DCF77
Overview
 
DCF77 is a longwave
Mainflingen longwave transmitter
Mainflingen longwave transmitter is a large facility for commercial longwave transmissions at Mainflingen, Hesse, Germany, which was built in 1956. It uses several T- and triangle antennas, which are mounted on guyed masts of lattice steel, insulated against ground...

 time signal
Time signal
A time signal is a visible, audible, mechanical, or electronic signal used as a reference to determine the time of day.-Audible and visible time signals:...

 and standard-frequency radio station. Its primary and backup transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...

 are located in Mainflingen
Mainflingen
Mainflingen is a small settlement of about 3800 inhabitants, a constituent community of the municipality Mainhausen in Hesse, Germany....

, about 25 km south-east of Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is operated by Media Broadcast GmbH (previously a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG), on behalf of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt is based in Braunschweig and Berlin. It is the national institute for natural and engineering sciences and the highest technical authority for metrology and physical safety engineering in Germany....

, Germany's national physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 laboratory. DCF77 has been in service as a standard-frequency station since 1959; date and time information was added in 1973.
 
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