GOT THE TIME?

Status
Not open for further replies.

ab5r

Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
555
With full disclosure, I will admit to being 86 and being involved with radios and ham radio since the 1950's. NEVER, I repeat, never have I found a wall clock that kept accurate time, including those so called atomic clocks.

If anyone know of such a wall clock that does keep accurate time, PLEASE advise me. Preferably, I'd like a 24 hour digital type.

Regards & Thanks,
Jerry
 

krokus

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jun 9, 2006
Messages
5,964
Location
Southeastern Michigan
With full disclosure, I will admit to being 86 and being involved with radios and ham radio since the 1950's. NEVER, I repeat, never have I found a wall clock that kept accurate time, including those so called atomic clocks.

If anyone know of such a wall clock that does keep accurate time, PLEASE advise me. Preferably, I'd like a 24 hour digital type.

Regards & Thanks,
Jerry
How much time are these clocks gaining or losing? The atomic clocks sync with WWVB at night, unless they are not able to receive the signal, so should not be off by more than a second.

How accurate do you need your timing?
 

fxdscon

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7,162
With full disclosure, I will admit to being 86 and being involved with radios and ham radio since the 1950's. NEVER, I repeat, never have I found a wall clock that kept accurate time, including those so called atomic clocks.

If anyone know of such a wall clock that does keep accurate time, PLEASE advise me. Preferably, I'd like a 24 hour digital type.

Regards & Thanks,
Jerry

What's your budget?

.
 

KK4JUG

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 13, 2014
Messages
4,247
Location
GA
I have a Sharp analog "atomic" clock that has always kept perfect accurate time. It's 14" in diameter and I bought it at Sam's about 5 years ago for $17, if I remember correctly. Before submitting this, I tuned in WWV. It was weak and scratchy but I heard it well enough to determine the clock is still performing the way it should.

Incidentally, I'm 76. I worked in commercial radio (back when the DJs were real) and TV. I remember when the TV networks broadcast a tone at the top of the hour. That must have been 50 years ago. Anyway, I was a DJ off and on. We actually used vinyl records and and the network had news at the top of the hour. Most independent stations used the Mutual Broadcasting System. It was then that became almost fanatical about accurate timepieces because I used that 5-minute newscast for a lot of things. I might check the meters on the transmitter, go to the bathroom, fix a cup of coffee or whatever. In any event, I had to get back in the control room in 5 minutes or it was dead air. In 1965, my ex-wife (bless her heart) even bought me a Bulova Accutron Spaceview watch for my birthday. I still have it.

If I'm playing around with my Tecsun radio, I invariably tune in to 5, 10 or 15 MHz, not to check the time but just to hear that double-tick at the top of the hour and sorta assure myself they're still around.
 

chief21

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 2, 2004
Messages
1,798
Location
Summer - Western NC; Winter - Tampa Bay FL
I have several "atomic" clocks and a few of them can't hear the WWV signal when they're in their normal locations. So, every few weeks I leave them in a window overnight so that they can re-adjust to the correct time. Your mileage may vary.
 

KE0GXN

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2011
Messages
1,353
Location
Echo Mike Two-Seven
With full disclosure, I will admit to being 86 and being involved with radios and ham radio since the 1950's. NEVER, I repeat, never have I found a wall clock that kept accurate time, including those so called atomic clocks.

If anyone know of such a wall clock that does keep accurate time, PLEASE advise me. Preferably, I'd like a 24 hour digital type.

Regards & Thanks,
Jerry

MFJ-148RC has worked good for me so far.
 

nd5y

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
11,228
Location
Wichita Falls, TX
The atomic clocks sync with WWVB at night, unless they are not able to receive the signal, so should not be off by more than a second.
Some of these clocks have bad crystals or are poorly deigned so after they sync they can drift a lot more than a second every day.
 

kayn1n32008

ØÆSØ
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
6,601
Location
Sector 001
With full disclosure, I will admit to being 86 and being involved with radios and ham radio since the 1950's. NEVER, I repeat, never have I found a wall clock that kept accurate time, including those so called atomic clocks.

