Post by thread:[EE]: WWVB outages

Hi everyone, I am building a WWVB receiver for my Applied Signal Processing class and I'm having some trouble that I think some people here may be able to help with. I had it working fine several days ago in northeast Pennsylvania(I was getting a strong signal, at least 12dB S/N ratio and I could hear it loud and clear). When I came back up to New York (Ithaca, central southern-tier,only 100 miles away) I haven't been able to get it to work (I've been trying since about 11pm last night and I get no signal at all, just quiet static, as if the transmitter were off the air). I have checked over the wiring and I don't think anything has changed. I am also able to hear weak signals from computer monitors in nearby rooms and my own monitor saturates the audio output so I think it is working. First of all, can anyone who has a WWVB receiver or self-setting clock tell me if you have received a WWVB signal in the last 12 hours(from 9:00 until 21:00 Wednesday 18 April UTC)? They have been doing antenna repairs lately and have had some outages, so it is possible that they have been off the air. Secondly, my understanding is that in most of the continental US, WWVB is received through ground-wave propagation (it's at 60kHz) which should have no problem entering a valley which is several miles wide, right?I know that my area is well within the stated coverage area for at least a large part of the time I have been listening. Thanks, Sean -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics

Sean, Is this station located in Colorado? Have you tried receiving on the shortwave frequencies? (5, 10, 15, 20Khz?). Or what about WWVH (Hawaii). Of course this is doubtful. Just a thought. Regards, Jim KA9QHR On Wed, 18 April 2001, "Sean H. Breheny" wrote: {Quote hidden}> > Hi everyone, > > I am building a WWVB receiver for my Applied Signal Processing class and > I'm having some trouble that I think some people here may be able to help > with. I had it working fine several days ago in northeast Pennsylvania(I > was getting a strong signal, at least 12dB S/N ratio and I could hear it > loud and clear). When I came back up to New York (Ithaca, central > southern-tier,only 100 miles away) I haven't been able to get it to work > (I've been trying since about 11pm last night and I get no signal at all, > just quiet static, as if the transmitter were off the air). I have checked > over the wiring and I don't think anything has changed. I am also able to > hear weak signals from computer monitors in nearby rooms and my own monitor > saturates the audio output so I think it is working. > > First of all, can anyone who has a WWVB receiver or self-setting clock tell > me if you have received a WWVB signal in the last 12 hours(from 9:00 until > 21:00 Wednesday 18 April UTC)? They have been doing antenna repairs lately > and have had some outages, so it is possible that they have been off the air. > > Secondly, my understanding is that in most of the continental US, WWVB is > received through ground-wave propagation (it's at 60kHz) which should have > no problem entering a valley which is several miles wide, right?I know that > my area is well within the stated coverage area for at least a large part > of the time I have been listening. > > Thanks, > > Sean > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics > (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics spam_OUTjimTakeThisOuTjpes.com -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics

Hi Sean, > I am building a WWVB receiver for [...] class > > First of all, can anyone who has a WWVB receiver or self-setting > clock tell me if you have received a WWVB signal in the last 12 > hours (from 9:00 until 21:00 Wednesday 18 April UTC)? They have > been doing antenna repairs lately and have had some outages, so > it is possible that they have been off the air. www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/stations/wwvboutages.htm lists station outages. Latest one listed was 4-14-1. Don't know how long it takes them to update that page after they have an outage. I personally don't know if they are currently on-air or not. > Secondly, my understanding is that in most of the continental > US, WWVB is received through ground-wave propagation (it's at > 60kHz) which should have no problem entering a valley which is > several miles wide, right? I'd expect you'd be able to receive the signal. Have you tried checking the signal by going to a local Radio Shack store and forcing one of they WWVB based clocks into a hunt for signal mode? The one I own shows current signal strength when forced (i.e. power cycled or toggled to auto-off then to auto-on) for about 2 minutes as it's trying to acquire signal. Is there a RS in the valley with you? Lee -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics

