Atomix Atomic Clocks, Wall Clocks, Alarm Clocks, Desk Clocks

Notes:

The United States Government National Institute of Standards and Technology  maintains a radio station, WWVB, in Ft. Collins, Colorado.  This radio station transmits highly accurate time information.  Atomic, or Radio Controlled clocks receive this signal when they can, and set themselves.  These will maintain time accurate to a fraction of a second as long as they are placed in a location where they can receive the signal.  Like any radio receiver however, they may not be able to receive the signal if they are in a building with a lot of steel in the structure, near computers or cordless phones that may generate interference, or if the weather is unsuitable.  Please note.  The signal they receive does not propagate well during the day.  That's the nature of the signal, not the clock.  These clocks are designed to catch the signal when they can, generally in the middle of the night, calibrate themselves, and then run quite accurately for days until they can catch another signal.  When you first put in the batteries, they will most likely not set themselves until the middle of the night.  That's normal.  By morning, weather permitting, it should be correct.

Radio controlled clocks automatically change for daylight savings time, although those of you that don't follow daylight savings time can disable that function. The clock doesn't "know" when to make the switch. The clock makes the switch the first time it receives the radio signal from Fort Collins after the time change. If you have trouble receiving the signal, due to building construction, interference, or bad weather, the change may be delayed. We use an Atomic clock in the office of our warehouse. The warehouse is a horrible environment for an Atomic clock. The building is all steel, the office is full of interference producing computer equipment that stays on all night, and the only windows face East (Fort Collins is West from our location). Depending on the weather, it can take a week for our clock to make the time change if I leave it hanging on the wall. If I take it down and set it in the window (even though it's facing the wrong direction), it usually catches the signal within minutes, or at least overnight, depending on the weather. Between time changes, our clock remains accurate to a fraction of a second.