Audio & Design NetClock User Manual

Audio & Design

NetClock

User Guide Rev 1.1.b

The Audio & Design NetClock is an accurate reference display clock for studios and broadcasters, it obtains its
reference time over your Ethernet LAN from either a local network time server or an international time standard
such as the National Physical Laboratory in the UK (ntp1.npl.co.uk) or the National Institute of Standards and
Technology in the USA (time.nist.gov).

Please read the installation & configuration instructions below, before installing your NetClock.

Power Supply

The NetClock requires a DC power source of approximately 12v DC @ 1A this can be supplied to the clock by two
methods.

1. Power Over Ethernet – either powered directly from an Ethernet switch (10/100) that has internal 802.3af
POE powering or by external “midspan” power injector such as Phihong PSA16U-480, PowerDsine PD­3001/AC or any 802.3af compliant “midspan” PSU that can supply up to 12Watts.

NetClock

POE Power

Power Over Ethernet

802.3af LAN Switch

or

NetClock

POE Power

2. External 12v 1A DC PSU, this uses the PCB mounted DC connector that is accessible from the rear of the
clock. DC connector required is 2.1/5.5mm type with center pin wired as +ve (typically +12v).

Optional
DC PSU

NetClock

External DC Power

Optional

“MidSpan” PSU

LAN Switch

Non-POE

LAN Switch

Non-POE

Audio & Design can supply either of these types of external power supplies as an extra cost option.

Network

The NetClock uses standard Ethernet technology and components and can be connected directly to your network
using a “straight through” RJ45 to RJ45 CAT5 UTP lead. The NetClock uses a 10Base-T connection; if you use
managed switches then ensure that the port the NetClock connects to is set auto-negotiate duplex and speed.
By default the NetClock will attempt to get its IP address using a DHCP server when first connected to your
network. If this is not available the NetClock will use a default IP address of 192.168.0.27 and sub-net mask of

255.255.255.0 You will need to manually set a workstation to the same network but different host address in-order
to configure the NetClock. We suggest a workstartion setting of 192.168.0.1 you can use either a web browser
such as Mozilla Firefox (www.mozilla.com) or Microsoft Internet Explorer “point your browser to a URL of

192.168.0.27 and set the IP address, Sub-net mask & Default Gateway fields to match your network (note: you will
loose connectivity to the NetClock as soon as your change its IP address). Or you can use the NetClock.exe utility
program the most current version of which is available from www.adrl.co.uk/NetClock/

Advanced Network

In situations where you have many clocks that need special configurations such as time offset, daylight saving or
special display options. The NetClock can obtain its configuration via a file placed on a TFTP server. If the
NetClock has been given the address of your TFTP server either by DHCP or by the NetClock.exe utility, on power
up it will request file NETCLOCK.CFG from the TFTP server. This file contains 1 or more sections.
[CLKALL] Setting in this section affects all clocks.
[MyClockName] This is the host name of an individual clock and setting in this section only affect this clock. This
will allow you set any particular clock differently from the rest of your clocks, if say you want one clock displaying
London time, one New York time etc.

London

Hostname

CLKLON

New York

Hostname

CLKNY

Tokyo

Hostname

CLKTKO

LAN Switch

Local TFTP

server

Internet

Example NETCLOCK.CFG
File

[CLKALL]
:
:
[CLKLON]
LOCALE=0
:
[CLKNY]
LOCALE=-18000
:
[CLKTKO]
LOCALE=32400

Default SNTP Server 1

npl1.npl.co.uk

139.143.5.30

Default SNTP Server 2

ip-time-1.cern.ch

137.138.16.69

Default SNTP Server 3

time.nist.gov

192.43.244.18

Note:

Commands that exist in NETCLOCK.CFG override settings stored in Flash Memory on the NetClock and
commands in [MyClockName] section override commands stored in Flash Memory and also commands in
[CLKALL] section.

NETCLOCK.CFG is a plain ASCII text files that contain simple single line commands as below.

[CLKALL]

[MyClockName]

LOCALE=

SNTPENABLE=

SNTPINTERVAL=

SNTPSERVER1=

SNTPSERVER2=

SNTPSERVER3=

MYIPADDRESS=

SUBNETMASK=

Commands following this section header affect all clocks

Commands following this section header affect clocks with hostname
MyClockName

Local difference from GMT in seconds

1=Enable, 0=Disable (free running)

Time between SNTP requests in seconds

Overrides default server 1 address of 139.143.5.30
(npl1.npl.co.uk)

Overrides default server 2 address of 137.138.16.69
(ip-time-1.cern.ch)

Overrides default server 3 address of 192.43.244.18
(time.nist.gov)

Overrides default address of 192.168.0.27 or address obtained by DHCP

Overrides default subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 or subnet mask
obtained by DHCP

GATEWAY=

Overrides default gateway of 192.168.0.254 or gateway obtained by
DHCP

DHCPENABLE=

DISPLAYFORMAT=

1=DHCP Enabled, 0=DHCP Disabled

This is created by adding together a combination of the following:

2 Single moving dot denoting minute, single moving dot

denoting hour
4 Start all LEDs on, then turn off over minute
8 Start all LEDs off, then turn on over minute
16 Last 15 seconds of minute count down, all LEDs flash at “top

of minute” (Red LEDs)
32 Red 7 segment dim
64 Red 7 segment bright **
96 Red 7 segment off
128 Green 7 segment dim
256 Green 7 segment bright **
384 Green 7 segment off
512 Disable Green 7 segment error messages
1024 White + Blue ring dim
2048 White + Blue ring bright **
3072 White + Blue ring off
4096 Show temperature at 30 seconds past minute
16384 Single dot seconds LED, all LEDs flash at “top of minute”
32768 Disable Red ring