Hi Lee, Thanks for your quick reply: At 03:57 PM 4/18/01 -0700, you wrote: >www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/stations/wwvboutages.htm >lists station outages. Latest one listed was 4-14-1. Don't >know how long it takes them to update that page after they have >an outage. It seems as though it takes them about a day or two (I've been monitoring that page over the last week), so that page doesn't really help me right now. >I'd expect you'd be able to receive the signal. That's what I would think, too. >Have you tried checking the signal by going to a local Radio >Shack store and forcing one of they WWVB based clocks into a >hunt for signal mode? The one I own shows current signal >strength when forced (i.e. power cycled or toggled to auto-off >then to auto-on) for about 2 minutes as it's trying to acquire >signal. Is there a RS in the valley with you? That's a very good idea but my report on this is due tomorrow (so I don't have time to go to RS now, they will be closing soon for the day anyway) so I think I will just have to say that I had it working and that presently it is receiving nothing but it may be due to WWVB itself. Originally I was supposed to test out a decoder for it, too, in addition to the receiver, but I will have to test that on a simulated signal if I don't get anything in an hour or two. It just bothers me that it isn't receiving anything so I just asked to see if anyone had any clues or info on whether they are on the air. You said that you own such a receiver. Would it be possible for you to check it to see if you are getting anything? Thanks, Sean > Lee > >-- >http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics >(like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics

Hi Jim, Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, it's located in Colorado (and is also run by NIST), but this is a separate station from WWV (which transmits on 5,10,15, and 20 MHz). WWVB is intended to provide a single frequency which can reliably be received during at least part of every day in the whole continental US. That's why they use such a low frequency, to make the dominant propagation mode ground wave (although if you look at their coverage diagrams it does appear that some skip occurs at the edges of the coverage area during some parts of the day). So, no, I haven't recently tried listening on the shortwave freqs, but even if I did, it wouldn't really tell me anything about whether WWVB in on the air or not. Of course, it doesn't help that this project is due tomorrow (I did have a longer time to do it but couldn't really start until about a week ago because of other work) :-) I have tried emailing the people who run WWVB to ask if there has been an outage but I have not yet gotten a response. Sean At 03:04 PM 4/18/01 -0700, you wrote: {Quote hidden}> Sean, > > Is this station located in Colorado? Have you tried receiving on > the shortwave frequencies? (5, 10, 15, 20Khz?). Or what about > WWVH (Hawaii). Of course this is doubtful. Just a thought. > > Regards, > > Jim KA9QHR > >On Wed, 18 April 2001, "Sean H. Breheny" wrote: > > > > > Hi everyone, > > > > I am building a WWVB receiver for my Applied Signal Processing class and > > I'm having some trouble that I think some people here may be able to help > > with. I had it working fine several days ago in northeast Pennsylvania(I > > was getting a strong signal, at least 12dB S/N ratio and I could hear it > > loud and clear). When I came back up to New York (Ithaca, central > > southern-tier,only 100 miles away) I haven't been able to get it to work > > (I've been trying since about 11pm last night and I get no signal at all, > > just quiet static, as if the transmitter were off the air). I have checked > > over the wiring and I don't think anything has changed. I am also able to > > hear weak signals from computer monitors in nearby rooms and my own monitor > > saturates the audio output so I think it is working. > > > > First of all, can anyone who has a WWVB receiver or self-setting clock tell > > me if you have received a WWVB signal in the last 12 hours(from 9:00 until > > 21:00 Wednesday 18 April UTC)? They have been doing antenna repairs lately > > and have had some outages, so it is possible that they have been off > the air. > > > > Secondly, my understanding is that in most of the continental US, WWVB is > > received through ground-wave propagation (it's at 60kHz) which should have > > no problem entering a valley which is several miles wide, right?I know that > > my area is well within the stated coverage area for at least a large part > > of the time I have been listening. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Sean > > > > -- > > http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics > > (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics > >.....jimKILLspam@spam@jpes.com > >-- >http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics >(like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics

> That's a very good idea but my report on this is due tomorrow (so I don't > have time to go to RS now, they will be closing soon for the day anyway) so > I think I will just have to say that I had it working and that presently it > is receiving nothing but it may be due to WWVB itself. Why not bring it to the top of a hill to see if that helps? Also make sure the antenna is oriented for reception from the west. This can make a big difference. I have a clock that works on two parallel walls, but not the other two that are perpendicular to those. Of course I'm almost in the worst location for receiving WWVB in the continental US, but you're only a little closer than I am. ******************************************************************** Olin Lathrop, embedded systems consultant in Littleton Massachusetts (978) 742-9014, olinKILLspamembedinc.com, http://www.embedinc.com -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

