Posted by swistle on 29th August 2012
Categories: At the office, Electronics, House & Home
7 comments
We have an atomic clock at our house that has been the cause of a certain level of DISPUTE. The problem is that about once per month, it checks in with its radar thingie and comes back with an utterly wrong time/date. I consider that a reasonable frequency for errors. I glance at the clock in the morning, I immediately grasp that 11:27 PM FEB 2004 is not correct, and I change it to the right time. I go on with life, unscarred by the experience.
Paul, though. Paul feels this clock is in violation of the sacred oath of time-keepers. A clock that is EVER WRONG must be THROWN AWAY. An atomic clock, because it has access to the correct information but chooses not to use it, must be publicly shamed and THEN thrown out.
I have fished the clock out of the trash twice. Perhaps it is time to research a replacement.
Before I get to the severely limited options, here’s a picture of almost exactly the clock we have: it’s a Sharp atomic clock (photo from Amazon.com) that shows time, day, date, and temperature. The one I’m linking to shows indoor and outdoor temperature; ours only shows indoor. I don’t need the outdoor temperature (in fact, I’d prefer NOT to have it; we’ve gone through a dozen such devices, so I don’t want a notoriously glitchy feature on a clock), but I do like having day and date and indoor temperature.
Because we’ve had some trouble with our clock, I first searched “atomic clock” and then sorted the results by average consumer review. This gorgeous Infinity Instruments Retro clock (photo from Amazon.com) was one of the first results. Immediately I dropped my date/temperature preferences (I WILL TRADE EVERYTHING FOR THAT SHADE OF AQUA)—only to find that this clock is not an atomic clock at all. Thanks, Amazon search results!
This LaCrosse option (photo from Amazon.com) is so similar to the clock we have, I went and double-checked to make sure ours is a Sharp. (It is.) The reviews sound like this has similar problems: occasional misfiring of the automatic time adjustments.
I like the look of the LaCrosse Analog clock (photo from Amazon.com) significantly better than the rectangular one we have now. But looking at the reviews, what I’m understanding is that an atomic clock that never glitches doesn’t exist. A perfect LOCATION for an atomic clock might exist, but the clock itself is submissive to its environment. It feels pretty dim to replace an atomic clock with another one that will have the same issue.
Perhaps the answer is to get a non-atomic one. The atomic nature of the clock hasn’t been THAT awesome. And then I could get the aqua one!
Honey has a penchant for timepieces only he can read, usually sold through ThinkGeek.
I love the Aqua clock, too. Although I recently purchased a silver clock for the kitchen from the Target dorm section for $6 full price. And I am very pleased with how it looks on the wall.
Misty | August 29th, 2012 at 1:00 pm
The atomic clock I had never got anything right either. WTH atomic clock people? I’ll skip that little bit of useless technology from now on.
Let us know what you choose!
Amanda | August 29th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Get the Swistle-colored one. I wish I had some place to put that clock in my house. Beautiful!
Renèe | August 29th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
My alarm clock isn’t atomic (I don’t think?) but it gets its time automatically from somewhere. Out in space, I assume. At any rate, it is constantly, always, even after being unplugged and plugged back in, 14 minutes fast. I have learned to mentally adjust the time in my head, but it is frustrating and discouraging to do so. Get it together, space!
lillowen | August 29th, 2012 at 6:37 pm
I own the aqua one and I LOVE it!!!! It is such a fun pop of color and is quite reto and hip. Just like me. I say go for it!
KateB | August 29th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
I still feel a little guilty that we gave our atomic clock to Goodwill instead of throwing it in the trash. I feel bad that someone probably spent money on it and it messed with their life like it did with mine! I once woke up at “6 AM” (it was dark but it is always dark in Winter at 6AM.) and showered, got dressed went out to the kitchen to get some coffee and it was 2AM. TWO O’CLOCK in the MORNING! That was the day I went to Target and bought a nice normal clock for my bedside.
Deedee | August 29th, 2012 at 11:45 pm
I love atomic clocks and I love the feeling of being precisely on the correct time, geek much? My problem with atomic clocks…. We have had two they both displayed the time, date, and indoor/outdoor temp. I *need* to know the temperature outside so I can exclaim ‘Its freezing outside, put on your coat’ and know that I am correct. Anyways, after about a year of use the digital display gradually disappeared. Eventually I was left with a blank clock and no idea of the temperature outside. Haven’t bought another one since and I check the temperature on my phone. I check the time and date on my phone as well for that matter.
Kara | August 31st, 2012 at 1:24 pm