Question about radio-controlled watches

jcat

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I managed to break my watch while taking down Christmas ornaments today (don't ask), and am thinking about getting a radio-controlled one, as I love the clocks we have like that. The thing is, I live in Europe, but spend about a month a year in the U.S.. Does anybody know if a German/European radio-controlled watch will work in the U.S.? We gave my parents a German radio-controlled clock years ago (a Braun), and that worked just fine in the U.S., but I'm wondering if that was an exception, or the rule? Who has one, and travels abroad?
Or should I get one that shows "World Time Zones", e.g., the current time in 48 cities across the world, just in case?
Another question: There's a Casio I really like, but the calendar is only "automatically programmed" till the end of 2009. What does that mean? That it will have to be reprogrammed, or that it will be "off" come 2010?
 
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jcat

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Hmmm, a couple of "hits", but no answers. Just in case anybody is interested, I did a bit of research today, and found out:
1) Most radio-controlled watches or clocks cease to be radio-controlled (but will still work) on another continent. However, certain models are made to respond to signals on two or more continents (I've ordered a Casio that will be radio-controlled in Europe, as well as North and parts of Central America).
2) If you get an analog radio-controlled watch, the dates have to be reset in leap years; a digital one gets the date from the radio signal.
 

joanne511

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Huh - I'd never heard of watches like that! I'll have to watch for them the next time I'm in the market for a watch.
 

mooficat

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ummm.... my DH thinks its a different "atomic clock" in US but not totally convinced
doesnt the supplier know ? like you mention they do the dual-signal ones.........oh fascinating .......keep us posted
 

anakat

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I had never heard of them either, I've just looked at them and there are some really nice ones. I know I am being 'thick' I understand about them keeping time by the radio signal but do you still have batteries to make them work or does the signal 'power' them?
 

katachtig

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Originally Posted by Anakat

I had never heard of them either, I've just looked at them and there are some really nice ones. I know I am being 'thick' I understand about them keeping time by the radio signal but do you still have batteries to make them work or does the signal 'power' them?
You still need batteries to power them. What the radio signal is doing is updating the time. A number of them check the signal once or twice a day, then update the time.
 
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jcat

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Yes, you need batteries, unless you get a solar-powered one (I had a very bad experience with an expensive one of those, so I'm not going to go that route again). We have radio-controlled clocks all over the house (and at work), and usually the time is checked, and adjusted, every hour. You don't have to worry about changing the clocks for DST, either - that's automatic.
I'm one of those people who can't wear most watches (they stop, or run slow or fast, and I have to have a rubber/silicon patch put on the back of the case so that they work), so I'm hoping this will be a good solution.
There are various atomic clocks around the world. Radio-controlled clocks/watches in Europe usually respond to atomic clocks in Britain and Germany; there are others in the U.S. and Japan, for example. Our kitchen clock is from Britain, and responds to that signal. It shows not only the time, but the weekday, date, and current phase of the moon. Plus the current room temperature, via a built-in sensor!
 

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Never heard of them either! When I read the title, I thought of the radio-controlled cars that the grandkids have and thought - well what the heck can you do with a radio-controlled watch? Does it run around while telling time?
 

katachtig

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Originally Posted by LokisMum

Never heard of them either! When I read the title, I thought of the radio-controlled cars that the grandkids have and thought - well what the heck can you do with a radio-controlled watch? Does it run around while telling time?
Cats would love chasing that.
 
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jcat

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Originally Posted by LokisMum

Never heard of them either! When I read the title, I thought of the radio-controlled cars that the grandkids have and thought - well what the heck can you do with a radio-controlled watch? Does it run around while telling time?
Sorry about that. I love "gadgets", and tend to experiment because I have so many savvy teenagers/twentysomethings to fall back on when I get myself in trouble with cell phones, MP3 players, computers, etc.. My students delight in being able to sort things out for their "dumb" teacher! School starts up again on Monday, so I won't have to make such posts again till around Easter.
 
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