatSignal Software - Quality software for you
Web: https://www.satsignal.eu
Email: davidtaylor@writeme.com
BlueSky: @gm8arv.bsky.social, Twitter: @gm8arv
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe send an
email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com
To unsubscribe send an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
Hi Matt,
Thanks for your response. The checkmark, or "start" from the menu. I did that already. I tried manual and "start". I did manual so I could just do an ID and then do a screen capture. I hit every button I could find. The command window gets the info, and it's in readable text. I'm just not sure why it doesn't process anything.
Do you have GPScon running on your computer? I would love to hear of other time-nuts members setups.
Regards,
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: time via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2025 5:41 PM
To: time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Cc: time time@msosborn.com
Subject: [time-nuts] Re: GPSDO control programs.
Importance: High
I've looked at the photo you've attached and it appears that you haven't started GPScon running yet. That red check mark just above the 'Send'
button should be gray and the gray X mark should be red when GPScon has been started.
Pressing the red check mark should start GPScon and a successful start (the com port is opened) turns the red check mark gray and the gray X should turn red. GPScon will then start monitoring the GPSDO and you should see the results on the display.
Good luck.
Matt
On 7/10/2025 8:29 PM, rbenward--- via time-nuts wrote:
Hi Bob,
Thanks for replying. I am not having any of these problems that you mentioned. The three GPSDOs communicate with the GPScon and the VisualGPSView. The replies come up in the window, and it's not gibberish. I can send a command (I usually use something simple like *idn? and *gps:pos?. The problem is the data is not getting formatted and displayed into the various tools. Here is a link to my Flickr page. It should be the top two images of my photostream. Look in the left side of the frame. Both the device ID and the fixed position are visible. So, the baud rate is correct, and the SW is capturing the data stream, but as you can see on the right side, nothing populates into the tools. I am thinking it's something stupid that I did, that is usually the root cause for most of my problems!
I have contacted the seller, and he is contacting Graham Baxter, the author/maintainer of the SW. For now, I am clueless.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/203157635@N08/
From K8CU's website:
GPS Receiver Control Software version 2.026, 14 March 2022 for:
Hewlett-Packard HP Z3801 - Z3805 - Z3812 - Z3816 - 58503A - 55300A
Jackson Labs CSAC - M12M Symmetricom UCCM-P Datum 2000 Navsymm Proteus
Trimble UCCM
Regards,
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Camp via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2025 7:34 AM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement
time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Cc: Bob Camp kb8tq@n1k.org
Subject: [time-nuts] Re: GPSDO control programs.
Importance: High
Hi
Unfortunately, the outputs of many GPSDO’s are specific to that design. There is no single “standard” way to talk to all of them. That is what drove the development of very unique programs like Lady Heather and Z38xx. They may or may not put out this or that message by default. This or that message likely can be turned off with some command(s).
If it still works with Lady Heather, that suggests it’s not totally broken. It’s likely that some setting is now a bit off. The not so simple answer is to grab a terminal program like PUTTY. Get it set up and connecting to the device. See what the messages actually are.
The program is free. You already have the hardware needed. The main fun is working out what the baud rate on the device actually is now set to. Often the “simple” approach is to just try the dozen or so likely candidates. In a few cases odd settings for data bits and parity might be involved.
The commands and responses on many (but not all) GPSDO’s are standard serial communication.
There’s no strange binary stuff involved. You can type it in and read the reply. You can make sense of the reply if you have a manual that shows the commands and responses. If *idn? does come back with E1 as a reply, that should be in the manual.
Fortunately the HP stuff fits into the “many” category.
These devices are now in the “old enough to vote” category, They are
not that common (at low
prices) on eBay. In addition, the GPS modules in them are well into the “roll over problems” range.
it’s unlikely that anybody will go back and do all of the work to incorporate them in a newer program.
A lot of work went into Z38xx and Lady Heather.
No, that’s not saying one should toss them in the dumpster. Far from
it. With some mods (= new
modules) they are very useful items. Even without mods, some of them
can be made to show the correct time and date (at the hardware level).
Bob
On Jul 9, 2025, at 11:52 PM, rbenward--- via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com wrote:
Hi All,
I've been trying to get my Z3805, Z3801, and my Trimble to work
another GPS program other than Lady Heather and Z38xx. On the
Jackson Labs GPScon, I have the latest version (V2.026 14 Mar 2022).
Back in October when I purchased the program, I had it running fine. Now its not doing anything.
I can send the *idn? command and the gpsdo responds, as well as
*gps?. I get responses in the command window, but the other windows do not fill up.
Not the RX status window, not the satellite constellation window, not
the EFC window, no position.. Nothing.
It also does the same thing with VisualGPSView (ver1.1 build 401.
Send an *idn? and the response is E1>, which I suspect is not a
response at all, but just an error. The Z38xx program works great.
I am running Windows 11 on a miniPC and using a USB to RS-232
converter. All the hardware works with Lady Heather and Z38XX, and
this is on two different computers, a mini Dell 7020, and an Beelink
AMD Ryzen 5(?). Has anyone run into this kind of problem before?
It's frustrating, like the two programs can interrogate, display he
response, but it can't parse the data into their respective destinations.
Does anyone have any other GPSDO programs they use?
Regards,
Bob
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe
send an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe send
an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
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Wilko,
Would that be via the manual command window?
Also, a point of info, it is running on Z38xx without any problems. If the GPS was locked, I would think it would interfere with that program as well.
Bob
FYI, I will be unavailable for while, until late Aug. So if I don't answer, you will know why.
-----Original Message-----
From: Wilko Bulte via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2025 4:25 AM
To: Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Cc: rbenward@verizon.net; Wilko Bulte wkb@xs4all.nl
Subject: [time-nuts] Re: GPSDO control programs.
Importance: High
Bob,
Looks like if the GPS module has been sent a setup command to restrict its responses/status updates? Maybe you can reset the GPS board to its default setup?
Wilko
On 12 Jul 2025, at 01:44, rbenward--- via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com wrote:
David,
I don't think so, I am getting the replies into the command window, so
it's not that, or at least I can't see it being the problem. Same
hardware and com port settings that works with the Z38xx and Lady Heather. I am using
StarTech and Waveshare converters. Still scratching my head.
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: David Taylor via time-nuts time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2025 1:37 AM
To: time-nuts@lists.febo.com
Cc: David Taylor david-taylor@blueyonder.co.uk
Subject: [time-nuts] Re: GPSDO control programs.
Importance: High
On 10/07/2025 04:52, rbenward--- via time-nuts wrote:
Does anyone have any other GPSDO programs they use?
U-blox u-center:
https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/u-center
but I wonder whether it's just a connection issue - baud rate? RS232 vs.
TTL levels?
David
SatSignal Software - Quality software for you
Web: https://www.satsignal.eu
Email: davidtaylor@writeme.com
BlueSky: @gm8arv.bsky.social, Twitter: @gm8arv
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe send
an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe send
an email to time-nuts-leave@lists.febo.com
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