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I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

arstechnica.com

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Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#81

Post by toast0 »

Animats wrote: post #19

It's a clock. Does it really have to have remote updating, a command line interface, an Internet connection, and HomeKit integration? That's too IoT. I have three La Crosse clocks that run off the NIST time signal out of Boulder, CO, and need their AA battery replaced maybe once a year. The real challenge is running such a thing on a small battery for a year. I once made a small clock that displayed "A LITTLE AFTER S…

I mean, I made a clock with remote updating. No command line or HomeKit... Internet is handy because it reads an iCal feed to set the alarm.

I thought the remote updating would be more convenient than bringing it to the dev computer, but I dunno, it's really not... Except for the one I sent to a friend, but I think she politely stopped asking for help cause it didn't really work for her.

It has issues, but it might be a useful start for someone else...

https://github.com/russor/ClockThing/tree/main

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#82

Post by o_enix_o »

mikewarot wrote: post #72

I too find myself going down the time-nut rabbit hole. I want a perfect 10 Mhz reference, not necessarily a time of day clock. I was tempted to go the Atomic Clock route, based on actual cesium oscillators, having found a cheapish ($999) used CSAC on ebay[1]. However, once I started digging into the data sheets[2], I found something unacceptable, Pin 1, labeled "Tune", an analog tuning input. It was then that I learn…

Fascinating, can you share why you need a 10Mhz reference?

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#83

Post by petepete »

Frost1x wrote: post #11

I’ve had a Phillips “atomic” alarm clock beside my bed for 23 years that just sets based on radio signal and auto restores if the power is lost, to which it has a backup 9v battery. There’s a time zone setting offset slider and a DST slider. I basically touch it twice a year, maybe another if I move time zones. I’ve only had to touch it for DST (never switched time zones). Takes me conservatively 10 seconds to find a…

I have 4 Seiko wall clocks that are radio wave controlled. They look beautiful and other than changing the battery need 0 intervention from me. Couldn't recommend them highly enough.

Pity they don't seem to make them any more, the newer ones use GPS and don't look quite as nice (in my opinion at least).

https://www.rigbyjewellers.co.uk/products/radio-controlled-r...

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#84

Post by amelius »

breppp wrote: post #80

I don't know how practical but I always thought of extending the Wifi protocol with a clock broadcast That way all the microwaves of the world could listen in and update their clocks accordingly

But how do you make it secure? Add a signature with a fixed key?

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#86

Post by bambax »

Those kinds of projects are super fun, and the writing here is good, so congrats to the author.

That said, why do people need clocks? I usually know the time, day or night, within 30 minutes or so, and if I need to know the exact time (which happens rarely if ever), I look at my watch. There are zero clocks in my home. I would find it quite aggressive to have a big display that tells me exactly what time it is.

Come to think of it there is one clock in the kitchen, on the oven. It's usually never correct because it resets after any power flicker and nobody takes the time to set it back properly. This is a recent oven; it's surprising kitchen appliances still are so dumb.

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#87

Post by stavros »

mjevans wrote: post #10

I feel this article's premise too much. That's exactly the sort of clock I wanted to get my mom as a gift. Why is it so dang impossible to find a not trash simple LED clock that's 'large print', 'the right color', and not annoyingly too bright? A deluxe model might include a day of the week bar or dot and a month / day in month number (smaller than the time, mostly people care about the time)

I needed the same thing, so I made one:

https://www.stavros.io/posts/i-made-another-little-bedside-c...

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#88

Post by stavros »

This is a great writeup. I guess this is a common complaint, because I made the same thing! Mine is ticking, though, I used a clock with hands to do it. Also it doesn't tick regularly, so it's more of a Vetinari clock, but all clocks are God's children.

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#89

Post by martheen »

bambax wrote: post #86

Those kinds of projects are super fun, and the writing here is good, so congrats to the author. That said, why do people need clocks? I usually know the time, day or night, within 30 minutes or so, and if I need to know the exact time (which happens rarely if ever), I look at my watch. There are zero clocks in my home. I would find it quite aggressive to have a big display that tells me exactly what time it is. Come…

At this point it is almost pure nostalgia. Having one in the classroom or living room was crucial in my childhood because almost nobody have watches or any electronics that can tell time for that matter (computer? pfft, the school don't even have a single computer).

Later on, when everyone has their own (which are also highly accurate due to tower/network regular syncing) on their phone, I noticed that moving to a new place/classroom/office no longer involve ensuring that we have a wall clock. Nice if there's one, but otherwise we don't care, and if the battery run out, we can't be arsed to buy one and just put it in the shelf.

At this point appliances with accurate clock would only be those connected to the internet (because otherwise TLS won't work if they drifted long enough), dumb devices won't have battery-backed clock because that will cut a single cent of profit which obviously a tragedy that must be prevented at all costs.

Re: I wanted a clock that never needed setting. Things escalated

#90

Post by martheen »

craftkiller wrote: post #38
Jtsummers wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The clock you've linked is not an atomic clock. It has a pre-programmed clock with a battery keeping it going. If that battery dies, you still have to set the time manually.

Oh you're right! I was tricked by "AccuSet technology automatically sets the correct time when plugged in. No programming, no confusing buttons"

I read up the manual before realizing the vaunted tech is simply a battery backup and setting the clock in the factory.
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