[time-nuts] Looking for info on an old WWVB receiver

Jim Lux jimlux at earthlink.net
Wed Jul 25 04:16:20 UTC 2012


On 7/24/12 8:48 PM, ed breya wrote:
> I recently picked up an interesting early 1970s vintage WWVB receiver,
> Model 630, made by "Specific Products" of Monrovia, CA - that's what the
> adhesive sticker on the front says, and the name "1 MHz Time Base
> Calibrator (Utilizes WWVB accuracy of 2 parts in 10^11)." There's also a
> pair of banana jacks labeled "1 MHz Input," a row of incandescent lamps
> for a signal strength indicator, and a power switch. The back says
> "Model LF 60S," and has six RCA jacks for "100 kHz Output," "60 kHz
> Output," "Recorder Output," "Antenna Input," "(divide sign) 10 Output,"
> and "Time Code Output." There's also the line cord and a +12VDC output
> RCA jack.
>
> I'm wondering if anyone knows anything or sources of info about this
> thing. With all the recent talk of WWVB changing to spread-spectrum, it
> may be useless anyway, except for some parts, but I'm curious about
> whether it's worth saving.
>
Well, a bit of casual googling shows that Specfic Products made lots of 
this kind of thing, and they are shown as being in, variously, Los 
Angeles, Woodland Hills, and Monrovia.  Technically Woodland Hills is in 
the city of LA, but in any case, they seem to have moved a bit.

I found a reference in a USGS report
Specific Products, 1965, NBS time code decoder chart: Bulletin Number 
226, 21051 Costanso St., Woodland Hills, Calif.
Now, as it happens, that's the address (today) of someone's garage.


They seem to have been a popular item for generating timecode in various 
recorders for USGS (turned up several mentions in papers from the 60s 
and 70s recording things like volcanic eruptions and the like)




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