| Author |
Message |
Guest
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 Posted:
Sun Feb 06, 2005 9:45 pm Post subject:
Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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[cross-posted to sci.electronics.misc, houston.general]
I bought a Ravinia atomic travel alarm clock from Wallgreen. It's small
and has built-in antenna. I set timezone and pressed the button to
manually synchronize. It showed flashing tower icon for about a minute
(searching for signals). Then it showed flashing wave tower icon
(receiving signal) and just tower icon alternately. A few minutes
later, I expected to see stable wave tower icon (synchronized). Instead
I see no icon at all. I tried this outdoors and indoors holding in hand
turning in different directions. I let it sit overnight (indoors).
There's no change. Is this because the built-in antenna is too weak,
Houston is too far from Colorado where NIST real atomic clock is, the
unit is too cheap (<$10)? Thanks for suggestions.
Yong Huang
yong321ATyahoo.com
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effi
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Feb 06, 2005 10:20 pm Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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| yes |
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Michael
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Feb 06, 2005 11:42 pm Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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yong321@yahoo.com wrote:
| Quote: |
[cross-posted to sci.electronics.misc, houston.general]
I bought a Ravinia atomic travel alarm clock from Wallgreen. It's small
and has built-in antenna. I set timezone and pressed the button to
manually synchronize. It showed flashing tower icon for about a minute
(searching for signals). Then it showed flashing wave tower icon
(receiving signal) and just tower icon alternately. A few minutes
later, I expected to see stable wave tower icon (synchronized). Instead
I see no icon at all. I tried this outdoors and indoors holding in hand
turning in different directions. I let it sit overnight (indoors).
There's no change. Is this because the built-in antenna is too weak,
Houston is too far from Colorado where NIST real atomic clock is, the
unit is too cheap (<$10)? Thanks for suggestions.
Yong Huang
yong321ATyahoo.com
|
If antenna icons mean the same as those of an Oregon Scientific unit,
your clock's losing the icon altogether means the clock did not receive
(enough) usable signal.
Here, near the PA/ NY border, my two different Oregon Scientific clocks
have no trouble receiving WWVB. TX is much closer to Boulder so one
would think that WWVB would be stronger than here in NY. However, I
read - from a person who seems to know what he's about when it comes to
electronics - that where he lives (even closer to Boulder than TX) WWVB
reception varies between poor and non-existant.
A $10 "atomic" clock? Cool. I would like to take a look under the hood
of one of those. But I have never seen a Walgreens here in NY State.
:-(
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Patrick Lee Humphrey
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Feb 07, 2005 12:44 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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yong321@yahoo.com writes:
| Quote: | [cross-posted to sci.electronics.misc, houston.general]
I bought a Ravinia atomic travel alarm clock from Wallgreen. It's small
and has built-in antenna. I set timezone and pressed the button to
manually synchronize. It showed flashing tower icon for about a minute
(searching for signals). Then it showed flashing wave tower icon
(receiving signal) and just tower icon alternately. A few minutes
later, I expected to see stable wave tower icon (synchronized). Instead
I see no icon at all. I tried this outdoors and indoors holding in hand
turning in different directions. I let it sit overnight (indoors).
There's no change. Is this because the built-in antenna is too weak,
Houston is too far from Colorado where NIST real atomic clock is, the
unit is too cheap (<$10)? Thanks for suggestions.
Yong Huang
yong321ATyahoo.com
|
I have a wall clock (Atomix) and a watch (Casio) that receive it with no
trouble -- the wall clock is receiving the signal about 23 hours a day, from
the looks of it...
--
Patrick "The Chief Instigator" Humphrey (patrick@io.com) Houston, Texas
www.chiefinstigator.us.tt/aeros.php (TCI's 2004-05 Houston Aeros)
LAST GAME: Houston 1, Milwaukee 0 (February 5)
NEXT GAME: Tuesday, February 8 vs. Utah, 11:05 AM |
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Steven M (remove wax and
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Feb 07, 2005 12:53 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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Je 6 Feb 2005 07:45:02 -0800, yong321@yahoo.com skribis:
| Quote: | [cross-posted to sci.electronics.misc, houston.general]
I bought a Ravinia atomic travel alarm clock from Wallgreen. It's small
and has built-in antenna. I set timezone and pressed the button to
manually synchronize. It showed flashing tower icon for about a minute
(searching for signals). Then it showed flashing wave tower icon
(receiving signal) and just tower icon alternately. A few minutes
later, I expected to see stable wave tower icon (synchronized). Instead
I see no icon at all. I tried this outdoors and indoors holding in hand
turning in different directions. I let it sit overnight (indoors).
