Make Your Ordinary Clock Into an Atomic Clock

by apuschak in Circuits > Clocks

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Make Your Ordinary Clock Into an Atomic Clock

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Is your wall clock slow, fast, or off by an hour because daylight savings time occurred?

Make your clock Atomic with this easy replacement for $18 shipped at klockit.com

The time is received from Colorado atomic clock and adjusts the clock up to 5 times a day.

When daylight savings happens the clock automatically adjusts itself to the correct hour, minute, and second.

Atomic Clock Information:

Howstuffworks.com - How actual atomic clocks work.

This clock movement is NOT "Atomic." It receives shortwave radio waves, like an AM radio does, that tell the clock what time it is. I am in Pennsylvania, very far from the source in Colorado and this clock syncs up perfectly on a clear night. During the day the signal is weak and may not set the clock. Once you have the clock running it will "sync" itself up to 5 times a day and set the hour ahead and back during daylight savings time.

Remove Dials and Clock Movement

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The second hand will unscrew or pull off as well as the minute and second hands.

Then removed the movement by unscrewing the nut on the clock face win needle nose pliers.

Finish Removing and Begin Installing

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Remove the old clock movement from the clock.

Then prepare your new movement. The movement comes with free hour and minute hands so I picked out some different ones and bought a new matching mouse minute hand for an additional $0.35.

Assemble and Let Your New Clock Set Itself

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Put the clock back together with the new atomic movement. All the dials should point to 12.

Set the clock:

Use the knob in the back to set the time 5 minutes before the actual time.

Put in the battery and wait for the second hand to come around to 12 again.

Hit the red button on the back at 12 and again when the hand comes around to 12.

At this time the second hand will double jump 2 positions at a time.

Press the button again to hear the signal strength for 20 seconds.

The clock should beep on and off, it it is a solid beep or no sound, then it has no signal.

Move it to a window facing Colorado and wait till night time when the signal is strongest.


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