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UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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#1
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Mad question about electric clock
There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I
installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? |
#2
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Mad question about electric clock
On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote:
There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? It depends on what's meant by not working the make/model of clock and the battery installed, how long the radio is on for and perhaps a few other things. Difficult Q without any tech details. |
#3
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Mad question about electric clock
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 08:31:04 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave
wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? It depends on what's meant by not working the make/model of clock and the battery installed, how long the radio is on for and perhaps a few other things. Difficult Q without any tech details. Maybe my posting was not clear enough. There is no radio involved as such. It is a radio controlled clock, receiving 60kHz signal from Anthorn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_from_NPL The clock is 12 inch analogue display purchased from Argos, similar to this: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7378261 It is fitted with a Duracell AA battery and the lifetime is not as long as I would expect. Sometimes when you change the battery you have to leave the clock overnight for it to pick up the signal. This mystifies my colleagues and they think I'm the only person who can fix the clock! I wondered if I fitted a lithium primary cell, would this last longer? |
#4
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Mad question about electric clock
On Friday, 30 November 2018 17:14:57 UTC, Scott wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 08:31:04 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? It depends on what's meant by not working the make/model of clock and the battery installed, how long the radio is on for and perhaps a few other things. Difficult Q without any tech details. Maybe my posting was not clear enough. There is no radio involved as such. It is a radio controlled clock, receiving 60kHz signal from Anthorn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_from_NPL The clock is 12 inch analogue display purchased from Argos, similar to this: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7378261 It is fitted with a Duracell AA battery and the lifetime is not as long as I would expect. Sometimes when you change the battery you have to leave the clock overnight for it to pick up the signal. This mystifies my colleagues and they think I'm the only person who can fix the clock! I wondered if I fitted a lithium primary cell, would this last longer? Your question was clear enough. Mr whiskey, not so much. |
#5
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Mad question about electric clock
On Friday, 30 November 2018 17:53:55 UTC, wrote:
On Friday, 30 November 2018 17:14:57 UTC, Scott wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 08:31:04 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? It depends on what's meant by not working the make/model of clock and the battery installed, how long the radio is on for and perhaps a few other things. Difficult Q without any tech details. Maybe my posting was not clear enough. There is no radio involved as such. It is a radio controlled clock, receiving 60kHz signal from Anthorn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_from_NPL The clock is 12 inch analogue display purchased from Argos, similar to this: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7378261 It is fitted with a Duracell AA battery and the lifetime is not as long as I would expect. Sometimes when you change the battery you have to leave the clock overnight for it to pick up the signal. This mystifies my colleagues and they think I'm the only person who can fix the clock! I wondered if I fitted a lithium primary cell, would this last longer? Your question was clear enough. Mr whiskey, not so much. No it wasn't and you were to brain dead to realise. |
#6
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Mad question about electric clock
In article ,
Scott wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 08:31:04 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? It depends on what's meant by not working the make/model of clock and the battery installed, how long the radio is on for and perhaps a few other things. Difficult Q without any tech details. Maybe my posting was not clear enough. There is no radio involved as such. It is a radio controlled clock, receiving 60kHz signal from Anthorn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_from_NPL The clock is 12 inch analogue display purchased from Argos, similar to this: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7378261 It is fitted with a Duracell AA battery and the lifetime is not as long as I would expect. Sometimes when you change the battery you have to leave the clock overnight for it to pick up the signal. This mystifies my colleagues and they think I'm the only person who can fix the clock! I wondered if I fitted a lithium primary cell, would this last longer? It sounds as though it's located in a reception dead spot or it is aligned to null out the Anthorn signal. -- from KT24 in Surrey, England "I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle |
