Maintain funding for NIST stations WWV and WWVH

Radio Amateurs who are "throwing stones" at NIST broadcasts because they feel they're "Old Technology" should be reminded that they are doing so from "glass houses", and that the same arguments about the virtues of cellular and internet technologies can be used to call into question the merits of the Amateur Radio Service in today's GPS/Cellular/Internet-driven world.

I routinely use WWV and WWVH to check HF propagation. I use WWVB as my primary frequency standard using self-engineered hardware.

WWV provides Solar Terrestrial Forecasts that I find beneficial as an Amateur Radio Operator.

Over the years, I have employed both WWV and WWVB to conduct ionospheric propagation studies, and made use of WWVB to measure changes to the Earth's 'D' Layer during the 2017 solar eclipse.

Being able to LISTEN to the time broadcast by WWV while my eyes are focused on some OTHER event that I am actively observing at the time is a great asset as well.

Taken as a whole, these (admittedly mundane) operations are in full alignment with FCC Part 97.1 (b), (c), (d), and (e) -- in other words, they support what we do (or what we SHOULD be doing in greater numbers) as Amateur Radio Operators.

To perform these tasks with GPS/Cellular/Internet technologies would either be impossible, impractical, or cost FAR more to any single individual than the minuscule tax burden imposed by WWV, WWVH, and WWVB operations to any single individual over a lifetime.

For these and many similar reasons, I signed the petition.


73 de John, KD2BD

 

Ouch! That one stings!

 

Can you point us to this power budget you mentioned? How can it take several times more power to operate WWVB ?

 

The ERP of WWVB is 70kW. See here. It uses very, very loaded monopole antennas, with a combined efficiency of less than 70% (see here). As per that page, each of the two WWVB transmitters produces ~102kW, which places the total power budget at about 408kW ((2 * 102kW) / 50%), assuming reasonably linear amplifiers (consistent with the ASK and PSK modulation types used).

Honestly, that's pretty good for a 60kHz transmitter site.

Now lets' compare to WWV. See here. Each of the 5, 10, and 15 MHz transmitters emit 10kW ERP, while the 2.5, 20, and 25MHz transmitters emit 2.5kW ERP, all using λ / 2 vertical dipole antennas (see here), which have close to unity intrinsic efficiency, and a small amount of pattern gain. Assuming again a linear transmitter for the AM mode, the transmitter efficiencies are all roughly in the 50% range.

So ((10kW * 3) + (2.5kW * 3)) / 50% = ~75kW total combined power budget, which is roughly one fifth (18%-ish) of that consumed by WWVB. In other words, WWVB could easily be consuming 5x the metered power of the other five Colorado transmitters combined.

It's round numbers(*), given the somewhat limited information available, but it would take a lot of error in my calculations for my conclusion to be incorrect.

WWVH adds a wrinkle, in that it consumes almost as much power as the Colorado AM stations (see here), with three 10kW and two 2.5kW transmitters. That's (35kW / 50%) or 70kW estimated power draw. The page notes that one of those transmitters is currently and indefinitely degraded to 2kW, so it's a little less than that. In any event, that's not quite another fifth of the power drawn by WWVB. But altogether, the nine HF stations of WWV and WWVH are still likely drawing less than half what it takes to run WWVB.

So leaving WWVB running, while shutting down WWV and WWVH would be a reduction, but not even a majority reduction.

Feel free to critique my math, because I did this in a bit of a hurry, but it looks pretty clear that WWVB is the real carnivore attached to the power meter in Fort Collins. That's just the nature of broadcasting at really long wavelengths.

(*) E.g., the efficiency of the transmitters might be slightly higher than 50%, the WWVB transmitters might be even more efficient if they found ways to make the PSK and ASK signals modulate cleanly without requiring a completely linear amplifier, the HF antennas likely contribute 30% or 40% of ERP gain above that of WWVB's loaded vertical pair, the feedline loss at HF is more than at MF or at LF, ground losses are also different with different frequencies, etc.​

 

Signed. This is a battle worth fighting.

 

If we were in Putin's Russia we could pour in "BOGUS CALLSIGNS"!!! GEE, too bad RUSSIA HASN'T THE ACUMEN TO HAVE ANYTHING DECENT like OUR WWV system in his country!!!

 

Sorry to say this, as it may be blasphemy to some, but in my entire 56 years on this planet I have NEVER listened to WWV or its sister source for anything. This is truly a generational issue. Anyone younger than me probably could not tell you what to do with a short wave radio and certainly never listened to any sw radio broadcast either. This is no different than Western Union stopping their telegraph service back in 2006. Just be honest, how many of you actually sent someone a telegraph message after say 1965. How often have you used Western Union to send someone money after 1980. With services like Paypal and others becoming available, and the widespread use of emails, these once vital services are obsolete! How often do you sit down and write a family member a letter on a piece of paper. That means you write it, put it in an envelope, add a stamp and then go physically mail it. I bet more often you sit in front of your cell phone, tablet or computer and tap it out on the keys. Then just hit the send button. I enjoy my radio hobby as much as anyone and this hobby has allowed to me some close friends but short wave has never played a role in it.

 

WELL, I did listen to WWV ... 50 years ago.

I now have a GPSDO with a very clean sine wave output on 10MHz. My computer & cell fone clocks have millisecond accuracy & my transmitter is fractional Hz on the mark. I don't need this accuracy, but it also happens automatically and is just what I have to put up with.

Yes, I did sign the petition but personally I think the lack of signatures is evidence of the usefulness of WWVanything. It is almost as if the petition is endorsement of shutting them down.

FWIW I did send cards to my mother with hand written messages. She was the only one tho, and she passed away this past March at the tender age of 99. I think there is a message in there for old tech. I also love bugs, I almost drool at the thought of getting one similar to the guy that taught me code decades ago. But, no.

Technology trods on. Hams used to be considered creative, as in figuring out new ways to do things. Technology trods on.

 

...especially since GPS supplies both time & frequency AND global positioning info. Add to that, it is available worldwide, without any propagation problems.

 

Alternative petition:

https://www.change.org/p/nist-save-wwv-and-wwvh-the-global-time-standards

 

This nation is headed for flat broke and deficit spending is something equivalent to evil. We can't afford every little pissant project just because it pleases us. Surely we can find a way to keep accurate time without such a facility and the gov't employees etc. ?

 

There's always the sundial wristwatch:

Good: Only sunlight is needed.
Bad: Sunlight is needed.

 

WWVB is used by many millions of users with many millions of dependent devices. Shutting it down would cause the average American to probably get a little annoyed, maybe enough to write their congressperson.

WWV is used by who? Hams, yes, but beyond that? Maybe 30 years ago it had more "subscribers", but today? I work in a public safety radio shop, and there is NO WWV receiver. GPSDO, and rubidium standards in bench gear, yes.

I suspect both will stay on the air, but if something has to go, WWV should get the ax before WWVB, IMHO...