Cheap Chinese TZT-TS01 NTP Server - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: bingo600
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 09, 2023, 11:37:13 am
content: Cheap Chinese TZT-TS01 NTP ServerA while ago i bought a Chinese TS01 NTP server, as a low power "Backup NTP Server".I decided on this one.TZT TS01 Network Time Server NTP Server for Beidou GPS GLONASShttps://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005363401802.htmlIt's NOT TimeNuts material, andwon't really recommend it, unless you can live with the shortcommings.Pros:SmallCheapLow PowerGPS receiver is sensitive.Cons:It has a permanet offset around 130..140ms, from the other Stratum-1 NTP servers i use.No DHCP , static ip only.No Webinterface for configuring.Windows Configre APP is in Chinese ONLY, so be prepared to play "Guess a setting/function".The display shows the received time, but uses Beijung TZ - And i'm quite sure there's no way to change that.Changing the ip address to one that fits my setup, was quite a challenge. Mostly due to it being in chinese.Worst:You need to register the configure progrem key on an Internet server somewhere, before the program will connect to the NTP Box.When you start the Configure program, it will show you a "register key seed", my guts tell me that seed ia generated from ie. "the pc's netcard mac address".Then you have to go to the register server, and key in the "seed key", and you'll be shown the "activation key".If that server disapears, you have no possibility to reregister on a new pc, and the box is useless.It has been running for a month or so, wo. any issues besides the above.But today i noticed that it had a "Reach of 0 , and a When of 92h", display shows normal , and LAN (traffic) is blinking.I did power off, and a NTP restart - Now it's alive again.NTP:My box is the kv-ntp....Code:ntpq -premote refid st t when poll reach delay offset jitter==============================================================================-n1.taur.dk .PPS0. 1 u 46 128 377 6.738 0.180 0.354-kv-ntp-01.luna- .GPS. 1 u 88 128 377 3.340 -167.05 1.919+time.dfm.dk .DFM. 1 u 125 128 377 2.923 -0.027 0.203*mmo2.ntp.netnod .PPS. 1 u 49 128 377 2.405 -0.085 0.448+80.209.68.118.s .GPS. 1 u 134 128 377 4.223 0.026 0.136-time.cloudflare 10.8.8.4 3 u 122 128 377 10.426 -0.453 0.247-orange.inet.dk. 125.199.53.76 2 u 6 128 377 5.093 -0.104 0.104Peerstats:My box is 10.xx.yy.zzCode:awk -f peer.awk peerstats.20230601ident cnt mean rms max delay dist disp==========================================================================192.36.143.130 57 0.161 0.271 0.837 10.310 24.938 16.366194.58.204.148 56 0.049 0.181 0.712 2.091 20.658 16.62110.xx.yy.zz 51 138.099 0.732 1.614 4.153 22.769 16.232217.198.219.102 57 0.145 0.258 0.728 6.861 23.125 16.29487.116.22.151 58 -0.032 0.167 0.610 2.871 21.130 16.477If you are on a "tight budget" , and you can live with a 130+ ms offset , plus chinese app & risky registering.Then it could be acceptable .... But i see others wo. the display, hat has a web config interface in english , and even seems to be cheaper./Bingo

author: ddrown
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 13, 2023, 04:14:59 pm
content: Thanks for exploring this product, this topic is interesting to me.This sounds like the micro is using the timestamp of the serial/NMEA data from the gps rather than the PPS. That would explain the high offset and jitter.That problem and the management software issues would make it not worth it to me.

author: darkain
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 02, 2024, 05:26:53 pm
content: bingo600, where did you get the configuration software from? I've done plenty of searching online, and have yet to find it anywhere. I know that it is super sketch, but I'd still like to try it out since I'm in the process of reviewing this and other budget NTP server units for the homelab community. Having the device stuck on the default IP address is a real show-stopper for me at the moment.

author: bingo600
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2024, 03:36:07 pm
content: I recommend that you don't buy this device.The product is "sub par" ....Mine ended in a drawerThe "disk" download page (for mgmt. program - 127MB rar file) i used is goneAnd the registering system, while still up - Is in chinese only , and who knows when that webpage is gone ....All in All - DON'T BUYOhh the mgmt program is in chinese only too .. And absolutely not obvious for someone not reading the language.

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2024, 09:49:49 am
content: Thanks for that! The ones I've looked at are the cheaper model without the display, e.g.this one, which claims a WebUI interface and an accuracy of 0.5-2ms over a LAN. Here's ascreenshot of the web UIwhich is in English and shows DHCP capability (that is, it shows the current setting as static IP but it can be set to DHCP as well as perthis review). Has anyone played with one of these?(Forestalling the inevitable comments, the linked review mentions that the settings are lost on power loss, but that's with much older firmware which has supposedly been fixed).

author: bingo600
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2024, 11:43:53 am
content: Quote from: 5U4GB on October 04, 2024, 09:49:49 amI ended up making a DIY STM32F407 based on ddrown's design here , and a LEA-M8T gps receiverhttps://github.com/ddrown/ArchMax-NTPServerUsing this boardhttps://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002760483449.html?It required a few modifications to the sourcecode , as the above board is "stuffed" with "goodies" , taking up IO devices.And ie. requiring you to move the GPS UART to another one than ddrown used, on his board.It actually behaves very well, my Linux server often prefers the archmax over the DK National timeserver (expensive setup).The reason the archmax sometimes "looses", is that currently my GPS antenna is on a 1'st floor south direction balcony. And heavy clouds + the lack of full view , can degrade the PPS a bit.Btw: ddrown also have a Teensy 4.x based NTP Server , looking good too.I have a Teensy 4.x but havent gotten around to that one yet, had to do the "EL Cheapo" firstEdit:You have to keep the GPS serial speed at 115.200 , else the gps messages will fail an internal "integrity" arrival checkDon't ask me how i know ..../Bingo

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 05, 2024, 10:13:30 am
content: I was lucky enough to get aLaureline NTP serverwhen it was still available, that's been rock solid in operation for over a decade. It's fully open-source for anyone else wanting to play with it.

author: Leo Bodnar
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 05, 2024, 12:56:29 pm
content: What is the maximum load it supports?Having had the experience of ntppool traffic I am always interested in maximum throughput of NTP servers.If it's on the open Internet, sooner or later it will see a full wire speed wall of requests.Leo

author: bingo600
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 07, 2024, 02:46:34 pm
content: Quote from: Leo Bodnar on October 05, 2024, 12:56:29 pmFor the archmax (168MHz F407), I have absolutely no idea.I just use it internally to sync my fwall & linux servers.My use is 5..10 "home clients" ....Most other stuff sync's to the fwall.I would not put the archmax on the Inet though ...The teensy 4.x NTP Server would be another ballpark, if one trusts the robustness of the "implementation".I do have a Raspi4 Compute ... Waiting too.That one is primarily for PTP, which thearchmax supports tooin HW.At the moment I don't expect to serve/join any of them to a "pool" or public Inet.I'm "warming up" to change the archmax MCU xtal with a 10MHz TCXO (reduced sinewave) ...But i'm just a "hobbyist", so im not experienced w. "analog hw" ...But now i might snag Laureline's implementation.

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2024, 10:48:31 am
content: Quote from: bingo600 on October 07, 2024, 02:46:34 pmAlso check out the PCB layout, he's got the TCXO on a small "island" on the PCB to minimise thermal bridging from other components, it's quite well done.