If it doesn't reset it means that the radio signal is too bad and it can't receive the signal to synchronize the clock. It continues to run on its own quartz timing which is quite accurate but can be off a second or so in a couple of days. So your clock may not have the correct time. Check it agaist your phone and see if it's off by a number of seconds. If so it's not receiving radio signal for quite sometimes. I think most of them clocks and watches are designed to sync once a day if it can receive the signal.

I would be surprised if the costs to maintain the station(s) were that low. These stations are quite complex with atomic clocks along with powerful transmitters covering several frequencies. These systems require lots of attention and maintenance, especially the antenna systems. There are three different operations going on, WWV, WWVH, and WWVB.

WWV covers 2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 20 Mhz. There are transmitters and antennas for each of the frequencies. Since these are low frequencies the antenna systems are very large and require lots of maintenance on a regular basis. This is the main station here in the US. In reality, each transmission frequency could be considered a radio station since each requires it own transmitter and antenna system. A commercial radio station usually has only one frequency which requires only one active transmitter and antenna.

WWVH is a twin of WWV but is located in Hawaii.

WWVB is a very low-frequency transmitter that transmits signals to set your local clocks. It transmits at the low frequency of 60Khz. Again, it has its own transmitter and antenna system.

It had been proposed to defund WWV, WWVH and WWVB in 2019 but that proposal was dropped. If the costs to operate these 11 radio stations was only $23 million that is one of the best deals the government has ever entered. These systems provide not only time but also frequency standards for many other radio systems all over the world. They would be greatly missed in many applications. But many of these operations are now being accomplished through satellites, often GPS satellites. However, many argue that depending on satellite transmissions so vulnerable to jamming or solar weather is a huge risk. The FAA has also rolled the dice on this issue moving much of the air navigation system to satellites with little or no backup.

These actions do save money but at increased risk. Solar flares could take out many of our satellites at any time, and China is boosting its anti-satellite weaponry and jamming capabilities. Without ground stations to back up these services, we could be very vulnerable.

Agree completely. an enemy killing the constellation of GPS satellites would cause havoc with many modern weapon systems, not to mention aircraft and marine navigation. We’ve come to rely heavily on GPS, assuming it will always be operational.

I do really hope they never disable WWV - it’s super stable and reliable time and frequency standards are very useful. When I first started in ham radio in the 50s, you could always rely on WWV on 10 MHz as the one solid signal you could use to peak up the IF and RF amps in your receiver and check frequency. Even now, if I want to know the exact time auickly, I just tune to WWV on 15 MHz. As an alternate, there’s always CHU Canada and internet time standards.