Beta is a time signal service in the

VLF Very low frequency or VLF is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 3–30 kHz, corresponding to wavelengths from 100 to 10 km, respectively. The band is also known as the myriameter band or myriameter wave ...

range in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, operated by the

Russian Navy The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...

.C3 Systems of the CIS Navy
It is controlled by

All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Physical-Engineering and Radiotechnical Metrology All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Physical-Engineering and Radiotechnical Metrology (VNIIFTRI; ) was founded in 1955. It is located in the settlement of Mendeleyevo, Moscow Oblast, Mendeleyevo of Solnechnogorsky District, Moscow Oblast, ...

.. Official signal specification. There are 6 transmitter stations, which take turns transmitting time signals and other communications. Each transmitter has 1 or 2 scheduled sessions per day lasting 31–41 minutes, depending on transmitter, total 8 sessions in 24 hours. Beginning on the hour is 15–20 minutes of 25.0 kHz, including

morse code Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code i ...

station identification and time code. This is followed by 3- or 4-minute intervals of 25.1, 25.5, 23.0 and 20.5 kHz of unmodulated carrier precisely phase-locked to UTC(SU) time scale. No time code is sent during the last quarter of an hour.

The Beta network

Beta consists of the following transmitters:

Frequency usage

The time code consists of a series of signals on multiple frequencies. Transmission starts on the hour. Each time a new frequency is selected, there is 1 minute of low power while the transmitter is adjusted, then full-power transmissions begin. The transmitters are estimated to operate at 1000 kW, achieving 30–50 kW EIRP. (The difference is due to the low efficiency of antennas at this frequency, which must be much smaller than the 12 km wavelength.) The time code consists of a series of carrier pulses:Meinberg radio clock glossary: R
see entries fo

an

/ref> * Each 100 ms, a 25 ms burst of carrier is transmitted * Each second, a 100 ms burst of carrier is transmitted * Each 10 s, a 1 s burst of carrier is transmitted * Each minute, a 10 s burst of carrier is transmitted The hour or date is not coded. Most of the stations were built in the 1970s. RJH63 and RAB99, built later, has a different transmission:

The Beta network

Frequency usage

See also

References

Further reading