> Have you tried checking the signal by going to a local Radio > Shack store and forcing one of they WWVB based clocks into a > hunt for signal mode? The one I own shows current signal > strength when forced (i.e. power cycled or toggled to auto-off > then to auto-on) for about 2 minutes as it's trying to acquire > signal. Is there a RS in the valley with you? I'm in Massachusetts, about 1,500 miles from the transmitter in Boulder. I know of several WWVB clocks around here that only receive the signal at night when there is less interference. The one in the conference room is a good example. If I put a new battery in it in the morning, it just sits there all day long waiting for a signal, but by next morning its gotten a signal and is showing the right time. ******************************************************************** Olin Lathrop, embedded systems consultant in Littleton Massachusetts (978) 742-9014, .....olinKILLspam.....embedinc.com, http://www.embedinc.com -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

Thanks to all who responded to my question. I turned in my project (even though I am still not getting any signal from WWVB) and explained that the problem could be due to WWVB itself. Scott Newell (who has a WWVB clock) told me last night that his clock had not gotten a signal from WWVB in the last 24 hours, either. I would still appreciate it if anyone who has a WWVB receiver or clock could tell me if they are getting any signal. Actually, I am most of the way up one of the hills on the side of the valley, so location shouldn't be an issue. I have tried rotating the antenna around and still no signal from WWVB. Your location shouldn't be that bad, Olin, because the coverage area expands at night (presumably due to reduced ionization in the D layer of the ionosphere, allowing some skip to occur off the E or F layers), and it looks like it just barely includes Massachusetts during several hours of the night. I don't think it has to do with reduced noise. Thanks, Sean At 11:50 AM 4/19/01 -0400, you wrote: {Quote hidden}> > That's a very good idea but my report on this is due tomorrow (so I don't > > have time to go to RS now, they will be closing soon for the day anyway) >so > > I think I will just have to say that I had it working and that presently >it > > is receiving nothing but it may be due to WWVB itself. > >Why not bring it to the top of a hill to see if that helps? Also make sure >the antenna is oriented for reception from the west. This can make a big >difference. I have a clock that works on two parallel walls, but not the >other two that are perpendicular to those. Of course I'm almost in the >worst location for receiving WWVB in the continental US, but you're only a >little closer than I am. > > >******************************************************************** >Olin Lathrop, embedded systems consultant in Littleton Massachusetts >(978) 742-9014, EraseMEolinspam_OUTTakeThisOuTembedinc.com, http://www.embedinc.com > >-- >http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different >ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

Just curious.... What kind of an antenna is used to broadcast 60Khz ? That's a wavelength of almost 5 kilometers!, isn't it? Dan On Thu, 19 Apr 2001 18:07:58 -0400, Sean H. Breheny wrote: {Quote hidden}>Thanks to all who responded to my question. I turned in my project (even >though I am still not getting any signal from WWVB) and explained that the >problem could be due to WWVB itself. Scott Newell (who has a WWVB clock) >told me last night that his clock had not gotten a signal from WWVB in the >last 24 hours, either. > >I would still appreciate it if anyone who has a WWVB receiver or clock >could tell me if they are getting any signal. > >Actually, I am most of the way up one of the hills on the side of the >valley, so location shouldn't be an issue. I have tried rotating the >antenna around and still no signal from WWVB. > >Your location shouldn't be that bad, Olin, because the coverage area >expands at night (presumably due to reduced ionization in the D layer of >the ionosphere, allowing some skip to occur off the E or F layers), and it >looks like it just barely includes Massachusetts during several hours of >the night. I don't think it has to do with reduced noise. > >Thanks, > >Sean > >At 11:50 AM 4/19/01 -0400, you wrote: >> > That's a very good idea but my report on this is due tomorrow (so I don't >> > have time to go to RS now, they will be closing soon for the day anyway) >>so >> > I think I will just have to say that I had it working and that presently >>it >> > is receiving nothing but it may be due to WWVB itself. >> >>Why not bring it to the top of a hill to see if that helps? Also make sure >>the antenna is oriented for reception from the west. This can make a big >>difference. I have a clock that works on two parallel walls, but not the >>other two that are perpendicular to those. Of course I'm almost in the >>worst location for receiving WWVB in the continental US, but you're only a >>little closer than I am. >> >> >>******************************************************************** >>Olin Lathrop, embedded systems consultant in Littleton Massachusetts >>(978) 742-9014, olinspam_OUTembedinc.com, http://www.embedinc.com >> >>-- >>http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different >>ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. > >-- >http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different >ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. > > > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

