# How Do I Set My Atomic Watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785 "2005-04-05T03:50:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/1 "2005-04-05T03:50:36Z")
Okay, a couple of weeks ago, I got an el cheapo atomic watch made by “Athletic Works” at Wallyworld and I had the directions on how to set it, but I’ve since misplaced them. With the time change, I noticed that my watch hadn’t changed to match it, and I tried poking at the settings in hopes that I’d be able to get it set to the correct time. All I succeeded in doing was discovering that my watch had somehow set itself to the wrong time zone. Given that I can’t afford to move to the correct time zone, I’m hoping someone’s knows the button combination to correct this. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/2 "2005-04-05T03:53:38Z")
It helps if you have a brand name. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/3 "2005-04-05T03:57:40Z")
“Athletic Works” _is_ the brand name. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Train\_Song](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Black\_Train\_Song](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Train_Song)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/4 "2005-04-05T04:18:10Z")
verrry carefully? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/5 "2005-04-05T04:19:39Z")
Well, if you can manually change the time, most of these “Atomic Timepieces” set themselves to the closest hour. Once you get it within a few minutes it should set itself. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/6 "2005-04-05T04:20:05Z")
If you hit the right button, one of which will let you see which time zone you will be in, you will see an option to choose the time zone. Usually you have to make another choice to make sure that your time zone is set to choose DST. That was the problem I had with mine. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/7 "2005-04-05T04:25:36Z")
I’m guessing another manufacturer makes it and slaps an “Athletic Works” label on it. If you go to [athleticworks.com](http://athleticworks.com) and hit the link for “Atomic Watches”, it bringa you to a page of links of vendors and manufacturers, and no data at all about their own watches. So maybe you can kind the actual manufacturer through looking at what matches the face and go from there. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/8 "2005-04-05T04:30:17Z")
[athleticworks.com](http://athleticworks.com) is just one of those ad domains, and isn’t owned by whomever made the watch, and all I can get the thing to do is to display the time zone. I can’t get it to change, nor can I get it to change the time. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/9 "2005-04-05T04:33:04Z")
[http://www.asacp.org/report.php](http://www.asacp.org/report.php) ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/10 "2005-04-05T04:34:29Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > [http://www.asacp.org/report.php](http://www.asacp.org/report.php) Oooooops… that was meant another “How do I…” thread… Well, at least now you kind folk no how to report child porn… ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/11 "2005-04-05T05:57:41Z")
Having had a couple different varieties of atomic clock over the years… Look for a button labled “Recieve” or “Resync”. A lot of them don’t actually keep in lock step with the atomic signal… they just check in periodically and adjust themselves. Many of them have an audible response or other way to tell you if you can get a good signal or if they’ve gotten a good sync. On a some (usually the ones that automatically set the day/month, too), there were physical switches for time zone and DST settings. I doubt this will be the case with a wristwatch, but you never know. I’ve never seen this watch you speak of, and they aren’t listed on Wal-Mart’s website (they do have a number of atomic watches from Casio, though), so unless you find someone that happens to own one, I don’t think you’re going to get any further than if you just sat there pushing buttons and seeing what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenchslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/94ad74/32.png) [@Wrenchslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenchslinger)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/12 "2005-04-05T06:38:07Z")
For the love of God, whatever you do - DON"T PRESS THE BUTTON!!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-set-my-atomic-watch/297785/13 "2005-04-05T13:32:12Z")
To set your Atomic Watch, you must first obtain a 1920’s Style Death Ray. Didn’t your Atomic Watch come as part of a set?