A friend of a friend pointed this out to me, from NIST's website at the following URL, a little ways down the page ( https://www.nist.gov/director/fy-20...y/fundamental-measurement-quantum-science-and ). When they say "shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii" I would think they mean WWV, WWVB and WWVH. From the NIST website: Illustrative program reductions in FY 2019 -$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii
I certainly hope this is a little premature ... maybe even a funding oversight. If nothing else, at least these MFJ "atomic" clocks oughtta start selling cheap!
$6.3M savings? Is that even worth it for the loss? At the least, think of all the timepieces that will no longer automatically sync (like the one on my wrist). Not to mention the loss of a source for stratum-1 NTP servers. This is a wide-ranging consumer and industry change, if true and not just "illustrative". I can't imagine they'd do this - too much depends on that $6.3M.
This is just a small part of a much larger cut, some of which may be justified, but there is no practical replacement for WWV & WWVH. $6.7 million isn't even a rounding error in the trillions spent each year(the amount the broadcast programs allegedly cost) and many systems still use these signals, including ALL radio controlled clocks and watches. I am willing to bet your congress people don't even think of these things. Time for everyone to inform them by phone and email.
NIST has to stop competing with private enterprise and live up to its mission. WWV going away is wrong and stupid.
How about we start a Go-Fund Me or Kickstarter and take over the operation. License the use in watches, internet servers, etc. to keep it going. Privatize standards, what a concept.
Maybe they could start selling airtime with commercials i.e. "This minute brought to you by ......." HI
Has anyone looked to see what the proposed budget DOES include? Very, very "important" things like changing the definition of a kilogram from a physical object (located in France) to a value based on "the fundamental physical principals of the universe". Yeah, the world needs that! :-(
Actually the physical kilogram mass standard in France has been slowly losing a miniscule amount of mass and it's not yet understood why. That's one reason why it's being redefined in terms of fundamental constants, besides the general principle of not wanting to rely on particular physical items in case they are damaged or destroyed. Mass is the last basic unit remaining to be so redefined. Precise and repeatable weights and measures are quite important to every aspect of modern life and NIST is the foremost in the field.
Or... the ARRL could start a GoFundYourself (it worked on South Park) account, then buy and operate it, if for nothing more than to preserve the FT-8. Seriously, just the utility and maintenance costs must be horrendous.
Hopefully there will be a big backlash on shutting down WWV. Of course, we hams could benefit if we could grab more of the shortwave spectrum. How about an SSB extension for 30 meters in the 10.0-10.1 Mhz range. I'm sure most of that space is already allocated. Isn't GPS a suitable replacement for WWV as a time sync source? Assuming someone doesn't try to zap the GPS satellites, that would be a major vulnerability IMHO: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ns-on-russias-new-space-weapons-idUSKBN1KZ0T1
Is it still in there? I can't find it, perhaps account aging brain. The time signals continue to provide a necessary instant definite propagation check on MF and HF for comms units in the field, as well as a accurate frequency reference for the field alignment of equipment, specifically the 10mhz signal in this use. Household time piece synchronization is a secondary use for this critical national service. Hams today rush to the internet for propagation reports, instead of using their own equipment and skills as skilled ops have since the dawn of radio. BTW my copy of WWV from 2.5 - 25MHz inclusive here in Ohio with modest antennas is good every day at varying times regardless of dumb useless dire forecasts. The idea of my Shasta-Beckman WWV receiver becoming a doorstop is too bitter to contemplate from a operations perspective.
Despite the humerous YouTube parody of WWV, this news is bittersweet. As a kid in the 1960s, my Dad was an astrophysicist at the Boulder labs of the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST), which is where the atomic clock was then and is still located (the WWV transmitters are several miles north of Boulder, closer to Loveland and Fort Collins, actually). I remember him showing me "the clock" through the window from the hallway (we couldn't enter the room due to dust contamination restrictions). I share everyone's hope that this proposed budget slash would be reconsidered by NIST's leadership.
