WWV Transmitting Station, Colorado

The government operates a shortwave broadcasting station that is said to be the longest continuously operating radio station of any kind, in the USA, if not the world. Known as WWV, in Fort Collins, Colorado, and its sister station WWVH, in Hawaii, these are time stations operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. WWV broadcasts time on several frequencies, and has been doing so since 1919 (though at other locations until the facility was built at Fort Collins in 1966). In addition to electronic signals used automatically by receivers to synchronize clocks and machinery, the station transmits voice and tones to announce Coordinated Universal Time every minute, and makes other recorded announcements on an hourly schedule. The Colorado station uses a male voice for this, while the station in Hawaii uses a female voice.