Will your "atomic" clock or watch soon stop updating?
        15 years
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I ran across this discussion in the weather related WXForum (wxforum.net). I know POI Factory members have had discussions about the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) WWV and WWVB radio broadcasts from Ft. Collins, CO that are used to update radio-controlled clocks commonly marketed as "atomic" clocks and watches.
Apparently the 2019 FY NIST budget includes cuts for WWV and WWVH transmissions, but does not specifically address WWVB. If you Google this, you will find that there are lots of people questioning this in various interest groups. Here is one link to get you started: https://hackaday.com/2018/08/20/what-will-you-do-if-wwvb-goe.... I am surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet on POI Factory, so I thought I would start a thread for it.
Reminds me of the annual threat of a government shutdown
The article does say that there is ambiguity in the wording as to whether this will impact WWVB. Is this really a big line item expense on the government to maintain this facility. Apparently the other two are obsolete and WWBV is what is needed to keep all our clocks and watches on time.
There was no mention of where the cell phone companies get their time synchronization from. I can see where this may go the way of the Space Shuttle and we will depend of Russia to know what time it is.
"There's no substitute for local knowledge" nüvi 750, nüvi 3597
Typo
WWBV is what is needed to keep all our clocks and watches on time.
I'll take that as a typo for WWVB.
personal GPS user since 1992
Telco Timing
There was no mention of where the cell phone companies get their time synchronization from. I can see where this may go the way of the Space Shuttle and we will depend of Russia to know what time it is.
Most cellular companies as well as landline telco's use their own timing system called BSRF (Base System Reference Frequency. At present, many telco companies are migrating to the timing system used for GPS.
Simulated Signal
You can simulate the various radio time signals that countries transmit using the internet. People who live in parts of the world that can not receive a radio time signal use these methods to sync "atomic" watches.
Using a computer that has synced via the internet:
http://www.jrcomputing.com.au/Set_Watch/Set_Watch_Manual.htm...
Using a cell phone, syncing with your service provider:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clock-wave/id1073576068?mt=8...