For those who, for whatever reason, do not have access to an NTP server or a GPS device in the continental our lives, is the next best way to ensure that the correct time is familiar with the WWVB radio signal. The Mission of Colorado, the 60-bit 1 Hz signal, reaches all 48 states in the low-frequency band and is a great way to get a clock within a few hundred nanoseconds of the official time. But in situations with high noise, especially on the coasts or in populated areas, these radio -based clocks can miss some updates. To prevent that happening [Mike] a repeater built for this radio signal.
The repeater works by loading most radio components to an Arduino. The microcontroller listens to the WWVB signal and transmates it again at a lower power to the immediate environment, in this case no further than a few centimeters away or enough to synchronize a few wrist watches. But it has a much better antenna for listening to WWVB, so this eliminates the (although unusual) problem [Mike]Watches don’t synchronize at least once a day. WWVB broadcasts a PWM signal that is easy for an Arduino to duplicate, but it needed help from a DRV8833 amplifier to generate a meaningfully strong radio signal.
Although there are other similar projects aimed at the WWVB signal, [Mike]The aim for this was to improve the reach of these projects, so that it could synchronize more than a single time observation device at the same time, as well as the use of parts that are more easily available and that have a larger ease of use. We would say that he did quite a good job here, and his Build instructions cover almost everything that even the most beginning breadboarders should know to duplicate it himself.
#repeater #WWVB