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Time Sync FT8

Robert P.
Robert P. Member ✭✭
edited March 2022 in SmartSDR for Mac

Hi everybody, trying to figure out why my time is not the same as UTC time when logging or making contacts. Any Ideas? Thanks

Best Answer

Answers

  • Craig_KØCF
    Craig_KØCF Member ✭✭✭

    Are you off by a few seconds, a few minutes or 5 or 6 hours? If either of the first two, you need to synch your computer clock with an internet time standard. The best tool for this is the Meinberg ntp (Google it). It not only synchronizes your clock with UTC, it trims the internal clock so that it keeps perfect time.

    If 5 or 6 hours off, you probably do not have your time zone set correctly in the operating system. In Windows, the internal clock is set to UTC, which requires that the time zone be set correctly to display your local time. Virtually all logging or other ham radio software is programmed to read the internal UTC time.

    73, Craig KØCF

  • Robert P.
    Robert P. Member ✭✭

    Ok Craig thanks for the answer but I use my mac computer to automatically sync itself. Is that time wrong?

  • Craig_KØCF
    Craig_KØCF Member ✭✭✭

    Unfortunately, I am not that familiar with the Mac OS. You didn't say what the magnitude of your time error is. That makes all the difference in diagnosing the problem.

    73, Craig KØCF

  • Robert P.
    Robert P. Member ✭✭

    Hi Craig, This is the an email I got a few days ago from one of my contacts on FT-8:


    Hi Bob,


    I noticed while trying to QSO with you today on 40M FT8 that your system time is off by 2.3 seconds, and over the last couple of weeks it's either been really close or way out. While FT8 will work at 2.5 seconds out, you won't be able to QSO with folks more than a couple of hundred ms out in the other direction.


    I'd recommend you check your time with https://time.is and use a program like https://www.meinbergglobal.com/english/sw/ntp.htm#ntp_stable(assuming you are using a Windows machine) to keep it within a few dozen milliseconds of realtime.


    73, Willie VP5WS

  • Robert P.
    Robert P. Member ✭✭

    That is how I have it set. Thanks guys for the help!!!! Robert

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