Hi Dan, Their antenna (which is quite large and consists of a radiating downlead attached to a capacitive hat, all suspended by four non-radiating towers) is much shorter than even a quarter wave, but they have a very complex matching system which changes automatically to provide the optimum match under varying conditions (essentially an automatic antenna tuner). Even so, they only get about 50% efficiency (from transmitter to radiated power, IIRC). They actually have two such antenna systems, one oriented to radiate in two directions, the other in an orthogonal direction, so they overall get an omnidirectional pattern. My receiving antenna is only a 10cm long ferrite rod with 122 turns of wire on it. I was pretty amazed to see that pick up a fairly strong signal from Colorado (especially since, as an amateur radio operator, I'm used to resonant dipole antennas). Sean At 05:17 PM 4/19/01 -0600, Dan Larson wrote: >Just curious.... > >What kind of an antenna is used to broadcast 60Khz ? > >That's a wavelength of almost 5 kilometers!, isn't it? > >Dan -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

Hi Barry, Yeah, but they have been operating at 37 kW for a while now, and I was able to receive them in Pennsylvania a few days ago (getting a clear signal) and now, only 100 miles away, I get nothing, so it may be something on my end, but I doubt that it has to do with the reduced power. Sean At 03:45 PM 4/19/01 -0700, you wrote: >BTW I see in the notes that they are operating at >reduced power (only 37 kW :) but I guess that >would lose you guys in the fringe areas. > >Barry > >-- >http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different >ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

>Hi Barry, > >Yeah, but they have been operating at 37 kW for a while now, and I was able >to receive them in Pennsylvania a few days ago (getting a clear signal) and >now, only 100 miles away, I get nothing, so it may be something on my end, >but I doubt that it has to do with the reduced power. > >Sean To that end I was wondering to what extent you can look at the recieved signal (speaker, signal strength meter, oscilloscope) since there might be a big 60 KHz signal sitting on that frequency (being radiated from something in the house, for example). I also thought about building an oscillator (or finding it on a signal generator somewhwere) to test the receiver. I said as much in another message but it somehow got put through the sever's command interpreter and chewed to bits so it may not show up on the list. Barry -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

Hi Barry, I guess I didn't explain enough about my receiver. I just built it myself (it is a bunch of components on a breadboard) and right now all it does is give audio output, so I have it going to a speaker. All I hear is static right now(with a few really weak steady carriers in the background, presumably from monitors and computers in the surrounding area). Before, I could hear about the same amount of static, but with a strong WWVB signal on top of it (very distinctive since it is modulated at a 1Hz rate with PWM). I don't really need to build an oscillator to test it because my computer monitor is a nice source of 60kHz emissions :-) Just turning my monitor on causes so much output from the receiver that the output stage clips (I get a square wave out). I can also tell that the circuit works because the noise in the output goes way down when the antenna is disconnected, and the noise peaks as you tune the local oscillator past 60kHz. The receiver consists of a ferrite rod type antenna with a capacitor in parallel to create an LC tank circuit for 60kHz. The output of this goes into an RF amp based on a PN2222 transistor (gives about a gain of 200), and then into a very simple mixer (just another PN2222) driven by a 555 acting as a local oscillator (I also have a frequency counter hooked up to allow me to tune it exactly). The mixer output goes to a sharp active bandpass filter (gain of 100 and 50Hz bandwidth at 1.18kHz, meaning that I receive 60kHz at either 58.82 kHz local oscillator or 61.18kHz LO), which is then followed by just an audio gain stage (gain=150). This is then fed into a pair of cheap computer speakers. Originally, I was going to feed this into an ADC and then use a microcontroller (AVR, shhhh! don't tell anyone ;-) to decode it and display the time on an LCD, but since I haven't had a signal for a while, I scrapped that idea and just implemented a simulation of the decoder in MATLAB. Sean At 04:08 PM 4/19/01 -0700, you wrote: {Quote hidden}> >Hi Barry, > > > >Yeah, but they have been operating at 37 kW for a while now, and I was able > >to receive them in Pennsylvania a few days ago (getting a clear signal) and > >now, only 100 miles away, I get nothing, so it may be something on my end, > >but I doubt that it has to do with the reduced power. > > > >Sean > >To that end I was wondering to what extent you can look at >the recieved signal (speaker, signal strength meter, oscilloscope) >since there might be a big 60 KHz signal sitting on that >frequency (being radiated from something in the house, for >example). > >I also thought about building an oscillator (or finding it >on a signal generator somewhwere) to test the receiver. I >said as much in another message but it somehow got put through >the sever's command interpreter and chewed to bits so it may >not show up on the list. > >Barry > >-- >http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different >ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

