2003/11/17 by Hans-Gerd Berns, H. Berns, T. H. Burnett +5
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Assisted GPS #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Computer hardware #Computer science #Cosmic ray #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Data acquisition #Detector #Electrical engineering #Electronic engineering #Electronics #Engineering #Global Positioning System #Neutrino Physics Research #Nuclear electronics #Operating system #Particle detector #Physics #Real-time computing #Synchronization (alternating current) #Telecommunications #physics.ins-det
paper · pdf · doi:10.1109/tns.2004.829368
4 pages, 8 figures. Presented by H.G. Berns at IEEE-NSS 2003, Portland, OR, October, 2003. Submitted to Trans. IEEE
arxiv created 2003/11/17 · openalex publication_date 2004/06/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The QuarkNet DAQ card for school-network cosmic ray detectors provides a low-cost alternative to using standard particle and nuclear physics fast pulse electronics modules. The board, which can be produced at a cost of less than 500.00 (USD), produces trigger time and pulse edge time data for 2- to 4-fold coincidence levels via a universal RS232 serial port interface, usable with any PC. Individual detector stations, each consisting of four scintillation counter modules, front-end electronics, and a GPS receiver, produce a stream of data in form of ASCII text strings in identifiable set of formats for different functions. The card includes a low-cost GPS receiver module, which permits time-stamping event triggers to about 50 nanosecond accuracy in UTC between widely separated sites. The technique used for obtaining precise GPS time employs the 1PPS signal, which is not normally available to users of the commercial GPS module. We had the stock model slightly custom-modified to access this signal. The method for deriving time values was adapted from methods developed for the K2K long-baseline neutrino experiment. Performance of the low-cost GPS module used is compared to that of a more expensive unit with known quality.