WWVB
time signal radio station
NIST Time & Frequency Service (callsign WWVB) is a longwave time signal radio station near Fort Collins, Colorado, and is operated by the United States Government via theNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Most radio-controlled clocks in North America use WWVB's transmissions to set the correct time.
The normal signal transmitted from WWVB is 70 kW ERP and uses a 60 kHz carrier wave yielding a frequency uncertainty of less than 1 part in 1012. The time code signal is derived from a set of atomic clocks located at the site, and transmitted using the IRIG "H" format and modulated onto the carrier wave using pulse-width modulation and amplitude-shift keying at one bit per second. A single complete frame of time code begins at the start of each minute, lasts one minute, and conveys the year, day of year, hour, minute, and other information as of the beginning of the minute.
WWVB is co-located with WWV, a time signal station that broadcasts in both voice and time code on multiple shortwave radio frequencies. WWVB is not an acronym or abbreviation but a call sign for the radio station.
While most time signals encode the local time of the broadcasting nation, the United States spans multiple time zones, so WWVB broadcasts the time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Radio-controlled clocks can then apply time zone and daylight saving time offsets as needed to display local time. The time used in the broadcast is set by the NIST Time Scale, known as UTC(NIST).
“WWVB” enters the record as time signal radio station. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what WWVB, time and signal can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“WWVB” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, WWVB, time and signal provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q14685146. Authority coordinates are 40.678, -105.047. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1012.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “WWVB”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow WWVB primary sources, WWVB archive and WWVB research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “WWVB”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “WWVB” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.