[LEAPSECS] DCF77 and the inception of leap seconds

[Michael Deckers]

On 2019-02-01 17:56, Steve Allen wrote:

> The PTB-controlled broadcasts were pure SI
> seconds thus making those broadcasts a form of Stepped Atomic Time
> which was approved as experimental by CCIR Rec 374-1 in 1966.


    The DCF77 service started on 1959-01-01 and sent astronomically
    determined signals for UT2 or UTC until 1970-04-01 when the
    signals of DHI stopped. The PTB used Cs clocks since 1962,
    and the PTB time signals in DCF77 used steps but never used an
    offset in rate.

    See
       Andreas Bauch, Peter Hetzel, Dirk Piester: "Zeit- und
       Frequenzverbreitung mit DCF77: 1959 – 2009 und darüber hinaus".
       in: PTB Mitteiliungen, 2009 Heft 3. 2009-09 Braunschweig.
       online at
       [https://www.ptb.de/cms/fileadmin/internet/publikationen
/ptb_mitteilungen/mitt2009/Heft3/PTB-Mitteilungen_2009_Heft_3.pdf]

    Michael Deckers.