Spectracom
Encyclopedia
Spectracom is a global manufacturer of precision time and frequency instruments and network-centric equipment used in a wide range of industries.
Spectracom was founded in Rochester, New York USA in 1972. Its first product was a WWVB
Receiver-Comparator, an instrument used to calibrate oscillators with traceability to national standards. Other early products included WWVB frequency and time standards which offered atomic clock
accuracy at a fraction of the cost. This led to widespread use of these products in vital communications networks such as two-way police radio simulcast systems and master clocks for accurate time stamping of data and events within emergency call centers such as 9-1-1
public safety answering points. When GPS signals became publicly available in the 1990s, Spectracom offered its time and frequency products with embedded GPS receivers. These products are known by the registered trademarks Ageless and NetClock, the second being a popular brand of network time servers and master clock
s.
In 2005 Spectracom acquired the KSI line of bus-level timing products. These plug-in computer or instrument chassis cards provide precise timing within dedicated applications using GPS or IRIG timecode.
In 2007 Spectracom was acquired by the Orolia Group and today operates as part of its Timing, Test & Measurement group. The Spectracom brand has been applied to other Orolia acquisitions: Temex Sync, France (2007), Rapco Electronics, UK (2008), and Pendulum Instruments
, Sweden (2009). Facilities in all these locations continue to operate as units of the global Spectracom brand and cross-sell each other’s products and capabilities into their local and global markets.
Spectracom was founded in Rochester, New York USA in 1972. Its first product was a WWVB
WWVB
WWVB is a NIST time signal radio station near Fort Collins, Colorado, co-located with WWV. WWVB is the station that radio-controlled clocks in most of North America use to synchronize themselves. The signal transmitted from WWVB is a continuous 60 kHz carrier wave, derived from a set of atomic...
Receiver-Comparator, an instrument used to calibrate oscillators with traceability to national standards. Other early products included WWVB frequency and time standards which offered atomic clock
Atomic clock
An atomic clock is a clock that uses an electronic transition frequency in the microwave, optical, or ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum of atoms as a frequency standard for its timekeeping element...
accuracy at a fraction of the cost. This led to widespread use of these products in vital communications networks such as two-way police radio simulcast systems and master clocks for accurate time stamping of data and events within emergency call centers such as 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
public safety answering points. When GPS signals became publicly available in the 1990s, Spectracom offered its time and frequency products with embedded GPS receivers. These products are known by the registered trademarks Ageless and NetClock, the second being a popular brand of network time servers and master clock
Master clock
A master clock is a precision clock that provides timing signals to synchronize slave clocks as part of a clock network. The master clock in such installations is controlled by an accurate quartz crystal oscillator, usually referenced to an external frequency standard such as MSF, which is part of...
s.
In 2005 Spectracom acquired the KSI line of bus-level timing products. These plug-in computer or instrument chassis cards provide precise timing within dedicated applications using GPS or IRIG timecode.
In 2007 Spectracom was acquired by the Orolia Group and today operates as part of its Timing, Test & Measurement group. The Spectracom brand has been applied to other Orolia acquisitions: Temex Sync, France (2007), Rapco Electronics, UK (2008), and Pendulum Instruments
Pendulum Instruments
Pendulum Instruments is a line of scientific instruments for high-resolution time and frequency measurements.Pendulum was originally created in the 1960s as the Philips time and frequency competence center...
, Sweden (2009). Facilities in all these locations continue to operate as units of the global Spectracom brand and cross-sell each other’s products and capabilities into their local and global markets.
External links
- company web site at www.spectracomcorp.com
- http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=21853201 Company information includes $3M contract with US Air Force in January 2011.