If anyone know of such a wall clock that does keep accurate time, PLEASE advise me. Preferably, I'd like a 24 hour digital type.

Regards & Thanks,
Jerry

I’m sure you could make a wall display, and use a GPS receiver that displays it as local time.

Use a receiver that can receive both GPS and GLONASS and in a single story house, with shingles(NOT metal) you won’t even need an outside antenna.
 

jonwienke

More Info Coming Soon!
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Messages
13,416
Location
VA
The Reyax modules I use for scanner mods do all of that, including dual GPS/GLONASS reception. I use the 1pps output to drive the status LED indicating satellite lock.
 

cpfinlay

Feed Provider
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
253
Location
Princeton, NJ
An old method to provide accuracy is one that sets itself to the WWVB radio signals. There are also GPS enabled clocks which are fine assuming where you mount it has GPS reception.

A more reliable solution may be getting one of the wall clocks that have Wi-Fi and connect to an NTP server on the Internet.
 

jonwienke

More Info Coming Soon!
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Messages
13,416
Location
VA
A more reliable solution may be getting one of the wall clocks that have Wi-Fi and connect to an NTP server on the Internet.
Not really. NTP server sync accuracy is only as good as the consistency of your network latency. You can receive a usable GPS signal almost anywhere with a good quality module.
 

ArloG

Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2020
Messages
298
I have an Acu_Rite weather station that's never let me down. Sometimes the WWVB signal will vary, but time is accurate to the minute.
I'm old enough now to know that every day the sun comes up is a good day.
 

WB9YBM

Active Member
Joined
May 6, 2019
Messages
1,390
If anyone know of such a wall clock that does keep accurate time, PLEASE advise me. Preferably, I'd like a 24 hour digital type.

I've been told that the power company is legally obligated to maintain the 60Hz power line frequency with a high level of accuracy, although it's been so long ago since I heard this I've forgotten the "why", but regardless of the reason behind it, it can be used as a time base standard by using it as a clock pulse for digital circuitry--like a home-made digital clock. I'm not sure, but maybe some commercial manufacturers have stumbled across this too, although I don't know what clock manufacturers...
 

ab5r

Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
555
Thanks to ALL, but I think I said I was looking for a reasonably accurate wall clock, not a treste on HOW to build a clock or HOW accurate. I just wanted a clock gentlemen.

It seems that ALL messages on RR get diverted into discussions NOT related to the original query. SIGH
 

ArloG

Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2020
Messages
298
I have an Acu_Rite weather station that's never let me down. Sometimes the WWVB signal will vary, but time is accurate to the minute.
I'm old enough now to know that every day the sun comes up is a good day.
And since it has a keyhole slot on the back to hang it up she sure makes for a durned nice wall clock.
 

N1FKO

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jul 26, 2019
Messages
44
If anyone know of such a wall clock that does keep accurate time, PLEASE advise me. Preferably, I'd like a 24 hour digital type.

In 2012, WWVB added phase modulation to the broadcast, allowing locations that have never worked before to receive a usable signal. The only wall clock that I know of which takes advantage of that signal is the La Crosse Technology Ultratomic. I have one and it works great, although I did choose its location with a view to the west in mind. It's a 12-hour style.
 

sallen07

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Messages
1,163
Location
Rochester, NY
With full disclosure, I will admit to being 86 and being involved with radios and ham radio since the 1950's. NEVER, I repeat, never have I found a wall clock that kept accurate time, including those so called atomic clocks.


WWVB. I had to search for the manual (online, of course; the one that came with it was recycled immediately!) to make sure it does 24 hour time and it does (wife's not a fan so ours is in 12 hour format).

There is no seconds display, but it keeps good time. The one we have hangs on an interior wall in the middle of the house and still picks up WWVB.
 

Radioman77

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 4, 2004
Messages
35
Location
Sunbury, Pa
I have a Lacrosse 513-14198v4 that works great. Got it from Walmart Under $50 It is an atomic one. john
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top