Talk:Greenwich Time Signal

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—Yamara ✉  17:16, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Discussion
The sound file is also available in [[media:pips.ogg|Ogg]]. We can switch them when people might be able to play it. CGS 10:51 6 Jun 2003 (UTC).


 * Erk, the MP3 sounds *weird*, whatever I play it in. The Ogg is fine. Maybe we should switch sooner. Marnanel 03:36, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Just pointing out that it wasn't always five short pips and a long one --- until (1970s??) they were all the same length. -- Arwel 13:49 23 Jun 2003 (UTC)


 * Yeah, they changed it so people knew which pip was the hour when there was a leap second. CGS 15:07 23 Jun 2003 (UTC).

I think the redirect should be replaced with a disambiguation page -- there are enough alternative uses of the acronym to warrant this (eg. Grand Touring Super, such as the Dodge Viper GTS and Ferarri GTS) -- Matt 07:03, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Hex Hector links to GTS, referring to the DJ crew
 * http://www.artimage.co.jp/artist/gts/gts.html
 * Westside Xtreme wrestling links to GTS, referring to General Trent Steel
 * http://www.3cw.co.uk/pages/oldnews.html
 * I've created a disambiguation page at GTS. Neurillon 22:27, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Ownership of the pips
I heard that the pips were owned by the BBC, while the spaces where owned by the Observatory - any idea where we could confirm this little quirk? Horus Kol 14:58, 21 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Where did you hear this? It sounds like nonsense. 81.155.83.238 05:21, 15 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Sounds to me like a Wogan invention (cf. the Great Wok of London) - ask him! 82.163.24.100 (talk) 18:31, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

could someone please extend the information on Sir Terry Wogan 'crashing' the GTS? Thank You

The BBC don't call them Greenwich Time Signal...
Since the clock has been transferred to Broadcasting House, the BBC only refer to the "Time Signal"; I don't know if this is official policy, but it seems a good idea to clarify this in the article. Apepper 18:36, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Structure
The situation for no Leap Second is described - 6 pips, 23:59:55 to 24:00:00 UTC.

The situation for a positive Leap Second is described - 7 pips, 23:59:55 to 24:00:00 UTC.

I think, without being sure, thst for a negative Leap Second there would be 5 pips, 23:59:55 to 24:00:00 UTC.

IMHO, that should be verified or corrected, and then added.

82.163.24.100 (talk) 18:36, 24 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Presumably there would be five pips, but since the situation has never arisen we are unlikely to find any way of verifying this, so adding it to the article would be speculation. Old Man of Storr (talk) 22:24, 20 October 2009 (UTC)


 * The decision as to what will happen should already have been taken. 82.163.24.100 (talk) 18:40, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

trewy@live.co.uk-- I still have not quite got the hang of this.

Should we add a bit about the leap second added on midnight Jan 1 2009?

I believe there has never been a leap second removed. But they said on the radio that the last time they added one was 1972. I am sure that is not true. But not sure where I would find that out-- I remember one being added when I was working on the firing range over new year and we needed accurate time then (this was before GPS etc which presumably was a nightmare to correct). Sorry if I am being a "vandal" I just haven't quite got the hang of this yet-- Si. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.22.74.10 (talk) 07:16, 2 January 2009 (UTC)


 * You are right that there never has been a leap second removed. Our article on leap second is the place to look. UTC was introduced in 1972, so I suppose there could be confusion somewhere along the line if someone said "there hasn't been a negative adjustment since 1972". And don't worry, you aren't being a vandal. Old Man of Storr (talk) 22:24, 20 October 2009 (UTC)

Really at 6.30am on Moyles show?
Is the statement that they are broadcast at 6.30am on Chris Moyle's show, just after the news, correct? I'm rather surprised they broadcast it on the half-hour (presumably 3 short + 1 long?)
 * Well in that case it's not an official one, as they use the 6 pips. Listen to the very end of Dev's shows (before Chris Moyles on the iPlayer), recent example: http://bbc.co.uk/i/mrdvp/

Wogan
No longer correct : "8am (during Terry Wogan's breakfast show)". 82.163.24.100 (talk) 18:38, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

Reason for introduction
You seem to have missed the all-important reason for the introduction of the Time Signal - it was to allow ship's navigators to set their Marine chronometers accurately. It gave a listener anywhere in the world a reference time at Greenwich, the prime meridian. The slight error caused by the distance (delay) being well within the margin of error for pre-electronic navigation, so that a second or two's inaccuracy was acceptable providing the distance was known. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.112.76.61 (talk) 21:00, 24 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks I was wandering why you would even need a signal to tell you when the new hour started. As an American it just doesn't make any sense. Too bad the article wasn't more clear on this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.87.0.231 (talk) 22:01, 8 June 2012 (UTC)


 * If you were a ship's navigation officer on the other side of the world in say perhaps Singapore or Hong Kong in the 1920s-1950s then being able to get an accurate time from Greenwich made for much safer navigation. That was the whole point of the 'pips' - you need to know the correct time at Greenwich for finding your longitude.

Broken Pips
31st of may 2011, the pips machine has broken and the pips are not being broadcast acording to eddie mair radio4 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.5.60.33 (talk) 17:17, 31 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes and it did lead to possibly one of the funniest interviews I've ever heard on PM. There's an RS here but it would be good to see if anyone else picks up on this (and if they're still broken at 19:00). Ka Faraq Gatri (talk) 17:58, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

Pips outside of the hour.
There have been occasions where the pips have been broadcast outside of the hour.

In the days when Radios 1 and 2 "shared" their FM frequency, on a Saturday, you could get Radio 1 on FM between 1 pm and 7:30 - at 7:30, following the In Concert programme, the FM network would revert to Radio 2 - to facilitate a smooth transition, they would use the pips - mind you, the programme on Radio 2 that followed was invariably a concert of film score music or something like that - having listened to a rock group, you then get to hear film scores.

As for the local stations, they took the pips from Radio 4 - as they don't usually crash the pips or play music or jingles, listeners couldn't tell!

Arthurvasey (talk) 17:27, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified (January 2018)
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Final pip
The final sentence in the section under the sub-heading "Structure" reads "Until 1972 the pips were of equal length and confusion arose as to which was the final pip". This sentence goes on to say that this meant the final pip was made longer in tone, but would it not be clearer if this sentence said that this change was made in 1972?Vorbee (talk) 15:20, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

United States: CBS News Radio time signal
Network news broadcasts are typically distributed to individual stations a few minutes ahead of intended run time. Each station records the feed and broadcasts it whenever it fits (commercials take priority!), so the 'top of hour' chime can easily be off by half a minute — don't set your clock by it! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.154.192.197 (talk) 23:56, 6 June 2022 (UTC)