[time-nuts] Italian Time Station on 10 MHz ?
Marco IK1ODO -2
ik1odo at spin-it.com
Sun Apr 28 16:25:25 EDT 2013
For what I know they have an experimental license by the Telecom
authority, and operate from Tuscany near Viareggio since two or three
years. The license has been given on the basis that there are no more
HF time and frequency signals operating in Europe.
When I knew about it I offered to donate a rubidium standard, to have
it at least on the right frequency.
I had no answers... they continue to radiate a worthless
off-frequency signal (IMHO). May be it is a case of "beaconitis" :-)
(a disease that mandates to activate beacons).
On a similar base, I know of an attempt to restore and put in
operation the old transmitter of IBF (5 MHz, "Istituto Nazionale di
Elettrotecnica", now INRIM, the national standard keepers). That was
a custom built 5 kW (carrier) Continental broadcasting TX. It has
been found in the underground storage of INRIM, stripped of power and
modulation transformers, and should be rebuilt to operate at only 1
kW carrier on the original 5 MHz frequency (Rb or GPS controlled!).
The plans are to operate it from the original place on the hills near
Torino, by remote control, as a museum and educative item. I offered
my workshop to work on it, I hope that the project may go on to again
hear "IBF, IBF, IBF, standard time and frequency signals from the
National Electrotechnical Institute, Turin, Italy" from minutes 45 to
60 on 5 MHz ;-)
Marco IK1ODO / AI4YF
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