WWV Shutdown Possible In 2019

[David]

For those who haven't heard, NIST is proposing axing broadcasts from WWV, WWVH, and WWVB as part of its FY 2019 budget cuts. While losing WWV & WWVH may not be a big deal outside of the amateur radio & scientific communities, the loss of WWVB would impact millions of radio controlled clocks if it shuts down. WWVB is the 60 kHz longwave station that transmits a digital time code which radio controlled clocks and watches sync to for time and date information. If WWVB goes away, your radio controlled clocks and watches will soon be as obsolete as 8 track tapes and rotary dial phones.  WWV is also among the oldest radio stations in the U.S., and has been broadcasting the official U.S. time as well as solar activity forecasts and marine weather warnings since 1920.

www.arrl.org/news/concern-rising-within-amateur-radio-community-over-wwv-wwvh-shut-down-proposal

[CAwasinNJ]

My personal opinion is that the loss of WWV and WWVH is probably not that big a deal. Relatively few people in the US have shortwave radios, the information can be more easily disseminated for those who need it via the internet (and it probably already is) and the WWV and WWVH signals are even available on the phone for just the cost, if any, of a toll call to Fort Collins or Hawaii. That article doesn't say if the phone feed would be discontinued too. I do know that the maintenance of both radio sites is not trivial. The engineering is probably not cheap, so eliminating it is not unreasonable given the alternatives.

WWVB is a different matter. It's been relied on for decades and there's no alternative. Some of the devices that use it don't even have a manual control. Without the feed they become paperweights. If NIST does away with WWVB I could easily see a consortium of equipment manufacturers forming to take over that operation. I would guess it wouldn't come to that though. Just my opinion, I could be very wrong.

[David]

Here's another article about the proposed shutdown of the WWV/WWVH/WWVB stations. This one paints a slightly more positive picture of the situation:

spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/longrunning-us-federal-radio-stations-beloved-by-hams-are-in-danger-of-shutdown