There's no change. Is this because the built-in antenna is too weak,
Houston is too far from Colorado where NIST real atomic clock is, the
unit is too cheap (<$10)? Thanks for suggestions.
|
I'm going to guess that either it's too cheap, or that you're too far
from a PBS television station.
http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/general/pdf/1877.pdf
Houston's PBS station is KUHF TV, broadcast on channel 8. If you
can't receive that station over the air, maybe you can take the clock
somewhere closer to the broadcast antenna, but I don't know where that
is. You could probably call the station and ask where it is, and
confirm whether they carry the NIST time signal. 713-748-8888
http://www.houstonpbs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abt_staff_directory
--
Steven M - unspam@hal-pc.orgwax.invalid (remove wax and invalid to reply)
"The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting
otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem."
-- Theodore Rubin |
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Fred Abse
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Feb 07, 2005 2:20 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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On Sun, 06 Feb 2005 07:45:02 -0800, yong321 wrote:
| Quote: | Is this because the built-in antenna is too weak, Houston is too far from
Colorado where NIST real atomic clock is,
|
According to the NIST web site, apart from the Pacific Northwest, and
the Florida peninsula, at certain times of day, WWVB is above 100
microvolts per meter in all the lower 48.
TX is well covered.
http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/stations/wwvbcoverage.htm
--
Then there's duct tape ...
(Garrison Keillor) |
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Kim Sleep
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Feb 07, 2005 3:30 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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Take a look under the hood, and see if you can tap into the existing
antenna, and add some wire to extend it. Maybe take it apart, scan it, or
photograph it, and someone here can suggest where you can tap into it.
--
--
Kim..."A Man Of True Frankenstinean Proportions"
<yong321@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1107704702.420659.134720@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | [cross-posted to sci.electronics.misc, houston.general]
I bought a Ravinia atomic travel alarm clock from Wallgreen. It's small
and has built-in antenna. I set timezone and pressed the button to
manually synchronize. It showed flashing tower icon for about a minute
(searching for signals). Then it showed flashing wave tower icon
(receiving signal) and just tower icon alternately. A few minutes
later, I expected to see stable wave tower icon (synchronized). Instead
I see no icon at all. I tried this outdoors and indoors holding in hand
turning in different directions. I let it sit overnight (indoors).
There's no change. Is this because the built-in antenna is too weak,
Houston is too far from Colorado where NIST real atomic clock is, the
unit is too cheap (<$10)? Thanks for suggestions.
Yong Huang
yong321ATyahoo.com
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Michael Black
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Feb 07, 2005 3:41 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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"Steven M " (unspam@hal-pcwax.org.invalid) writes:
| Quote: | Je 6 Feb 2005 07:45:02 -0800, yong321@yahoo.com skribis:
[cross-posted to sci.electronics.misc, houston.general]
I bought a Ravinia atomic travel alarm clock from Wallgreen. It's small
and has built-in antenna. I set timezone and pressed the button to
manually synchronize. It showed flashing tower icon for about a minute
(searching for signals). Then it showed flashing wave tower icon
(receiving signal) and just tower icon alternately. A few minutes
later, I expected to see stable wave tower icon (synchronized). Instead
I see no icon at all. I tried this outdoors and indoors holding in hand
turning in different directions. I let it sit overnight (indoors).
There's no change. Is this because the built-in antenna is too weak,
Houston is too far from Colorado where NIST real atomic clock is, the
unit is too cheap (<$10)? Thanks for suggestions.
I'm going to guess that either it's too cheap, or that you're too far
from a PBS television station.
|
PBS has nothing to do with this.
Those clocks receive a 60KHz signal from Colorado, the low frequency chosen
for good penetration.
And I've never had a problem with my $20 clock from Radio Shack, here
in Montreal, which has to be further away from Colorada than Houston.
Placement can be a factor. I did have to fiddle a bit with where I put it
when I got it a year ago. And there are some places in the house where
I lose the signal, even though the change in location is in yards.
I suspect there is fairly little difference between clocks, with cosmetics
being the big factor. So cost likely means very little.
Local noise can affect reception. Placing it on a tv set likely will mess
up the clock's ability to receive the WWVB signal.
Many tend to only check the WWVB signal once a day, usually in the very
early hours of the morning when reception may be best and local
interfereance minimal. If that's the design, it may not sync up
until enough time has elapsed. Of course, some have a button to press
to sync on demand, which allows multiple attempts as the clock is moved
around.
Michael |
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Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Feb 07, 2005 5:48 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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Thanks to everybody. It's embarrassing to say but I have to admit that
I was not patient enough when I posted the original message this
morning (around 10 Central Time). I just came back home. Now it's
5:40pm. This clock shows stable wave tower icon! And the time is
slightly slower than most clocks at home so I adjust all other clocks
based on this one.
Yes, it is < $10. In fact, it's labeled $9.99 but they charged me $7.99
plus tax for some reason. I put it on my computer desk all day today
but kept laptop in standby mode, a few inches away. The clock faced
east. But I guess none of these matters. Patience does.
