Metspitzer wrote:

-snip-
Because it is not already being done, there must be more to it than
meets the eye. It seems like it would be trivial to just transmit the
time/date code over the power lines. Anything plugged in should
become automatically set. Can someone enlighten me on why this
doesn't already happen?

You're just buying the wrong stuff. I have clocks that are set by
the atomic clock via satellite [though because of where we live the
clocks have to sit in a west facing window to be set]-- my DVR sets
itself through the cable- I suspect that's where my VCR figured out
what time it was- my InfoGlobe sets itself through the telephone
lines.

My $20 clock radio [one of the
'would-set-itself-if-I-left-it-in-the-window-at-the--end-of-the-house-clocks]
has a battery so I only need to set it once every few years. I hope
I didn't pay much for the unhandy feature of being able to set itself.

Jim