atomic self-setting clocks

Within five minutes of opening the package from Amazon I had this clock set, synchronized and on the wall. The set up was not at all difficult or complicated as it took me less than a minute. I live in the Chicago area and the signal was picked up within five minutes and the time was set. I have another atomic clock in the house and I was able to confirm that the time was accurate.

The silver color looks great in our living room which is a bit on the side of IKEA in design.

I'm very happy with this clock.

I bought 3 other atomic clocks (one as a gift), each for $20, and each required a less complicated procedure to set up than this one. So don't think you need to spend a lot to get an atomic clock. The better (or at least less expensive) one I'm referring to was by Lacrosse Technologies, and I bought it at a local store. I also like the way it looks although the materials are probably less expensive than this one. (But the second half doesn't fall off!)

There is a fairly elaborate procedure for setting up this clock. First, the hands must be set at about 10 minutes earlier than the actual time. Then a button on the back of it needs to be pressed once the second hand reaches the 12:00 position and again when it is one second past the minute hand. If the signal from NIST is being received properly, the clock will then automatically adjust to the correct time within a few minutes. If you don't live in a daylight savings time area, you must press and hold down the button on the back while inserting the battery. Otherwise, the clock will automatically adjust itself for daylight savings time.

Interestingly, one can even set the clock five or ten minutes fast.

Regardless of whether or not you already own a clock or watch, I think owning an atomic one is beneficial because you know it's always going to be accurate to a fraction of a second.