[Elecraft] OT: Changes at WWV, WWVB

[Myron WVØH]

And it's Lamoure not Lemoure (says the ex-North Dakotan). I actually visited that site back when I was attending Science Scool in Wahpeton. Racks and racks of mux's.

Myron WVØH
Printed on Recycled Data

> On Nov 28, 2014, at 1:54 PM, Ken G Kopp <kengkopp at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Roger!
> 
> Yes, you're not the first to spot my error about ND, and my friend is
> trying to confirm where the WWVB
> LORAN C transmitter came from
> 
> I used to do hamfest talks on antennas for 160M and used several slides of
> the George,  WA station.  Last time I was there they had a Bobcat on the
> roof clearing ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption.
> 
> Ken - K0PP
>> On Nov 28, 2014 1:41 PM, "Roger D Johnson" <n1rj at roadrunner.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Interesting! As a former LORAN C guy I'm happy that at least one
>> transmitter
>> found a new home. You mentioned earlier that the transmitter came from the
>> station in ND. However, the station in Lemoure, ND was an Omega station,
>> not LORAN C.
>> 
>> 73, Roger CWO4, USCG (ret)
>> 
>> 
>>> On 11/28/2014 3:18 PM, Ken G Kopp wrote:
>>> 
>>> I have a long-time close friend who's retired from
>>> the NBS in Boulder and was the project engineer
>>> on the NBS #7 cesium standard.  After the recent
>>> reflector postings about  WWV / WWVB I thought
>>> I would get first-hand recent information from him.
>>> 
>>> The GPS satellites all carry on-board cesium
>>> standards that are synchronized with NTIS, and
>>> because of changes (below) to WWVB, cell phones
>>> remain the most accurate source of time for most of us.
>>> 
>>> All the HF transmitters at Ft. Collins are the same TMC
>>> units that were put in service when the facility was built.
>>> The 2.5 and 20 MHz transmitters run at lower power due
>>> to propagation considerations.
>>> 
>>> The time and other station-related voice info is sourced
>>> on site in Ft. Collins, and the various propagation and
>>> weather info comes from various "dial in" land-line
>>> sources. Hence the widely varying quality of these
>>> announcements.  I forgot to ask about the individual
>>> who made the voice recordings ...
>>> 
>>> Here's the most important info .... as of about a year
>>> ago the modulation scheme on WWVB (60 kHz) was
>>> changed (phase reversal each minute) and this has
>>> rendered most of the end-user equipment inoperative.
>>> Most (all ?) tracking receivers like the HP-117's are
>>> now useless without extensive modification.
>>> 
>>> Most of the "atomic" clocks now in use ->do not<- synch
>>> to the current modulation scheme on the 60 kHz signal.
>>> This will explain the differences in displayed time on
>>> supposedly identical clocks and how some appear to
>>> not be getting sufficient enough signal to synchronize.
>>> 
>>> He offered no comment on how to locate "consumer"
>>> clocks that -do- respond to the "new" modulation scheme.
>>> 
>>> The 60 kHz transmitter is indeed an ex-LORAN C unit,
>>> and because of the higher power of the "new" transmitter
>>> the antenna system was rebuilt using material from the
>>> LORAN C site.
>>> 
>>> The 20 kHz transmitter was "home made" by NBS staff
>>> at the old Beltsville, MD facility and moved to Ft. Collins.
>>> There is no longer an antenna for this transmitter and it
>>> will not return to the air.  Trivia:  The antenna was of
>>> such high-Q that a near-by thunderstorm system would
>>> often detune the system and cause the overload protection
>>> to trip the transmitter off.
>>> 
>>> He suggests that a visit to the NBS website would be
>>> "informative".
>>> 
>>> 73
>>> 
>>> Ken Kopp - K0PP
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