"Frnak McKenney" wrote in message
m...
I'm hoping that what I build will at least give me some idea of
the WWVB signal strength. I started out being curious about the
various "Atomic clocks" and thought about building a dedicated
60kHz WWVB receiver, but one of the problems one runs into with
an idea like that is that "debugging" can be exremely frustrating
without some piece of equipment that can offer a "second opinion".


I suggest you consult http://tf.nist.gov/stations/wwvbcoverage.htm. This
shows the predicted coverage of WWVB at two hour intervals. Quoting from
NIST's text:

"The coverage maps shown below are computer-generated estimates of WWVB
signal strength under typical conditions. They show estimated signal
coverage at two-hour intervals over the course of a day with WWVB operating
at 50 kW radiated power. The shaded areas indicate those areas where signal
levels are 100 microvolts per meter or greater. Note that the coverage area
contracts during daylight hours and expands during nighttime hours."

It appears that, except for Florida, the middle and northern East Coast,
and selected portions of the Northwest, the continental United States
coverage is pretty solid. With the cost of commercial WWVB clocks being as
low as $10.00, I'd buy one just to see if it can synchronize where you
live.

QST and Ham Radio magazines have published several low frequency converter
designs that may be useful for study:

Apr 2002 QST, Frank Gentges and Steve Ratzlaff: AMRAD Low Frequency
Upconverter (correction Oct 2002)
Jun 1977 QST, Doug DeMaw & Jay Rusgrove: A High-Performance Low-Frequency
Converter
Nov 1976 Ham Radio, Guenter Ruehr:Tuned Very Low-Frequency Converter
Apr 1964 QST, G. Holmes Wilson: A Simple Low-Frequency Converter
and for the Boatanchor enthusiast
Sep 1940 QST, Raymond Woodward, A Low-Frequency Converter

73, Dr. Barry L. Ornitz WA4VZQ