[Elecraft] WWV/WWVH Closure

[Bob McGraw K4TAX]

More info on the topic.  I view the loss of WWV, WWVH and possibly WWVB 
to have a major impact on world wide communication technology in many 
ways.  If WWVB operation is suspended, where would be the reference for 
many of our atomic clocks?

73

Bob, K4TAX


The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST 
<https://www.nist.gov/>) FY 2019 budget request includes shutting down 
“NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii” — in other words, WWV and 
WWVH. Radio amateurs, HF listeners, and others around the world 
routinely make use of the time and frequency standard signals, which 
also include propagation information. NIST said eliminating funding 
currently “supporting fundamental measurement dissemination” would 
include putting WWV and WWVH off the air for a saving of $6.3 
million. The NIST FY 2019 budget request for efforts related to 
Fundamental Measurement, Quantum Science and Measurement 
Dissemination is $127 million, which, the agency said, is a net decrease 
of $49 million from FY 2018 levels. The Administration's overall NIST 
budget 
<https://www.nist.gov/fy-2019-presidential-budget-request-summary/budget-tables> request 
is more than $629 million.

“The proposed reductions will allow NIST to consolidate and focus on 
narrower core [fundamental] measurement programs while meeting budget 
levels,” the agency said in its FY 2019 budget summary 
<https://www.nist.gov/director/fy-2019-presidential-budget-request-summary/fundamental-measurement-quantum-science-and>. 
“NIST will focus on basic research while reducing funding for efforts 
applying some of its breakthroughs into new measurement applications.

The FY 2019 proposed budget cuts developed earlier this year came to 
light via Tom Witherspoon, K4SWL, who maintains The SWLing Post 
<https://swling.com/> website, after a number of viewers called it to 
his attention. He posted an article 
<https://swling.com/blog/2018/08/nist-fy2019-budget-includes-request-to-shutdown-wwv-and-wwvh/> on 
his blog.

“I’ve always considered WWV and WWVH to be the heartbeat of the 
shortwaves here in North America — a constant, timely companion and 
brilliant gauge of HF propagation,” Witherspoon wrote. I assumed both 
stations would be some of the last to go silent on the shortwaves.”

NIST said other “illustrative” cuts in the FY 2019 budget include:

  * $3.5 million for Lab to Market, which seeks to accelerate technology
    transfer from federal laboratories
  * $6.6 million in environmental measurements projects across NIST
    laboratories, including work measuring the impact of aerosols on
    pollution and climate change, and gas reference materials used by
    industry to reduce costs of complying with regulations
  * $5.8 million eliminating the NIST Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Measurements
    program, including Urban Dome research grants to advance the direct
    measurement of GHG emissions on the scale of cities or regions.
  * $6.7 million in forensic science, reducing the program size to $7.3
    million by prioritizing measurement science in the NIST labs and
    eliminating program management functions and external grants for the
    Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science and
    the Forensic Science Center of Excellence
  * $4.1 million in R&D targeting application of NIST quantum
    breakthroughs to applied measurement needs, including temperature
    and atmospheric gas metrology

“I find this budget request very disappointing,” Witherspoon said with 
respect to the proposed elimination of WWV and WWVH. “Let’s hope, 
somehow, this does not come to fruition.” He said The SWLing Post would 
be tracking and posting any new developments.