Sean, Last night I listened to WWVB on 60 Khz. It was there, but week compared to when they did not have the antenna problem. I also have a clock, but it is still working. It may be "close " and not correcting it self however, it did do the DST correction. bill . Sean H. Breheny wrote: {Quote hidden}> Thanks to all who responded to my question. I turned in my project (even > though I am still not getting any signal from WWVB) and explained that the > problem could be due to WWVB itself. Scott Newell (who has a WWVB clock) > told me last night that his clock had not gotten a signal from WWVB in the > last 24 hours, either. > > I would still appreciate it if anyone who has a WWVB receiver or clock > could tell me if they are getting any signal. > > Actually, I am most of the way up one of the hills on the side of the > valley, so location shouldn't be an issue. I have tried rotating the > antenna around and still no signal from WWVB. > > Your location shouldn't be that bad, Olin, because the coverage area > expands at night (presumably due to reduced ionization in the D layer of > the ionosphere, allowing some skip to occur off the E or F layers), and it > looks like it just barely includes Massachusetts during several hours of > the night. I don't think it has to do with reduced noise. > > Thanks, > > Sean > > At 11:50 AM 4/19/01 -0400, you wrote: > > > That's a very good idea but my report on this is due tomorrow (so I don't > > > have time to go to RS now, they will be closing soon for the day anyway) > >so > > > I think I will just have to say that I had it working and that presently > >it > > > is receiving nothing but it may be due to WWVB itself. > > > >Why not bring it to the top of a hill to see if that helps? Also make sure > >the antenna is oriented for reception from the west. This can make a big > >difference. I have a clock that works on two parallel walls, but not the > >other two that are perpendicular to those. Of course I'm almost in the > >worst location for receiving WWVB in the continental US, but you're only a > >little closer than I am. > > > > > >******************************************************************** > >Olin Lathrop, embedded systems consultant in Littleton Massachusetts > >(978) 742-9014, @spam@olinKILLspamembedinc.com, http://www.embedinc.com > > > >-- > >http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different > >ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different > ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.

>Just curious.... > >What kind of an antenna is used to broadcast 60Khz ? > >That's a wavelength of almost 5 kilometers!, isn't it? > >Dan I remember seeing an article on an antenna for working at 21kHz. It was about 5 miles long, and they decided to lay it across the ice in Antarctica. I cannot remember what it was being used for, it may have been research into radio waves received from deep space or something similar, but I remember thinking at the time that ice was probably as good an insulation material they were going to find to support it without heaps of lamp post type poles for miles. There is also a time standard transmitter at Rugby in the UK. I am pretty sure it also works at 60kHz. You can see an aerial farm when driving up the M1 motorway (freeway to you Americans) that looks very similar to what has already been described. I believe there is another similar transmitter in Europe, I think Germany. -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email KILLspamlistservKILLspammitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body

