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Clock Question

J

Jim Thompson

Jan 1, 1970
0
Anyone have an idea how one might output their PC clock information
though the serial (or USB) port?

My PC clock is NIST-synchronized and it would be nice to have a wall
clock with that accuracy.

...Jim Thompson
 
S

Sir Charles W. Shults III

Jan 1, 1970
0
A simple method would be to write a Basic or C utility to interrogate
the system clock and output the time string through the port in whatever
format you choose..

Cheers!

Chip Shults
 
B

Bill Garber

Jan 1, 1970
0
: Anyone have an idea how one might output their PC clock
information
: though the serial (or USB) port?
:
: My PC clock is NIST-synchronized and it would be nice to have a
wall
: clock with that accuracy.

How about this? Once a day look at the computer and
set your clock. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry Jim, I just couldn't resist it, and if I had
a clue I would tell you, honestly I would. 8)

Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprizez };-)
Web Site - http://garberstreet.netfirms.com
Email - [email protected]
Remove - SPAM and X to contact me
 
S

scada

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim Thompson said:
Anyone have an idea how one might output their PC clock information
though the serial (or USB) port?

My PC clock is NIST-synchronized and it would be nice to have a wall
clock with that accuracy.

...Jim Thompson

You could write a VB script to poll the Datepart: Time(), or Now(). Send it
to the serial port though MSComm, as a byte or a sync pulse.
 
R

Russell Shaw

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim said:
Anyone have an idea how one might output their PC clock information
though the serial (or USB) port?

My PC clock is NIST-synchronized and it would be nice to have a wall
clock with that accuracy.

date > /dev/ttyS0
 
P

Peter O. Brackett

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim:

"Nice to have a clock with that accuracy... Heh, heh..."

Seems like you have a yen for clock accuracy...

Jim, to really appreciate what it means to be an amateur with a "yen" for
accuracy you should visit...

http://www.leapsecond.com

You will be impressed...
 
M

Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim said:
In Analog language this means what ???

Analog it ain't. If I remember my UNIX days, that command redirects the
OS's date function to the serial port. Beats me what you'd do with it then.
 
M

Martin Riddle

Jan 1, 1970
0
Do you dislike WWV?

www.klockit.com have some Atomix clocks fairly cheap.

Other wise you'd need to parse a serial string sent out from a vb script or a plain old windos app. Cable length of usb would be too
short for most clock locations. Blue tooth would be nice tho (c;

Cheers
 
P

petrus bitbyter

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim Thompson said:
Anyone have an idea how one might output their PC clock information
though the serial (or USB) port?

My PC clock is NIST-synchronized and it would be nice to have a wall
clock with that accuracy.

...Jim Thompson

Jim,

It's easy to write a program that, receiving a message via the serial port,
gets the system time and sends it back. So you need to get (build) a clock
that is relatively accurate on its own and sends a message every now and
then, receives the system time of the computer and synchronises itself
accordingly. The message can be a byte (a special one like a question mark
or a random one) or even a pulse pulling a modem control line of the serial
port. I'd use a micro containing a UART (PIC or any brand you like) and
clock it with a clock x-tal from an old watch or something like that. If you
like it a more oldfashioned way, you still need a UART. But you can build
the clock using (synchronous) counters with a parallel load. A carry
pulse - from the tens minutes counter or instance - can be used to activate
the computer. That has to send the time bytes in BCD. Shift them in a shift
register and load them into the counters when the last one has been
received.

petrus
 
G

Gary Richardson

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim Thompson said:
Anyone have an idea how one might output their PC clock information
though the serial (or USB) port?

My PC clock is NIST-synchronized and it would be nice to have a wall
clock with that accuracy.

...Jim Thompson

www.atomictime.com
 
C

Chuck Harris

Jan 1, 1970
0
Uhmm? Go to costco, and buy their WWVL synchronized wall clock
for $17?

-Chuck Harris
 
G

Gregg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi Jim,

I too sync my computer using NTP.

A few lines of Perl should do you bud :)
 
M

Mike

Jan 1, 1970
0
Anyone have an idea how one might output their PC clock information
though the serial (or USB) port?

My PC clock is NIST-synchronized and it would be nice to have a wall
clock with that accuracy.

...Jim Thompson

I'm sure I could write you a program to do something like that pretty
quickly. The question is, what clock is going to read data from a serial
port?

An even more important question is, isn't it going to drive you nuts
knowing that any clock you drive from the serial port is going to be
milliseconds (yes, milliseconds, and probably many of them!) off target?

Just think about it. You'll end up sitting in your rocking chair, staring
at the clock, thinking, "Damn, that last tick should have happened
earlier... damn, that one too... damn, that one too... damn, that one
too..."

In the morning, your wife will find that you've spontaneously combusted,
and all that's left is your slippers, part of your robe, and what many
people will come to believe was simply an urban legend all along.

"Jim Thompson? Hell, son, he's like Bob Widlar. He never really existed,
it's just a bunch of stories that got handed down through generations of
engineers."

Is that what you really want, Jim? Even your kids would begin to believe
the legend after a while. One day, your daughter would recount the story of
how you died: "Well, dad had bought this JATO rocket at the swap meet, and
he welded it to his old Impala one day... You can still see the hole in the
side of South Mountain where he augered in."

Trust me. What you want is a Westclox Big Ben. They're simple. They're
cheap. They're probably not made any more. But I'm sure you can find one on
Ebay. They need to be reset every week. But who cares? You'll never look at
one of them and say, "Damn, that last tick should have happened earlier..."

-- Mike --
 
G

Garrett Mace

Jan 1, 1970
0
Trust me. What you want is a Westclox Big Ben. They're simple. They're
cheap. They're probably not made any more. But I'm sure you can find one on
Ebay. They need to be reset every week. But who cares? You'll never look at
one of them and say, "Damn, that last tick should have happened earlier..."

-- Mike --

You should have clicked "Send" a lot earlier.

(couldn't resist)
 
R

Richard Crowley

Jan 1, 1970
0
"Mike" wrote ...
I'm sure I could write you a program to do something like that pretty
quickly. The question is, what clock is going to read data from a serial
port?

An even more important question is, isn't it going to drive you nuts
knowing that any clock you drive from the serial port is going to be
milliseconds (yes, milliseconds, and probably many of them!) off target?

You can write the software to take any time delays into account.
You can even compensate for the speed of light from the display
to Mr. Thompson's retinas (including the delay through his optic
nerves to his cereberal cortex. Of couse, it will be *slightly* off
for others! :)
 
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