The Casio Wave ceptors have brought the super accuracy of atomic time radio synchronization to some very affordable watches.
This model is in basic black and 'chrome', with a soft plastic band, plastic body, plated bezel. In this case plastic is not a bad thing, as it needs to allow radio waves to pass into the little bitty receiver built into the watch. It looks like a normal 'sport' watch, not a geek gadget, unless you examine it closely.
The features include the usual stopwatch, day/date display and alarm, it also has a place to set Time Zone, and a time-setting function that only works if the watch has not gotten a synch signal lately.
Magic Watch Setting Signals from The Sky
In the high country of Colorado, the US Government has a Really Powerful radio transmitter that continuously sends the current time, as measured by an ultra-accurate 'atomic clock'. Casio Wave Receptor watches have receivers built in to pick up this signal, and use it to set the watch to Dead On accuracy.
On this watch it automatically turns on the receiver every day at 1AM, and listens for the signal for a few minutes, then shuts off the receiver to conserve battery power. You can also press a button to start the receiving process manually. If it 'hears' the time signals, it sets the watch to the correct time for the time zone you have selected, and turns on a little 'synchronized' icon on the display to tell you how accurate it is.
The only drawback is if it cannot pick up the signal.
If you live in the Northeast, among other places, reception can be problematic, and there is no indication of if the watch is picking up a signal, other than if it sets the time and turns on the synchronized icon.
If it has been 3 or more days since it last heard the signal, the little synchronized icon is turned off, and you are free to set the watch manually.
There are plenty of tips as to where you might find the signal, I live in NYC, where I have to store the watch on the windowsill in my kitchen, where it gets a view of the southwest sky, and picks up the signal most nights. I was aided in finding this location by using the signal detection feature of a full-sized atomic clock.
My guess is that folks in New Hampshire and Maine shouldn't bother with this watch unless they are sure of getting a good signal from the NIST transmitters.
Quality and reliability:
This is a well-made piece, with the quality I’ve come to expect from Casio. So far it has not given me any problems. It works, and gives me geek-chic bragging rights without looking too geeky.
For more information on 'atomic clocks' visit the National Institute of Standards 'Time' website:
http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/stations/radioclocks.htm
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