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By kessmann1
#6612
Develop a device which will broadcast the correct time to all electronic devices in the home after a power outage and at Daylight Savings time changes. The receiving devices would include VCR's, DVR's, ovens, TV's, alarm clocks, coffee makers, pool pumps, spas, setback thermostats, sprinkler systems, burgler alarm systems, phone answering machine, etc. The source of the correct time could be a cheap GPS time receiver or a sattelite TV receiver. The broadcast medium would be wireless or the electric power cables.

Reward: Implementation of the idea.
User avatar
By Steve
#6645
Radio-controlled clocks have been around for quite some time, but somehow the never seem to have made it to the devices you mentioned (at least not that I know of). Anyway, that would be on approach - the other one, I guess, would be bluetooth... :-?
By kessmann1
#6651
The biggest problem is that each device needs to have the capability
to receive the time message. Better than nothing would be Infrared
Eyes that would receive the time signal from a device similar to a
TV remote control. Simply aim the remote at the target and press
the Time Set button to send the IR time signal.
By w_eley
#6763
I may be mistaken but i beleie that this technology is already present in many house hold products available today. I think some can be set to adjust for correct time every day and after recovering from lost power. I think there is a global signal that you can tap into that is available to everyone. I will do a little research and let you know for sure.
By w_eley
#6764
There is a website for the national institute for standards and technology (NIST) that has some detail about there atomic clock and the transmission from colorado on the frequency of 60 KHZ with the standard time. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question461.htm
this site has a concse statment describing how it works
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By Steve
#6767
w_eley, have you seen this somewhere in VCRs or coffee makers? I'm aware of the signal and the wall clocks that can receive it, but I didn't see a broader range of household equipment where it was implemented. :-?
By kessmann1
#6772
Obtaining the correct time is not the major issue. The National Institute of Science and Technology in Boulder, Colorado broadcasts
time by radio, telephone, and the internet. In addition, NTIS monitors the GPS sattelites and measures the deviations in time
between the sattelites and the official NTIS time. See

http://www.boulder.nist.gov

for all the details.

As I have said in a previous post, the major problem is getting the
devices such as VCRs, DVRs, coffee makers, etc., to be capable
of receiving the time signal whatever the broadcast method. This issue is reiterated by Steve.

I talked about fitting the devices with Infrared eyes as one possible
method of solving the problem.
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