Thanks again.
Yong Huang |
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DaveM
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Feb 07, 2005 5:51 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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<yong321@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1107704702.420659.134720@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | [cross-posted to sci.electronics.misc, houston.general]
I bought a Ravinia atomic travel alarm clock from Wallgreen. It's small
and has built-in antenna. I set timezone and pressed the button to
manually synchronize. It showed flashing tower icon for about a minute
(searching for signals). Then it showed flashing wave tower icon
(receiving signal) and just tower icon alternately. A few minutes
later, I expected to see stable wave tower icon (synchronized). Instead
I see no icon at all. I tried this outdoors and indoors holding in hand
turning in different directions. I let it sit overnight (indoors).
There's no change. Is this because the built-in antenna is too weak,
Houston is too far from Colorado where NIST real atomic clock is, the
unit is too cheap (<$10)? Thanks for suggestions.
Yong Huang
yong321ATyahoo.com
|
Location and orientation are key considerations to making one of these guys
work well. Be sure to keep the clock well away (>8 ft) from any TVs and
computers. Orient the clock so that the antenna is broadside to the
direction of Boulder, CO from your location. Check the instructions to see
which way the clock should be positioned relative to Boulder. If your clock
is placed inside a building with a lot of metal in the structure (steel wall
studs) or surroundings (metal sidng), that may inhibit good reception.
These clocks normally only try to sync with WWVB around midnite, which is
normally the time the signal strength is highest. You might wait until late
at night and try to sync manually. I live in Fla, and have had no trouble
making several of these clocks work reliably.
--
Dave M
MasonDG44 at comcast dot net (Just subsitute the appropriate characters in
the address)
Never take a laxative and a sleeping pill at the same time!! |
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Zinc Toast
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Feb 07, 2005 6:34 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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"effi" <effi@ev1.net> wrote in message
news:110cgv41l2bee75@corp.supernews.com...
The clock is too cheap, defective and being dumped on the market at a low
price. |
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effi
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Feb 07, 2005 8:40 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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"Zinc Toast" <invalid@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:36nrciF53qqlsU1@individual.net...
| Quote: |
"effi" <effi@ev1.net> wrote in message
news:110cgv41l2bee75@corp.supernews.com...
yes
The clock is too cheap, defective and being dumped on the market at a low
price.
|
you obviously haven't read his subsequent post
your response is cheap, defective, and was dumped on this newsgroup |
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Doug McLaren
Guest
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| Posted:
Mon Feb 07, 2005 8:40 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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In article <1107704702.420659.134720@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
<yong321@yahoo.com> wrote:
| Is this because the built-in antenna is too weak,
| Houston is too far from Colorado where NIST real atomic clock is, the
| unit is too cheap (<$10)? Thanks for suggestions.
I live in Austin. I've got a few of these clocks, and I paid even
less than you did. All work fine. Given the right time of day, they
often even work as far away as Alaska, South America or maybe even
Africa. (As long as there's an hour where they can pick up the signal
each day, you're good.)
Also, they're not atomic clocks. They're radio controlled clocks.
As another person suggested, they use the 60 hz signal from WWVB in
Colorado.
More on them here --
http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/stations/radioclocks.htm
--
Doug McLaren, dougmc@frenzy.com
"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and
democracy - but that could change." --Quayle |
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qquito
Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Feb 25, 2005 12:13 pm Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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I bought one for $14.98 three days ago which is designed for setting on
a table as well as hanging on a wall. It was shortly after 2:00 PM EST
(I am in Virginia), and I tried everything you did, indoor and outdoor,
EXCEPT manually adjusting the time which started at 12:00 AM on January
1, and nothing worked.
In the following one hour and a half, it attempted to receive the
signal again (by showing the radio tower icon) but failed.
Then I put it on a desk and left home. When I got home after 2:00 AM,
the clock HAD successfully received the signal. Month, Date and Day of
the Week were all right.
So far, everything appears fine.
Roland
yong321@yahoo.com wrote:
| Quote: | Thanks to everybody. It's embarrassing to say but I have to admit
that
I was not patient enough when I posted the original message this
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Guest
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| Posted:
Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:10 am Post subject:
Re: Can atomic clock in Houston receive NIST signal? |
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I dished out 50 bucks for a radio controlled (projection) clock from
"The Sharper Image" and I have to say I'm kind of disappointed. I
waited for over an hour during initial setup and tried moving it to a
thousand different locations and different orientations and the closest
I could get to receiving a signal was a blinking tower for no longer
than 2 minutes. I've even turned of my LCD monitor, wireless phones,
bluetooth transmitter and still it does not receive the signal. I've
given in and have set it manually but the unit is still supposed to
check every night at 12 and I will wait and see if it will actually
synchronize (ever). |
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