#7
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Mad question about electric clock
On 30/11/2018 17:14, Scott wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 08:31:04 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? It depends on what's meant by not working the make/model of clock and the battery installed, how long the radio is on for and perhaps a few other things. Difficult Q without any tech details. Maybe my posting was not clear enough. There is no radio involved as such. It is a radio controlled clock, receiving 60kHz signal from Anthorn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_from_NPL The clock is 12 inch analogue display purchased from Argos, similar to this: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7378261 It is fitted with a Duracell AA battery and the lifetime is not as long as I would expect. Sometimes when you change the battery you have to leave the clock overnight for it to pick up the signal. This mystifies my colleagues and they think I'm the only person who can fix the clock! I wondered if I fitted a lithium primary cell, would this last longer? THe batteries don't last long because of the dumb way it keeps time. It checks the signal once every 24 hours, probably around 01:15. It then winds itself forward to 00:00, pauses, then forward again to the correct time. All this winding round every night runs the battery down, they sometimes last less than a year. -- djc (–€Ì¿Ä¹Ì¯–€Ì¿ Ì¿) No low-hanging fruit, just a lot of small berries up a tall tree. |
#8
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Mad question about electric clock
DJC explained on 30/11/2018 :
THe batteries don't last long because of the dumb way it keeps time. It checks the signal once every 24 hours, probably around 01:15. It then winds itself forward to 00:00, pauses, then forward again to the correct time. All this winding round every night runs the battery down, they sometimes last less than a year. I have never seen one do that, rather they pause if ahead of time, or pulse the hands forward until correct if behind true time. |
#9
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Mad question about electric clock
In article , Harry Bloomfield
writes DJC explained on 30/11/2018 : THe batteries don't last long because of the dumb way it keeps time. It checks the signal once every 24 hours, probably around 01:15. It then winds itself forward to 00:00, pauses, then forward again to the correct time. All this winding round every night runs the battery down, they sometimes last less than a year. I have never seen one do that, rather they pause if ahead of time, or pulse the hands forward until correct if behind true time. I have a similar clock but it has type C battery. Lasts ages. Only time it winds round to twelve is when you change or pull the battery. -- bert |
#10
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Mad question about electric clock
On 30/11/2018 21:06, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
DJC explained on 30/11/2018 : THe batteries don't last long because of the dumb way it keeps time. It checks the signal once every 24 hours, probably around 01:15. It then winds itself forward to 00:00, pauses, then forward again to the correct time. All this winding round every night runs the battery down, they sometimes last less than a year. I have never seen one do that, rather they pause if ahead of time, or pulse the hands forward until correct if behind true time. The cheap ones do. First time I noticed because I was working late and was puzzled by the wirring noise from somewhere in the room. Took a while to realise it was the clock. Nowadays I know it's time for bed when I hear the clock start its reset sequence at ~01:15. Also makes a mess of the change to summer-time: checks time at 01:15 correct, clocks go forward at 02:00, but it won't check the time again until the next day. It also has a tempreture displlay which is useless because someone didn't understand °C and °F. Display goes from -20 to +140 but that is °C so the needle never really moves more than a few (angular) degrees around the 20°C mark. -- djc (–€Ì¿Ä¹Ì¯–€Ì¿ Ì¿) No low-hanging fruit, just a lot of small berries up a tall tree. |
#11
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Mad question about electric clock
On 30/11/2018 17:14, Scott wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 08:31:04 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? It depends on what's meant by not working the make/model of clock and the battery installed, how long the radio is on for and perhaps a few other things. Difficult Q without any tech details. Maybe my posting was not clear enough. If so your clarification si mudlike in its cogency. There is no radio involved as such. Mkay... It is a *radio* controlled clock, Er what? with no radio involved? receiving 60kHz signal from Anthorn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_from_NPL The Time from NPL is a *radio* signal broadcast from the Anthorn Radio Station near Anthorn, Cumbria, which serves as the United Kingdom's national time reference.... The clock is 12 inch analogue display purchased from Argos, similar to this: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7378261 It is fitted with a Duracell AA battery and the lifetime is not as long as I would expect. Sometimes when you change the battery you have to leave the clock overnight for it to pick up the signal. This mystifies my colleagues and they think I'm the only person who can fix the clock! I wondered if I fitted a lithium primary cell, would this last longer? -- Future generations will wonder in bemused amazement that the early twenty-first centurys developed world went into hysterical panic over a globally average temperature increase of a few tenths of a degree, and, on the basis of gross exaggerations of highly uncertain computer projections combined into implausible chains of inference, proceeded to contemplate a rollback of the industrial age. Richard Lindzen |
