There is more to short-wave time signals than time
It was one of those short-wave topic blogs. The writer asked a rhetorical question regarding the short-wave time signals: how long they were going to last with the time now being available from satellite GPS?
For me, a short-wave time signal is part of the magic of radio; receiving a radio signal travelling invisibly through the air, at the speed of light, from hundreds of miles, thousands of miles, away is still amazing to me. No infrastructure between the receiver and the transmitter is required.
The time signal arrives in an instant from when it is transmitted making it extremely accurate, and it is in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Traditionally, shortwave radio broadcasts schedules are in UTC time, and UTC time stays the same. No stupid moving of the time forward and back twice per year with Daylight Savings Time.
The time signal from Fort Collins, Colorado, includes other valuable information with the time signal broadcast, such as “…geophysical alerts and marine storm warnings.”
Broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on more than one short-wave frequency, I can determine the propagation of the short-wave bands by tuning into the time signals. This also allows me to test my short-wave receiver to determine if it is working properly, if one receiving location is better than another, or if my new home-made aerial does in fact work.
The short-wave time signals have a lot more use to them than just knowing the correct time.
(c) Trevor Dailey
Canada time signals: NRC short wave station broadcasts (CHU)
USA time signals: Radio Station WWV
Radio Fundamentals: An Introduction to HF | Codan Radio Communications
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