** Not available on HW Rev 1.0C

DAYLOFFSET=

DAYLSTART=wxyz

DAYLEND=wxyz

Time to be added during daylight saving in seconds

Nibbles wx

<01..31> Normal date where day of month = dcode
<20h..26h> First Sat/Sun of month
<30h..36h> Second Sat/Sun of month
<40h..46h> Third Sat/Sun of month
<50h..56h> Fourth Sat/Sun of month
<60h..66h> Last Sat/Sun of month

Nibble y

<hour> 0..Fh Changeover hour (24 hour format) where 0=midnight

Nibble z

<month> 1..Ch month where 1=January

Example – For UK

DAYLSTART=6013h
Or 24595 decimal
DAYLEND=601Ah
Or 24602 decimal

As above:

Last Sunday in March 1am

Last Sunday in Oct 1am

Status Codes

When first powered up, the NetClock will flash all LEDs, then show on the red 7-segments the version number.

If there are any problems during reset, the LED will show one of the following codes (x is any number)

01xx Problems with flash EEPROM, eg

0123 EEPROM flash not working
0100 No flash EEPROM installed

02xx Ethernet chip fault

03xx RTC chip fault

After this, the NetClock will start its internal program and display progress codes.
These are displayed on the green 7-segment LEDs as "-AB-"

Where:

A is a number of single digit transaction progress codes (not added
together)

6 DHCP offer rcvd
7 DHCP request sent
8 DHCP ack rcvd
9 arp handled OK
A ping handled OK
B UDP rx
C SNTP request sent
F unspecified error
Blank finished

B is an addition of codes (add numbers together)

+1 If my IP is invalid (eg not yet DHCP allocated)
+2 If DHCP is in progress
+4 SNTP reply hasn't arrived yet

A typical start-up sequence when using DHCP is:

-07- No IP Address, DHCP in progress, No SNTP reply

-84- DHCP ACK rcvd, No SNTP reply

-64- DHCP OFFER rcvd, No SNTP reply

-Correct operation, Countdown timer displayed.

NetClock Utility

Where the NetClock is on the same physical subnet as your workstation, you can use
NETCLOCK.EXE Windows utility program to set all configurable parameters.

The latest version of this utility and any documentation updates can be downloaded free of
charge from www.adrl.co.uk/support/NetClock

Notes:

The MAC address is an officially assigned unique address; we recommend that you do not
change this unless you have very specific reasons to do so.

When changing the IP or MAC address then this needs to be done as a separate update task
and NetClock needs to be rebooted. If you have options that need changing e.g. Display format
or SNTP servers, set these first, then change IP or MAC as a second operation – then reboot
NetClock.

The NetClock does not require a TFTP server to operate.

You can download a freeware package DHCP/TFTP/SNTP/SYSLOG server from

www.adrl.co.uk/support/NetClock/tftpd32.zip please read the license in the help section of this

program. This program is supplied on an “as is” basis and Audio & Design cannot accept any
responsibility for it’s use.

You can obtain support for your NetClock, either by email to [e-mail] or by telephone
9:00 to 18:00 UK time on [phone]

Technical Specification

TIME SOURCE:

POWER:

SIZE:

MOUNTING:

WEIGHT:

ENVIRONMENTAL:

Up to 3 RFC 1305 compliant NTP servers

Power over Ethernet 802.3af (12Watts) or 9-12v DC 1A PSU with

2.1/5.5mm connector (centre pin +ve)

217mmx217mmx75mm (HxWxD)

Supplied wall mount bracket

1.1Kg (net)

Temperature:0– 50„C.
Humidity: 10 to 90% non-condensing.

EMC Compliance.

Audio & Design Reading Ltd. Hereby confirm that the NetClock conforms to the
requirements of EN50081-1 & EN60950 Provided it is used as described in this manual
and in the sections below:

Low Voltage Directive EN60950:

There are no serviceable parts within the unit. All repair work must be referred to a qualified
electronic engineer or returned to the factory. In the case where the unit contains plug in
modules, always switch off the unit before removing or replacing any module.

Audio & Design Reading Ltd does not accept responsibility for non-compliance if the above
criteria are not met in full.

WARRANTY:

All Audio & Design products are of the highest quality and designed to give long, trouble free
service. Nevertheless they are fully guaranteed for one year from the date of purchase.
Provided any faulty equipment is returned, post paid, to Audio & Design or its established Agent
by the original purchaser during the relevant period we will repair, or at our opinion replace,
entirely free of charge all breakdowns due to faulty workmanship or materials. In keeping with
normal practice, breakdowns due to fair wear and tear, misuse, neglect or faulty adjustment by
the user, are outside the scope of this warranty.

Warning: Warranty repairs are subject to serial number checking. We reserve the right not to
service any equipment whose serial number has in any way, been defaced or altered.

WEEE Directive:

The end user must excise due care when disposing of this product at the
time it is deemed as waste material. For retail sales please email
[e-mail]

RoHS:

The current status of Audio & Design products can be obtained from
www.adrl.co.uk/ReCycle

Audio & Design Reading Ltd.

51 Paddick Drive, Lower Earley,Reading,

Berks, RG6 4HF.

Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]

www.adrl.co.uk [e-mail]