We can certainly take this project on and use McCarthy Advanced Consulting to help us on the Hill with the effort, unless the NIST budget plan is included in the FY 19 appropriations legislation that has already passed the House and Senate and is in conference right now, in which case it is too late. We will check that. But "indicating support for maintaining the broadcasts" is not a productive tactic absent a substantive basis for the ham support for maintaining the broadcasts. As to letting Congress know "how important" WWV and WWVH are to amateurs, is there a comprehensive listing of the reasons why they are important? How can we best explain that it is critical to our operations in the public interest? Having an insubstantial justification for our plea is not likely to overcome budget cutting efforts in favor of such brilliant but expensive plans as building border walls, etc.

We will ask Frank McCarthy to find out what the status of this budget plan is legislatively at the moment and work from there. But it would be helpful if someone could please list the specific reasons why Amateurs need WWV and WWVH in order to do our public service communications functions. If the main argument is that we need WWV and WWVH to be able to calibrate radios, is there an alternative method of doing that? We have to actually justify this initiative.  Because we want it and hams like it generally and support keeping it isn't really much of an argument, to say the least. 

73, Chris W3KD 

On Wed, Aug 15, 2018 at 8:10 AM, James F. Boehner MD via arrl-odv <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org> wrote:

I totally agree.

 

Even in this age of satellites and GSPDO time standards, Hams use WWV/WWVH for other information, for example, to set calibrators and calibrate radios.  There is a lot of standardized information carried on their signals.

 

They are looking to eliminate the program for cost cutting, I’m sure, but they may think the technology is obsolete anyway.  It would be worth a communication from the ARRL to let them know how important the WWV/WWVH program is, at least for the 700,000+ licensed hams, and an untold number of SWLs.

 

’73 de JIM N2ZZ

Director – Roanoke Division

Representing ARRL members in the Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina sections

ARRL – The National Association for Amateur Radio™

 

From: arrl-odv [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Roderick, Rick, K5UR via arrl-odv
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2018 1:57 AM
To: richardjnorton@gmail.com; arrl-odv@arrl.org
Subject: [arrl-odv:27470] Re: Potential WWV and WWVH Shutdown

 

I read another article recently that said while the broadcasts would be shut down, the official atomic clock time would still be available on line at: https://www.time.gov/

 

I also read some comments on a blog where some felt WWV had outlived its usefulness. Regardless, I still tune into the broadcasts at times (as recent as this weekend) and have the freqs in memory on my transceiver.

 

Might be worth at least a letter like Dick suggested to show our support for those members interested in it being maintained. Is anyone hearing from our members on this?

 

73

Rick - K5UR

 ...

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard J. Norton <richardjnorton@gmail.com>
To: arrl-odv <arrl-odv@arrl.org>
Sent: Wed, Aug 15, 2018 12:13 am
Subject: [arrl-odv:27469] Potential WWV and WWVH Shutdown

Is it in the interests of Amateur Radio and the ARRL that WWV and WWVH continue to broadcast time and propagation information?

 

As shown on

 

and even on 

 

 

it looks like there is a significant chance of them shutting down.

 

There is support among the Amateur Radio community to keep them operating.

 

I propose we send Congress correspondence indicating our support for maintaining operations.

 

This might be accomplished using our lobbying firm.

 

73,

 

Dick Norton, N6AA

 

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Christopher D. Imlay
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W3KD@ARRL.ORG