Greenwich Time Signal Greenwich Time Signal The Greenwich Time Signal (GTS), popularly known as the pips, is a series of six short tones broadcast at one-second intervals by many BBC Radio stations. The pips were introduced in 1924 and have been generated by the BBC since 1990 to mark the precise start of each hour. Their utility in calibration is diminishing as digital broadcasting entails time lags. There are six pips (short beeps) in total, which occur on each of the 5 seconds leading up to the hour and on the hour itself. Each pip is a 1 kHz tone (about halfway between
BBC Radio Shropshire a much weaker signal only heard up to about away at most. These three transmitters are for broadcasting to the south of the county, which has a hilly terrain that reduces the effectiveness of FM transmissions. The Wrekin transmitter also broadcasts the commercial station Free Radio on 103.1FM, Digital One, the MXR West Midlands 12A multiplex and BBC National DAB. The transmitters also have television, and Ludlow has national radio frequencies. DAB signals started on 31 January 2001 from the NOW Digital Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury and Telford 11B multiplex. This also has BBC WM and comes from the Wrekin and Turners