Re: WWVB reception indicator needed

From: Joerg (notthisjoergsch_at_removethispacbell.net)
Date: 10/28/04 

Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2004 20:23:16 GMT

Hi Tim,

>>On a side note, something that blew me and others away: A visitor from
>>Europe had problems adjusting his analog 'atomic' wrist watch. Their
>>transmitter works on 77.5KHz so the clock didn't adjust to PST and since
>>he forgot the manual we didn't see how to do that manually.
>>
>>
>
>Typical Euro-doofus.
>
>
Well, I don't know which was first or is better, WWVB or DCF77.
Sometimes our stuff wins, sometimes theirs. All I know is that the
European version is not so limited to sync at night but that won't make
much of a difference in real applications.

>>Then while
>>visiting Sequioa National Park it happened. Suddenly the hands started
>>to move and the watch accurately set itself to PST.
>>
>>
>
>????
>
>
That was exactly my reaction ;-)

>>When he came back
>>here it matched our WWVB clock to the second. Someone there must be
>>running a site similar to DCF77, the time transmitter in Germany.
>>
>>
>
>But broadcasting a time that's incorrect by 7 or 8 hours?????
>(difference
>between UTC and PST/PDT).
>
>Unlicensed operations are allowed on longwave frequencies, but they're
>limited to one watt and the frequency range is 160kHz to 190kHz
>("lowfers").
>
>
But this could only work at 77.5KHz since these watches have crystal
filter of just a few ten Hertz bandwidth.

>It seems more likely to me that previous tinkering with the watch
>finally "caught up" with it, maybe after it convinced itself there
>was no usable signal on 77.5kHz for some extended period. All a
>guess,
>of course: How someone could knowing how to set an analog watch is
>still the biggest mystery to me.
>
>
That is possible but it was almost a week after that tinkering. The
challenge with some of these watches is that they have stop watch
functions, lap timers and what not so it is next to impossible to figure
out more intricate stuff. Such as how overriding the 'atomic' feature is
done without a manual. Hold this button for 2 secs, press that other one
twice, push a 3rd one within 2 secs, then push #1 to advance the time
zone. I've got a non-atomic watch that has four stepper motors in there
and a gazillion functions. The only one I know is how to set time zones
which is all I need, for the others I'd have to read up.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com