NIST Special Publication 960-12 Stopwatch and Timer Calibrations (2009 edition) Jeff C. Gust Richard J. Bagan, Inc Robert M. Graham Sandia National Laboratories Michael A. Lombardi National Institute of Standards and Technology January 2009 US. Department of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary National institute of Standards and Technology Patrick D. Gallagher, Deputy DirectorFOREWORD Stopwatch and timer calibrations are perhaps the most common calibrations performed in the field of time and frequency metrology. Hundreds of United States laboratories calibrate many thousands of timing devices annually to meet legal and organizational metrology requirements. However, prior to the publication of the first edition of this guide in May 2004, no definitive text had existed on the subject. This VIST Recommended Practice Guide was created to a fill a gap in the metrology literature. It assists the working metrologist or calibration technician by describing the types of stopwatches and timers that require calibration, the specifications and tolerances of these devices, the methods used to calibrate them, and the estimated measurement uncertainties for each calibration method. It also discusses the process of establishing measurement traceability back to national and intemational standards, iiiACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank the following individuals for their extremely useful suggestions regarding this new revision of the guide: Georgia Harris and Val Miller of the NIST Weights and Measures Division, Warren Lewis and Dick Pettit of Sandia National Laboratories, and Dilip Shah, the chair of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Measurement Quality Division.Contents Sectivn 1:Introduction to Stopwatch and Timer Calibrations. 1,4. The Units of Time Interval and Frequency... ae |.B. A Brief Overview of Calibrations. 4 LC. Traceability and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)....0005 Section 2: Description of Timing Devices that Require Calibration.....0..9 2.A. Stopwatches 2.B. Timer 2.C. Commercial Timing Devices Section 3: Specifications and Tolerances o.:ssctssssstvseieisnntssteeielT 3.A. Interpreting Manufacturer's Specifications. 3.B. Tolerances Required for Legal Metrology... Section 4: Introduction to Calibration Methods. 25 Section 5: The Direct Comparison Method 27 5A. References for the Direct Comparison Method. ze 5.B. Calibration Procedure for Direct Comparison Method.......31 $.C. Uncertainties of Direet Comparison Method. 33 Section 6: The Totalize Method. Al 6.A. Calibration Procedure for the Totalize Method. Al 6.B. Uncertainties of Totalize Method...... AS 6.C. Photo Totalize Method... 47 Section 7: The Time Base Method. J 7A. References for the Time Base Method...... Bis 7.B. Calibration Procedure for the Time Base Method. 7.C. Unceriainties of Time Base Method Scetion 8: How to Determine if the Calibration Method Meets the Required Uncertainty. 37 viiSection 9: Other Topies Related to Measurement Uncertainty... 59 9.A. Uncertainty Analysis of Using a Calibrated Stopwatch to Calibrate another Devietseo.-ninssenstsennrnenessernersenn SD 9.B. The Effects of Stability and Aging on Calibrations of 32 768 Hz Crystals 9.C. Factors That Can A{eet Stopwatch Performance. Appendix A: Calibration Certificates. Appendix B: References.List of Figures Figure 1. The calibration and traceability hierarchy... Figure 2. Type I digital stopwatch.. Figure 3. Type II mechanical stopwatch........csscsessessstuseesestnssnneesl] Figure 4. Interior of digital (Type 1) stopwatch... ees Figure 5. Inner workings of a mechanical (Type II) stopwateh or timer...13 Figure 6, A collection of timers, Figure 7. Sample manufacturer's specifications for a digital stopwatch (Example 1)..... 18 Figure 8, Sample specifications for a digital stopwatch (Example 2).....20 Figure 9. Typical performance of quartz. wristwatches using 32 768 Hz time base oscillators, Feo ncrncee Figure 10. Portable shortwave radio receiver for reception of audio time signals, 330 Figure 11. Reaction time measurements (four operators, 10 runs each) for the direct comparison method. Figure 12. Averaging measurement resulls for four different operators.. Figure 13. Block diagram of the totalize method... Figure 14. Using the start-stop button of the stopwatch to start the counter. Figure 15. Measured reaction times (four operators, 10 runs each) for totalize method... 44 Figure 16. Mean reaction times (four operators, 10 runs each) for the totalize method... 45 Figure 17. Photo totalize start reading.List of Figures, cont'd Figure 18. Photo totalize stop reading... AB Figure 19. Ambiguous photo totalize reading.....or.ssnnsnnnsnmnnnrseeA9 Figure 20. Time base measurement system for stopwatches and timers...52 Figure 21. A time base measurement system for stopwatehes and timers with an integrated graphies display... 54 Figure 22. Graph of the frequency stability of two stopwatches 61 Figure 23. Factors that can change the quartz time base frequency........62 Figure 24. Stopwatch accuracy versus temperature... Figure Al. Sample calibration certificate. (page 1).. Figure Al. Sample calibration certificate. (page 2)... 