A useful tool for your ham radio shack when setting clocks and computers is to use WWV or WWVH time. These are federal radio stations that transmit 24/7/365 on HF and can be tuned in on any HF or shortwave receiver.
WWV broadcasts on 2.5, 5, 10, 15 and 20 MHz from a location near Fort Collins, Colorado. WWVH broadcasts on 2.5, 5, 10 and 15 MHz from Kauai, Hawaii. Give a listen and get the time!
Depending on propagation, some of the frequencies listed above will come in better than others depending on the time of day.
Another good source of time is the GPS satellites… There are a few tutorials that tell how to make a Raspberry Pi and GPS into a home NTP time server. It’s great to sync up when I’m doing a mode like FT8 to be right on the tick.
I thought I heard some chatter last year regarding possible defunding of the WWV and/or WWVH stations. Was that a thing or is my old mind wandering again?
Welcome Steve!
There was some discussion during one of the budget cycles of ending funding for the WWV/WWVH stations. Seemed to be more posturing than anything else.
Thank you Jim. Yes sounds like typical government budgeting, always looking to cut something so they can fund something else. Hopefully they have moved on from cutting this program.