OT: WWV-driven station clock that displays zulu time

[Ken G Kopp]

       
The so-called "atomic clocks" use the 60 KHZ signal
from WWVB at the NBS transmitter site north of Fort
Collins, CO.  

The signal level from the station got a bit of a boost
awhile back when the PA from the decommissioned
100 KHZ LORAN C transmitter in ND(?) was moved
to Ft. Collins and retrofitted into the 60 KHZ transmitter.

The 20 KHZ  WWVL rig is/was a beauty ... HB by NBS
and painted bright blue ... with a brush.  Both VLF
antennas are of such High-Q that a thunderstorm overhead
will detune them enough to throw the TX's into overload and
shutdown protection.

73! Ken - K0PP
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[n7ws]

My late wife and I were RVing through Colorado and while in Ft. Collins, I called up NBS (as it was called then) and asked whether I could tour the facility.  Whoever answered the telephone informed me that they didn't give tours or allow access, but he did say that there were some contractors doing some work and the gate just happened to open:-)

Wes  N7WS

--- On Thu, 6/2/11, Ken - K0PP <[hidden email]> wrote:

> From: Ken - K0PP <[hidden email]>
> Subject: [Elecraft] OT: Trivia - WWV & so-called "atomic" clocks
> To: [hidden email]
> Date: Thursday, June 2, 2011, 4:12 PM
>        
> The so-called "atomic clocks" use the 60 KHZ signal
> from WWVB at the NBS transmitter site north of Fort
> Collins, CO. 
>
> The signal level from the station got a bit of a boost
> awhile back when the PA from the decommissioned
> 100 KHZ LORAN C transmitter in ND(?) was moved
> to Ft. Collins and retrofitted into the 60 KHZ
> transmitter.
>
> The 20 KHZ  WWVL rig is/was a beauty ... HB by NBS
> and painted bright blue ... with a brush.  Both VLF
> antennas are of such High-Q that a thunderstorm overhead
> will detune them enough to throw the TX's into overload
> and
> shutdown protection.
>
> 73! Ken - K0PP

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[Ken G Kopp]

       
I used to work at the University of Colorado's Radio
Astronomy Laboratory and enjoyed a rather close
association with the folks at NBS and NASA.  Some
of the best "learning" in my life took place on napkins
in the NBS cafeteria.  A close friend (K0RZ) was project
engineer on NBS cesium standard #7.  Don Hilliard
W0EYE / W0PW of NBS Yagi fame is a close friend,
although suffering from severe Alzheimer's disease.

73! Ken
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[Phil Kane-2]

On 6/2/2011 3:42 PM, Wes Stewart wrote:

> My late wife and I were RVing through Colorado and while in Ft.
> Collins, I called up NBS (as it was called then) and asked
> whether I could tour the facility.  Whoever answered the
> telephone informed me that they didn't give tours or allow
> access, but he did say that there were some contractors doing
> some work and the gate just happened to open:-)

  In the mid-1950s I was a co-op (college) Student Trainee at the
  Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC and one of my best
  memories was a trip to the -old- site of WWV in Beltsville, MD
  before they moved to Colorado.  That was a wondrous place,
  with open-wire transmission lines inside the building feeding
  massive wire antennas out in the field.  Enough RF to keep the
  fluorescent lights lit all by themselves, and when the tone
  stopped at :45 seconds, the ticks and the recorded voice was
  patched to the public address system.  Very impressive for an
  18-year-old kid from the big city who couldn't afford a ham rig
  of his own.

  Factoid - WWV is the oldest radio station in the US still in
  continuous operation (since May 1920).  Read all about it at:

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWV_(radio_station)

--  73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane
    Elecraft K2/100   s/n 5402

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[Brian - N5BCN]

What I would love to see (I've searched and searched to no avail) is an atomic clock with a nice LED display that is DC powered.

LED so it can been seen at night (or during a power outage), unlike most LCD clocks which have a momentary backlight feature.

DC powered so it can run off of battery power or a shack DC power supply.

The closest I found was a called a "Dakar Rally Clock" which is a LED DC-powered clock that mounts on the dash of offroad racing trucks.  No atomic sync feature, though.

Perhaps a future Elecraft product?

73 N5BCN - Brian

[John Gibson]

Hi Brian,

A Heathkit GC-1000 atomic clock (if you can find one) can be DC powered.

73,
John, no9v

-What I would love to see (I've searched and searched to no avail) is an
atomic clock with a nice LED display that is DC powered.

LED so it can been seen at night (or during a power outage), unlike most LCD
clocks which have a momentary backlight feature.

DC powered so it can run off of battery power or a shack DC power supply.

The closest I found was a called a "Dakar Rally Clock" which is a LED
DC-powered clock that mounts on the dash of offroad racing trucks.  No
atomic sync feature, though.

Perhaps a future Elecraft product?

73 N5BCN - Brian
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