THE BBC NETWORK RADIO TIME AND FREQUENCY STANDARD AND ITS ROLE IN THE PROVISION OF THE GREENWICH TIME SIGNAL

J. McIlroy

Abstract: The BBC has broadcast the Greenwich Time Signal (GTS) on its networks since 1924. Up to February 1990 this signal was generated by the Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) in England and the BBC was informed that the RGO was moving its location to Cambridge and might not be able to continue to provide the Greenwich Time Service. The BBC in its role of a public service broadcaster believed that a long tradition of providing a time signal to its listeners should be upheld, and as such decided to seek alternative methods of provision. In parallel with this activity an in-house requirement arose to re-engineer time switch equipment and provide new facilities for digital audio projects. As both requirements have a common engineering core, a decision was taken to design and procure a Time and Frequency Standard that could generate the Greenwich Time Signal to the same specification adhered to by the RGO, and provide additional time and frequency facilities. This paper discusses initially the concept of time and time frequency dissemination as used in a broadcast network, and follows on to present the details of an engineering solution to the requirements of BBC Network Radio.
Published in: Proceedings of the 22th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting
December 4 - 6, 1990
Sheraton Premiere Hotel
Vienna, Virginia
Pages: 401 - 408
Cite this article: McIlroy, J., "THE BBC NETWORK RADIO TIME AND FREQUENCY STANDARD AND ITS ROLE IN THE PROVISION OF THE GREENWICH TIME SIGNAL," Proceedings of the 22th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, Vienna, Virginia, December 1990, pp. 401-408.
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