Comtech EF Data C5 - Manual (Page 205)

C5/K1/K3 Integrated Satellite Terminal System Operation
Rev. 0 4–79
4.5.1.2 Plesiochronous
The stability of station reference clocks is normally 1 x 10 -12 (derived from a cesium
standard). While the stability is exceptionally high, the two clocks are not in
synchronization with each other and will eventually pass by each other.
The clock used for the transmit signal is passed over the satellite, but will not be used at
the receive earth station where a national network derives its time locally. A buffer will
fill with data using the clock from the satellite and will empty using the local clock. The
object of the buffer is to ensure that the buffer overflows or underflows at regular,
determinable intervals (typically every 40 days).
The buffer depth required (from center to end) will be:
Minimum slip period (seconds) * [stability of far end (transmit) clock + stability of
local clock]
For example:
Far end (transmit) clock stability 1 x 10 -9
Local (buffer) clock 1 x 10 -11
Minimum clock slip 40 days
Buffer Depth = (40 x 24 x 60 x 60) x (1 x 10 -9 + 1 x 10 -11 ) = 3.49 ms
Because the buffer will either fill or empty (depending on the frequency relationship of
the two clocks), the total buffer depth will be 2 x 3.49 ms = 6.98 ms.