# Odd but true - my satellite-synced clock radio is always 10 minutes slow **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 13, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773 "2017-02-13T20:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/1 "2017-02-13T20:32:03Z")
Clock purchased from Brookstone several many years ago. I don’t remember why I didn’t return it. There is no way to set the time manually, it is only set by syncing with a satellite (I don’t know which one). If the power goes out and then comes back on, the clock automatically re-sets itself. It automatically re-sets itself for Daylight Savings. And it is and always has been 10 minutes slow. When I was using it as an alarm clock I just worked around it, setting for 10 minutes earlier than I actually wanted to wake up. Now I don’t need the alarm most of the time. Anyone have any idea what could cause this odd but true behavior? Is one of our satellites’ time off? Is this satellite orbiting the sun instead of the earth? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/2 "2017-02-13T20:40:50Z")
Those radios sync with a time signal from Ft. Collins in Colorado. No satellite involved, at least on the radio end. Station WWVB as I recall. That said, I don’t know what’s wrong with your radio controlled clock. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/3 "2017-02-13T20:44:32Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Those radios sync with a time signal from Ft. Collins in Colorado. No satellite involved, at least on the radio end. Station WWVB as I recall. > > That said, I don’t know what’s wrong with your radio controlled clock. So now I’m curious how the time signal travels over the horizon (I live in San Francisco, which is roughly 1200 miles from Ft Collins). I realize this question reveals my woeful ignorance of physics, but there would be no point in trying to cover that up. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/4 "2017-02-13T20:55:37Z")
Is it a Sony Dream Machine? Mine is always 10 minutes fast and I’m east of Ft. Collins. My Magnavox DVR is currently about 17 minutes fast. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/5 "2017-02-13T20:56:39Z")
I think we need to know a bit more before we can answer this… Is the clock currently moving at a significant percentage of the speed of light? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Economist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Evil\_Economist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Economist)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/6 "2017-02-13T22:10:42Z")
Are you currently 179 million meters from Ft. Collins? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/7 "2017-02-13T22:51:10Z")
The signal is 60 khz which is 1/10 of the lowest frequency on the AM broadcast band. Low frequency signals travel over the horizon with little problem. Even on the AM broadcast band you can hear stations from a long way off. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/8 "2017-02-13T23:28:59Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > Are you currently 179 million meters from Ft. Collins? Close. Well, actually, not close. You got the mantissa right, but you’re off by three orders of magnitude. 10 light-minutes is 179.88 million **kilo** meters. Or 180 (let’s just round) **billion** meters. At that distance, his radio needs to be a bit more than 1.2 AU from Fort Collins. Dunno where that’d put him, other than (for instance) in interplanetary space. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/9 "2017-02-13T23:36:55Z")
Is there a battery backup? Mine wasn’t a synched clock, but it was a plug in with battery backup. When the battery died, the time was never accurate. Putting a new 9V batter in cleared it up. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/10 "2017-02-14T00:09:39Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Is it a Sony Dream Machine? Mine is always 10 minutes fast and I’m east of Ft. Collins. I also have a Sony Dream Machine that is always ~10 minutes fast. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/11 "2017-02-14T02:35:37Z")
I just used the following method I found online to get mine correct: Take the backup battery out (if it uses one). Unplug from wall outlet for 30 seconds Plug back in to wall outlet Put backup battery back in. Set time. It has worked so far. I’ll see in the morning if it is still correct. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/12 "2017-02-14T12:21:19Z")
So far it is still showing the correct time. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/13 "2017-02-14T14:37:29Z")
I have a wall clock that occasionally and for no clear reason updates to 20 minutes slow. I know a fair bit about digital clock logic and circuitry (did some design work, back in the day), but I can’t figure out how that glitch occurs so precisely. I prefer clocks that run 20 minutes into the future, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/14 "2017-02-14T15:12:48Z")
My car sets its own dashboard clock using the GPS signals, but in the menu system it’s possible to deliberately offset the displayed time from the actual GPS time; presumably this is for people who feel compelled to have their clocks run X minutes fast. Is there may be something in in your clock’s menu system that does the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/15 "2017-02-14T15:16:36Z")
> [@RadioWave](#): > > Is the clock currently moving at a significant percentage of the speed of light? Towards What? A wall…? Ralphy-boy… that’s no way to treat sensitive scientific equipment… ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/16 "2017-02-14T18:51:38Z")
I suspect the claim in the OP: > [@](#): > > There is no way to set the time manually, is not entirely correct. There has to be a way to correct for the time zone (the radio signal cannot tell which timezone you are in). I suspect that someone has manually set the clock for ten minutes fast and the clock is maintaining that offset. Without knowing the model of the clock, there is no way of telling how to correct it, but I would look for a reset or mode button of some sort on the clock and fiddle with that. ---
**Author:** ![PAjoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pajoe/32/58_2.png) [@PAjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PAjoe)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/17 "2017-02-14T18:58:30Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I also have a Sony Dream Machine that is always ~10 minutes fast. I have a Sony- mine is always nine minutes fast. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/18 "2017-02-14T19:58:55Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > I suspect the claim in the OP:is not entirely correct. There has to be a way to correct for the time zone (the radio signal cannot tell which timezone you are in). I suspect that someone has manually set the clock for ten minutes fast and the clock is maintaining that offset. Without knowing the model of the clock, there is no way of telling how to correct it, but I would look for a reset or mode button of some sort on the clock and fiddle with that. I suspect it is, because I had a clock with the same problem. It was exactly 12 minutes slow from the moment I set it up (I know I had to set the date, but don’t remember if I had to set time zone. It’s possible.) It was a brand new clock that I ordered from Amazon, and I live alone so no one else was fiddling around with it. The clock had no battery backup and no reset mode or spot that I could find, either in the manual or by the time-tested “push all the buttons and see what happens” method. I ended up throwing it away and buying a manual-set clock because the inaccurate clock was driving me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/19 "2017-02-14T20:29:40Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > I suspect the claim in the OP:is not entirely correct. There has to be a way to correct for the time zone (the radio signal cannot tell which timezone you are in). I suspect that someone has manually set the clock for ten minutes fast and the clock is maintaining that offset. Without knowing the model of the clock, there is no way of telling how to correct it, but I would look for a reset or mode button of some sort on the clock and fiddle with that. There is a switch to select the time zone, but that’s all it does. There is another switch to toggle to 24-hour military style time. These switches are hidden at the bottom under a little door. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773/20 "2017-02-14T20:50:11Z")
Why don’t you just tell us what brand and model it is so we can look it up for ourselves? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/odd-but-true-my-satellite-synced-clock-radio-is-always-10-minutes-slow/779773.md?page=2)