[tz] Antarctic research base Vostok local time

[Brian Inglis]

On 2023-12-19 02:31, АПС АКУЛОВ via tz wrote:
>  >This web page still says that Vostok time is UTC+07:
> Well it ts evidently that nobody cares about antarctic timezones but you and me.
> You see, in fact it doesn't matter which timezone to use at the very North or 
> South — half year it is sunny, half year it is dark. So polar men have no 
> problems with changing timezone.
>  >Could you please fix that web page?> 
> Me — not. I''ll try to find the person who can.
>  >or from 02:00 to 00:00 today
> This.
>  >could you please briefly say why Vostok changed
> Convenience.
> We constantly interact with Progress base, with company who builds new wintering 
> station, with sledge convoys, with aviation — they all use UTC+5. Besides, 
> difference between Moscow time is just 2 hours now, not 4.

It appears that Progress base should definitely also have an entry:

	https://dxnews.com/ri1ane/

Site and articles also available in Russian.

>  >(I hope you have not been at Vostok for 10 years! I'd rather live in Siberia, 
> or even in Nebraska. I can joke about this, as I was born in Nebraska....)
> I have not been to Nebraska but I can joke about it too :)
> If it matters — I was burn in Murmansk, a state far beyond the Arctic Circle; 
> this is my fifth antarctic wintering; fourth wintering at Vostok base; second as 
> the chief of the base.
> And my personal achieve is eighty degrees sub zero.
> 
> 
>  >Please let us know if you see problems with it
> 
> No problems, thanx.
> Comments show that polar people may treat timezones rather arbitrary.

Also amateur radio call signs - Russian Antarctic start RI1AN*

	https://dxnews.com/?s=Antarctica&lang=2

Site and articles also available in Russian.

> 19.12.2023 14:42, Paul Eggert пишет:
>> On 2023-12-18 19:14, АПС АКУЛОВ wrote:
>>>  >Do you have a public announcement on the web, or some other source, that we 
>>> can cite?
>>> Well AARI weekly publishes Antarctic events summaries here: 
>>> https://www.aari.ru/press-center/news/rae .
>>>
>>> But I am not sure if my case will be mentioned there.
>>
>> This web page still says that Vostok time is UTC+07:
>>
>> https://www.aari.ru/ekspeditsii/rossiyskaya-antarkticheskaya-ekspeditsiya-(rae)/vostok
>>
>> Could you please fix that web page? That would help confirm the change, so 
>> that when people ask us for our source, we can direct them to aari.ru.
>>
>>
>>>  >Does "00:00" mean 00:00 local time, or 00:00 UTC?
>>>
>>> My bad, sorry, I missed this point.
>>>
>>> Local time, of source.
>>
>> OK. Did clocks jump back from 00:00 today to 22:00 the previous day, or from 
>> 02:00 to 00:00 today?
>>
>> Also, could you please briefly say why Vostok changed from UTC+07 to UTC+05? I 
>> would like to document this in commentary.
>>
>>
>>>  >Has local time at Vostok been UTC+6 ever since 1957, or has it changed before?
>>>
>>> No. At least since my antarctic career start, 10 years ago, Vostok base has 
>>> UTC+7.
>>
>> Ouch. TZDB has been wrong for Vostok for at least 10 years. I will try to 
>> correct this.
>>
>> (I hope you have not been at Vostok for 10 years! I'd rather live in Siberia, 
>> or even in Nebraska. I can joke about this, as I was born in Nebraska....)
>>
>> Attached is a draft patch to TZDB to implement these changes. Please let us 
>> know if you see problems with it. I have not installed this patch into the 
>> TZDB development repository as it is still preliminary.

-- 
Take care. Thanks, Brian Inglis              Calgary, Alberta, Canada

La perfection est atteinte                   Perfection is achieved
non pas lorsqu'il n'y a plus rien à ajouter  not when there is no more to add
mais lorsqu'il n'y a plus rien à retirer     but when there is no more to cut
                                 -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry