Author: fvernotte

WRC-23 approves the adoption and implementation of Continuous Universal Time Coordinated UTC

Posted on by fvernotte

The ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23), held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 20 to December 15, 2023, approved the adoption and implementation of UTC Continuous Universal Time as the internationally recommended reference time scale. Successful negotiations focused on the importance of making UTC a continuous time scale, and on the revision of Resolution 655 (WRC-15) concerning the definition of a time scale and the broadcasting of time signals using radiocommunication systems. The main results include :

  • Recognition of Resolution 2 of the 26th CGPM (2018) on the definition of UTC and Resolution 4 of the 27th CGPM (2022) on the use and future evolution of UTC. The latter aims to provide a continuous reference time scale for a century;
  • Recognition of the results of studies carried out by Working Party 7A and published in Report ITU-R TF.2511, dealing with the various aspects of the current reference time scale and those that could be defined in the future, including their implications and applications;
  • The continuation of the fruitful collaboration between the BIPM and the ITU-R, in preparation for the decision of the 28th meeting of the CGPM (2026) concerning the new maximum tolerance for UT1 – UTC and its date of application;
  • The continuation the study of the content and structure of time signals to be broadcast using radiocommunication systems, including wireline technologies, using the combined technical expertise of the organizations concerned, in order to produce new and revised ITU-R reports and recommendations, including but not limited to a revised version of Recommendation ITU-R TF.460-6 on standard frequency and time signal emissions.

Contact LNE-SYRTE: Joseph Achkar <joseph.achkar@observatoiredeparis.psl.eu>
CEPT European Coordinator on UTC at WRC-23 and Chairman of ITU-R Working Group 7A

Search for R&D electronics engineer

Posted on by fvernotte

AR Electronique develops and manufactures in Besançon (France) a wide range of time-frequency products, covering quartz resonators (AT, SC), high-stability oscillators (XO, VCXO, TCXO, OCXO), piezoelectric filters (BAW resonators, all types), as well as numerous systems and frequency sources with very diverse characteristics.

AR Electronique is currently looking for an R&D electronics engineer to meet the needs of its growing business.

Contact: marie-cecile.brancher@ar-e.com

17th June 2020, videoconference: PhD defense of Steffen Wittrock

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Steffen Wittrock will defend his thesis the 17th of June 2020 at 2 PM on: “From noise and stability to synchronization and complex dynamics in spin torque nano-oscillators”, prepared at Unité Mixte de Physique CNRS/Thales under the supervision of Vincent Cros.

The defense will take place by videoconference on the following link: https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/b31b21c721ae4c33b9884ff429ef40a8

Death of Raymond Besson, “the man of the quartz at 10-14“

Posted on by fvernotte
Photo credits: ethw.org

Passionate scientist, professor at ENSMM (Besançon, France) until 2006 and director of the Chronometry, Electronics and Piezoelectricity Laboratory of Besançon between 1978 and 2002, Raymond Besson was renowned in the national and international time-frequency community for his so-called BVA quartz resonators. He died on April 15, 2020.

-> More details about Raymond’s life

Two-Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer: first use of a Software Defined Radio receiver in UTC calculation

Posted on by fvernotte

Two-Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer, improved by the Software-Defined Radio (SDR) receiver, has been used for Circular T calculation for the first time in March 2020. The comparison between the French and German local realizations of UTC, UTC(OP) and UTC(PTB), was performed using SDR receivers, a method that replaces part of the time-transfer hardware with high-speed digitization and software data processing. This significantly improves the 1-day stability of the time comparison.

=> informations (or here in french)

National Colloquium: GNSS for science

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The Midi-Pyrénées observatory organizes a national colloquium (conferences and poster exhibition) entitled “GNSS for science”, on February 4, 2020 at the Concorde Amphitheater, building U4, Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse.

Free but mandatory registration and poster submission before 2019/12/31 on https://gnssciences.sciencesconf.org

Call for papers: Authors of research on scientific applications of GNSS methods are invited to present them in the form of posters. To submit a poster, send a summary of approximately 500 words (1 A4 page) in French. Abstracts will be distributed during and after the colloquium.

Evening tribute to Richard Biancale: Monday, February 3 from 19 hours, Osete Room, Espace Duranti, 6 Rue Lieutenant-Colonel Pélissier, Toulouse. The Midi-Pyrénées Observatory, its parent institutions and the scientific networks of the French geodesy will pay tribute to Richard Biancale. Lecture by Georges Balmino (emeritus researcher at CNES).

This event is organized by the Midi-Pyrénées Observatory with the support of its parent institutions (CNRS, IRD, Paul Sabatier University, CNES, Météo-France), and by the COMET-PDS, the G2, the GRGS, the CNFGG and the AFT.