Transmission of Time Signals/Weather Reports by the Naval Radio Stations (1915)

Much of the earliest broadcasting was public service information, including time signals and weather reports, transmitted in Morse Code by government stations.

Radio Stations of the United States, July 1, 1915 edition, pages 169-172:
TRANSMISSION OF TIME SIGNALS BY NAVAL RADIO STATIONS.
    The transmission of time signals to vessels at sea by means of radiotelegraphy was first accomplished in the United States in 1905, and this service, enlarged and extended, has continued to the present time. This service is of the greatest value to mariners, as it furnishes a means by which the time, as given by the transmitted signals, may be compared with a ship's chronometer and the error of the chronometer found. Similar comparisons over a number of days enable data to be obtained by which not only the error may be found, but also the chronometer rate; that is, the rate at which it is gaining or losing.
    The noontime signals on the Atlantic coast are sent out through the coast radio stations by connection with Western Union telegraph lines from the United States Naval Observatory at Washington, D. C. By the operation of proper relays in electrical circuits, the beats of the seconds of a standard clock in the observatory are sent out broadcast as a series of radio dots, commencing five minutes before the time of the final signal. By omitting certain dots in a series, the comparison between the dots and the beats of the chronometer seconds can be checked until the instant of local noon (seventy-fifth meridian time) is reached. This is marked by a longer dot, which gives the time of exact noon. A comparison with the chronometer time at that instant gives its error referred to the seventy-fifth meridian time. Applying the difference in longitude, namely, five hours, between the seventy-fifth meridian and Greenwich, which is the standard meridian (or 0º longitude), the error of the chronometer referred to Greenwich time is determined.
    Time signals are now sent out on the Atlantic coast only through the radio stations at Arlington, Key West, and New Orleans. Signals from Arlington and Key West, which reach a zone formerly served by other coast stations, are sent out every day in the year twice a day, viz, from 11.55 a. m. to noon and from 9.55 to 10 p. m., seventy-fifth meridian time. Time signals from New Orleans are sent out daily, including Sundays and holidays, commencing at 11.55 a. m., seventy-fifth meridian time, and ending at noon.
    In case of failure of the Arlington high-power station, the signals are sent out by the small set in the same station, and the stations at Boston, New York, Newport, Norfolk, and Charleston are notified, and they each send the signals broadcast.
    On the Pacific coast the time signals are sent broadcast to sea through the naval radio stations at Mare Island, Eureka, Point Arguello, and San Diego, Cal., and at North Head, Wash. The controlling clock for each station is in the naval observatory at the Mare Island Navy Yard. Signals from Mare Island are sent out every day from 11.55 to noon, and from 9.55 to 10 p. m., one hundred and twentieth meridian standard time. Those from North Head, Eureka, Point Arguello, and San Diego are sent out daily, excluding Sundays and holidays, from 11.55 to noon, one hundred and twentieth meridian standard time.
    To get the maximum clearness of signals, the receiving circuit should be tuned to that of the sending station. Arlington and Mare Island send on a 2500-meter wave length, North Head and San Diego on a 2000-meter wave length, Eureka on a 1400-meter wave length, Key West and New Orleans on a 1000-meter wave length, and Point Arguello on a 750-meter wave length. On the completion of the new radio station at the training station, Great Lakes, time signals will be transmitted from that station for the benefit of shipping on the Great Lakes, as well as the weather reports for that region, now transmitted by Arlington after the Atlantic coast weather bulletin, following the 10 p. m. time signals.
TRANSMISSION OF WEATHER REPORTS BY NAVAL RADIO STATIONS.
    Through cooperation with local offices of the United States Weather Bureau, weather forecasts are sent broadcast to sea through naval coast radio stations at certain times, varying with the locality. Coast stations are generally prepared to give local forecasts to passing vessels without charge, on request. Storm warnings are sent whenever received and the daily weather bulletins are distributed by the naval radio stations at Arlington, Va., and Key West, Fla., a few minutes after the 10 p. m. time signal. These bulletins consist of two parts.
    The first part contains code letters and figures which express the actual weather conditions at 8 p. m., seventy-fifth meridian time, on the day of distribution, at certain points along the eastern coast of North America, one point along the Gulf of Mexico, and one at Bermuda.
    The second part of the bulletin contains a special forecast of the probable winds to be experienced a hundred miles or so off shore, made by the United States Weather Bureau, for distribution to shipmasters. The second part of the bulletin also contains warnings of severe storms along the coasts, as occasions for such warnings may arise.
    Immediately following this bulletin, a weather bulletin for certain points along the Great Lakes is sent broadcast by the naval radio station at Arlington, Va., consisting of two parts. The first part contains code letters and figures which express the actual weather conditions at 8 p. m., seventy-fifth meridian time, on the day of distribution, at certain points along the Lakes. The second part of the bulletin contains a special forecast of the probable winds to be experienced on the Lakes, during the season of navigation--about April 15 to December 10.
    The points for which weather reports are furnished are designated as follows: For Atlantic coast and Gulf points, S=Sydney, T=Nantucket, DB=Delaware Breakwater, H=Hatteras, C=Charleston, K=Key West, P=Pensacola, and B=Bermuda; for points on the Great Lakes, Du=Duluth, M=Marquette, U=Sault Ste. Marie, G=Green Bay, Ch=Chicago, L=Alpena, D=Detroit, V=Cleveland, and F=Buffalo.
    All bulletins begin with the letters U. S. W. B. (United States Weather Bureau) and the weather conditions follow. The first three figures of a report represent the barometric pressure in inches (002 30.02); the next figure, the fourth in sequence, represents the direction of the wind to the eight points of the compass: 1=north, 2=northeast, 3=east, 4=southeast, 5=south, 6=southwest, 7=west, 8=northwest, and 0=calm. The fifth figure represents the force of the wind on the Beaufort Scale, given below.

