# How did people sync to the correct time in decades past? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016 "2011-09-29T15:30:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/1 "2011-09-29T15:30:58Z")
These days people have several options for syncing their clocks and watches to the current local time. Just a few that come to mind: Cellphone clock that auto sets, google(current time), cable or satellite tv box and/or menu screen, etc. Before some of these current technologies came about how did people go about finding accurate times? The earliest I can remember is back in the 70s the only way I knew to get the exact time was to call an automated number. I think ours was 844-1414. “The telephone company brings you the correct time. At the beep the time will be… eight… fifty seven… a.m…(beep).” Not sure when the phone company started doing this but before this how did people get the time? In the 60s? 50s? 40s? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/2 "2011-09-29T15:33:55Z")
In the '60s, you’d call the time number. Not sure how important the exact time was any earlier than that (not sure how important it is now, for that matter). I do know that standard time was established in the late 19th century when the railroads needed to create schedules that would be meaningful to people in different places. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/3 "2011-09-29T15:34:11Z")
I know they used to (and probably still do) broadcast the GMT (now UTC) on a specific radio frequency that you could tune in to. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/4 "2011-09-29T15:39:08Z")
If you had a shortwave receiver you could dial up WWV out of Fort Collins, Colorado. They currently give precise time off an atomic clock and have done so through various other mechanisms since 1920. Also, you could always call the Naval Observatory or your nearest facility that kept official time and they would give it to you. The whole thing about keeping time with militaristic precision really came about because of, well, the military and its Time-On-Target attacks. With the deployment of GPS accuracy has become a big thing, but when I was a kid in the '80s if you were within a few minutes either way you were close enough, and for official time you got it from the school because that was the only thing you couldn’t be late for. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/5 "2011-09-29T15:40:00Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I know they used to (and probably still do) broadcast the GMT (now UTC) on a specific radio frequency that you could tune in to. They still do. They broacast it all around the world, but the only places that I know of specifically are Fort Collins, Honolulu, and Greenwich. There was once a guy that would call an operator every day so he could set his watch. Every time the operator would say “The time is now 12:00.” One day he decided to ask her how she set her own watch. She replied that since he called every day at noon, she set her watch by his calls. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/6 "2011-09-29T15:44:44Z")
I still use RNE (Spanish public radio) to check the time, when I have a radio but not an internet connection handy. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/7 "2011-09-29T15:48:05Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > If you had a shortwave receiver you could dial up WWV out of Fort Collins, Colorado. Or you can call 303-499-7111. Apparently the signal is delayed by about 30 milliseconds, though. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/8 "2011-09-29T15:55:04Z")
Somewhere in town, there was some official institution that had a big publicly-viewable clock. It might have been the town’s major employer, or the railroad, or some arm of the government, or a church, or whatever. You’d go outside and look at that clock, and set your watch to it. There’s a good chance that it even had bells that chimed the hour, so you could hear it from anywhere in town, and know the time without even seeing it. Now, the time in one town might not have matched the time in another town, but before railroads, that hardly mattered: As long as everyone in the same town were using the same time standards, there’d be no problem. With railroads, it _did_ matter, since you had to keep the timetables accurate, but the railroad probably synchronized their clocks via telegraph. And I assume you meant to post this in GQ; I’ll report it for a forum change. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/9 "2011-09-29T15:57:34Z")
In the time before mechanical clocks, was there often a sundial in town squares? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/10 "2011-09-29T16:01:46Z")
At noon the church would ring its bells or the fort would fire off a cannon. That let everyone in earshot know it was noon and anyone with a timepiece could adjust it to conform. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/11 "2011-09-29T16:04:57Z")
Before railroads, you synched with the local clock or sundial, or someone would give a signal at noon. Note that this was local noon – fifty miles to the west and it’s be wrong. It was the railroads that forced the standardization of time. They wanted to be able to tell people an exact time for their schedule, and didn’t want to deal with the variations along their routes. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/12 "2011-09-29T16:06:51Z")
Moved MPSIMS --\> GQ. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/13 "2011-09-29T16:10:57Z")
Up until about the '80s, being within five minutes or so of the correct time was all that 99.9% of the people needed. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/14 "2011-09-29T16:15:58Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Or you can call 303-499-7111. Apparently the signal is delayed by about 30 milliseconds, though. That’s why I’m always late! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/15 "2011-09-29T16:18:42Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Note that this was local noon Was it always exectly 24 hours past the previous noon, or did they go by the Sun? Or did it change when mechanical clocks became the norm? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/16 "2011-09-29T16:19:44Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > That’s why I’m always late! I make it a habit to set my watch 30 milliseconds ahead to avoid this very thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/17 "2011-09-29T16:21:10Z")
Can anyone confirm an “I heard” story? I heard that harbors had a signal for ships in port (but not docked or something?). Among them was a ball that dropped at noon and midnight–giving rise to the new year’s eve tradition. Never paid it much mind; now’s the time to check that piece of fluffery. Any truth to it at all? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/18 "2011-09-29T16:23:54Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > If you had a shortwave receiver you could dial up WWV out of Fort Collins, Colorado. They currently give precise time off an atomic clock and have done so through various other mechanisms since 1920. Also, you could always call the Naval Observatory or your nearest facility that kept official time and they would give it to you. I had a shortwave receiver and I’d tune to the BBC World Service, which provides a time signal regularly. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/19 "2011-09-29T16:26:34Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Can anyone confirm an “I heard” story? > > I heard that harbors had a signal for ships in port (but not docked or something?). Among them was a ball that dropped at noon and midnight–giving rise to the new year’s eve tradition. > > Never paid it much mind; now’s the time to check that piece of fluffery. Any truth to it at all? > **[Time ball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_ball)** > > A time ball is a large, wooden or metal ball that is dropped at a predetermined time of day. > Because precise timekeeping is essential to the determination of longitude at sea, time balls were principally erected to allow navigators aboard nearby ships to synchronize their marine chronometers with a reference time standard controlling the ball, . > Time balls have been rendered obsolete by electronic time signals, but some are kept in operation as tourist attractions. > The fall of a ball was in an... yes, pretty much so. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016/20 "2011-09-29T16:30:54Z")
If a man owned a watch, one of the errands done when visiting town was to reset it to the correct time, and resetting the clock in the house when he got back home. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > It was the railroads that forced the standardization of time. They wanted to be able to tell people an exact time for their schedule, and didn’t want to deal with the variations along their routes. This is true, but the spread of railroads also coincided with the spread of telegraph lines which is what made syncing possible. If the telegraph didn’t exist, the railroads probably would have had to invent it though. The motivation for train scheduling was one part impressing customers, and 20 parts using the tracks efficiently without running trains into each other. It would have been very hard to operate a railroad safely without long distance communications. Railroad telegraph time eventually became automated. A signal is sent down the wire that advances all the clocks to the next minute. We are used to seeing this with digital clocks, but it is noticeable when you have a two-handed “analog” dial. (in this case it is really discreet rather than analog) These are known as regulator clocks, and the master clock that sends the signals is the regulator. Many of the large clocks in front of jewelry stores were linked into the railroad regulator circuits. Regulators were typically temperature compensated pendulum controlled electrical driven devices with a mechanism that gave the pendulum impulse only every N cycles. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-people-sync-to-the-correct-time-in-decades-past/598016.md?page=2)