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Elmer's Guide to "Atomic Clock Time" for the Home and Office

Elmer the Clep... a man with a lot of time on his hands
Hello from Elmer the Timekeeper

Join me for the new Atomic Timekeeping Podcast!

There's a new podcast on the web and it's all about Atomic Timekeeping and related technologies. How does this stuff work? How can everyone tap into this great resource and keep their timepieces as accurate as possible?

Join me here to download the latest episode.

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Please Note: There are a couple of great web pages hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology which cover much of the same information covered on my web pages. Give them a try at...

This Link Here

and

This Link Also.

Contents of this page:
  • What is an "Atomic" Clock?
  • What is a "Radio Controlled" Clock?
  • How can I buy one?
  • Other sources of "Atomic" time.
  • Other Links.

    What is an "Atomic" Clock?

    Throughout history, lots of different techniques have been employed for keeping time. In the 20th Century, the scientific community developed a new standard to measure the exact length of one second. And, without getting into the details, I'll just say that they discovered that Cesium 133 is an extremely reliable substance which, under certain, specific conditions, will oscillate between two measurable states in an extremely consistent way. And those extraordinary scientists determined that one second is as long as 9,192,631,770 oscillations of this Cesium 133. That was the new standard for timekeeping (established in the late 1960s). Today, in several places around the world, "Atomic" clocks using Cesium 133 are in operation giving us the most accurate time as a reference for everyone to use.

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology operates an atomic clock in Colorado and its time is broadcast throughout North America using long-range radio technology. You may listen to voice announcements of time and other information on radio station WWV and WWVH using standard, shortwave radios. This information is useful to countless scientists, to broadcasters, to airlines, schools, stock exchanges... any number of organizations or individuals who want the most accurate time. Radio station WWVB also broadcasts time and other data (rather than voice announcements) to all parts of North America.

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    What is a "Radio Controlled" Clock?

    Ah, this is where it starts to get really fun! There are now several kinds of clocks with built-in radio receivers which can access "atomic" time data from those radio broadcasts. These clocks then set themselves automatically to the correct time... right down to fractions of a second! In the mid-1990s, such clocks became available on the consumer level. Initially, they were priced above $200. But as technology improved, manufacturing improved, market competition heated up, etc., these clocks have come down in price and the variety of styles has also increased. You may now have an affordable clock in your home or office which will automatically set itself exactly to the correct time. The vast majority of these clocks also adjust themselves automatically for Daylight Saving Time. Imagine the convenience of putting in a fresh battery and then never having to adjust your clock, having confidence that it'll display the right time until that battery is exhausted, which may not be until a couple of years later.

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    Buyers Guide

    These days in North America, it's pretty common to see "Atomic Clock" products for sale at local discount stores like Wal-Mart or Target. Of course, these aren't really Cesium 133 clocks. They're just clocks with built-in radio receivers which can pick up "atomic time" from WWVB to set themselves. Most people understand this.

    But Beware!

    There are some clocks available these days which have the ability to "set themselves" and/or to automatically adjust for Daylight Saving Time but they are not using WWVB and they are not necessarily setting themselves to the recognized standard of the "correct" time. They're close, perhaps, but not necessarily accurate. If you want to be sure that you're getting a clock which is setting itself according to an atomic clock, be sure that somewhere on the package the product description uses the word "atomic" or "radio control" or "WWVB." If it doesn't mention any of those things then it's not going to give you "atomic time."

    So, feel free to buy a radio controlled clock at a local store or do some shopping online. Here are some places that you might want to check out...

    RadioControlledClock.com I'll list this site first because they carry the widest selection of "Atomic Clocks" all on one web site. Some of their prices are very impressive. Some of these products can be found elsewhere for a little less.

    Klockit. They sell ready-made radio controlled clocks and watches. They also sell kits and components so you can build your own radio controlled, analog clocks.

    Oregon Scientific. This is a manufacturer of a bunch of radio controlled clocks and weather monitoring gear and other neat gadgets. Most of their products can be purchased from other delears and you may save a few dollars. But the company's web site it still a lot of fun to explore.

    LaCrosse Technology. This is another manufacturer of radio controlled clocks, weather monitoring gear and other neat gadgets. They don't sell directly from this web site but their products are available through delears (including the first two links in this section).

    Casio Watches. In the late 1990s, Casio was a little late getting into the radio controlled watch market. But today they have a huge selection of "Waveceptor" watches which are radio controlled. Also, they have some radio controlled watches in their G-Shock line and, among my favorites, they have watches which are both radio controlled and solar powered. Amazing!

    I don't necessarily recommend any of these retailers, but if you go to many of these web sites you'll get a good idea of the selection available today. Many of these companies sell the same products as others, but you may find a better price at one site or a better shipping and handling cost, etc. And, of course, there are plenty of other online retailers or local stores in your area selling these products. Most of these clocks use common, quartz technology throughout the day. However, at regular intervals, their built-in radio receivers are activated to ensure the clocks remain synchronized with the real Atomic Clock at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Colorado.

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    Some digital, radio controlled clocks from my collection.
    Some analog, radio controlled clocks from my collection.

    Click on the above links for my reviews of specific clock products.
    But you don't have to limit the variety of radio controlled clocks you can have. If you are a do-it-yourself type or you like arts and crafts or you ever enjoyed building model kits, you can build your own radio controlled wall clock too. Also, the variety of styles is virtually unlimited if you do it yourself.

    Other Sources of "Atomic" Time

    GPS receivers are able to process time data they pick up from global positioning satellites and can display the correct time just like the clocks which receive WWVB. I have chosen not to go into detail about GPS devices on this web site and will, instead, limit my information to clocks which can receive WWVB.

    Digital cell phones, Caller ID boxes, Television monitors and satellite TV receivers can also receive time data automatically, but these aren't guaranteed to give you the "exactly correct" time according to the WWVB standard. They're awfully close, but...

    If you're using Windows XP or Mac OS-X, be sure to set your computer's clock preferences so that it will update the time automatically using the Windows time server, Apple's time server, the NIST time server or whatever other time server works best for your computer. Internal computer clocks usually aren't very good at keeping time on their own but these built-in "Internet Time" utilities do a great job of correcting that. Portable devices which regularly sync with computers (like iPods and PDAs) often adjust their internal clocks according to the host computer's clock. So it's pretty important to keep your computer's clock accurate.

    If you'd rather access the current time through the Internet (instead of buying any of the clocks I've told you about), click here for Web Access to NIST "Atomic" Time

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    Other Links

    The US Naval Observatory web site is a great source for more information about timekeeping and astronomy (and how the two relate to each other, of course).

    Have you ever heard of a "Leap Second" (as opposed to a Leap Year)? Well, for more information about the Leap Second, click here.

    What's the deal with Daylight Saving Time? Where did it come from and when does it start/end this year?
    The U.S. Naval Observatory is waiting to give you the answer right here.

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    Please note: I am an independent clock hobbyist. I have no affiliation with any of the retailers I refer to except as one of their customers. I don't accept any compensation other than a friendly e-mail or two from any of the retailers I have mentioned in this web site. I run this web site as a free service to others who, like me, would be interested to know more about these clocks. I have no "insider" information about these companies or their products. I simply try to gather all the information I can when I find it.

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    © 2008 elmertheclep@geocities.com