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CHU Time Station: Western Canada Coverge Gap Elemination Proposalhttp://cbc.am/CHU.htm1 of 420-May-09 03:30
CHU Time StationWestern Canada "Coverage Gap" Elimination Proposal
The CHU time station is Canada's domestic shortwave time signal station. CHU existed long before the Internet and satellite navigationsystems that also provide time signals. CHU itself provides most of the time services (but not frequency services) of equal quality toWWV & WWVB (Bolder, Colorado) and WWVH (Kauai, Hawaii).However, the usefulness of CHU decreases as one moves farther and farther away from Ontario and Quebec.CHU reception in the high Arctic may be as problematic as reception in Western Canada. What with other Artic nations making newclaims on Arctic resources, there is a territorial imperative to provide services to this region.The CHU station is currently located 15 km southwest of Ottawa.Three frequencies are used are :3330 kHz,
7850 kHz
and 14670 kHz.Individual vertical [dipole] antennas are used for each frequency. The transmission mode is (Compatible) Upper Single Sideband withcarrier re-inserted. This provides time signal service without specifically requiring a special SSB radio. A talking clock using digitallyrecorded voices makes the announcements. All transmitters run at 3 kw of power, equaling about 5 kw of power if traditional AmplitudeModulation were used.Current problems with CHU that need to be addressed
National sovereignty
WWV, WWVB and WWVH should not be considered as viable replacements for Western Canada as there are still technologicalproblems with their IRIG Time Signaling data structures.Beyond the 250 km strip of habitation in southern Canada, WWV and WWVH provide poor signals.Most modest geophysical storms can render WWV reception useless (on all frequencies) in approximately 30% of Canada's EEZ,and 70% of its landmass.Shortwave propagation studies suggest that the transmitter of 20 kw power should be able to reach the high arctic as well asprovide substantial day to day redundancy with the US WWV Time Station.Quality of ServiceRegulatoryBroadcastThe current CHU IRIG Signaling structure doesnot indicate the transmitter coordinates therebymaking reverse VOACAP time delaycalculations very complicated and ambiguous.CHU reception in Western Canada (West of Manitoba) and the Arctic (North of 55ºLatitude) is generally poor year round on allfrequencies.Mild to moderate geomagnetic storms makeCHU inaccessible on all frequencies in WesternCanada.Atlantic Canada has CHU reception problemssimilar to Western Canada.CHU can deliver other kinds of importantscientific and governmental messaging services.With some partial reorganization of CHU's legalstatus it could be possible to make its servicesself funding.
 It may be advisable to use frequencies ~10 kHz above or below CHU's current frequencies
.
 It may be advisable initially to make the BC site a 7 MHz transmission site only
.14 MHz frequency support(daytime only) should beimplemented.The DRM transmission modeoption must be considered forthis kind of utility signalbroadcasting.Upgrading CHU's Ottawatransmitters to 10 kw will notuniversally fix coverage andreliability problems in WesternCanada.This CHU coverage proposal is toenhance reception in the ITUCIRAF Zones: 02, 03, 06NW.This proposal can be optimized forAtlantic Canada on a smaller scaleusing a different frequency andlower power levels probably 5 kw.PropagationCost MinimizationDigital Audio Broadcasting
 
CHU Time Station: Western Canada Coverge Gap Elemination Proposalhttp://cbc.am/CHU.htmof 420-May-09 03:30
The "ionospheric path delay" that is inherent inshortwave propagation makes using CHU's timesignals problematic in Western Canada.The NRC has openly acknowledged the 'pathdelay' problem for decades: "for all distant usersof CHU, the dominant source of time errorcomes from the radio wave path reflecting off the ionosphere as the radio signal travels fromthe transmitter".Having 2 or 3 separate national sites dedicatedto the transmission of shortwave time signals isa good idea. Canada's landmass and EEZ sizedictates this.A "Stratum 0" time server canbe cobbled together withspare components that arefloating around WesternCanada.Using a 20 kw transmitter tocover Western Canada on allfrequencies is not obligatory,as 10 kw may suffice for 14MHz band.A DRM based time serversystem may be 2 or 3 timescheaper than replicatingCHU's IRIG analog timeserver systems.An ultrastable transmitterfrequency should not be adesign goal, but a futureoption.Digital Radio Mondial (DRM) has aglobally agreed upon transmissionsystem that can already transmittime signal packets with accuracyand resolution and equal to CHU's.DRM offers more options, includingthe ability to design custom serviceslike alternate time service.DRM can transmit geophysicalalerts, websites, etc ... it is a veryflexible digital transmissionmedium.DRM does not require an ultrastabletransmitter frequency to operateeffectively with respect to 3 hopdata transmission.
How can this infrastructure project be implemented?
In order to be able to build and maintain this infrastructure project, Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are needed.Here is my view of how a PPP would be constructed for this kind of projectProject design : University of British Columbia (UBC)All work could easily be done by Graduate or Undergraduate students were appropriate, with departmental oversight andcertification. Technically this is the construction of a scientific instrument.Antennas: UBC Electrical Engineering (EE)Transmitter Hall & Facilities : UBC ArchitectureNon-transmitter Equipment : UBC EE or PhysicsProject daily maintenance : Thompson Rivers UniversityProject seasonal maintenance : University of British Columbia & National Research CouncilProject regulatory issues : National Research Council (ITU Frequency, ITU Status, Electricity 50%, Plant & Equipment 50%)Cost sharing (suggested)UBC : 20% (50% of Seasonal Maintenance and Design Costs)TRU : 20% (50% of Electricity Costs and 50% of Daly Maintenance Costs)NRC : 60%CHU Transmitter Site British ColumbiaNote that CHU Ottawa's change to 7850 kHz does not affect the calculations below substantially, the antenna type chosen below is verybroadband and delivers similar performance from 6.0 MHz to 8.0 MHz. This design has a 300 kHz tolerance range whereelectromagnetic and electrodynamic behavior essentially does not substantially change.
 
CHU Time Station: Western Canada Coverge Gap Elemination Proposalhttp://cbc.am/CHU.htmof 420-May-09 03:30
Proposed CHU directional antenna system
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