NIST Slashes Measurement Budgets

The National Institute for Science & Technology (NIST) has requested drastic cuts in funding to its measurement activities for fiscal 2019. The budget includes a nearly 28% ($176 million to $127 million) cut to the agency's Fundamental Measurement, Quantum Science and Measurement Dissemination activities. 

The FY2019 budget includes the shutting down of time and frequency standard broadcasts from Ft. Collins, Colorado (WWV) and Kaua'i, Hawaii (WWVH). The two station broadcast time announcements, standard time intervals, standard frequencies, UT1 time corrections, a BCD time code, geophysical alerts, marine storm warnings, and Global Positioning System (GPS) status reports. WWVB, also from Colorado, does not appear to be affected. The station's reference signal is used by consumer devices such as clocks. 

WWV is the longest active broadcast station in the world, with its 100th anniversary coming on Oct. 1, 2019. 

WWV radio station in Ft. Collins, Colorado is slated to shut down in its 100thyear because of budget cuts. Source: NIST

The NIST stations broadcast time and frequency information over carriers at 2.5 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, and 20 MHz. WWVH broadcasts on the same frequencies except for 20 MHz. Equipment uses these finely calibrated signals to assure accurate time and frequency. 

While many engineers have built electronic equipment — some for hobbyist kits — that relied on these signals, do we need them anymore given that we have time available online and through GPS? For example, your cell phone's time can be set by the network and you can use NIST's time and date page or Internet Time Service. The only advantage I can see is the radio-based time and frequency services aren’t dependent on the internet. All you need is a receiver. But then, it's so easy to add a GPS receiver to your equipment or design one yourself. 

The closing of WWV and WWVH will trim $6.3 million from the NIST budget. Another $3.5 million cut will come from the agency's "Lab to Market" activities, whose goal, according to NIST, is to accelerate technology transfer from federal laboratories to industry. NIST has not provided information on what percentage of the total budget that amount represents. EE Times contacted NIST for that information. NIST replied by saying "Ask your Congressman." That's just what I'll do. 

NIST did not provide information as to cuts to calibration services. Calibration services are paid for by those who request them.