From the ARRL... The National Institute of Standards and Technology plans to survey users of WWV and WWVH later this year. The time and frequency-standard stations have been airing occasional announcements about the upcoming poll in order to start building a mailing list of survey recipients. The announcements state that NIST "is seeking information on how listeners use the broadcast services offered on the WWV broadcast," but the survey will not begin for at least several weeks. WWV Station Manager John Lowe says the announcements are being broadcast now as a heads up and to encourage early mailing list signups. The survey itself will not be released until approved by the Office of Management and Budget, Lowe said, and he doesn't expect that to happen until May, although it could be sooner. The survey period likely would extend through the summer, he said. According to Lowe, the last WWV-WWVH user survey was done in 1985. "We just don't know who our user base is anymore," he said. Lowe confirmed that the data collected ultimately could be used to determine whether WWV and WWVH remain on the air--especially given the popularity of NIST's other outlets, including its Web-based time server that gets in excess of 3 million hits a day. "If we get only two people who say they're using WWV, then we've got a problem," he said. Lowe added that he does not think WWV and WWV will be shut down, and he vowed to "fight for the radio stations," if it came down to that. "But the ultimate decision is not in my hands," he said. "We have to look at our budget and our users." Lowe strongly encouraged WWV users to get on the mailing list and to send in a survey when the time comes. He suggested, however, that more weight will be given to survey responses from corporate and institutional users of the radio service as opposed to individual users. To be added to the NIST WWV-WWVH survey mailing list, send your name and postal address to the NIST Radio Station WWV, 2000 E County Road 58, Ft Collins, CO 80524, or e-mail the information to nist.radio@boulder.nist.gov. Lowe urged WWV-WWVH users to hold their fire until the survey begins. WWV in Ft Collins, Colorado, and WWVH on Kauai, Hawaii, broadcast continuous time and frequency information to millions of listeners worldwide. For more information, visit the NIST Website.
