English-Made, Low-Cost GPS-Locked Precision Frequency Reference Now Available in USA

Grand Junction, Colorado – September 15, 2015 – Force 12 CEO Bill Hein was recently Googling for a low cost but ultra-accurate frequency reference for the SDR receiver he uses at the RBN (Reverse Beacon Network) node that operates 24/7/365 under the W0LFA callsign at his Glade Park, Colorado station and came across Leo Bodnar Electronics.

Leo Bodnar is a designer and developer of force feedback simulator steering systems and related products and technologies. Based in Silverstone, England – the home of British Motorsport – has enabled Leo to work closely with and meet the demanding requirements of professional race teams, drivers and simulator manufacturers using high quality and reliable components to ensure they meet the highest levels of performance and reliability. Leo is also a ham (M0XER) so it’s no surprise that his GPS-Locked Precision Frequency Reference has applications in the ham as well as the professional world.

Bill ended up not just buying a unit for his station but also obtained American distribution rights and the Force 12 Superstore has already started taking pre-orders in anticipation of initial stock arrival mid-September. Bill believes that the unit has numerous ham shack applications such as providing a highly-accurate reference to SDR radios, transverters and anything else that needs to be ultra-stable and dead on frequency.

The tiny device outputs two synchronised low-jitter reference clocks locked to GPS. Long-term stability of the output signal is defined by the high accuracy GPS caesium references and theoretically approaches 1×10-12. Short term signal quality is defined by the internal TCXO clock source providing a high-quality, low phase noise clock signal with sub-picosecond RMS jitter (that’s pico, not nano!)

The digital PLL allows output reference frequencies to have almost any value between 450-Hz and 800-MHz. The two outputs can be individually enabled and set to different frequencies almost anywhere within 450-Hz to 800-MHz. If both outputs have the same frequency their relative phase shift can be adjusted. This can be used, for example, to generate two signals with 90° phase shift for use in an I/Q mixer. More info can be found at:

http://www.force12inc.com/products/gps-locked-precision-frequency-reference-low-jitter-gps-clock-450-hz-to-800-mhz-output.html

“I am happy to be making my Frequency Reference available to American hams,” says Leo, “and hope to be making other high performance, modestly-priced products available stateside through Force 12 in the future.”

Force 12 has sold tens of thousands of their cutting-edge antenna designs since the early ’90s. Force 12 Superstore offers a complete selection of Force 12’s own products and also represents in North America the famous English-made InnovAntennas products designed by Justin Johnson, G0KSC along with 4O3A Signature line of triplexers, filters and Genius station automation devices, AlfaSpid rotators, low noise VHF and UHF preamps from SSB Electronic, and other accessories.

Contact:   Bill Hein               Bill@Force12inc.com
Force 12 Superstore           Ph: +1 (970) 628 5120
       566 West Crete Circle, Unit 1       www.Force12inc.com
Grand Junction, CO 81505

Price: $ 226.14