On Oct 9, 6:06 am, wrote:
On Oct 8, 9:16 pm, Frnak McKenney

wrote:

Is it possible that I'm picking up a non-WWV dignal so strong that
it's masking WWV? I tried tuning around 10MHz with a shortwave
radio; it didn't find WWV -- not a particularly hopeful sign -- but
it did pick up a station called (IIRC) WWCR. WWCR's 'web site
(www.wwcr.com) lists its transmitter #4 as using 9.985MHz and
9.975MHz between 0900 and 2100 CST.

Sounds like it's being masked by some type of noise,
but this could just be from the signal being very weak.
If you can hear other stations ok, it probably the propagation
more than anything. Being that you can barely hear it on a
regular receiver seems to bear this out.
Unless a noise is local, and you are trying to null it, I see no
real advantage to using a small loop vs whatever else.
I would make sure you don't have any local noise. IE:
powerline noise, etc. If you did, the loop would be a good
antenna to null that noise as long as you can turn it.
But if there is no local noise, and the noise you hear is
atmospheric, then it's not going to matter much what
you use.
I've got a hunch that the propagation is just the pits for
you right now.
I wouldn't be surprised if you tried it in a couple of months
and it worked ok.. If you hear it on the regular radio ok,
the clock should too. If you can't hear it on the regular
radio, the clock probably won't either, and there is
probably not much you can do about it.
There should be times that it comes in fairly decent though,
depending on time of day, etc..
I would use what you hear on the regular receiver as to
whether the signal is really there or not.
Propagation on most of the HF bands has been fairly
flaky the last few months. IE: I got on 40m in the daytime
the last time I was in OK, and it was like I was on 20m..
Band was real stretched out, and pretty long skip zones.
I'd miss the semi locals I'd usually talk to, and end up
hearing stations 1000 miles away instead.
MK

Even with my antennas on a 150 foot tower there are times of day when
WWV at 10 megacycles is not audible... This is just the way the daily
propagation cycle is at 30 meters.
My best advice is to put up a dipole for 30 meters, even if you have
to bend the ends to make it fit your space... A horizontal dipole
being balanced picks up less vertically polarized noise than vertical
antennas... Getting the wire outdoors will help also... You are
likely picking up lots of humm and buzz inside the building from
various electrical and electronic devices...

The other issue is whether your clock is actually able to synch with
the WWV signal... You may have a defect in the clock... It would seem
that 4 or 5 bars should have done the trick...

denny / k8do