Re: ?????

From: Dan Rempel (hurty_at_flurty)
Date: 08/01/04 

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2004 08:50:11 -0700

Kevin Wayne Williams wrote:
> Dan Rempel wrote:
>
>> Kevin Wayne Williams wrote:
>>
>>> necoandjeff wrote:
>>>
>>>> "Joseph Irwin" <gtg519g@NOSPAMmail.gatech.edu> wrote in message
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>> Funny story about clocks and Japanese electricity... Let's just say,
>>>>> never depend on an American alarm clock that doesn't use batteries if
>>>>> you're in Tokyo and want to wake up on time. Luckily I woke up anyway,
>>>>> but it could have been bad.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Must have been one of those old analog clocks.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Many digital AC clocks will do that. The cheapest and most stable
>>> readily available timing source is the 60Hz timing from the wall socket.
>>> Every 120 zero crossings is a second, and power companies make sure it
>>> stays accurate. Used to be that they would even run very slightly fast
>>> to compensate after brief outages, but I think the modern interconnected
>>> power grids have made that trick impossible.
>>
>>
>>
>> FWIW, I think they are still able to do that out here on the left coast:
>> the clock on my microwave stays accurate to within a second for months
>> on end (using WWV as a reference).
>
>
> Sure. When it's working, its accurate everywhere, even out here in
> California. Used to be that the power company could run at 60.5 Hz for a
> while to make up for being out for a few seconds, and everyone's
> electromechanical clocks would catch up. I don't think they can do that
> anymore. It wouldn't make much sense to, anyway. Most clocks just go
> into blink mode after an outage these days, and won't catch up at all.

Right. Now that I'm awake, I realize that even if Hydro played the
frequency-shift game, it wouldn't affect something like a digital clock
in my microwave; must be an especially good crystal in the thing. Still,
I thought the companies were still mandated to provide the correction,
even if it's no longer possible (jeez, is this off topic).

Dan

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