Sorry if my wording seems off but I am new to the forum and somewhat new to electrical engineering. I have a GPSDO that has a 1PPS output among various other outputs. My end goal is to have an output that only creates a pulse on even seconds (0,2,4,etc.) My thoughts were that I could accomplish this with an Arduino, RTC, and relays. The idea is to have the Arduino get the time from GPS, set the RTC, and determine when the even seconds occur. Once that is done, switch a relay that closes just prior to even second pulses occurring from the GPSDO and opens soon after the pulse ends. My guess is that there is a much better method of doing this process. Can anyone suggest a better alternative? Thanks.

 

Just one comment- I would use a transistor or solid-state relay at the output instead of a mechanical relay. The timing will be more precise and you won't have to worry about it wearing out. A good relay will last a long time firing every two seconds, but not forever.

Ok, one more comment. I think you'll want the GPS synchronization to occur once a day or so. It depends on the precision you need versus the capability of the RTC.

 

Just one comment- I would use a transistor or solid-state relay at the output instead of a mechanical relay. The timing will be more precise and you won't have to worry about it wearing out. A good relay will last a long time firing every two seconds, but not forever.

Ok, one more comment. I think you'll want the GPS synchronization to occur once a day or so. It depends on the precision you need versus the capability of the RTC.

I agree with the solid state relay/transistor idea and had planned to avoid mechanical relays. Looks like dallas semiconductors makes an RTC that can be updated via a 1PPS external source (use the 1PPS from the GPSDO). I forgot to mention that this project won't constantly have GPS, but I think the 1PPS update would fix the issue you are referring to. Thanks.

 

Rather than using an Arduino, would something like this binary couter be a little more practical?

assets.nexperia.com/documents/data-sheet/74HC_HCT4040.pdf

 

Rather than using an Arduino, would something like this binary couter be a little more practical?

assets.nexperia.com/documents/data-sheet/74HC_HCT4040.pdf

Are you suggesting to use the counter to drive the relay in place of the Arduino? That seems like a much more simple solution.

 

Yes. The output pulses will be at 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 the of the input frequency.

 

Sorry if my wording seems off but I am new to the forum and somewhat new to electrical engineering. I have a GPSDO that has a 1PPS output among various other outputs. My end goal is to have an output that only creates a pulse on even seconds (0,2,4,etc.) My thoughts were that I could accomplish this with an Arduino, RTC, and relays. The idea is to have the Arduino get the time from GPS, set the RTC, and determine when the even seconds occur. Once that is done, switch a relay that closes just prior to even second pulses occurring from the GPSDO and opens soon after the pulse ends. My guess is that there is a much better method of doing this process. Can anyone suggest a better alternative? Thanks.

Question: you want a pulse at all even seconds no problem but what is the odd and even second as transmission time from gps to your electronics will take time your gps is transmission time late it normally transmit each second the data.
(GPS will not work inside buildings)
use a pic with usart 10 components use the gps rtc total costs 20$ without the gps.
Picbuster