Volume 119 (2014) http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/jres.119.004 Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology WWVB: A Half Century of Delivering Accurate Frequency and Time by Radio Michael A. Lombardi and Glenn K. Nelson National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO 80305
[email protected] [email protected] In commemoration of its 50th anniversary of broadcasting from Fort Collins, Colorado, this paper provides a history of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) radio station WWVB. The narrative describes the evolution of the station, from its origins as a source of standard frequency, to its current role as the source of time-of-day synchronization for many millions of radio controlled clocks. Key words: broadcasting; frequency; radio; standards; time. Accepted: February 26, 2014 Published: March 12, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/jres.119.004 1. Introduction NIST radio station WWVB, which today serves as the synchronization source for tens of millions of radio controlled clocks, began operation from its present location near Fort Collins, Colorado at 0 hours, 0 minutes Universal Time on July 5, 1963. Thus, the year 2013 marked the station’s 50th anniversary, a half century of delivering frequency and time signals referenced to the national standard to the United States public. One of the best known and most widely used measurement services provided by the U. S. government, WWVB has spanned and survived numerous technological eras. Based on technology that was already mature and well established when the station began broadcasting in 1963, WWVB later benefitted from the miniaturization of electronics and the advent of the microprocessor, which made low cost radio controlled clocks possible that would work indoors.