Click here to return to Atomic Time Watch Instructions Page

Sync Time Watch Instructions

Analog Atomic Watch

Our innovated timepieces incorporate a miniature antenna and advanced receiver technology to intercept the U.S. government’s time signal, broadcast from the WWVB radio station in Ft. Collins, CO. by the National Institute of Standards and Technology – NIST (www.NIST.gov).

Your watch automatically sets itself and precisely synchronizes with the NIST time signal each day. Our technology also performs internal checks to calibrate the quartz oscillator and maintains extraordinary accuracy, even when the signal is not received every day. This feature ensures continued accuracy and synchronization even when traveling outside North America. These watches will always be more precise than ordinary quartz watches.

OPERATION:

Time: Your watch shows hours, minutes, and seconds. Your watch comes set to Pacific Time; if you live in a different time zone, you will have to reset the watch to your applicable time zone.

Date: To show the date, push the crown briefly and release it. You will see the second hand move quickly, briefly halt at the 12 o’clock or 6 o’clock position, and then stop at the current date position. If your watch does not have a dedicated date scale 1 to 31 just take the seconds scale. The second hand remains in this position until the actual time has caught up.

Setting the Time Zone
Pull the crown (2 clicks) and turn it clockwise to advance the hour hand one full hour at a turn. You need to turn once for Mountain, twice for Central, and 3 times for Eastern Time. Then push in the crown again.
In this way, you can also change to any time zone in the world. Our technology maintains the accuracy of the minutes and seconds while traveling outside the U.S., as your watch will not receive the signal outside the continental U.S.

NOTE: You can only adjust the hour hand forward, not backward. So if you need to adjust x hours back you would need to turn 12 – x times clockwise.
NOTE: The date in your watch will change at midnight Pacific Time.

Reception Check: Your watch will automatically search for a signal at 1:00am local time every day. However, if you want to ensure that your watch has received the signal, do the following: press the crown once and release quickly. If the second hand pauses at the 12 before going to the date, the signal has been received. If the second hand pauses at the 6, this indicates that the last reception attempt was not successful. For a better chance of catching the signal, place your watch in a window, preferably facing towards Colorado, and leave it overnight. The watch does not need a successful reception every day in order to stay accurate to the second.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

Your watch is a very delicate and precise instrument. Although uncommon, sometimes hard knocks or vibrations can cause the hands to move irregularly, and therefore display the incorrect time, although the internal clock is keeping accurate time. You may notice this if your date is incorrect, or if when checking for a successful reception and the second hand does not pause at exactly the 12 or 6. The 12 o’clock reference point has changed and the watch needs to be re-calibrated.
To re-calibrate:
Push and hold the crown firmly. The second hand moves and stops 3 times (for internal checks). DO NOT LET GO. Continue to hold the crown until the hands start to move quickly (You will need to wait about 10 seconds). Now release the crown.
All hands will now move fast to 12:00 Pacific time. (1:00 Mountain, 2:00 Central, 3:00 Eastern)

A: If second and minute hands stop at exactly 12 o’clock:
Do not press the crown again. Your watch is not de-calibrated. It is now looking for the signal from the U.S. atomic clock. After it obtains a signal, the hands will move automatically to the correct time.
B: If second and minute hands do not stop at exactly 12 o’clock:
The second and minute hands need to be moved to the 12 o’clock position.
Press and release the crown once and the second hand will move 1 second at a time.
If the hands are far from the 12 o’clock position, press and hold the crown for about 4 seconds and the hands will go into a fast steady movement. To stop the fast movement, press the crown once. Stop the fast movement early enough before the second hand reaches the 12 o’clock position, and then move the second hand once at a time (by quicly pressing and releasing the crown) until the hands are pointing to 12 o’clock exactly.
After all the hands are at the 12 o’clock position, do not press the crown again; let the watch set itself to the correct time. If you accidentally go past 12, you will have to go all the way around again, so be cautious.
Now the watch initiates a reception and after receiving a time protocol, the watch will set itself to the correct time in your time zone.
NOTE: If you had to start the above process a second time (due to passing the 12 o’clock point), you must advance the hour hand by pulling the crown and turning it 11 hours. (This corrects the AM/PM internal setting so that the date shown is correct)