DCF77 will be preserved in the long run

08.11.2011

Only some days ago, the information that the cold days are coming was transmitted to millions of radio-controlled clocks via the signals of the long-wave transmitter DCF77 - summertime ended on 30 October. But also in the rest of the year, the infrastructure of our country is hardly imaginable without DCF77: Innumerable technical, scientific and routine processes require the exact time and obtain it from DCF77. The time signals and the standard frequency (carrier frequency 77.5 kHz) are emitted on behalf of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) by the company Media Broadcast GmbH. The contract has now been extended until 2021. Through this, the availability of DCF77 has been contractually ensured for another ten years.

Sendemast von DCF77 in Mainflingen, südöstlich von Frankfurt/M.

Abbildung 2: Die aktuellen Zeitinformationen werden direkt am Standort des Langwellensenders DCF77 mit Hilfe dieser Steueranlage erzeugt. Drei kommerzielle Atomuhren geben dabei den Takt vor.

Abbildung 3: Das Sendeprogramm von DCF77: aktuelle Zeitinformationen zu Minute, Stunde, Tag, Woche, Monat und Jahr kodiert mit kurzen und langen Sekundenmarken für binäre Nullen und Einsen.

Contact
Dr. Andreas Bauch, PTB Working Group "Dissemination of Time",
Telefon: +40531 592-4420, E-mail: andreas.bauch(at)ptb.de

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Contact

Erika Schow

Phone: +49 531 592-9314
Email:
erika.schow(at)ptb.de

Imke Frischmuth

Phone: +49 531 592-9323
Email:
imke.frischmuth(at)ptb.de

Secretariat

Karin Conring

Phone: +49 531 592-3006
Fax: +49 531 592-3008
Email:
karin.conring(at)ptb.de

Address

Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
Bundesallee 100
38116 Braunschweig

DCF77 will be preserved in the long run

Extension of the agreement between Media Broadcast GmbH and PTB on the operation of the long-wave transmitter DCF77