66,ist of Tables Table | - Metric prefixes (may be applied to all SI units), Table 2 - Unit values, dimensionless values, and percentages... nsec Table 3 - Type I and Type II stopwatch characteristic: ‘Table 4 - Legal metrology requirements for field standard stopwatches and commercial time device Table 5 - Comparison of calibration methods. ...c.c-csevssneneene eB Table 6 - Traceable audio time signals... Table 7 - The contribution of a 300 ms variation in reaction time to the ‘measurement uncertainty. 32 Table 8 - Uncertainty analysis for direct comparison method (digital DUT) using a land line. 138 Table 9 - Uncertainty analysis for direct comparison method (di using a cell phone, aed Table 10/- Uncertainty analysis for direct comparison method (analog DUT) using a land line Table 11 - Uncertainty analysis for totalize method... | Table 12 - The effect of the length of the measurement time on stability (based on 25 readings). Table 13 - Uncertainty analysis of using a calibrated stopwatch to calibrate another device. sees snnsinnninnsinnnnenen 60 xiSection 1 Introduction to Stopwatch and Timer Calibrations This document is a recommended practice guide for stopwatch and timer calibrations. It discusses the types of stopwatches and timers that require calibration, their specifications and tolerances, and the methods used to calibrate them. Italso discusses measurement uncertainties and the process of establishing ‘measurement traceability back to national and international standards. This guide is intended to serve as a reference for the metrologist or calibration technician. It provides a complete technical discussion of stopwatch and timer calibrations by presenting practical, real world examples of how these calibrations are performed. There are nine sections in this guide. Section 1 provides an overview, and serves as a good introduction if you are new to the field of metrology or to time and frequency measurements. Section 2 describes the types of timing devices that require calibration. Section 3 discusses specifications and tolerances. Sections 4 through 7 discuss calibration methods and their associated uncertainties. Section 8 provides additional information to help determine if the selected calibration method can meet the required level of uncertainty, and Section 9 discusses other topics related to measurement uncertainty. A sample calibration report and references are provided in the appendices. 4.A. The Units of Time Interval and Frequency Stopwatches and timers are instruments used to measure time interval, which is defined as the elapsed time between two events. One common example of a time interval is a person’s age, which is simply the clapsed time since the person’s birth. Unlike a conventional clock that displays rime-of-day as hours, minutes, and seconds from an absolute epoch or starting point (such as the beginning of the day or year), a stopwatch or timer simply measures and displays the time interval from an arbitrary starting point that begins at the instant when the stopwatch is started. The standard unit of time interval is the second (s)[1]. Seconds can be accumulated | to form longer time intervals, such as minutes, hours, and days: or they can be | sliced into fractions of a second such as milliseconds (10° s, abbreviated as ms) or microseconds (10 s, abbreviated as tis). Table 1 lists these and other itprefixes that can be used with seconds, as well as the multiples/submultiples and symbols used to represent them, The second is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units (SI). Other units (most notably the meter and the volt) have definitions that depend upon the definition of the second. ‘Table 1 - Metric prefixes (may be applied to all SI units) Multiples and Submultiples Prefix Symbol 1 000 000 000 000 = 10"? tera T => 1.000 000 000 = 10” giga G 1 000 000 = 10° mega M 1.000 =10° kilo k 110° 0.001 = 107 milli m 0.000 001 = 10° micro H 0.000 000 001 = 10° nano n 0.000 000 000 001 = 10° pico Pp 0.000 000 000 000 001 = 10° femto f The SI defines the second based on a property of the cesium atom, and for this reason cesium oscillators are regarded as primary standards for both time interval and frequency. A second is defined as the time interval required for 9 192 631 770 transitions between two energy states of the cesium atom to take place. The atomic definition of the second, together with current technology, allows itto be measured with much smaller uncertainties than any other ST unit. In fact, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can currently measure a second with an uncertainty of less than | part in 10'%, or more than 1 billion (10°) times smaller than the uncertainties required for the calibrations described in this guide! The resolution of a stopwatch or timer represents the smallest time interval that the device can display. Resolution is related to the number of digits on the device’s display for a digital stopwatch, or the smallest increment or graduation on the face of an analog stopwatch. For example, if'a stopwatch display shows