RHF wrote:
Yeah - There must be some way of 'expanding' the WWVB Broadcast
System without requiring a Major Upgrade / Replacement of the basic
Receivers for the newer service.

I wonder if there really is demand for it. Being outside of the U.S., I
can't say for sure, but I thought that GPS location was required in cell
phones sold there (not here).

If that's the case, it would be likley that cheap GPS clocks could be
made, and they are not affected by the noise commonly produced by many
modern electrical/electronic devices.

For the home and many businesses, a WiFi or ethernet clock synchronized
using NTP (Network Time Protocol) would be preferable as more and more
people have broadband Internet connections which are on all the time.

Another option would be to insert time signals in cell phone control
channels, if they are not already there. Cell phone receivers are
cheap, would not require a service contract as they would never
transmit anything, immune to most RFI, and cell phone service covers
almost all of the U.S. and most other countries.

IMHO it's a case of trying to extend a service that is rarely
used (how many people actually have radio synchronized clocks?)
and can be easily replaced with much newer and better technologies.

I understand that this would require the few people that want
synchronized clocks that have not gone to GPS or NTP already
to buy new ones, but isn't that the way things are done these
days?

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
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