Transmitter with a relative-time timer

A control system (106), comprising:

• a communication interface (109) for receiving:
• data including a relative-time timestamp, the relative-time comprising an elapsed on-time of a transmitter (102), wherein the elapsed on-time is a length of time the transmitter (102) has been powered wherein measuring the relative-time includes resetting a timer (104) to a baseline time when power is provided to the transmitter (102), the baseline time comprising a non-zero predetermined time;
• and
• the baseline time to convert the relative-time timestamp to a real-time timestamp.

A data processing system (100), comprising:

• a transmitter (102), including:
• a first communication interface (112) for receiving data;
• a timer (104) for measuring a relative-time, the measuring the relative-time including resetting the timer (104) to a baseline time when power is provided to the timer (104), the baseline time comprising a non-zero predetermined time;
• a processing system (110) for providing the data with a relative-time timestamp, the relative-time comprising an elapsed on-time of the transmitter (102), wherein the elapsed on-time is a length of time the transmitter (102) has been powered;
• and
• a second communication interface (105) for outputting the relative-time timestamped data and the baseline time to convert the relative-time timestamp to a real-time timestamp.

A method for generating a timestamp for data, comprising steps of:

• measuring a relative-time by resetting a timer to a baseline time when power is provided to a transmitter, the baseline time comprising a non-zero predetermined time for converting the relative-time timestamp to a real-time timestamp;
• receiving data;
• and
• generating a relative-time timestamp for the data based on the measured relative-time, the measured relative-time comprising an elapsed on-time of the transmitter, wherein the elapsed on-time is a length of time the transmitter has been powered without converting to a real-time.