How to check accuracy of watch?
Discussion
How accurate do you need them to be?
If you're working on the Large Hadron Collider then using a source synchronised with one of the atomic clocks would be good, in fact you're probably best off with a Casio WaveCeptor or a Junghans radio watch.
If you're like most people then just set it off the speaking clock or Teletext (remember that??
) or use one of the internet sites. If your computer is set to synchronise local time to an NTP server and it's recently updated its internal clock (computer RTCs are notoriously inaccurate - if you're a unix geek then check your console logs for NTP updates, there's a fair amount of drift in general) then just set it against the computer clock.
Mobile phones, by their very nature, need to have accurate time signals but some phones rely on user-entered time, which again is only as accurate as the first source.
The time displayed on a GPS unit will be accurate. GPS needs timing accuracy in the nanosecond range and the receivers adjust their cheap internal clocks depending on signals from the expensive satellites.
All of this is borderline irrelevant if your watch doesn't have a hacking mechanism (such as Seiko 5 engined watches, like my Monster) as you won't be able to stop the second hand to start it exactly on a mark...
Apart from all this guff, I set my watches to my iPhone, which is set via an NTP server on one of my Mac servers, which then uses either the Euro or North American Apple time server. Should be accurate enough...
If you're working on the Large Hadron Collider then using a source synchronised with one of the atomic clocks would be good, in fact you're probably best off with a Casio WaveCeptor or a Junghans radio watch.
If you're like most people then just set it off the speaking clock or Teletext (remember that??
) or use one of the internet sites. If your computer is set to synchronise local time to an NTP server and it's recently updated its internal clock (computer RTCs are notoriously inaccurate - if you're a unix geek then check your console logs for NTP updates, there's a fair amount of drift in general) then just set it against the computer clock.Mobile phones, by their very nature, need to have accurate time signals but some phones rely on user-entered time, which again is only as accurate as the first source.
The time displayed on a GPS unit will be accurate. GPS needs timing accuracy in the nanosecond range and the receivers adjust their cheap internal clocks depending on signals from the expensive satellites.
All of this is borderline irrelevant if your watch doesn't have a hacking mechanism (such as Seiko 5 engined watches, like my Monster) as you won't be able to stop the second hand to start it exactly on a mark...
Apart from all this guff, I set my watches to my iPhone, which is set via an NTP server on one of my Mac servers, which then uses either the Euro or North American Apple time server. Should be accurate enough...
cyberface said:
How accurate do you need them to be?
If you're working on the Large Hadron Collider then using a source synchronised with one of the atomic clocks would be good, in fact you're probably best off with a Casio WaveCeptor or a Junghans radio watch.
If you're like most people then just set it off the speaking clock or Teletext (remember that?? ) or use one of the internet sites. If your computer is set to synchronise local time to an NTP server and it's recently updated its internal clock (computer RTCs are notoriously inaccurate - if you're a unix geek then check your console logs for NTP updates, there's a fair amount of drift in general) then just set it against the computer clock.
Mobile phones, by their very nature, need to have accurate time signals but some phones rely on user-entered time, which again is only as accurate as the first source.
The time displayed on a GPS unit will be accurate. GPS needs timing accuracy in the nanosecond range and the receivers adjust their cheap internal clocks depending on signals from the expensive satellites.
All of this is borderline irrelevant if your watch doesn't have a hacking mechanism (such as Seiko 5 engined watches, like my Monster) as you won't be able to stop the second hand to start it exactly on a mark...
Apart from all this guff, I set my watches to my iPhone, which is set via an NTP server on one of my Mac servers, which then uses either the Euro or North American Apple time server. Should be accurate enough...
thanks for the reply, will probably go with some form of internet clock, just need to check whether they're running to time as I haven't used them in 6 months.If you're working on the Large Hadron Collider then using a source synchronised with one of the atomic clocks would be good, in fact you're probably best off with a Casio WaveCeptor or a Junghans radio watch.
If you're like most people then just set it off the speaking clock or Teletext (remember that??
) or use one of the internet sites. If your computer is set to synchronise local time to an NTP server and it's recently updated its internal clock (computer RTCs are notoriously inaccurate - if you're a unix geek then check your console logs for NTP updates, there's a fair amount of drift in general) then just set it against the computer clock.Mobile phones, by their very nature, need to have accurate time signals but some phones rely on user-entered time, which again is only as accurate as the first source.
The time displayed on a GPS unit will be accurate. GPS needs timing accuracy in the nanosecond range and the receivers adjust their cheap internal clocks depending on signals from the expensive satellites.
All of this is borderline irrelevant if your watch doesn't have a hacking mechanism (such as Seiko 5 engined watches, like my Monster) as you won't be able to stop the second hand to start it exactly on a mark...
Apart from all this guff, I set my watches to my iPhone, which is set via an NTP server on one of my Mac servers, which then uses either the Euro or North American Apple time server. Should be accurate enough...
www.greenwichmeantime.com
Set the watch, wait a week, check again. The difference is your gain/loss rate.
Set the watch, wait a week, check again. The difference is your gain/loss rate.
boxster9 said:
thanks for the reply, will probably go with some form of internet clock, just need to check whether they're running to time as I haven't used them in 6 months.
Well the internet's been working for the last 6 months, as far as I know...(apologies for taking the piss, and the previous post - girlfriend is ill in bed so planned Valentine's meal cancelled, a superb game of rugby was soured by the ref (in my opinion) and so I've been on the booze)
Agreed...it's difficult playing against 16 men...(especially when you've only 14 on the pitch!)
For the time I use this to check the watch...
http://www.atomic-clock.org.uk/atomuhr.html
For the time I use this to check the watch...
http://www.atomic-clock.org.uk/atomuhr.html
cyberface said:
boxster9 said:
thanks for the reply, will probably go with some form of internet clock, just need to check whether they're running to time as I haven't used them in 6 months.
Well the internet's been working for the last 6 months, as far as I know...(apologies for taking the piss, and the previous post - girlfriend is ill in bed so planned Valentine's meal cancelled, a superb game of rugby was soured by the ref (in my opinion) and so I've been on the booze)
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