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 Lancashire RealPlayer via the website. The 103.9 FM signal comes high on the Winter Hill transmitter, and its height gives it the greatest coverage over Lancashire. North Manchester, although nearby, can just about pick up the signal. Winter Hill also carries national radio (including BBC National DAB), TV, Digital One, and the commercial stations Heart North West (formerly 105.4 Real Radio), Rock FM (formerly Red Rose Radio) on 97.4FM and Smooth North West on 100.4FM. Winter Hill also broadcasts two other local digital multiplexes - MXR North West 12C and CE Digital Manchester 11C (it is a digital transmitter for Radio