Self time-adjusting watches - Radio signal or GPS

[J B L]

Hello all, I am after a watch that self adjusts when travelling and isn't a smart watch per sé.

Something like the Seiko Astron series (that's top budget by the way!)

Would like something that looks quite smart if possible.

[Slushbox]

Google 'radio-controlled' watch or 'atomic' watch.

The GPS watches receive time anywhere there's a GPS signal.

The 'atomic' radio-controlled watches receive a regional long-wave signal. The Japanese R/C watches tend to be multi-receiver, the German brand watches tend to receive the German DCF77 signal throughout Germany, France and southern UK, and the UK 'MSF' watches tend not to sync at all going further east than say Brussels.

R/C watches.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=se...

Edited by Slushbox on Tuesday 5th March 07:25

[J B L]

Slushbox. I am very thankful for the time you have spent answering this.

Thanks a lot.

I travel all over but mostly Africa and The Middle East.

Funny you mentioned the radio masts facility near Rugby which is now making place to a gazillion new home, I live in Rugby. Never knew this was one of the function of the place.

[clockworks]

I've owned a few radio controlled watches and clocks, with varying degrees of satisfaction with regard to reception/synching. I live in Cornwall, and indoor reception is generally poor, so I have to place the item by a window, or even outside.
They mostly only try and pick up a signal overnight automatically.
Manually picking up a signal during the day often fails.

This would be a real problem if relying on the device to correct itself when switching time zones - it might take multiple attempts over several days.

I've not tried a GPS device.

[cologne2792]

I have a 2011 Casio Protrek that's both Radio Signal and Solar Charged.
I live in Devon and the signal is always received. That said, I don't travel.
I appreciate it's not what the OP was looking for but the main advantage is that it never needs setting and never needs a battery.

[anonymous-user]

Wasn’t the UK radio transmitter just outside Carlisle? I assumed it had been decommissioned years ago.

[NDA]

I have a Citizen which is maybe close to what you want..... have a look at their range. The Eco Drive is quite smart tech too - in theory it never needs a battery.

[Dr_Rick]

I have one of these as my daily watch:



https://www.casio.co.uk/products/timepieces/g-shoc...

[anonymous-user]

I too have an eco drive.

Great watch, not sure if it.automatically changes time zones though, I've always had to do it manually. I'd read the manual but its in tiny writing and written by a gnomee that doesn't speak English.

Great watch though

[Slushbox]

El stovey said:

Wasn’t the UK radio transmitter just outside Carlisle? I assumed it had been decommissioned years ago.

It's at Anthorne, Cumbria. Callsign is MSF, Wikipeeja has info. Time signal is piped from the atomic clocks at National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, or was.

The German transmitter DCF77 (Mainflingen - Frankfurt) gives a good signal in beautiful downtown Basingstoke. Generally the long-wave time signal transmitters have better reception at night. All the clocks here sync to DCF77 to prevent wailing/swearing at UST/DST changeover, and adjust for leap years, and leap seconds.

How long the national LW time signals will last is anyone's guess. Germany sells a lot of 'funk-huren' - transmitter-watches - linked to DCF77 but in the USA NIST is said to be closing down some of its LW transmitters due to budget cuts.

As to watches, the choice of 'funk-uhren' is less these days than it was ten years ago, as smart-phones erode the watch market. Citizen, Seiko and Casio do some nice multi-band models. The German-bought single-band watches tend only to sync to DCF77.

GPS solar-powered watch is possibly preferable for the anti-podean/world traveller, though there might be some manual re-adjusting to new time zones on the older models.

The basic 'old-skule' non transmitter Casio World Times have a button you can program for four different time zones, so you just stab it on take-off. Use mine a lot when Chunneling to France and Belgium.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Casio-Collection-Unisex-A...

My own er, certifed-non chronometer is the above cheap Casio World Time, for £25. Thirty-six time zones, a stop-watch, five alarm clocks, and an egg-timer. None of this 'internet' malarky.

The other alternative is a GMT or 'Zulu-time' watch, the ones with an extra hour hand and rotating 24 hour bezel can show three time zones. (Rotary Henley etc.) Chap on the 'Under £200 watch' thread just bought one:



As a final note for the OP: While multi band radio controlled watches sync to local transmitters/GPS for accuracy, they don't always automatically change to display the new time zone when the watch is moved as the primary motive is synching accuracy. Some button pushing/crown twirling may be needed. Also the sync period might be as much as every 24 hours, and often dates might be out in adjacent time zones.

My London/Brussels Chunnel rat-run is an example: both cities in reach of both Brit and German transmitters. Single-band watches don't know they have moved. Multi-band watches might not sync until 02:00 in the morning.

In some ways the GMT/Zulu watch is more useful: it can simultaneously display two or more time zones and doesn't need to sync or have its buttons pushed. It loses the absolute accuracy of a R/C watch though and the auto DST/Leap Year changeover.

Generally, they are not so good at date change-overs.

Edited by Slushbox on Wednesday 6th March 05:36

[reggie747]

I have one of these, it's a solar radio atomic (apparently) which self times after a button press and moving the seconds hand to the relevant time zone, the hands whizz round to that part of the globes exact time.
Despite it bearing the Casio name it's made from titanium and very comfortable.
RRP is about 500 quid + but you may shop around and shave a bit off that.

[Slushbox]

That radio controlled Oceanus is interesting, haven't seen one in the UK. Is 'six frequency 'multi-band' says the blurb.'

Still available on UK Ebay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_t...


Here's an alternative - a classy GMT date with a standard Ronda Swiss Quartz movement and no radio bits:

Edited by Slushbox on Wednesday 6th March 06:21

[seefarr]

J B L said:

Hello all, I am after a watch that self adjusts when travelling and isn't a smart watch per sé.
.

That rules out "radio controlled" watches, as to self-adjust they need to know where they are. It also rules out self-adjusted GMT watches!!

You could look at the Citizen Satellite Wave range:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Citizen-Satellite-Wave-...



I know you said not Smartwatch, but you can get a phone connected watch that doesn't look like a Smartwatch that will self-adjust the time when your phone does after you land:

https://www.skagen.com/en-gb/hybrid-smartwatch-hol...