On Wed, 8 Feb 2012 19:32:28 -0000, "James Heaton"
wrote:


"Charles Ellson" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:13:50 +0000, Bruce
wrote:

Basil Jet wrote:

On 2012\02\07 19:41, Star Fury wrote:

I wonder what the source of the authoritative time for the UK Railway
actually is, now?

At least one railway company gave its staff Eurochron radio controlled
watches which got their signal from Mainflingen, Germany.


Surely from the atomic clocks at Anthorn, Cumbria? The UK's radio
time signal was formerly transmitted from the BBC Long Wave
transmitter near Rugby, but moved to Anthorn in 2007.

MSF was formerly transmitted from the GPO/PO/BT site at Rugby from
1926-2007.
The BBC transmitter is at Droitwich (with two other LW transmitters at
Burghead and Westerglen) and carries an embedded time signal used by
electricity companies to control tariff-switching and by the
Environment Agency:-
http://www.alancordwell.co.uk/radio/teleswitch1.html
http://79.171.36.154/rts/tech_aspects.asp

Does anyone know how this will be managed when the LW signal ends? Cannot
remember exactly when, but 2015 or 2016 is ringing large bells in my mind.
Apparently the transmitter kit is pretty much life expired.

AFAICT the LW service will be ending around the same time that nuclear
electricity becomes too cheap to meter. Newspapers seem to have
announcing the end since at least 2004 (Daily Torygraph) but the
official version seems to be no more definite than e.g. "There will
also be no reinvestment in long wave, which will lead to the end of
Radio 4 on LW in the long term."
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15165926]