Standard formats for transferring time information
Inter-range instrumentation group timecodes, commonly known as IRIG timecode, are standard formats for transferring timing information. Atomic frequency standards and GPS receivers designed for precision timing are often equipped with an IRIG output. The standards were created by the Tele Communications Working Group of the U.S. military's Inter-Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG), the standards body of the Range Commanders Council. Work on these standards started in October 1956, and the original standards were accepted in 1960.
The original formats were described in IRIG Document 104-60, later revised and reissued in August 1970 as IRIG Document 104-70, upgraded later that year as the IRIG Document to the status of a Standard, IRIG Standard 200-70. The latest version of the Standard is IRIG Standard 200-16 from August 2016.
Timecodes
The different timecodes defined in the Standard have alphabetic designations. A, B, D, E, G, and H are the standards currently defined by IRIG Standard 200-04.
The main difference between codes is their rate, which varies between one pulse per minute and 10,000 pulses per second.
Binary-coded decimal (BCD) day of year, hours, minutes, and (for some formats) seconds and fractions are always included. Optional components are:
Year number (00–99; century is not coded)
User-defined "control functions (CF)" occupying bits not defined by IRIG
"Straight binary seconds (SBS)", a 17-bit binary counter that counts from 0 to 86399.
The types are:
BCD, CF, SBS
BCD, CF
BCD
BCD, SBS
BCD, BCD_Year, CF, SBS
BCD, BCD_Year, CF
BCD, BCD_Year
BCD, BCD_Year, SBS
The recognized signal identification numbers for each format according to the standard 200-04 consist of:
Permissible Code Formats
Format
Modulation Type
Carrier Frequency
Coded Expressions
A
0,1,2
0,3,4,5
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7
B
0,1,2
0,2,3,4,5
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7
D
0,1
0,1,2
1,2
E
0,1
0,1,2
1,2,5,6
G
0,1,2
0,4,5
1,2,5,6
H
0,1
0,1,2
1,2
Thus the complete signal identification number consists of one letter and three digits. For example, the signal designated as B122 is deciphered as follows: Format B, Sine wave (amplitude modulated), 1 kHz carrier, and Coded expressions BCDTOY.
The most commonly used of the standards is IRIG B, then IRIG A, then probably IRIG G. Timecode formats directly derived from IRIG H are used by NISTradio stationsWWV, WWVH and WWVB.
For example, one of the most common formats, IRIG B122:
IRIG B122 transmits one hundred pulses per second on an amplitude modulated 1 kHz sine wave carrier, encoding information in BCD. This means that 100 bits of information are transmitted every second. The time frame for the IRIG B standard is 1 second, meaning that one data frame of time information is transmitted every second. This data frame contains information about the day of the year (1–366), hours, minutes, and seconds. Year numbers are not included, so the timecode repeats annually. Leap second announcements are not provided. Although information is transmitted only once per second, a device can synchronize its time very accurately with the transmitting device by using a phase-locked loop to synchronize to the carrier. Typical commercial devices will synchronize to within 1 microsecond using IRIG B timecodes.
Timecode structure
IRIG timecode is made up of repeating frames, each containing 60 or 100 bits. The bits are numbered from 0 through 59 or 99.
At the start of each bit time, the IRIG timecode enables a signal (sends a carrier, raises the DC signal level, or transmits Manchester 1 bits). The signal is disabled (carrier attenuated at least 3×, DC signal level lowered, or Manchester 0 bits transmitted), at one of three times during the bit interval:
After 0.2 of a bit time, to encode a binary 0
After 0.5 of a bit time, to encode a binary 1
After 0.8 of a bit time, to encode a marker bit
Bit 0 is the frame marker bit Pr. Every 10th bit starting with bit 9, 19, 29, ... 99 is also a marker bit, known as position identifiers P1, P2, ..., P9, P0. Thus, two marker bits in a row (P0 followed by Pr) marks the beginning of a frame. The frame encodes the time of the leading edge of the frame marker bit.
All other bits are data bits, which are transmitted as binary 0 if they have no other assigned purpose.
Generally, groups of 4 bits are used to encode BCD digits. Bits are assigned little-endian within fields.
Bits 1–4 encode seconds, and bits 6–8 encode tens of seconds (0–59)
Bits 10–13 encode minutes, and bits 15–17 encode tens of minutes (0–59)
Bits 20–23 encode hours, and bits 25–26 encode tens of hours (0–23)
Bits 30-33 encode day of year, 35-38 encode tens of days, and bits 40–41 encode hundreds of days (1–366)
Bits 45–48 encode tenths of seconds (0–9)
Bits 50–53 encode years, and bits 55–58 encode tens of years (0–99)
Bits 80–88 and 90–97 encode "straight binary seconds" since 00:00 on the current day (0–86399, not BCD)
In IRIG G, bits 50–53 encode hundredths of seconds, and the years are encoded in bits 60–68.
Not all formats include all fields. Obviously those formats with 60-bit frames omit the straight binary seconds fields, and digits representing divisions less than one frame time (everything below hours, in the case of IRIG D) are always transmitted as 0.
No parity or check bits are included. Error detection can be achieved by comparing consecutive frames to see if they encode consecutive timestamps.
Unassigned 9-bit fields between consecutive marker bits are available for user-defined "control functions". For example, the IEEE 1344 standard defines functions for bits 60–75.
IRIG timecode
IRIG A time code structure
Bit
Weight
Meaning
Bit
Weight
Meaning
Bit
Weight
Meaning
Bit
Weight
Meaning
Bit
Weight
Meaning
00
Pr
Frame marker
20
1
Hours (0–23)
40
100
Day of year (1–366)
60
0
Unused, available for Control Functions
80
1
Straight Binary Seconds (0–86399)
01
1
Seconds (00–59)
21
2
41
200
61
0
81
2
02
2
22
4
42
0
Unused
62
0
82
4
03
4
23
8
43
0
63
0
83
8
04
8
24
0
44
0
64
0
84
16
05
0
25
10
45
0.1
Tenths of seconds (0.0–0.9)
65
0
85
32
06
10
26
20
46
0.2
66
0
86
64
07
20
27
0
Unused
47
0.4
67
0
87
128
08
40
28
0
48
0.8
68
0
88
256
09
P1
Position identifier
29
P3
Position identifier
49
P5
Position identifier
69
P7
Position identifier
89
P9
10
1
Minutes (00–59)
30
1
Day of year (1–366)
50
1
Year (00–99)
70
0
Unused, available for Control Functions
90
512
11
2
31
2
51
2
71
0
91
1024
12
4
32
4
52
4
72
0
92
2048
13
8
33
8
53
8
73
0
93
4096
14
0
34
0
54
0
74
0
94
8192
15
10
35
10
55
10
75
0
95
16384
16
20
36
20
56
20
76
0
96
32768
17
40
37
40
57
40
77
0
97
65536
18
0
Unused
38
80
58
80
78
0
98
0
Unused
19
P2
Position identifier
39
P4
Position identifier
59
P6
Position identifier
79
P8
Position identifier
99
P0
Position identifier
IRIG J timecode
IRIG standard 212-00 defines a different time-code, based on RS-232-style asynchronous serial communication.
The timecode consists of ASCII characters, each transmitted as 10 bits:
^Grohman, Richard O.; Mellenbruch, Larry L.; Sowic, Felix J. (14 March 1974). Special Hardware for ARL Analysis of ACODAC Data(pdf) (Technical report). Texas University at Austin. ARL-TM-74-12. Archived from the original on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
^Handbook of Time Code Formats(PDF) (Seventh ed.). Datum Inc. 1987. p. 18. Archived(PDF) from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024 – via vk7krj.com.
Sources
Telecommunications and Timing Group (August 2016), IRIG Serial Time Code Formats(PDF), U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico: Range Commanders Council, IRIG standard 200-16, archived from the original on 2018-08-26, retrieved 2024-05-27{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Telecommunications and Timing Group (November 2000), IRIG J Asynchronous ASCII Time Code Formats, U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico: Range Commanders Council, IRIG standard 212-00, archived from the original(DOC) on 2013-02-17, retrieved 2011-10-01