#12
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Mad question about electric clock
On Sat, 1 Dec 2018 07:54:04 +0000, The Natural Philosopher
wrote: On 30/11/2018 17:14, Scott wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 08:31:04 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? It depends on what's meant by not working the make/model of clock and the battery installed, how long the radio is on for and perhaps a few other things. Difficult Q without any tech details. Maybe my posting was not clear enough. If so your clarification si mudlike in its cogency. Apologies for that !!! There is no radio involved as such. I chose the words 'as such' to suggest it was not a radio set, even though it works'by radio (hence 'radio controlled').. Mkay... It is a *radio* controlled clock, Er what? with no radio involved? Not 'as such'. Not a radio set as we know it.. It won't get Classic FM. receiving 60kHz signal from Anthorn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_from_NPL The Time from NPL is a *radio* signal broadcast from the Anthorn Radio Station near Anthorn, Cumbria, which serves as the United Kingdom's national time reference.... Which is why I mentioned 60kHz. The clock is 12 inch analogue display purchased from Argos, similar to this: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7378261 It is fitted with a Duracell AA battery and the lifetime is not as long as I would expect. Sometimes when you change the battery you have to leave the clock overnight for it to pick up the signal. This mystifies my colleagues and they think I'm the only person who can fix the clock! I wondered if I fitted a lithium primary cell, would this last longer? If the foregoing is not enough of a clue to tell you what this equipment is, I suggest you leave the commentary to others. |
#13
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Mad question about electric clock
On Sat, 01 Dec 2018 10:11:45 +0000, Scott
wrote: snip If the foregoing is not enough of a clue to tell you what this equipment is, I suggest you leave the commentary to others. It was perfectly clear ... not much chance of that now he's already showed himself up. ;-) As others have suggested, it was *very* clear to anyone reading for fact and not just triggering of a couple of keywords. ;-) FWIW, we have an 'analogue' 'radio controlled clock' (and not a clock radio g) and it typically works very well indeed. It either pauses for an hour or runs fast to catch up an hour and we have only ever seen it doing anything 'strange' a few times in 10+ years. One strange mode is when the battery is nearly flat and it can't reliably crank the hands uphill and the other we saw for the first time recently where it went a bit crazy and wound itself forward about 10 mins and then settled down again. It had corrected itself again by the morning. I was playing with a WiFi access point that was pretty close to the clock so that might have had something to do with it? I built one of the 7 segment LED display radio controlled clocks years ago that had a remote radio receiver and that also worked pretty well for a long time. It was interesting setting up the radio as you tuned it using an audio earpiece and you could clearly hear the 'chiff-chiff' on the second and the extra bits on the hour. ;-) Cheers, T i m |
#14
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Mad question about electric clock
On 30/11/2018 16:16, Scott wrote:
There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. LCD ones should last a year or so on a single battery. In what way is it not working ? Mine generally fade out gradually but still show the time. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? I tend to put end of life ones in that are no longer fit for supplying high currents but still have decent terminal voltage at low current. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#15
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Mad question about electric clock
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:50:26 +0000, Martin Brown
wrote: On 30/11/2018 16:16, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. LCD ones should last a year or so on a single battery. In what way is it not working ? Mine generally fade out gradually but still show the time. Per my other post, it is a mechanical display (with hands). What happens is that it loses the time signal but keeps going showing totally the wrong time. |
#16
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Mad question about electric clock
On 30/11/2018 17:39, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 17:16:55 +0000, Scott wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:50:26 +0000, Martin Brown wrote: On 30/11/2018 16:16, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. LCD ones should last a year or so on a single battery. In what way is it not working ? Mine generally fade out gradually but still show the time. Per my other post, it is a mechanical display (with hands). What happens is that it loses the time signal but keeps going showing totally the wrong time. Is the clock in the best place? I find that radio clocks receiving from Anthorne are quite sensitive to their location, due to poor reception through thick concrete walls, steel sheeting etc. Moving them around from room to room or even within a room can make a big difference. Several of the radio clocks I've had don't reset themselves until midnight, even though the reset button is pressed to activate the 'signal search' function, although a German radio clock from Lidl and receiving from Frankfurt, does reset itself fairly quickly. Take it outside and put the battery in. Once it has set itself it should be OK indoors. -- Max Demian |
#17
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Mad question about electric clock
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 18:09:32 +0000, Max Demian
wrote: On 30/11/2018 17:39, Chris Hogg wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 17:16:55 +0000, Scott wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:50:26 +0000, Martin Brown wrote: On 30/11/2018 16:16, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. LCD ones should last a year or so on a single battery. In what way is it not working ? Mine generally fade out gradually but still show the time. Per my other post, it is a mechanical display (with hands). What happens is that it loses the time signal but keeps going showing totally the wrong time. Is the clock in the best place? I find that radio clocks receiving from Anthorne are quite sensitive to their location, due to poor reception through thick concrete walls, steel sheeting etc. Moving them around from room to room or even within a room can make a big difference. Several of the radio clocks I've had don't reset themselves until midnight, even though the reset button is pressed to activate the 'signal search' function, although a German radio clock from Lidl and receiving from Frankfurt, does reset itself fairly quickly. Take it outside and put the battery in. Once it has set itself it should be OK indoors. Yes, I did that. I put it in a carrier bag and dangled it out of the window, much to the amusement of the other staff. It's for reasons like this they think I am the only person who can 'service' the clock. |
#18
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Mad question about electric clock
On 30/11/2018 18:15, Scott wrote:
Yes, I did that. I put it in a carrier bag and dangled it out of the window, much to the amusement of the other staff. It's for reasons like this they think I am the only person who can 'service' the clock. How accurate do you need the clock to be? |
#19
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Mad question about electric clock
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 17:39:34 +0000, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 17:16:55 +0000, Scott wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:50:26 +0000, Martin Brown wrote: On 30/11/2018 16:16, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. LCD ones should last a year or so on a single battery. In what way is it not working ? Mine generally fade out gradually but still show the time. Per my other post, it is a mechanical display (with hands). What happens is that it loses the time signal but keeps going showing totally the wrong time. Is the clock in the best place? I find that radio clocks receiving from Anthorne are quite sensitive to their location, due to poor reception through thick concrete walls, steel sheeting etc. Moving them around from room to room or even within a room can make a big difference. Several of the radio clocks I've had don't reset themselves until midnight, even though the reset button is pressed to activate the 'signal search' function, although a German radio clock from Lidl and receiving from Frankfurt, does reset itself fairly quickly. It's not in the ideal place, but it is in the only place given the layout of the open plan office. It is on an outer wall. We probably do have concrete construction and there is a lot of electro-magnetic interference from all the computers. It does not help that we are a long distance from Anthorn and the power is only 17kW. It does generally correct itself through the night, I assume because of improved propagation. The clocks do work most of the time and I suspect become less reliable as the battery loses power. Maybe we should have spent more than £10 and not gone to Argos! |
#20
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Mad question about electric clock
In article , Scott
wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 17:39:34 +0000, Chris Hogg wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 17:16:55 +0000, Scott wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:50:26 +0000, Martin Brown wrote: On 30/11/2018 16:16, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. LCD ones should last a year or so on a single battery. In what way is it not working ? Mine generally fade out gradually but still show the time. Per my other post, it is a mechanical display (with hands). What happens is that it loses the time signal but keeps going showing totally the wrong time. Is the clock in the best place? I find that radio clocks receiving from Anthorne are quite sensitive to their location, due to poor reception through thick concrete walls, steel sheeting etc. Moving them around from room to room or even within a room can make a big difference. Several of the radio clocks I've had don't reset themselves until midnight, even though the reset button is pressed to activate the 'signal search' function, although a German radio clock from Lidl and receiving from Frankfurt, does reset itself fairly quickly. It's not in the ideal place, but it is in the only place given the layout of the open plan office. It is on an outer wall. We probably do have concrete construction and there is a lot of electro-magnetic interference from all the computers. It does not help that we are a long distance from Anthorn and the power is only 17kW. It does generally correct itself through the night, I assume because of improved propagation. more likely less interference. -- from KT24 in Surrey, England "I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle |
#21
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Mad question about electric clock
Scott brought next idea :
It does not help that we are a long distance from Anthorn and the power is only 17kW. It does generally correct itself through the night, I assume because of improved propagation. It doesn't need much output power at such frequencies and low data rates. |
#22
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Mad question about electric clock
In article ,
Harry Bloomfield wrote: Scott brought next idea : It does not help that we are a long distance from Anthorn and the power is only 17kW. It does generally correct itself through the night, I assume because of improved propagation. It doesn't need much output power at such frequencies and low data rates. but, in the Home Counties, there's a lot less signal than there used tobe from Rugby. Fine in the open countryside, but not so good in the concrete urban jungle -- from KT24 in Surrey, England "I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle |
#23
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Mad question about electric clock
On 30/11/2018 16:50, Martin Brown wrote:
On 30/11/2018 16:16, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace.Â* As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. LCD ones should last a year or so on a single battery. In what way is it not working ? Mine generally fade out gradually but still show the time. I have a couple of analogue dial radio clocks and the Duracell Industrial (formerly named ProCell) AA alkaline batteries last around a year. I would agree with others that the clock possibly has been positioned in a radio blind spot and maybe the radio receiver is being powered up for lengthy periods in order to eventually get the time signal. -- mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk |
#24
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Mad question about electric clock
On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote:
There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? no point, lithium primaries are a lot more money for more capacity. Let them replace the alkaline cell now & then. Tell them be grateful they don't need to wind it every day. NT |
#26
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Mad question about electric clock
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 18:10:58 +0000, Max Demian
wrote: On 30/11/2018 17:13, wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? no point, lithium primaries are a lot more money for more capacity. Let them replace the alkaline cell now & then. Tell them be grateful they don't need to wind it every day. "Disappointing" is an extremely vague measure of battery life. Yes it is but an entirely accurate representation of my assessment in the absence of any available performance data. |
#27
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Mad question about electric clock
On 30/11/2018 18:16, Scott wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 18:10:58 +0000, Max Demian wrote: On 30/11/2018 17:13, wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? no point, lithium primaries are a lot more money for more capacity. Let them replace the alkaline cell now & then. Tell them be grateful they don't need to wind it every day. "Disappointing" is an extremely vague measure of battery life. Yes it is but an entirely accurate representation of my assessment in the absence of any available performance data. I have to change the AA alkaline battery in my kitchen clock at least every two years, so I try and remember to do it every new years day, and then discard the old battery. Try using AA alkaline batteries intended for running motors first and see how long it lasts. |
#28
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Mad question about electric clock
On 30/11/2018 18:16, Scott wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 18:10:58 +0000, Max Demian wrote: On 30/11/2018 17:13, wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? no point, lithium primaries are a lot more money for more capacity. Let them replace the alkaline cell now & then. Tell them be grateful they don't need to wind it every day. "Disappointing" is an extremely vague measure of battery life. Yes it is but an entirely accurate representation of my assessment in the absence of any available performance data. We don't know what your expectations are. You may expect it to run for many years on one AA. -- Max Demian |
#31
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Mad question about electric clock