two digits to the right of the decimal point, it has a resolution of 0.01 s (10 ms, or 100 ofa second). This means, for example, that it can display a value of 42.12s or 42.13 s, but that it lacks the resolution to display 42.123 s. Resolution of 10 ms is common for digital stopwatches, but some devices have 1 ms resolution (0.001 s), or even smaller. For analog stopwatches, a common resolution is 1/5 ofa second, or 0.2 s. Although stopwatches and timers measure time interval, they do so by using a frequency source. Frequency is the rate of a repetitive event, defined as the number of events or cycles per second. The standard unit of frequency (f) is the hertz (Hz), which is not a base unit of the SI, but one of the 21 derived SI units. One hertz equals one event per second, one kilohertz (kHz) equals 10° events per second, one megahertz (MHz) equals 10° events per second, and so on. The period (7) is the reciprocal of the frequency, T= 1//. For example, a 1 MHz sine wave would produce 10° cycles per second, or one cycle every microsecond A time base oscillator (sometimes called a clock or reference oscillator) produces the frequency signals used by the stopwatch or timer to measure time intervals. In today’s devices, the time base oscillator is nearly always a quartz crystal oscillator. However, older devices used either a mechanical oscillator, the alternating current (AC) line frequency (60 Hz in the United States), or an oscillator based ona tuned electronic circuit as their frequency source. The time base oscillator serves as the reference for all of the time and frequency functions performed by the device. The most common frequency used by quartz time base oscillators is 32 768 (= 2") Hz. In this case, when the stopwatch or timer has counted 32 768 oscillations from its time base oscillator, it then records that I s has elapsed. If you want to think of this time base as a clock, it “ticks” 32 768 times per second, or once every 30.518 us. Throughout this guide, time interval is always presented in units of seconds (or fractions of a second), and frequency is presented in units of hertz (or multiples ofa hertz). However, measurement uncertainties are presented as dimensionless values that represent a fractional percentage error. Since these dimensionless values are usually very small percentages, they are often expressed in scientific notation. For example, ifa stopwatch has a measurement uncertainty of 1 s overa time interval of 10 000 s, the uncertainty is expressed as either a percentage (0.01 %) or as a dimensionless value (1 10+). Table 2 provides more examples.er Calibrations ‘Table 2 - Unit values, dimensionless values, and percentages. Time Length Dimensionless Dimensionless Percentage un- of test uncertainty uncertainty uncertainty certainty (literal) (scientific (%) notation) Is Iminute 1 part per 60 1.67 «102 1.67 Is Thour 1 part per 3600 2.78 x 107 0.0278 Is Iday 1 part per 86 400 1.16 * 10 0.001 16 Is 100s 1 part per hundred 1x10? 1 Is 1000 I part per thousand 110° 0.1 1s 10.0005 1 part per 10 thousand 110" 001 Is 100000s 1 part per 100 thousand 1x 108 0.001 I ms 1008 I part per 100 thousand 1= 10" 0.001 I ms 1000s 1 part per million (1 ppm) 110° 0.0001 I ms 10.0005 1 part per 10 million 1x10" 0.000 01 I ms 100000 1 part per 100 million 1= 108 0.000 001 1.B. A Brief Overview of Calibrations Like all calibrations, stopwatch and timer calibrations are simply comparisons between the device under test (DUT) and a measurement reference, or standard. When a stopwatch or timer is calibrated, cither a time interval standard or a frequency standard is used as the measurement reference. If a time interval standard is used, it is compared to the DUT’s display. Ifa frequency standard is used, it is compared to the DUT’s time base oscillator. Both types of calibrations are described in detail later in this guide. Most of the calibrations described in this guide are laboratory calibrations, as opposed to field calibrations. To understand what this means, consider an example where a stopwatch is calibrated in the laboratory against a standard, and a calibration certificate and/or sticker are issued to the customer. That same stopwatch or timer can then be thought of as a field standard, a working siandard, or a transfer standard, and used as the measurement reference during a field calibration. In other words, it can be brought outside the laboratory and used to calibrate another timing device, such as a parking meter. The same basicprinciples that apply to laboratory calibrations apply to field calibrations, although laboratory calibrations generally take longer and are made much more carefully because the required measurement uncertainties are smaller. Devices that are field calibrated are generally not used as a measurement reference for performing other calibrations. Instead, they are working instruments used forscientific, business, or legal purposes. Therefore, their calibration can be thought of as a periodic test or inspection that ensures that these devices are working properly and meeting their specifications. Common sense dictates that the measurement