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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

#131

Post by [deleted] »

isomorphic wrote: post #65
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…

Floridian here. WWVB has never worked for me indoors (never tried outdoors). I've tried multiple vendors' clocks in multiple houses (wood frame and concrete). I assume the coverage is fine outdoors or with a sufficiently large antenna, but none of the clocks I've seen even have a mechanism to connect such an antenna. I could hack one, but then it would probably stop being cheap and reliable. I'd love to buy an off-th…

[deleted]

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

#132

Post by thesuitonym »

MrGilbert wrote: post #119

While diving deep into DCF77, I noticed there is something similar for the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWV_(radio_station) It just doesn't seem to get used that much, I suppose?

It's less common now, but you used to see them frequently. Most people didn't really know how they worked though, and had never heard of WWV or WWVB.

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

#133

Post by moduspol »

js2 wrote: post #70
isomorphic wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Floridian here. WWVB has never worked for me indoors (never tried outdoors). I've tried multiple vendors' clocks in multiple houses (wood frame and concrete). I assume the coverage is fine outdoors or with a sufficiently large antenna, but none of the clocks I've seen even have a mechanism to connect such an antenna. I could hack one, but then it would probably stop being cheap and reliable. I'd love to buy an off-th…

Ditto in NC. I got this WiFi/NTP clock a couple years ago. Works great if you want an analog clock: https://www.amazon.com/OCEST-Wall-Clock-12Inch-Auto/dp/B0DJS...

I just deleted my sibling comment because I was recommending the same clock. I set it to do its daily WiFi time sync at 4am so that any DST adjustment happens before I wake up. No issues so far.

I have two of them. One project on my list is to see if I can modify the face of it to a different style without breaking it.

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

#135

Post by thesuitonym »

JoeDaDude wrote: post #37

LED segments may be nice, but why not go full out Nixie tube? There are several kits out there, but for the DIY ethic, you can add WWV sync - and even watch the synchronization process - with this fellow's project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smUwbzA9SEo

Nixie tubes are cool but they're also significantly more expensive, take up more space, and are more prone to failure.

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

#138

Post by thesuitonym »

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…

I like my bedside LED clock. It produces very little light, but allows me to figure out what time it is when I wake up--handy in the winter months when it's pitch black until well after I should be at work. Did I wake up in the middle of the night and so should go back to bed, or did I wake up close to my alarm and might as well start getting ready? I can check without blasting my retinas with my phone which, even at the lowest screen setting is still incredibly bright by comparison. It also gives me a beacon back to my bed if I get up to use the toilet. During the new moon my bedroom gets very, very dark, and it's useful to help me get my position.

I have two clocks in my living room, they're nice because I don't want to wear my watch at all times. I have two because the previous owners of my house just left one, and I thought it looked nice so I left it up. It's actually been handy because wherever I am, wherever I'm facing, I can just glance up and know what time it is.

Do I need any of these clocks? I guess not any of the specifically, but I use them frequently.

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

#139

Post by thesuitonym »

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

Why bloat Wi-Fi with a clock signal when we already have a perfectly cromulent network time protocol?

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

#140

Post by allannienhuis »

incompatible wrote: post #36
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 think too bright would be an issue with any LED display. Even lights on my modem in a different room are a bit much, I turn it off at night.

I use the clock feature on my iPhone (pretty sure there's equivalents for android), where if your phone is horizontal and charging, the lock screen shows one of several large clock face options. I 3d printed a phone stand for it. It's sensitive to both light levels and motion - so it's completely black when there is no motion detected. If you happen to wake up at night and open your eyes, everything remains dark. If you turn to look at your phone/nightstand, it usually turns on the display. Sometimes I need to wave my hand a bit. The balance is pretty good. I choose the giant Comic Sans type numerals as I wear glasses and that makes it still legible for me. [edit - it's called 'standby mode']
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