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WWV/WWVH Station Library
This page contains a list of publications (available in PDF format) containing information about NIST radio stations WWV and WWVH. Since WWV has been on the air since 1923, a large body of literature exists. Although some of these publications contain information that is now obsolete, all contain some unique information that is not available elsewhere, and are made available here as reference material. General reference publications are listed first. The remaining publications are listed in reverse chronological order.
| Title and Description | Authors | Place of Publication |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 Guide to NIST Time and Frequency Services An illustrated, comprehensive overview that describes NIST Radio Stations WWVB, WWV, and WWVH work, and how you can use them. Chapter 3 is completely devoted to WWV and WWVH. 80 pages. |
M. Lombardi | NIST Spec. Publ. 432, 2002 |
| 1991 Guide to NIST Time and Frequency Services, 38 pages 1979 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 23 pages 1976 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 23 pages 1974 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 20 pages 1973 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 20 pages 1972 Guide to NBS Frequency and Time Services, 18 pages 1971 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 17 pages 1970 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 18 pages 1969 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 18 pages 1968 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 17 pages 1967 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 14 pages 1966 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 14 pages 1965 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 12 pages 1960 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 8 pages 1956 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 15 pages 1952 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services (not available) 1950 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 2 pages 1948 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 7 pages 1947 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 6 pages 1937 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 31 pages 1935 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 26 pages 1935 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 22 pages 1934 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 20 pages 1932 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 18 pages 1931 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 10 pages 1930 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 9 pages 1923 Guide to NBS Time and Frequency Services, 5 pages Guides to the NIST (formerly NBS) Time and Frequency Broadcast Services have been published many times since WWV originally went on the air in 1923. Since 1976, four guides have been published as Special Publication 432. From 1960 until 1974, eleven guides were published as NBS Special Publication (or Misc. Publication) 236. Prior to 1960, NBS issued the guides as "Letter Circulars". A collection of these guides has been made available here as a historical reference. |
Beehler, Lombardi S. L. Howe S. L. Howe P. Viezbicke P. Viezbicke P. Viezbicke NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS NBS H. J. Walls |
NIST Spec. Publ. 432 NIST Spec. Publ. 432 NBS Spec. Publ. 432 NBS Spec. Publ. 236 NBS Spec. Publ. 236 NBS Spec. Publ. 236 NBS Spec. Publ. 236 NBS Spec. Publ. 236 NBS Spec. Publ. 236 NBS Spec. Publ. 236 NBS Misc. Publ. 236 NBS Misc. Publ. 236 NBS Misc. Publ. 236 NBS Misc. Publ. 236 NBS Lett. Circ. 1023 NBS Lett. Circ. 1009 NBS Lett. Circ. 974 NBS Lett. Circ. 886 NBS Lett. Circ. 875 NBS Lett. Circ. 498 NBS Lett. Circ. 453 NBS Lett. Circ. 437 NBS Lett. Circ. 404 NBS Lett. Circ. 335 NBS Lett. Circ. 314 NBS Lett. Circ. 280 NBS Lett. Circ. 92 |
|
Citizen Scientists Conduct Distributed Doppler Measurement for Ionospheric Remote Sensing Technical article describing how Doppler shift measurements of the standard frequency and time signals of WWV and WWVH are collected by citizen scientists and then utilized by professional researchers to study the ionosphere. 5 pages. |
K. Collins, A. Montare, N. Frissell, and D. Kazdan | IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 2021 |
|
Ham Radio Creates a Planet-Sized Space Weather Sensor Network Article describing how citizen scientists and professional researchers utilize the standard frequency broadcasts of WWV and WWVH as space weather beacons. 4 pages. |
K. Collins, D. Kazdan, and N. Frissell | QST, pp. 55-58, August 2021 |
|
Using WSJT-X to Graph Radio Frequency Stability How-to article describing how to use WWV and WWVH to check frequency offset and drift rate of the internal oscillator in amateur radio transceivers. 3 pages. |
M. Foerster |
QST, pp. 30-32, August 2021 |
|
WWV/WWVH Stand Ready to Fight Global Chaos Trade press article about the Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) messages broadcast on WWV/WWVH. 1 page. |
J. Careless | Radio World, p. 8, August 19, 2020 |
|
Trade press article about the continued relevance and importance of WWV and WWVH in 2020, after 100 years of operation. 2 pages. |
J. Careless | Radio World, pp. 12-13, June 24, 2020 |
|
WWV was established on October 1, 1919. This paper explores the history of the station, beginning with its origins as an experiment during the early days of radio, and continuing to its 100th anniversary as a standard frequency and time broadcast station known to listeners worldwide. 31 pages. |
G. Nelson | J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stan. Vol. 124, September 2019 |
| Stopwatch and Timer Calibrations A NIST recommended practice guide about stopwatch and timer calibrations that discusses the use of WWV and WWVH as a time interval reference. 66 pages. |
J. Gust, R. Graham, M. Lombardi | NIST Special Publication 960-12, 2009 |
| Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? A review article about the world's time signal broadcast stations, including WWV, WWVH, and WWVB. 8 pages. |
M. Lombardi | Popular Communications, February 2006 |
| NIST Time and Frequency Radio Stations: WWV, WWVH, and WWVB A comprehensive look at the NIST time and frequency broadcast stations, written in support of the NIST quality system. 161 pages. |
G. Nelson, M. Lombardi, D. Okayama | NIST Special Publication 250-67, January 2005 |
| NIST Time and Frequency Broadcasts from Radio Stations WWVB, WWV, and WWVH Conference paper about the NIST time and frequency broadcast stations. 14 pages. |
M. Deutch, E. Farrow, J. Lowe, G. Nelson, D. Okayama, D. Patterson, D. Sutton, and W. Yates | Proceedings of the NCSL International Conference, 2001 |
| Low Signal Strength a Problem Receiving WWV? Try an All-Wave Antenna from 1936!* Discusses a WWV antenna for areas where low signal strength is a problem. 7 pages. |
D. Braudaway | Proceedings of the NCSL International Conference, 1999 |
| Time and Frequency Users Manual A comprehensive guide to time and frequency measurements and applications. Chapter 5 is devoted to HF calibrations using WWV/WWVH. 164 pages. |
G. Kamas, M. Lombardi | NIST Special Publication 559, 1990 |
| Yagi Antenna Design A guide to Yagi antenna design. Includes information about designing Yagi antennas for HF reception. 30 pages. |
P. Viezbicke | NBS Technical Note 688, 1976 |
| The National Measurement System for Time and Frequency Includes interesting historical information about time and frequency measurement requirements, and the role and history of WWV. 74 pages. |
A. Risley | NBS Special Publication 445-1, 1976 |
| Calibration of Police Radar Instruments Describes the use of WWV in the calibration of police radar instruments. 6 pages. |
D. Allan, F. Brzoticky | Excerpted from NBS Special Publication 442, pp. 42-47, 1976 |
| The Use of National Bureau of Standards High Frequency Broadcasts for Time and Frequency Calibrations. Published in 1975, but still perhaps the best source of information about using HF broadcasts for time and frequency calibrations. 49 pages. |
N. Hironka, C. Trembath | NBS Technical Note 668, 1975 |
| Report on the 1975 Survey of Users of the Services of Radio Stations WWV and WWVH Results from the 1975 user survey. 93 pages. |
J. Barnes, R. Beehler | NBS Technical Note 674, 1975 |
| Standard Time and Frequency: Its Generation, Control, and Dissemination by the National Bureau of Standards A technical description of the NIST (then NBS) radio stations published in 1974. 23 pages. |
J. Milton | NBS Technical Note 656, 1974 |
| Time and Frequency Dissemination: An Overview of Principles and Techniques A detailed discussion of how the propagation characteristics of radio signals limits their uncertainty for time and frequency measurements. The text includes a section on HF broadcasts. 81 pages. |
B. Blair | Chapter 10 from NBS Monograph 140, 1974 |
| Golden Anniversary of WWV A short article about the 50th anniversary of WWV in 1973. 3 pages. |
NBS | NBS Technical News Bulletin, pp. 140-142, June 1973 |
| The Use and Limitations of HF Standard Broadcasts for Time and Frequency Comparison A still relevant discussion of HF measurement techniques, and factors that limit the measurement uncertainty. 10 pages. |
J. Stanley | Proceedings of the Precise Time and Time Interval Conference (PTTI), pp. 249-258, 1972 |
| Standard Time and Frequency: Its Generation, Control, and Dissemination from the National Bureau of Standards Time and Frequency Division The precursor to NBS Technical Note 656 (above). 28 pages. |
J. Milton | NBS Technical Note 379-1, 1972 |
| NBS Frequency-Time Broadcast Station WWV, Fort Collins, Colorado A detailed technical overview of WWV published in 1971. 33 pages. |
P. Viezbicke | NBS Technical Note 611, 1971 |
| New Signals from an Old Timer ... WWV Short magazine article about changes made to WWV in the early seventies. 3 pages. |
L. Fey | Broadcast Engineering, July 1971 |
| WWV Moves to Colorado Magazine article describing the 1966 move of WWV from Greenbelt, Maryland to its current site near Fort Collins, Colorado. 11 pages. |
Y. Beers | QST, January-February 1967 |
| Precise Time Synchronization of Widely Separated Clocks A detailed study containing valuable information regarding how HF radio propagation delays are estimated. 72 pages. |
A. H. Morgan | NBS Technical Note 22, 1959 |
| Standard Musical Pitch Interesting early article about the 440 Hz musical tone standard broadcast by WWV and WWVH. 2 pages. |
NBS | NBS Technical News Bulletin, pp. 120-121, August 1957 |
| Measuring Time and Frequency in Hawaii An interesting historical reference about how signals received from WWV were once used to help control the frequency of WWVH. 4 pages. |
V. E. Heaton | Tele-Tech, March 1951 |
| Adjustment of High-Precision Frequency and Time Standards An interesting historical reference about frequency and time calibrations made with WWV and WWVH, written before the introduction of atomic oscillators. 11 pages. |
J. M. Shaull | Proceedings of the I.R.E., January 1950 |
| Experimental Standard-Frequency Transmitting Station WWVH Report describing the origins of WWVH. 23 pages. |
G. Lester | NBS CRPL Preprint 50-6, August 1949 |
|
WWV Broadcast from New Facility This historical reference from August 1943 is the first known description of the newly-built WWV station facility in Beltsville, MD. 2 pages. |
NBS | Previously Unpublished |
|
News Release: Status of WWV Broadcast, March 1941 Historical reference. A news release describing changes to the WWV broadcast as a result of a fire in November 1940 that destroyed the main transmitter building. 2 pages. |
Department of Commerce | Department of Commerce, March 1941 |
| The Standard-Frequency Set at WWV Of great historical interest, this is one of the first articles about the introduction of WWV, and its importance to the early radio broadcasters. 4 pages. |
H. Walls | QST, pp. 9-12, October 1924 |
* Written by non-NIST author, used with permission.
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