Skip Links

USGS - science for a changing world

Open-File Report 99-361

McVCO Handbook 1999

By P.J. McChesney

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (440 kB)Summary

McVCO is a microcontroller-based frequency generator that replaces the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) used in the analog telemetry of seismic data. It accepts low-level signals from a seismometer and produces a frequency modulated subcarrier suitable for radio or telephone links to a data collection site.

McVCO was designed for the purpose of improving the analog telemetry of signals within the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network (PNSN). Its development received support from the University of Washington Geophysics Program, and both the Volcano Hazards and Earthquake Hazards programs of the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

This handbook covers operation of McVCO, provides a technical reference for those who require a closer look at how McVCO works, and covers a collection of topics that need explicit treatment or that spring from deployment of the instrument.

First posted January 21, 2000

For additional information, contact:
Earthquake Science Center, Menlo Park
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road, MS 977
Menlo Park, CA 94025-3591
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/contactus/menloloc.php

Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF). For best results viewing and printing PDF documents, it is recommended that you download the documents to your computer and open them with Adobe Reader. PDF documents opened from your browser may not display or print as intended. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.


Suggested citation:

McChesney, P. J., 1999, McVCO Handbook 1999: U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-361, 51 pp., https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1999/0361/.


Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/1999/0361/index.html
Page Contact Information: GS Pubs Web Contact
Page Last Modified: Wednesday, 07-Dec-2016 17:50:38 EST