Greenwich Time Signal 19:00. By 19:45 the same day the power supply was repaired and the 20:00 pips were broadcast as normal. Many radio broadcasters around the world use the Greenwich Time Signal as a means to mark the start of the hour. The pips are used in both 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. Greenwich Time Signal The Greenwich Time Signal (GTS), popularly known as the pips, is a series of six short tones broadcast at one-second
Greenwich Time Signal pips were of equal length and confusion arose as to which was the final pip, hence the last pip was of extended length. The pips are available to BBC radio stations every 15 minutes but except in rare cases, they are only broadcast on the hour, usually before news bulletins or news programmes. On BBC Radio 4, the pips are broadcast every hour except at 18:00 and 00:00 and at 22:00 on Sundays (at the start of the Westminster Hour) when they are replaced by the Westminster chimes of Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster. No time signal is