Greenwich Time Signal - Similar Time Signals Elsewhere

Similar Time Signals Elsewhere

Many radio broadcasters around the world use the Greenwich Time Signal as a means to mark the start of the hour. The pips are both used in domestic and international commercial and public broadcasting. Many radio stations use six tones similar to those used by the BBC World Service; some shorten it to five, four, or three tones.

In Australia, pips are used on ABC Radio National and ABC Local Radio at the top of every hour.

In Hong Kong pips are used on RTHK's radio channels for the same purpose and in the same way. The signals, which are provided by the Hong Kong Observatory, are broadcast every half hour during the day and on the hour at night, immediately before the news headline reports.

In Finland on YLE's radio services the pips are broadcast on the hour.

In The Netherlands only three pips are used. There used to be six, however it was felt that people would lose count, so now only three are used.

In Spain, the signal is broadcast by almost all radio stations, even by music stations, but depends on the frequency: music stations usually use pips on the hour, but most of the non-musical stations broadcast the signal every 30 minutes. Los 40 Principales, the most important music radio in Spain, broadcast a different version of GTS: two first pips sound and then a music is added on the background, using the rhythm to create the corporative jingle of the radio. Other musical radios like Máxima FM and M80 Radio, both owned by PRISA, and Europa FM use a similar effect.

In Catalonia, Spain, dance music station Flaix FM and Hot AC station Ràdio Flaixbac, both owned by the same media group, broadcast every half hour a very short sequence of two very short tones followed by a longer one, the whole lasting not more than one and a half seconds. Els 40 Principals, the Catalan edition of Spanish radio Los 40 Principales, use the same jingle, using a mix of GTS and corporative music.

In Malaysia, RTM radio stations use the pips hourly before the news broadcast but only two pips are sounded, which is a short pip on the 59th second before the hour and a longer pip on the top of the hour. In the past, the pips were used to sound similar to the BBC's.

In Ireland, six pips are broadcast before news bulletins at 07:00, 13:00 and 24:00 on RTÉ Radio 1.

In the United States, the pips can be heard on the Middlebury College radio station WRMC.

In North Korea, the pips are heard on Voice of Korea before its startup at 17:00.

Radio New Zealand National, the New Zealand equivalent of BBC Radio 4, plays the same pips at the top of every hour, although the final pip is also 0.1 of a second.

In Argentina, all news/talk stations (Radio Nacional, Radio Mitre, Radio Continental, Radio 10, Cadena 3, etc.) air the six pips similar to the BBC every hour, and 3 pips for every half hour similar to Catalonia.

The French station France Inter broadcasts four very short pips every hour, which are often crashed. The last pip, which is as long as the other ones, marks the top of the hour. Some local stations of the France Bleu network also air four pips that are a little longer than Inter's.

RTBF, in Belgium, broadcasts five short peeps every hour.

The first channel of the Swiss radio used to play three short peeps, the third being higher than the others. It seems to have disappeared now.

Every hour the German Deutschlandfunk broadcasts four beeps, the last one being longer than the others.