Nearly two weeks ago, The SWLing Post reported that the NIST FY2019 budget includes a request to shutdown WWV and WWVH. The post pointed to a summary of the 2019 budget request with the following:
Illustrative program reductions in FY 2019
- -$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii
The cutback apparently includes not only WWV and WWVH, but WWVB, whose 60 kHz signal is used to synchronize innumerable clocks in the U.S. Here’s an email that I got I got from someone at the National Institiute of Science and Technology (NIST) just this morning:
NIST has a long-standing history of providing time and frequency services through our radio stations and we appreciate that many people use these services. NIST’s WWV is the longest continuously-operating radio service in the U.S. At the same time, the proposed NIST budget for FY 2019 required difficult choices about budget priorities.
The President’s full NIST FY 2019 budget request to the Congress is available at the link below, including a brief description of why the shutdown of NIST’s time and frequency radio stations is proposed. The proposal includes shutdown of NIST’s three radio stations, WWV, WWVH, and WWVB, which communicate with consumer clocks, watches, broadcasting systems and other devices. It is important to note that no changes to NIST services have occurred, and if the proposal were to be implemented, public notice would be provided.
I’m really amazed by this. You’d think that someone involved in selling clocks would have enough pull to keep WWVB on the air. And, sadly, I just purchased several clockworks that use this signal and have already converted one of the clock in my basement.
Ironically, WWV was all set to celebrate it’s 100th anniversary in 2019. NIST claims that WWV is the “oldest continuously operating radio station in the world,” and was planning a grand celebration.
WWV isn’t the only thing being cut
The time stations aren’t the only thing being cut in this budget proposal. If you read through the entire document, you’ll see they are making cuts in many different programs. On page NIST 25 alone, you’ll see that they are proposing cuts in the program used to produce gas reference material, which is used to calibrate instrumentation used in environmental research. In addition, they are cutting programs that will impact first responder safety, smart grid standards, and “standards and guidelines for wireless communication and process control for the manufacturing industry.”
As others have pointed out, this is just a proposal, and I’d be seriously surprised if this actually occurred, but who knows these days? If you’d like to ensure that WWV, WWVH, and WWVB stay on the air—and some of these other programs remain funded—you can sign an electronic petition that’s supposed to get the attention of someone at the White House. More importantly, it will probably be more effective to contact your U.S. representative and senators and tell them that you want these programs to continue.
Seriously, how much can we cut these basic programs without hurting ourselves in the long run?
UPDATE 8/25/18
Listen to this morning’s report on NPR.
Goody K3NG says
Want to kill science-based initiatives and programs? Because that’s what happens when you vote for an anti-science politician and administration.
david says
I found this and have signed, although I am unsure if it will reach the target signatures.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/maintain-funding-nist-stations-wwv-wwvh
Adam Davis says
It’s a political maneuver. They’ve been asked to make cuts, and every single “Illustrative program reduction” impacts an issue a large group of the population cares about. They hit timekeeping, but focussed most of their reductions on greenhouse gasses and climate change. They’re hoping to get people active in preventing a budget reduction. “You want us to make cuts? Fine, we’ll cut out all the stuff that people care about and make sure they know it’s your fault!”
Speak up and make sure your congresscritters prevent shutdown of these critical services.
Be aware, though, that these are exactly what they say they are “Illustrative program reduction” – ie, an example of how these forced budget cuts could affect the NIST mission. Should the budget cuts go through, it would surprise me if they actually closed these programs – they would only show themselves as being less useful and more obsolete.
I’m not defending the cuts, but if they do go through I hope NIST finds a way to figure out what its core mission is and how to fulfill it with the limitations of government funding.
Dave New, N8SBE says
As Adam points out, it’s so much smoke and mirrors. Both the pending house and senate bills RAISE the budget for NIST by many millions, instead of cutting it. Also, the White House doesn’t have the purse strings, that power is given to Congress. The President can only veto, but Congress can override.
I think our atomic clocks are safe for now.
Dan says
As cool and nostalgic as WWV/WWVB is, the vast majority of time sync these days is done via GPS, internet, or cellphone. I’d hate to see it go, but given the far superior accuracy and truly global reach of GPS, I can’t see enough justification to keep it.
John says
“As cool and nostalgic as WWV/WWVB is, the vast majority of time sync these days is done via GPS, internet, or cellphone.”
I challenge that statement with NIST’s own acknowledgement of millions of WWVB users…
https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/radio-stations/wwvb
“I’d hate to see it go, but given the far superior accuracy and truly global reach of GPS, I can’t see enough justification to keep it.”
One key reason for keeping the stations alive is one word… redundancy. For reasons similar to why the FAA is tremendously slashing the terrestrial VHF VOR stations due to the advent of microwave GPS nav, they won’t go so far as to completely eliminate all VOR stations for the sake of having a backup should anything happen to GPS. WWV/H/B being HF, MF and LF, just two station locations provide national coverage for time and, more importantly, frequency reference.
Vivian says
I am a radio frequency engineer. WWV and WWVH, as John mentions, provide so much more than just the time. They provide exact reference frequencies that can be used to check the calibration of equipment in the field, as electronic test equipment uses the ubiquitous 10 MHz reference frequency. Even the tone broadcast at the top of the hour is the pitch standard for tuning musical instruments- A above middle C at 440 Hz! This was added in 1936 for orchestras that needed to tune their instruments!!! And if there is another Carrington event or large solar storm that disrupts GPS or damages the satellites, it would surely be worth $6.3 million to have redundancy that is usable by the whole world.
Ovide K8EV says
I sent to Debby Stabenau and Debby Dingell addressing the dangers of cutting the budget for NIST: