by jon » Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:23 am
Never realized it before, but the Time Signal is the one constant in all of my on-air jobs in Radio. Haven't tried lately, but I could still recite it 30 years later.
Funniest Time Signal story comes from Theo Donnelly, which he told me when we worked together at CJAT Trail. He, of course, was very good at it, as his weekday shift included the Time Signal. But one morning, he heard the preamble on the CBC network feed, but the tone never appeared. So, he added his own. Verbally. No other choice, as the CJAT-AM board didn't have any buttons to push to create a tone.
The "National Research Council Official Time Signal" was, in fact, quite important to people well into the 1960s. My great uncle owned a jewellry store in Cranbrook, and watches were a big part of his business. He personally did the adjustments and repair work both during the initial sale of a new watch. And the repairs and/or cleanings later on.
He was always there at 11:00 a.m. every morning (Cranbrook is on Mountain time) to set his master clock by the CBC time signal. I assume it was aired on CKEK, but the CBC may have had an LPRT there. He would use that master clock to set any watches and clocks sold or repaired.