About a month ago, I posted a question about how an atomic watch - an analogue watch with hour and minute hands - is updated by the radio signal from Colorado.
Specifically, at 2am on 11/2, were the hands advanced 23 hours, or does the signal instruct the watch to simply turn counterclockwise one hour?
My problem is, that turning the hands counterclockwise seems to be inimical to watchmakers. For example, the instructions for my cuckoo clock insist that time setting is done in a clockwise fashion. I think the principle holds true for the various mechanical clocks and watches, too.
Well no one here knew the answer to my question, so I just now called the place where I bought my atomic (actually a radio controlled) watch online. The customer service gal double checked with someone there, and the answer came down that the watch is advanced 23 hours.
Many newer mechanical watches don’t have as much problem going backwards as older watch/clocks did. But, an atomic sync’d, auto-updating, analog watch probably doesn’t have a mechanical movement anyway, and those are the ones that dislike(d) being turned counter-clockwise.
I may be wrong (it happened once before), but I have a hard time imagining a wind-up watch receiving and synchronizing to NIST. It’d be cool, but those stinkin’ quartz movements are everywhere.
When I got the watch, it was set for CDT, because that’s the zone that Stauer’s in. There was an instruction sheet with the watch, but it turned out to be useless. Had to call the store to be talked through the maneuver. So, tada! I saw the hands advance 1 hour.
Also, I wondser about the girl who handled my call. She sounded not too bright, and three times, I had to explain to her what I was trying to find out.
She then checked with the technician, who said the watch advances 23 hours, but based on what Sunspace asked, I kinda doubt the truth of the statement.
No. The only button I have is to toggle from a window that ticks off the seconds to a window showing month and day.
It’s a Stauer Watch the name for which was New York to Paris. I was going to post a picture from the watch site (http://stauerwatch.com/) but it won’t let me.
