[time-nuts] WWV/CHU

[jimlux]

On 3/29/18 3:12 AM, Hal Murray wrote:
> 
> What do I need in in order to get time from WWV or CHU?
> 
> Do I need a fancy receiver as a front end?  Do I have a chance with one of
> the low cost USB thumb drive size receivers?
> 
> Is there an obvious software package to start with?  (Linux)
> 
> 
Hal,
you should know better than to have a question like "get time" on this 
list without specify the precision and accuracy <grin>.....

I was in a meeting yesterday with a lot of technical people, discussing 
testing an HF receiver, and I mentioned WWV as a source, and there were 
a combination of blank looks and amused/amazed looks (at the blank 
looks) - OK, so now we know who in the room are the computer only people 
(WWV? is that some sort of NTP protocol?) and who  are the radio people


The little HF dongle receivers will certainly receive HF WWV or WWVH, if 
propagation supports it, and you can listen to the dulcet tones of the 
appropriately gendered announcer ("at the tone, the time will be twelve 
hours thirty four minutes coordinated universal time") - you could 
probably track and decode the tone/ticks.  I would think that if you can 
hear the voice, you can decode the 100 Hz subcarrier, but I've not tried 
it. You can see the 100 Hz on a spectrum analysis display.

I would think that you can get propagation limited accuracy with the 
RTL-SDR type receiver.

Antenna is going to be the big challenge - the little whip antenna for 
the dongle won't usually cut it.