reference for any calibration (either the laboratory reference or the field standard) must always outperform the devices it needs to test. A parking meter, for example, might have an acceptable uncertainty of 1% when timing a 5 minute interval (£3 s). A field standard stopwatch used to test a parking meter should be certified to an uncertainty small enough so that it contributes no significant uncertainty to the parking meter calibration. In other words, we need to be able to trust our reference so that we can trust our measurement of the DUT. When a laboratory calibration is completed, the metrologisthas determined the offset' of the DUT with respect to the reference. This offset can be stated as a percentage or in units of time interval or frequency (or both) on the calibration certificate, and should be quantified with a statement of measurement uncertainty. Field calibrations are generally “pass/fail” calibrations. This means that the device is tested to see whether it meets its intended or legal metrology requirements, and it either passes or fails. If it fails, it is removed from service until it can be adjusted, repaired, or replaced. 1.C. Traceability and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) As previously discussed, when a device is calibrated by comparing it to a measurement reference, the reference must be more accurate (have lower compared to a more accurate standard, That more accurate standard 1 The term ‘offsot” is commonly used in the discipline of frequency and time measurement and will be used throughout this text. In terms of the ISO Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (2], the offset would be considered the measurement result.needs to be periodically compared to an even more accurate standard, and so on. until eventually a comparison is made against a national or international standard that represents the best physical realization of the SI unit that is being measured (in this case, the SI second). This measurement traceability hierarchy is sometimes illustrated with a pyramid as shown in Figure 1. The series of comparisons back to the SI unit is called the traceahility chain. Metrological traceability is defined, by international agreement, as The property of a measurement result whereby the result can he related to a reference through a documented unbroken chain of calibrations, each contributing to the measurement uncertainty. [3] The definition of metrological traceability implies that unless the measured value is accompanied by a stated measurement uncertainty, the traceability chain is broken, It is the responsibility of the calibration laboratory to determine and report the uncertainty of its measurements to its customers so that metrological traceability is maintained [4] OR HIRO: Bellociony aE nin LEARN UME wy NN peririam ey Learns eee ay Figure 1. The calibration and traceability hierarchy The Intemational Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) located near Paris, ance, is responsible for ensuring the worldwide uniformity of measurementsand their traceability to the SI. The BIPM collects and averages time interval and frequency data from more than 60 laboratories around the world and creates a time scale called Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) that realizes the SI second as closely as possible. Thus, UTC serves as the international standard for both time interval and frequency. However, the BIPM does not produce a physical representation of the second; it simply calculates a weighted average that is published weeks after the actual measurements were made. This document, known as the BIPM Circular T, shows the time offset of each contributing laboratory with associated uncertainties, and can be downloaded from the BIPM web site (wwwbipm.org). The laboratories that provide data to the BIPM maintain the oscillators and clocks that produce the actual signals that are used as measurement references. Most of these laboratories are national metrology institutes (NMIs) that serve as the caretakers of the national measurement references for their respective countries. Thus, to establish traceability to the SI for time interval and frequency calibrations, the traceability chain for a measurement must link back to signals that originate from an NMI or a national timekeeping laboratory. The NMI that is chosen as a reference must contribute to the derivation of UTC by sending its measurement data (with associated uncertainties) to the BIPM. NIST is the ultimate reference point for most measurements made in the United States, and as such, submits time and frequency data to the BIPM. NIST provides ‘itown real-time representation of UTC, designated UTC(NIST), that is distributed to the public using a variety of radio, telephone, and Internet signals. These signals are described in more detail in Section 5, and can serve as references for measurements that are traceable back to the SI. |, The traceability chain is easy to visualize if you think of itasaseries ofealibrations. | Every link in the chain is a calibration; comparing a device to a higher standard, | until eventually a comparison