Most Stable Raspberry Pi? 81% Better NTP with Thermal Management

The article discusses achieving stable NTP server performance on a Raspberry Pi by addressing thermal-induced timing jitter. By isolating CPU cores and implementing PID-controlled thermal stabilization, the author reduced frequency variability by 81% and frequency standard deviation by 77%. The solution involved dedicating a CPU core to timing tasks, maintaining a constant CPU temperature, and using a PID controller to stabilize the crystal oscillator's frequency. The improvements led to a significant reduction in RMS offset and frequency drift, enhancing time accuracy. The article provides detailed setup instructions and considerations for replicating the optimized system.