Pulsar Timer

Presently running the Mark I pulsar timer but to be replaced in the future by the Mark II pulsar timer. The Mark I is interfaced via HPIB to the main computer. The NCCS must be able to control the Mark I Pulsar Timer i.e. it must be able to :

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SAMPLE - select number of samples and period,

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SETUP TIME - set the pulsar timer clock,

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PRINT TIME - output the time on every second,

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OUTPUT DATA - output the accumulated data,

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SETUP $\tau$ - select the post-detection time constant,

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GRAPH DATA - output accumulated data sample to oscilloscope,

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LED TEST - turn on the front-panel LEDs for three seconds,

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RAM TEST - test memory chips used for data storage,

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D/A TEST - output a ramp signal to both analogue outputs,

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INPUT VIEW - sample input and write to analogue meter,

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BUS TEST - output A...Z on the HPIB.

The Mark II pulsar timer is presently under design and it has been decided to interface the pulsar timer to a PC running Linux. The PC will communicate with the NCCS via the network using TCP/IP. The exact communication protocol still has to be decided upon.

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interfacing the Mark II pulsar timer is considered desirable but not mandatory for the first version of the NCCS.