Radio Times

Radio Control watches from 1991-2009

Answer – Radio Control and split second accuracy!
Although it's been around since the mid '80's, Radio Control on clocks and watches is still very much in the minority.
There are plenty out there of course, but rather like 4 wheel drive cars – you know – safer, better traction in poor road conditions and reasonably priced, they haven't taken the world by storm.
And it's the same for the Radio controlled watch. It too has many advantages, all good, but not universally accepted.
It does beg the question – why? and what ARE the advantages of Radio Control.
Note – top left is the Junghans Mega 1, the first RC watch, others are Casio, Oceanus, Citizen, Dugena, Regent , Skagen, Kienzle and others.
Well first off – your watch always shows the right time. The watch receives the correct time from atomic clocks – so you have the most precise watch in the world. No setting, no resetting and always on time….which is arguably the most important requirement for any watch, surely.
Then the watch movement doesn't have to be expensive high-end quartz – I mean around + or – 15secs a month should do it. So it can be low to mid priced and affordable.
What else?
Well it makes World Timers for once a really practical proposition – no worries about moving the time forward or back and being slightly out – because it's never “out”. Just set your zone and it automatically moves to the “correct” time, every time. And DST or Daylight Saving Time……forget it – that's done automatically for you every time, so no missing that appointment!
So where are these Atomic Clocks, how accurate are they and how do they control your watch?
Well it's all pretty simple as far as we are concerned. Various countries across the world have these marvelous caesium clocks (Atomic Clocks). The ones that are accurate to a second in 20 million years sort of clock.
These in turn send their time signal to a transmitter and it is received by your watch……There – I said it was easy!
Where are the clocks –
In Germany, the official time is established in the Physkalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig the national
meteorology institute.
In Great Britain, the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington near London is in charge of their clock.
In the USA, the responsibility falls to the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) at Fort Collins in Colorado.
In Japan, it's the responsibility of the Communications Research Laboratory (CRL) in Tokyo.
How –
The time calculated by these atomic clocks is first sent to radio towers.
In Germany the transmitter is in Mainflingen near Frankfurt.
In the UK there is one in Anthorn in Cumbria, England.
In the USA it's located in Fort Collins in Colorado.
In Japan it's in the Otakadoya mountains in the North East and Hagane in the South West.
The German radio tower in Mainflingen for example has a range of up to 1,500 km & covers most of mainland Europe. bekijk meer Replica horloges Zwitserse en chopard xtravaganza