is made to the SI unit. Every calibration has some | measurement uncertainty, At the top of the chain, the measurement uncertainties | are so tiny they are insignificant to those of us who calibrate stopwatches and | timers. For example, the difference between the best possible estimate of | the SI second and UTC(NIST) is measured in parts in 10'°, This represents a time offset of less than 0.1 ns (10° s) over the course of a day. As we move | down the traceability chain to the actual calibration of a stopwatch or timer, the | uncertainties become larger and larger. For example, if the calibration laboratory | uses an audio signal from NIST radio station WWV (Section 5) to calibrate its _ standard, the uncertainty of the received tones might be 1 ms. This uncertaintyis still small enough for the WWV tones to be used as a stopwatch calibration reference, because the uncertainty introduced by an operator starting and stopping the watch (human reaction time) is much larger, typically tens or even hundreds of milliseconds. In summary, as long as each link of the chain and its uncertainty are known, traceability to the SI can be established. Stopwatch and timer calibrations are among the least demanding of all time and frequency measurements. Relatively speaking, the instruments requiring calibration are low cost, and the acceptable measurement uncertainties can be quite large. Even so, for legal, technical, and practical reasons it is very important to establish traceability to the SI for these calibrations. If a valid traceability chain to the SI is established, it ensures that the working device was properly calibrated, and, if correctly used, will produce valid results.Section 2 Description of Timing Devices that Require Calibration Thissection describes the various types ofstopwatches (Section2.A. Stopwatches) and timers (Section 2.B. Timers) that are calibrated in the laboratory. These types of stopwatches and timers are often used as transfer standards to perform ficld calibrations of the commercial timing devices described in Section 2.C. 2.A. Stopwatches Stopwatches can be classified into two categories, Type I and Type II [5]. Type I stopwatches have a digital design employing quartz oscillators and electronic circuitry to measure time intervals (Figure 2). Type II stopwatches have an analog design and use mechanical mechanisms to measure time intervals (Figure 3). The key elements of Type I and Type II stopwatches are summarized in Table 3. Table 3 - Type I and Type I stopwatch characteristics, Bee ica Type I Stopwatch ‘Type II Stopwatch (digital) (analog) : Time measured by division | Time measured by Operating principle of time base oscillator __| mechanical movement © =~ Mechanical mainspring Time base * Quartz oscillator © Synchronous ‘motor, electrically driven © Comosion resistant metal Case ¢ Impact resistant plastie ° r a ote ciep ay Protects dial/hands @ Allows for proper Allows for proper Crystal sae viewing pe euze rele © Must be clear and employ untinted magnification ‘ © 48 hours without erat Minimum time interval replacement of rewinding hatteryTable 3 - Continued Description Type I Stopwatch ‘Type Il Stopwatch (analog) (analog) Start and stop © Single control to start/stop © Audible signal of start/stop Reset Must reset stopwatch to zero Split time (if equipped) © Must indicate whether display mode is regular or split time. Force to aperate controls Must not exceed 1.8 N (0.40 Ibf) Dial and hands Face must be white Graduations must he black or red © Hands must be black or red Required markings Unique, nondetachable serial number Manufacturer’s name or trademark Model number (Type only) * Provide delimiting character for atrollover Digital display hours, minutes, seconds (usually colon) Minimum increment © <02s Minimum elapsed tim : soc = TL hour = 30 minutes Physical orientation Stopwatch meets tolerance regardless of physical orientationFigure 2. Type | digital stopwatch. Figure 3. Type Il mechanical stopwatch 2.4.1, Basic Theory of Operation Every stopwatch is composed of four elements: a power source, a time base, a counter, and an indicator or display. The design and construction of each component depends upon the type of stopwatch, 2.A.L.a. Digital (Type I) Stopwatches The power source of a Type I stopwatch is usually a silver-oxide or alkaline battery that powers the oscillator and the counting and display circuitry. The time base is a quartz crystal oscillator that usually has a nominal frequency of 32 768 Hz, the same frequency used by nearly all quartz wristwatches. The 32 768 Hz frequency was originally chosen because it can be converted to a | pulse per second signal using a simple 15 stage divide-by-two circuit. It also has the benefit of consuming less battery power than higher frequency crystals. Figure 4 shows the inside of a typical digital device, with the printed circuit board, quartz crystal oscillator, and battery visible. The counter circuit consists of digital dividers that count the time base oscillations for the period that is initiated by the start/stop buttons [6, 7]. The display typically has seven or eight digits ul