Wwv100

We're now starting Day 3 of 5 of SES WW0WWV, celebrating the 100th anniversary of WWV.

Pileups continue on 40m and 20m SSB, but we're endeavoring to work as many of you as we can.

Our biggest challenge continues to be 30m. Let's face it, when the band is only 100Hz away and barely 100 yards from a 10kW AM carrier, well, let's just say you're competing with rather unique conditions. You may hear everyone calling us and think we're ignoring you, when really we just can't hear anything but the strongest signals. We're considering options, and we might even get WWV to dial back 10MHz just a bit... Hi Hi

Below, another incredible evening will mean it will get cold, but the view of the stars under the WWVB towers and our antennas is something.

The WWVB tower looms over the stacked 5-element yagi on 6m, while the SteppIR 2-element yagi sits atop a 50' crank-up outside the security fence.

Though sunsets this time of year are often blue and orange, the Broncos fell to 0-4. Still, the evening sky creates a great backdrop to the vertical element reaching up to the top hat on WWVB, and our antennas for the WW0WWV operations in the foreground.

Thanks for your comments - keep them coming!

More "action" shots to come . . .

In May 1920, “experimental concerts” were “sent out” on Friday evenings from 8:30 to 11:00 on 500m (600kHz). These “concerts” are thought to be the first scheduled broadcasts to a wide audience from WWV. Records were played on a Victrola with the output connected directly to the transmitter. The station could be heard out to about 40km.

In the enlargement of the tone-arm you can see a microphone or electromagnetic detector taped to the needle and the wire leading to the transmitter. This could very well be the first electronic pick-up!

A news release from May 28, 1920 hinted at the significance of these broadcasts:

…This music can be heard by anyone in the states near the District of Columbia having a simple amateur receiving outfit. The pleasant evenings which have been experienced by persons at a number of such receiving stations suggest interesting possibilities of the future.

Quite an understatement! Broadcasting had begun, and this new medium would go on to revolutionize culture and society. The early years (1919-1922) of WWV were very experimental; it’s primary purpose as a frequency standard emerged in 1923.