Beaufort Scale of wind force.

Number and designation.

Statute miles
per hour.

Nautical
miles per
hour.

  0  Calm
  1  Light air
  2  Light breeze
  3  Gentle breeze
  4  Moderate breeze
  5  Fresh breeze
  6  Strong breeze
  7  Moderate gale
  8  Fresh gale
  9  Strong gale
10  Whole gale
11  Storm
12  Hurricane

0 to 3
8
13
18
23
28
34
40
48
56
65
75

{	90 and over.

0 to 2.6
6.9
11.3
15.6
20.0
24.3
29.5
34.7
41.6
48.6
56.4
65.1

{	78.1 and over.

    In order to simplify the code, no provision has been made for wind force greater than 9, strong gale, on the Beaufort Scale. Whenever winds of force greater than 9 occur, the number representing them is given in words instead of figures, thus: Ten, eleven, etc.
EXAMPLES OF CODE.
    U S W B    S 96465   T 91674   DB 94686   H 99886   C 01214   K 02622   P 03613   B 00065
Translation.
    United States Weather Bureau.

Station.	Pressure.	Wind.
		Direction.	Force.¹
Sydney Nantucket Delaware Breakwater Hatteras Charleston Key West Pensacola Bermuda	29.64 29.16 29.46 29.98 30.12 30.26 30.36 30.00	SW W NW NW N NE N SW	5 4 6 6 4 2 3 5

¹ See Beaufort scale.

U S W B Du 95826 M 97635 U 00443 G 96046 Ch 95667 L 00644 D 00842 V 01054 F 01656
Translation.
United States Weather Bureau.

Station.	Pressure.	Wind.
		Direction.	Force.¹
Duluth Marquette Sault Ste. Marie Green Bay Chicago Alpena Detroit Cleveland Buffalo	29.58 29.76 30.04 29.60 29.56 30.06 30.08 30.10 30.16	NE E SE SE SW SE SE S S	6 5 3 6 7 4 2 4 6

¹ See Beaufort scale.

United States Early Radio History > Financing Radio Broadcasting > Government Public Service Broadcasting