[Elecraft] WWV Clocks -- It's really WWVB

[Robert McGwier]

Twice a year,  I take my clocks out to the back porch and out of my 
shack/office.  That is around the time of DST/ST switches.  The rest of 
the year,  my "Atomic Clock" from LaCrosse is always in perfect sync to 
the ability of my eye to detect.   I always do it after the switch 
because I never remember to do it before the switch!.  In central NJ,  
FN20rg,  in eight years of owning this clock,  I have never once had 
this procedure fail: back porch with full western exposure, one night, 
the clock resets and from then until the next change over, it keeps 
great time.

After acquisition,  it seems to do some kind of matched filtering for 
"what it expects" to stay synchronized and gets better Eb/N0 performance 
as a result.  I have repeated this every time I need to replace a 
battery or change ST/DST.

Bob
N4HY


John Magliacane wrote:
> Hi Craig.
>
>   
>> We have a total of 8 "automatic" WWV synched clocks of various types...
>> ....
>> And I live 30 miles from the WWV transmitter.
>>     
>
> Incidentially, it is _WWVB_ on 60 kHz, not WWV or WWVH on HF that is used by
> these "radio controlled clocks" for periodic time checks, usually once a day
> during the early morning hours (local time).
>
> Despite your short distance to WWVB, you still might be experiencing poor
> reception due to local interference sources.  Computer monitors, switching
> power supplies, AC operated motors, and thunderstorms tend to generate a
> lot of 60 kHz noise.
>
>
> I'm 1622 miles east of WWVB and own a WWVB-based frequency standard / UTC clock
> of my own design.  Even at this distance, when proper receiving techniques are
> used, reception of WWVB is generally excellent, day or night.
>
>
> 73, de John, KD2BD
>
>   

-- 
AMSAT VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats,
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