Since the 1960s I’ve always tried to mark the new year by catching the actual time on WWV. Shortwave reception in Spokane is poor, so I’ve failed to hear WWV in recent years. Last year it came in loud and clear on 10 MC. This year was typical, so I had to rely on a well-made WWV simulator website.
Polistra and Happystar celebrate in the Eureka Lake gatehouse, aiding the dream of restoring Mutual Benefit Societies to their proper place.
Unsurprisingly, marking the New Year with WWV is popular among hams and SWLs.
Surprisingly, WWV is a little more than 100 years old. NIST has always been a general-purpose government research lab. Regulating standards is only one part of its work. It started sending time signals by telegraph in 1910, began broadcasting farm market news for USDA in 1919 as part of its general development mission, and started regular radio time signals in May 1923. The output moved to shortwave in 1931 on their three traditional freqs of 5, 10, and 15 MC. For some reason they never returned to the modern version of the telegraph, so the real output isn’t available online.
Polistra's Mill 