Atomic watches
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Atomic watches
Does anyone have a radio controlled (atomic) watch? If so, does it work well in Aus? And does anyone know if Australia will get a transmitter?
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Do some research Ogs, perhaps looking HERE which gives the synchronisation coverage area?
It appears they rely upon synchronising with the time based WWV RF signal on 5 or 15 Mhz from Colorado, amongst other stations in North America. The signal is hard enough to receive in Australia with a decent antenna and receiver (due to a high signal to noise ratio on HF frequencies), particularly during the day, so my guess it is most unlikely the watch will synchronise in Australia.
But I may be wrong......
It appears they rely upon synchronising with the time based WWV RF signal on 5 or 15 Mhz from Colorado, amongst other stations in North America. The signal is hard enough to receive in Australia with a decent antenna and receiver (due to a high signal to noise ratio on HF frequencies), particularly during the day, so my guess it is most unlikely the watch will synchronise in Australia.
But I may be wrong......
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I have a Citizen Eco-Drive Skyhawk. It's the model from a few years ago but has the atomic clock synchronisation feature. It was purchased for me as a gift from the US and I can tell you that the feature doesn't work here. I also tried to use it recently in London but it didn't seem to work there either. Heading to the US in a few months so fingers crossed. Regardless the watch is great 10/10.
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The Skyhawk uses signals broadcast in Japan (JJY), US (WWVB) and Germany (DCF77). The range in Europe is around 1500 km, so the UK is covered but much of Spain is not. JJY actually refers to two transmitters, which is lucky because one of them is in Fukushima.
My watch has a great synchronisation feature. You look at another clock, pull out the knob and twist it so that it now reads the correct time, and then push the knob back in and it is now synchronised.
I can do it anywhere in the world!
I can do it anywhere in the world!
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Most smartphones synchronise themselves (or can be set up to do so) from the Internet. Not a watch, but highly accurate.
It does pose a question: without time transmitter, how have different parts of Australia been keeping in sync all these decades?
It does pose a question: without time transmitter, how have different parts of Australia been keeping in sync all these decades?
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I was more thinking of something a computer could use. 
Something that keeps clock on all train stations in sync. Easy to do now, but not so much in 1980 without a time signal.
Something that keeps clock on all train stations in sync. Easy to do now, but not so much in 1980 without a time signal.
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Keeping Time
We used to use a service called VNG transmitted out of Lyndhurst in Victoria, it was similair to the WWV that the yanks have on HF, information as in the link http://tufi.alphalink.com.au/time/nsc_vng_leaflet.pdf
It was shutdown in 2002, timing is done now by using the GPS network and this is what the NextG mobile phone tarnsmitters use as their time refernce.
So when you go from state to state thats how the phone always adjusts itself as it refrences to the phone network.
It was shutdown in 2002, timing is done now by using the GPS network and this is what the NextG mobile phone tarnsmitters use as their time refernce.
So when you go from state to state thats how the phone always adjusts itself as it refrences to the phone network.
Originally Posted by Tricky Dicky
A couple of days ago I was 2 nanoseconds late for a meeting and it was a disaster
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I'm with Dick.
My Casio does multiple time zones and pretty much every other function you can think of at the touch of a button.
6 years on and it's still kicking (or should that be ticking?)
My Casio does multiple time zones and pretty much every other function you can think of at the touch of a button.
6 years on and it's still kicking (or should that be ticking?)
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A couple of days ago I was 2 nanoseconds late for a meeting and it was a disaster. I will have to trade in my $25 Casio!
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My watch has a great synchronisation feature. You look at another clock, pull out the knob and twist it so that it now reads the correct time, and then push the knob back in and it is now synchronised.
I can do it anywhere in the world!
I can do it anywhere in the world!
