Those of us in OTR industry feel your pain on PTC with our electronic log books. They’re great at preventing driver’s from falsely logging however on some of them companies literally are redoing the logs to gain time for their needs to force drivers to run illegally. Hence why multiple systems have been decertified for use by the FMCSA for this reason.
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Yeah, but you guys can talk on the phone, listen to music, and have livestreams on youtube/twitch.
Funny how that’s dangerous for us, but A-OK for the trucking industry.
If we get caught watching a movie or any electronic device it’s a 10k fine and six month suspension of the CDL automatically at this point. Driver’s literally get fined for holding the phone. And all carrier’s require 1 ear free for hearing whats going on outside.
Yet I can go online and find live streams from trucks driving.
Or insert name of any truck driver YouTube channel here
The shock/vibe specs of interest is being able to maintain lock with 7g_rms. Shock mounting the board inside overall housing could bring it within that limit.
Having a local time source that is accurate to within a few nanoseconds will reduce the number of satellites in view needed to get a good position fix. Another advantage is to reduce spoofing.
And who is catching with any frequency?
Perhaps a bit off topic, pilots were expected to be able to fly the plane and talk on a handheld microphone at the same time. It takes a bit of discipline in remembering the #1 priority is flying the plane. I suspect most truck drivers and railroad crews would be perfectly safe talking on the phone when driving or operating. The problem is “most” is not the same as “all”. My experience with people driving slower than traffic in the fast lane is at least half of the time they are using their phone.
The Data Logger on my race car used GPS for location and timing. The data contained the number of satellites that were in contact with any point in time, which was normally between 8 and 11.
Considering my suspension/spring package consisted on a disc of rubber one inch thick and two inches in diameter contained in a canister between a parabolic plunger and a parabolic receiver, there were frequent shocks - however, I suspect those shock/impacts don’t measure up to those in the railroad.
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Interesting about your data logger. I can believe the 8 to 11 figure and would assume that the antenna was mounted in such a way to have a clear view of the sky. A GPS receiver mounted on a couple could have half or more of the sky obscured (as Midland Mike pointed out), which would reduce accuracy at best and prevent a fix at worst.
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Symmetricom spec is 1000g, but that was damage to the device, not impact on timekeeping. There has been some discussion on whether combinations of vibration might affect operation; simple decoupling of the ‘physics package’ in a damping medium relieves most nominal high-g shock in a ground environment.
Note that the individual CSACs can be (and are) disciplined to very high accuracy when installed in a particular location, independent of free-running precision. This is like the discussion of having a watch accurate to <5s/year vs. one with normal COSC level of drift which is disciplined once a day to Stratum 1 or 2.
IIRC, the short term output of the CSAC is an OCXO with external trim. One of the bugaboos with the module can be the high-k ceramic capacitors which are microphonic as all get out. Another issue under shock and vibe is movement of the mu-metal shield - a SQUID in a mu-metal shield can be a good seismometer.
Symmetricom (now Microchip) CSAC (SA.45s) vs OCXO:
Here is the current version (SA65) user manual, updated to April 2025. This version has been developed for more ‘extreme’ service situations.
Here is the (possibly updated a bit) Symmetricom early history of the device up to its introduction circa 2011:
I worked as a flight instructor and charter pilot for approximately three years in the late 1970s. The emphasis was always keep control of the airplane. Always! Communicate with Air Traffic Control only if you have control of the airplane.
One of the most interesting exercises was to practice ground controlled approaches at a nearby Air Force Base. To keep their skills up, the controllers would allow civilian pilots to practice GCA approaches. In a GCA approach, once cleared for the approach, the pilot receives constant altitude and heading information from the controller; he/she is not required to acknowledge them.
I made many ILS approaches at night, frequently in bad weather, down to minimums. The only communication required, once ATC had handed me off to approach control, was usually to report the outer marker. If I went missed approach, which happened albeit infrequently, I did report it until I was safely established on the missed approach procedure and was in control of the airplane.
Zug’s better elaboration is currect. It only enforces the top end of restricted speed. I always heard it would make a penalty brake application at 22mph, but PTC starts warning at 17mph and I think will take the air at 20mph. I’ve never tried to find out for sure. If PTC makes a penalty application, it sends messages automatically to management, which then needs to be explained upon tie up.
They do train people about what restricted speed operation means, but some don’t seem to grasp it. Like the engineer that caused this thread.
Iowa just passed a law forbidding the use of hand held electronic devices. I don’t think it applies to microphones. Texting while driving was already illegal, but not an offense that a police officer could stop a car solely for that. Now they can. What no one seems to realize it’s not holding something to your ear that’s the distraction, it’s conceentrating on the conversation that’s the distraction.
Some people commenting on feedback sites have said now the state troopers won’t be able to use their computer keyboards while driving.
Jeff
Illegal in Illinois for quite awhile.
One idea that came to my mind after this particular NS accident is setting up lower restricted speed maximums in the PTC system for those signal blocks that contain significant visual obstructions. If under the best of circumstances actual maximum restricted speed in a block (or a portion of a block) is 10 mph, then have PTC enforce that speed. It would be akin to a permanent slow order coded into the PTC system, just based on visual track conditions instead of physical ones. For signal blocks with no significant visual obstructions the normal rules would still apply.
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Engineers are paid GOOD MONEY to operate their trains safely in accordance with the rule within the constraints of the physical characteristics of the territory upon which they are operating.
Remember there are situations where 1 MPH can be exceeding Restricted Speed
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Let’s not get carried away.
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You are well above Minimum Wage
Just not Musk level