WWV Shortwave Time Broadcasts May Be Slashed In 2019 (qrz.com)

New submitter SteveSgt writes: A forum thread on QRZ.com indicates that the shortwave time broadcasts by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) from stations WWV (Colorado) and WWVH (Hawaii) may be slashed in budget year 2019. [One of the proposed reductions includes "$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii."] While the WWV broadcasts may seem like an anachronism to some Slashdotters, they remain a crucial component in many unexpected services, from over-the-air broadcasters and traffic signals, to medical devices, wall clocks, and wrist watches. The signals serve as standard beacons for radio propagation, and as a frequency reference for alignment of a broad range of communications equipment. It's easy to imagine that not even the NIST knows every service and device that could be impacted by this decision.

Comments

WTF?

[asackett]

This, coincident with a $717B Defense Authorization?

We need to have a very serious conversation with the god who blessed America. Fucker's high on something.

Re:WTF?

[Anonymous Coward]

Trump doesn't believe in any gods besides his punk ass traitor self. His supporters are worse, they could know better.

Re: WTF?

[Anonymous Coward]

American politics is no longer about big government vs. small government. Both parties like big government and increase spending. The primary disagreement is what type of big government to support. The Democrats favor entitlement spending while Republicans favor defense spending.

We also have an obsession with worshiping the military and pretending they can do wrong. It's a form of excessive political correctness, with particularly strong support from Republicans. I assume it's partly an overreaction to the awful treatment of troops returning from Vietnam. However, we've gone past the need to respect our soldiers to awkward forced displays of patriotism like before sporting events and acting as if the military can do no wrong. Efforts to cut defense spending will be portrayed as dangerous and not supporting our troops. When there aren't real threats to justify the defense spending, we create them by intervening in the affairs of other countries or appealing to the threat of terror. The military-industrial complex Eisenhower warned of has become far bigger and more powerful than even he envisioned.

Re: WTF?

[youngone]

I assume it's partly an overreaction to the awful treatment of troops returning from Vietnam.

I assume it's because the US military learned a lesson from Vietnam, which was that they needed to control the narrative.
That is why reporters were "embedded" during the Gulf Wars, and also why the US military pays the NFL so much money every year for those very strange "salute to service" games which look an awful lot like Nuremberg rallies to those of us who live outside the US.

It's called propaganda and the US has the most effective propaganda machine the world has ever known.

Re: WTF?

[kelemvor4]

Where does the Constitution authorize the creation of an Air Force, a Space Force, or to maintain standing armies? It doesn't.

Even if we assume the Constitution implicitly allows such defense spending, it doesn't mean that it's good for the country. Why not reduce defense spending and cut taxes?

While entitlement spending is larger than defense, the difference is not even close to an order of magnitude. That's just a lie. And a person can simultaneously support reduce defense spending and reforming entitlements.

This is going to be a shocker, so you might want to sit down. There are laws other than just the ones in the constitution. There, I said it. When you wake up you might want to re-read this lest you get yourself into trouble.

When you finally calm down, I'll sucker punch you again. There are rules in society that are not explicitly written into law. I know. Shocker, right?
[/sarcasm]Some people's kids... sheesh!

Re: WTF?

[asackett]

His warning, while true, was as it would be were Trump to declare that pathological narcissism is a threat to democracy. Eisenhower was the chief promoter of the military-industrial complex.

Re:WTF?

[CronoCloud]

The defense budget is a fraction the size of social services mostly which goes to fund deadbeats.

The big ticket entitlements are Social Security and Medicare, which supports those deadbeats known as Grandma and Grandpa and the deadbeat that is your cousin with Down Syndrome.

In general, the vast majority of those receiving government assistance are either: Elderly, disabled or children.

Such deadbeat parasites. Maybe we should just kill the lousy parasites and we can build a city where the great would not be constrained by the small...Rapture.

stop the foreign aliens coming in and abusing our welfare services.

The foreign aliens working their asses off in poultry processing factories in Arkansas? Or picking lettuce in California? Running small gardening/handyman/home fix-up services out of pick-up truck at Lowe's? Slaving away in restaurants and hotels and not getting paid fair wages because their employers threaten them?

Re:WTF?

[dcw3]

The foreign aliens working their asses off in poultry processing factories in Arkansas? Or picking lettuce in California? Running small gardening/handyman/home fix-up services out of pick-up truck at Lowe's? Slaving away in restaurants and hotels and not getting paid fair wages because their employers threaten them?

Funny, it worked fine for decades before we had ~30 million of them.

Make no mistake

[PopeRatzo]

"$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii."]

The NIST is under the Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, who is a cryptkeeper who only stays alive through daily applications of graft and corruption. Here's an article about just how corrupt this ancient swamp thing really is.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/d...

The $6,3 million saved will pay for a lot of KFC Gravy Bowls on Air Force One. Plus, Colorado and Hawaii voted for Hillary, so fuck them libs, amirite? Trump is just that kind of petty degenerate..

Re:Make no mistake

[markdavis]

>"The $6,3 million saved will pay for a lot of KFC Gravy Bowls on Air Force One. Plus, Colorado and Hawaii voted for Hillary, so fuck them libs, amirite? Trump is just that kind of petty degenerate.."

I don't want to see the WWV dismantled. I have lots of equipment that use it both at home and work. But I really would like someone to explain to me how it can possibly cost 6.3 million dollars a year for such an incredibly simple function/technology. THAT should be the uptake here- not that we don't need or shouldn't have the service, but why does it need cost so much?

WWV[H][B[

[Anonymous Coward]

NIST is taking a gigantic budget hit. WWV/etc is just one victim. We are headed back to the scientific dark ages...

From what I've read, there was no mention of WWV-B, the VLF broadcast that such gadgets as people's clocks depend on. Is that on the chopping block too? (probably. grr)

Re:Charge for the service ?

[careysub]

If it's so useful, it should be able to be self funding.

Like police and the military. They are useful, so maybe they should be self-funding too.

You really do not want to go there.

Re:Economy?

[slyborg]

This may surprise you, but GPS in-building penetration is zero. Whereas the longwave signals from WWV keep a clock I have in my basement synchronized. So yeah, GPS does a vastly better job at providing location, because that's what it's for, and pretty much is shit for providing cheap time sync.
Oh, and as of the 2012 budget, GPS operating costs were $2M ... *a day*.

The real issue here is that this is something that primarily provides a useful service for the little guy and doesn't have armies of lobbyists shilling it, so even if it cost $1.50/yr, let's cut it, because it's SOCIALISM.

Re:Irrelevant. Slashdot turned into Facebook? Nerd

[asackett]

The fact that we're bankrupting and sacrificing ourselves with illegal, immoral wars to prop up Nixon's petrodollar while allowing our social institutions and infrastructure to decay is very relevant to the discussion. The fact that this grotesque irresponsibility is the driver of capitalism's collapse and American social decay is very, very relevant. Personally, I consider these to be the most relevant aspects of the discussion.

I would be ashamed of myself were I one given more to reaction than reflection.