2 ms·

It's worth noting that this is not talking about CHU[1], which is what I would first think of as the "Canada Time Signal". It's talking about the Canadian equi

It's worth noting that this is not talking about CHU[1], which is what I would first think of as the "Canada Time Signal". It's talking about the Canadian equivalent of "the pips", the UK version of which is called the Greenwich Time Signal[2], broadcast over normal broadcast radio stations. CHU is still broadcasting. (And the UK still broadcasts "the pips".) [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHU_(radio_station) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHU_(radio_station) [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Time_Signal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Time_Signal

Animats 3y ago
Oh, OK. CHU is the real time station, like WWV/WWVH. Here's a recording of CHU, still on the air.[1] For comparison, WWV [2] and WWVH.[3]. This is what people used for time sync before GPS. Any shortwave radio can receive these, and with enough antenna, they can be received almost anywhere on the planet. They are also frequency standards, with their carrier frequencies regulated by the atomic clocks. Sending time signals over digital audio channels with seconds of buffering is wrong enough that it's probably better to discontinue it. That's less accurate than most modern watches and worse than cell phone time. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVAad9e2v2U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVAad9e2v2U [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMCI9I6xn6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMCI9I6xn6A [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW4VazIStq4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW4VazIStq4
bitwize 3y ago
TIL about "The Pips". WTIC-AM in Hartford, CT, on 1080 MHz, broadcasts a Morse letter V (dit-dit-dit-dah) every hour, such that the "dah" starts on the hour; the tones occur in two different frequencies that make it sound like the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth.
- jsjohnst 3y ago
  > WTIC-AM in Hartford, CT, on 1080 MHz 1080 KHz you mean… 1.080 ghz is in the range used for aeronautical navigation.
  - bitwize 3y ago
    Yes, I meant kHz. D'oh.
    - sidewndr46 3y ago
      Interestingly if you needed an antenna for 1080 MHz but ordered one for 1080 kHz it'd probably show up on the back of a tractor trailer rig with a crane to offload it.

Animats 3y ago

Oh, OK. CHU is the real time station, like WWV/WWVH. Here's a recording of CHU, still on the air.[1] For comparison, WWV [2] and WWVH.[3]. This is what people used for time sync before GPS. Any shortwave radio can receive these, and with enough antenna, they can be received almost anywhere on the planet. They are also frequency standards, with their carrier frequencies regulated by the atomic clocks. Sending time signals over digital audio channels with seconds of buffering is wrong enough that it's probably better to discontinue it. That's less accurate than most modern watches and worse than cell phone time. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVAad9e2v2U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVAad9e2v2U [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMCI9I6xn6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMCI9I6xn6A [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW4VazIStq4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW4VazIStq4

bitwize 3y ago

TIL about "The Pips". WTIC-AM in Hartford, CT, on 1080 MHz, broadcasts a Morse letter V (dit-dit-dit-dah) every hour, such that the "dah" starts on the hour; the tones occur in two different frequencies that make it sound like the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth.

jsjohnst 3y ago
> WTIC-AM in Hartford, CT, on 1080 MHz 1080 KHz you mean… 1.080 ghz is in the range used for aeronautical navigation.
- bitwize 3y ago
  Yes, I meant kHz. D'oh.
  - sidewndr46 3y ago
    Interestingly if you needed an antenna for 1080 MHz but ordered one for 1080 kHz it'd probably show up on the back of a tractor trailer rig with a crane to offload it.