Department of Defense Message Prompts Listeners to Take WWV/WWVH Survey

Department of Defense Message Prompts Listeners to Take WWV/WWVH Survey 08/19/2019

Through Saturday, August 24, WWV and WWVH will transmit a US Department of Defense (DOD) message in conjunction with the COMEX 19-3 interoperability exercise in Tennessee. The broadcast also urges listeners to complete a survey on WWV/WWVH listenership and listening habits. The messages are broadcast on WWV at 10 minutes past the hour and on WWVH at 50 minutes past the hour. WWV and WWVH transmit on 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 MHz.

In addition to asking for the name, email address, and location of those completing the “WWV/WWVH Reception Report,” the survey seeks information on which station (i.e., WWV or WWVH) was heard, the frequency, the transmitted audio quality, whether the information was relevant or useful, how often the respondent monitors WWV/WWVH broadcasts, whether the respondent uses a clock or other device that synchronizes with the low-frequency (60 kHz) WWVB time transmissions, and any other information the respondent would consider useful to hear on WWV/WWVH broadcasts.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) — part of the US Department of Commerce — is using the information gathered to determine “how often their stations are monitored and how the various timing signals and messages are used by the listeners,” Chief of US Army MARS Paul English, WD8DBY, said on the US Army MARS Facebook page. “As the saying goes, ‘every vote counts,’ and your input to this survey is being used to help demonstrate the importance of these stations.” Listeners may file multiple reception reports, and anyone may complete the survey.

Earlier this year, the Defense Department began making use of the provisional time slots on WWV and WWVH to announce upcoming HF military communication exercises and to explain how the Amateur Radio community can become involved in them. Use of the time slots has corresponded with Department of Defense communication exercises (COMEX); COMEX 19-3 takes place this month. The announcements will resume during COMEX 19-4 in October.

Following a proof of concept this year, DOD anticipates making use of the WWV/WWVH broadcast time slot full time, all year.

Concern arose in 2018 after WWV and WWVH were included on a list of proposed cuts in the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget request for NIST.
(ARRL)

DOD Provisional Timeslot on WWV and WWVH.

WWV is going into the military broadcast business (sorta)? We found below this morning on the US Army MARS Facebook Page:

From April 20 to 3 May, WWV and WWVH will broadcast a DOD message at 10 minutes past the hour on WWV and at 50 minutes past the hour on WWVH. This April-May time period coincides with the Vital Connection interoperability exercise being held in Wisconsin. Future timeslots will coincide with the Vital Connection exercise Ohio in June; DOD COMEX 19-3 in Aug and the DOD COMEX 19-4 in Oct.

Following the proof of concept this year, we anticipate that the DOD broadcast time slot will become year-round full time. As mentioned above future broadcast may occur prior to selected DOD and Northcom exercises.

This broadcast timeslot will voice announce upcoming exercises and how the amateur radio community can become involved in various exercises. To begin, the broadcast messages will likely be static...future exercises we hope to be able to update the broadcast throughout the exercise as notional conditions change.

The broadcast message will ask listeners to provide reception reports and feedback to a specified URL.

Tune into WWV/H on 2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz and submit a reception report and requested feedback.

And in a related WWV event this report in a recent ARRL Newsletter:

WWV Centennial Special Event Will Use WW0WWV

With its funding secure for another year, WWV, the world's oldest continuously operating radio station, will have extra reason to celebrate its centennial this fall. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Northern Colorado Amateur Radio Club (NCARC) have teamed up to organize 100th-anniversary events. A memorandum of understanding is pending. The WWV Committee has announced that the call sign WW0WWV was granted on February 23 to the WWV Amateur Radio Club for use during the Amateur Radio special event, planned to run September 28 - October 2, with operators on the air around the clock. NCARC predicts the effort will require "hundreds" of volunteer operators.

"The 100th anniversary is an occasion to celebrate radio and our understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum, and an opportunity to help people everywhere appreciate what radio does in their everyday lives," said Dave Swartz, WODAS, who has been spearheading the on-the-air event.

The WWV Committee met on February 22, with representatives of NCARC and NIST on hand, to further firm up plans for the centennial celebratory events. Although the US government cannot fund any Amateur Radio special event expenses, club members will be allowed to use a 15-acre parcel on WWV property, Swartz has explained. The operating site lies outside the security fence.

For its part, NIST will focus on plans for an October 1 recognition ceremony and an open house at the radio station north of Fort Collins.

LATE BREAKING NEWS - WWV ... Lives On !!

Now that the bill has been signed on February 15, 2019 by President Trump, WWV is fully funded.

It’s a celebratory year for the WWV stations. The fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget — once signed — will include full funding for the stations, which also mark their 100th year this fall. The WWV Centennial Committee has a tentative agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to mount a special event station this fall adjacent to the WWV site in Colorado to mark the 100th anniversary of the time and frequency standard station, the world’s oldest continuously operating radio station. A memorandum of understanding is in the works.

Dave Swartz, W0DAS, of the Northern Colorado Amateur Radio Club (NCARC) heads the committee, which is developing plans for an NCARC special event from September 28 through October 2, with a NIST centennial observance tentatively set for October 1.

The NIST budget for WWV, WWVH, and WWVB will remain level for FY 2019. With the funding suspense over, Swartz told ARRL, “our committee is moving forward.”

Swartz and committee members Darren Kalmbach, KC0ZIE, and Kevin Utter, N7GES, met on February 8 with WWV/WWVB/WWVH Station Manager John Lowe, WWV Electronics Technician Glenn Nelson, and WWV Chief Engineer Matt Deutch, N0RGT.

“This was the first meeting for the committee and the first to include NIST upper management,” said Swartz, who called the meeting “very productive.” Swartz said NIST management is “on board” with the celebration, and Deutch plans to attend Hamvention May 17 – 19 to promote the centennial event.

Although the US government cannot fund any Amateur Radio special event expenses, the club members will be allowed to use a 15-acre parcel on WWV property, Swartz explained on the WWV Centennial website. “The operating site lies outside the security fence and simplifies logistics,” he said.

Swartz hopes that other clubs in Colorado will be able to pitch in to make the WWV Centennial a success. The WWV Centennial Committee will meet again on February 22.
(ARRL)

WWVH, Hawaii Time Station revises antennas

Radio station WWVH in Hawaii, operated since 1948 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to broadcast time, frequency and other announcements, recently powered up innovative replacement antennas.

In a seven-year project to adopt a technology used on Navy ships, NIST has installed new antennas encased in fiberglass rather than traditional steel supports, to resist corrosion from the salty ocean air. The fiberglass design will reduce maintenance and repair costs. The new design also enables the flexible, lightweight antennas to be easily lowered to the ground for maintenance, reducing safety hazards to staff who previously had to climb the towers, which are up to 98 feet tall. The improved antennas should reduce signal downtime for WWVH users.

From its location on the island of Kauai, WWVH broadcasts on four different frequencies. Each frequency requires a different antenna; including backups, the station has a total of eight antennas, seven of which are made of fiberglass. NIST erected and powered up the last fiberglass replacement antenna in October 2007. NIST staff believe the project is the first demonstration of high-powered, high-frequency fiberglass antennas on land.
(Source: NIST/R Netherlands Media Network weblog)

More information on WWVH and NIST may be found at:
http://tf.nist.gov/timefreq/stations/wwvh.htm