[time-nuts] Notes on WWVB

David Forbes dforbes at dakotacom.net
Sun Aug 27 20:27:59 EDT 2006


At 7:13 PM -0500 8/27/06, Bill Hawkins wrote:
>Have a Spectracom 8163 WWVB receiver/comparator and recorder.
>
>Looked for WWVB Modulation and found a hit for the Code of
>Federal Regulations as 15 CFR 200.107 that covers WWV, WWVH,
>and WWVB. The text says it was updated on 1/1/2006, but it
>is a trip into the past. WWV broadcasts voice reports on
>Omega Navigation conditions. WWVB has 12 KW of ERP.
>
>This is not typical of CFR's. Pharmaceutical CFR's are right
>up to date. Anyone have some insight into this bureaucratic
>failure to update accurately?

Bill,

I presume that there are no politicians interested in the timeliness 
of the WWVB regulations in the CFR. The whole thing is an 
anachronism, what with GPS and all.

The folks who design the chips that go into WWVB wristwatches and 
wall clocks figure it out from the NIST page, I'd guess, rather than 
looking in the CFR. After all, NIST actually runs the station so they 
would be expected to have the best information.

If you want useful information, type WWVB into Google and go to the 
NIST webpage it leads you to. Many useful links and PDF files near 
the bottom of the page. One of those is a PDF file with instructions 
on how to design an atomic wall clock!


-- 

--David Forbes, Tucson, AZ
http://www.cathodecorner.com/



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