EXPIRED Neat GPS clock SFP module - $20

[nexox]

(or knows where they can be still be found)

They do come up occasionally on ebay, though I looked for months after missing one and this was the first batch I found, which didn't even match my saved searches intended to find it, I just browse that seller's items occasionally to see what new stuff they have and I immediately recognized it.

 

[Digital Spaceport]

Yeah I need one also. If I see them get reposted, I'll alert here.

 

[nexox]

Interesting development... I cannot get my module out of my NIC, may have to remove the card from my machine to get better access or something.

 

[Koop]

I have only come across switches with this same type of thing built in, while looking for these modules after I saw one a few months ago but didn't jump on it quickly enough. They're generally kind of expensive. There may be more options but I was really looking for the SFP thing.

Yeah no worries just curious since I had no idea and figured you might know from research. Thanks!

 

[nexox]

Well I got an antenna connected and some satellites locked... but there's no ntp, I can't query it over UDP and there's nothing I can find in the config menus or settings dump. I guess these do need a newer firmware.

 

[nexox]

Is there other NTP devices like this that aren't packed into an SFP?

I ran across another one: OTMC 100p same idea but it's all built into the GPS antenna and runs off PoE, which means it gets enough power for fancy things like a web interface. The price seems to be 'please contact us for details' but at least Omicron seems alright letting anyone register a support account to download firmware.

 

[Koop]

The price seems to be 'please contact us for details'

my favorite!

 

[DrMuffinMD]

Ah interesting okay- sorry you did say that in the initial post but it didn't sink in. With that understanding I figure that you'd put it right into a switch to have it network accessible by everything.

Is there other NTP devices like this that aren't packed into an SFP? It's really neat either way.

We just got a few of these at work:

NTP Time Server to Accurately Sync Your Network | EndRun

Time Servers use Network Time Protocol (NTP) to sync all workstations and critical operations in your network. GPS-Synchronized. Money-Back Guarantee.

endruntechnologies.com

They can lose GPS signal for up to 140 days and still keep accurate time. The model hasn't changed in 10+ years, they're rock solid. Also cost quite a bit more lol

A cheap alternative (and what I use at home) is a Raspberry Pi with one of these: Adafruit Ultimate GPS Breakout - 66 channel w/10 Hz updates

With that I get an average offset of ~200 nanoseconds. Lot of good information here: Building a Raspberry-Pi Stratum-1 NTP Server

 

[SnJ9MX]

I haven't been able to get mine to pick up any sats. From the base menu, there is an antenna issue (shown in the 'info' command):

Antenna:      missing
Alarm(s):
               Antenna not connected or with overcurrent

Same result with two different antennas that work with other u-Blox and the Adafruit modules without issue.

Anyone else have success? Is it possible to have it act as a NTP server without GNSS? The oscillator from the spec sheet is super stable, far more so than the Raspberry Pis I have hooked up to PPS outputs.

I've had it sitting for hours and now I do actually see a single SV, but guessing the antenna issue won't help things out.

ADVA:configure:clock:gnss:--> show status
configure clock gnss show status

Administrative Status : Up
Operational Status    : Down
Signal Quality        : degraded

Mode                  : gps
Antenna-delay         : 0

Tracking              : Freerun

Location Mode         : navigation
Minimum SNR           : 9 dBHz
Minimum Elevation     : 5 deg
Satellite Status:
------------------------------
   Num SNR Hlth Used Azim Elev
------------------------------
G  5   0    N   N     0    0
------------------------------

edit: also tried the forced-antenna-connected param with no success, both no (default) and with the command

 

[nexox]

I hooked up a cheap antenna and it immediately changed antenna status, took a while to pick up enough satellites but it did get a lock.

 

[nexox]

...except now mine has the same antenna not connected alarm and no satellite sync. All I did was try again to wrestle the unit out of my NIC.

 

[nexox]

And I wiggled the module / antenna connection a bit more and now the antenna shows connected again and it's starting to reacquire satellites.

 

[SnJ9MX]

I hooked up a cheap antenna and it immediately changed antenna status, took a while to pick up enough satellites but it did get a lock.

What antenna are you using? wonder if its a grounding issue or something that wiggling fixes

 

[nexox]

I got this one mostly because it arrived quickly: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07R7RC96G

I think the wiggling might help because between the wire pull handle, the adjacent DAC, and the placement of the back of my computer in a corner I can't easily work in, I, just can't get much torque on the SMA connector, plus the jack seems a bit loose in the module, maybe it's broken internally?

 

[SnJ9MX]

I got this one mostly because it arrived quickly: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07R7RC96G

I think the wiggling might help because between the wire pull handle, the adjacent DAC, and the placement of the back of my computer in a corner I can't easily work in, I, just can't get much torque on the SMA connector, plus the jack seems a bit loose in the module, maybe it's broken internally?

ok so a somewhat generic SMA GPS antenna, like the two I tested. need to try wiggling mine

 

[SnJ9MX]

what version are you on? I apparently don't have NTP server available that's mentioned in the application note. running the tree command doesn't show anything NTP related.

ADVA--> show info
INFO:          OSA 5401
 SW version:   9.1.7-008
 HW version:   2.02
 Factory FPGA: 0x8E84C60D
 Applic1 FPGA: 0x00000000
 Applic2 FPGA: 0x8E84C60D Current image
 Clock state:  PTP - freerun/irrelevant
 RTC time:     1970-01-01 01:25:06
 Date and time:1970-01-01 01:25:06
 Timezone:     UTC+0
 management host
  ip-address : 10.98.1.199
  netmask    : 255.255.255.0
  default-gw : 10.98.1.1
  vlan-id    : 1
  vlan-pcp   : 7
  ip-priority: none
 Mac-address:  00-80-ea-d0-30-40
 Serial number: FA71194251722
 system
  telnet     : disabled
  tftp       : disabled
  ssh        : enabled
  scp        : enabled
  snmp       : enabled
  leds       : enabled
  syslog     : enabled
  radius     : disabled
  ne-name    : 7WDC209A_OSA_5401
 Antenna:      missing
 Alarm(s):
               Antenna not connected or with overcurrent

*** Running configuration has been changed and needs to be saved. ***
ADVA:show:--> back all

ADVA--> config clock
configure clock [ l2-profiles | l3-profiles | gnss | type | sj ]
ADVA:configure:clock:--> ntp

 command is unknown !

ADVA:configure:clock:-->

 

[nexox]

I have the same version, also no NTP server to be found, I'm guessing that either got removed for the Nokia version or added in a later firmware.

 

[SnJ9MX]

well that kind of defeats the purpose of a super accurate GPS module in SFP form factor, at least for homelab purposes.

 

[nexox]

Yeah, I emailed their support contact to see if they would give me a better firmware, others may want to try as well. I'll end up using PTP to sync an NTP server in software if this is the only firmware we get.

 

[Zombielinux]

They do come up occasionally on ebay, though I looked for months after missing one and this was the first batch I found, which didn't even match my saved searches intended to find it, I just browse that seller's items occasionally to see what new stuff they have and I immediately recognized it.

What saved searches are you using? One or two of these would be a lifesaver for my quest for HA timing.