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 18:14:51 +0000, GB
wrote: On 30/11/2018 17:13, wrote: On Friday, 30 November 2018 16:16:48 UTC, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? no point, lithium primaries are a lot more money for more capacity. Let them replace the alkaline cell now & then. Tell them be grateful they don't need to wind it every day. NT Scott, if you're not paying for the batteries, get the lithium ones. The capacity is about 3 times as much as the standard alkaline ones. So, they'll last a good deal longer. (I would say they will last 3 times as long, but somebody will leap at me and say the power drain/voltage graph is all wrong for this sort of application.) Our kitchen clock, without the radio time-keeping, lasts a year or two on one alkaline battery. I guess that's what your colleagues are expecting, but a radio-synced clock is bound to have a bigger power drain. I do agree with Tabby, though. Changing the battery over is hardly rocket science. Why are you being called in? Do your colleagues call you in to turn the kettle on, or have they mastered that already? It's more a bit of fun TBH - a good way to keep in touch and (at this time of year) to get a invite to the Christmas lunch. |
#32
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Mad question about electric clock
GB has brought this to us :
Our kitchen clock, without the radio time-keeping, lasts a year or two on one alkaline battery. I guess that's what your colleagues are expecting, but a radio-synced clock is bound to have a bigger power drain. AA Batteries in my radio LCD synched clocks last for around four or five years, mine have little trouble getting sync, so I doubt its just normal radio synching flattening them. Rather I would suggest it is poor reception causing constant attempts to sync. |
#33
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Mad question about electric clock
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#34
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Mad question about electric clock
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:16:40 +0000, Scott wrote:
There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Had an ordinary wall clock with "disappointing" battery life. I could remember that I'd "only just" changed the battery ie within the last year. Measuring the battery gave a reasonable 1.2/1.3 V but the clock wouldn't run, the gears would twiych but not drive. Investigation found corrosion at an internal pressure contact cleaned that up and the clock would run with the same battery and has been running for a good month or three since. -- Cheers Dave. |
#35
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Mad question about electric clock
On 30/11/2018 16:16, Scott wrote:
There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? Got WiFi? build one of these for them. https://www.instructables.com/id/LED...-Mini-ESP8266/ Then you can have a scrolling message telling them what to do instead of calling you. |
#36
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Mad question about electric clock
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 20:18:26 +0000, "dennis@home"
wrote: On 30/11/2018 16:16, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? Got WiFi? build one of these for them. https://www.instructables.com/id/LED...-Mini-ESP8266/ Then you can have a scrolling message telling them what to do instead of calling you. Genius. Could I 'customise' the message? |
#37
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Mad question about electric clock
On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:16:40 +0000, Scott wrote:
There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? Is it feasible to fit a larger battery, in a separate holder? I.e. a C or D cell, holder, two bits of wire, spot of hot-melt? I would also suggest you turn up with some bizarre tool to fix it. Angle grinder, chicken bones tied to a stick, grease gun, ... just to keep up your reputation. Thomas Prufer |
#38
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Mad question about electric clock
On Sat, 01 Dec 2018 10:12:21 +0100, Thomas Prufer
wrote: On Fri, 30 Nov 2018 16:16:40 +0000, Scott wrote: There is a radio controlled clock at my former workplace. As I installed it, I am still getting the blame that it is not working. I'll check the battery voltage but it does seem to me that the battery life is disappointing. Should I fit a lithium primary cell? Is it feasible to fit a larger battery, in a separate holder? I.e. a C or D cell, holder, two bits of wire, spot of hot-melt? I would also suggest you turn up with some bizarre tool to fix it. Angle grinder, chicken bones tied to a stick, grease gun, ... just to keep up your reputation. Very tempting. Plus a hard hat of course. |
#39
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Mad question about electric clock
On Sat, 01 Dec 2018 10:14:51 +0000, Scott wrote:
Very tempting. Plus a hard hat of course. Er ... you do know that some PCs and some laptops have hardware such that playing an (inaudible) sound file close to a radio clock will set it to an arbitrary time and date? At least there are sounds for DCF at 44 kHz, enter date&time on online site, d/l sound, play it. Also, arduinos etc can send at these low frequncies, enough to affect clocks at short range. Programs downloadable from the great interweb. Just academic information:-) Thomas Prufer |
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