Hi Olin, It's 60 kHz, not 60Hz. I also just realized that I made an error in my description of the antennas: they are both apparently omnidirectional, so I guess the purpose of having two is for redundancy? I'm not sure and the web site doesn't really explain other than to say that the combination of two antennas was more efficient than just one. Perhaps, but for 65% instead of 50% efficiency, considering the size of these antennas, I'm surprised it wasn't more economical to just transmit more power. Sean At 08:19 AM 4/20/01 -0400, you wrote: {Quote hidden}> > What kind of an antenna is used to broadcast 60Khz ? > > > > That's a wavelength of almost 5 kilometers!, isn't it? > >5 megameters actually. > >Does WWVB really use 60Hz? I thought it was higher than that. 60Hz sounds >like asking for trouble because of the strong signal from the power grid. > > >******************************************************************** >Olin Lathrop, embedded systems consultant in Littleton Massachusetts >(978) 742-9014, olinEraseME.....embedinc.com, http://www.embedinc.com > >-- >http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! >email EraseMElistservmitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email RemoveMElistservEraseMEEraseMEmitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body

Olin Lathrop wrote: > > What kind of an antenna is used to broadcast 60Khz ? > > > > That's a wavelength of almost 5 kilometers!, isn't it? > > 5 megameters actually. > > Does WWVB really use 60Hz? KILLO Hertz, a feww orders of magnitude. {Quote hidden}> I thought it was higher than that. 60Hz sounds > like asking for trouble because of the strong signal from the power grid. > > ******************************************************************** > Olin Lathrop, embedded systems consultant in Littleton Massachusetts > (978) 742-9014, RemoveMEolinTakeThisOuTspamembedinc.com, http://www.embedinc.com > > -- > http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! > email EraseMElistservspamspamBeGonemitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body -- * | __O Thomas C. Sefranek RemoveMEtcsKILLspamcmcorp.com |_-\<,_ Amateur Radio Operator: WA1RHP (*)/ (*) Bicycle mobile on 145.41, 448.625 MHz ARRL Instructor, Technical Specialist, VE Contact. hamradio.cmcorp.com/inventory/Inventory.html http://www.harvardrepeater.org -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email listservSTOPspamspam_OUTmitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body

> Don't the Canadians have some sort of clock signal broadcast you could use > instead in Massachusetts ? I think someone had a HF broadcast clock source > at 5, 10, and 15MHz. This may be easier to receive than 60kHz. The canadian station I know of is called CHU. The shortwave CHU signal is a bit stronger around here than the shortwave WWV signal. I don't know if the Canadians have an equivalent of the low frequency WWVB. However, the automatic clock devices I've seen for sale and the ones I have all use the WWVB signal. The ones I have don't provide any choices, but fortunately do seem to pick up the signal at night. ******************************************************************** Olin Lathrop, embedded systems consultant in Littleton Massachusetts (978) 742-9014, spamBeGoneolinSTOPspamEraseMEembedinc.com, http://www.embedinc.com -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email KILLspamlistservspamBeGonemitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body

Have been watching these WWVB notes about the 60Khz freq. I believe the Navy talks to subs with a much lower freq and are supposed to have a cple antennas(east and west) that are buried in mountainsides. All highly classified of course... We were talking about this back in the 70's and somebody joked that the frequency was so low they resonated the Earth. "Thomas C. Sefranek" wrote: {Quote hidden}> > Olin Lathrop wrote: > > > > What kind of an antenna is used to broadcast 60Khz ? > > > > > > That's a wavelength of almost 5 kilometers!, isn't it? > > > > 5 megameters actually. > > > > Does WWVB really use 60Hz? > > KILLO Hertz, a feww orders of magnitude. > > > I thought it was higher than that. 60Hz sounds > > like asking for trouble because of the strong signal from the power grid. > > > > ******************************************************************** > > Olin Lathrop, embedded systems consultant in Littleton Massachusetts > > (978) 742-9014, EraseMEolinEraseMEembedinc.com, http://www.embedinc.com > > > > -- > > http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! > > email @spam@listserv@spam@spam_OUTmitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body > > -- > * > | __O Thomas C. Sefranek spamBeGonetcsKILLspamcmcorp.com > |_-\<,_ Amateur Radio Operator: WA1RHP > (*)/ (*) Bicycle mobile on 145.41, 448.625 MHz > > ARRL Instructor, Technical Specialist, VE Contact. > hamradio.cmcorp.com/inventory/Inventory.html > http://www.harvardrepeater.org > > -- > http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! > email .....listservspam_OUTmitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body -- http://www.piclist.com hint: PICList Posts must start with ONE topic: [PIC]:,[SX]:,[AVR]: ->uP ONLY! [EE]:,[OT]: ->Other [BUY]:,[AD]: ->Ads