Clocks

[gadget300]

My old school we used to have nearly 200 clocks, mainly radio controlled ended up taking too long to collect them and take them to the quad so they could get a good signal along with a battery change and ended up change them back to normal if they failed

[HarleyPete]

As many have said, radio controlled clocks only work where you get a clear signal. To give and example, we have a playground radio controlled clock which required the receiver to be up above the roof line to pick up the signal accurately. The clock was on the wrong side of a building which had loads of metal framework in it. This was the third clock, first was powered but manual set, second was radio and just didn't work even after a total rebuild, the third now in use is the one I put the receiver on a pole above the roofline. Personally, most teachers have a phone or pc in the room, why not look at it. We've even had our class change bells stopped so they don't ring anymore. Anyway, they always complain they are wrong by their phone/watch/crystal ball. I used to set all the clocks using my G-shock watch which was synchronised every morning around 2am, even then there were complaints about them being slow or fast.

[Vera]

Just as a contrast,
We use mainly radio clocks and the vast majority have no issues with signal.
The exceptions are because they are near to the WIFI repeaters or other electronic equipment.
There is probably 2 or 3 in the whole school that need to be taken down and put in the window for an hour or so to reset.

Of course some of the CO's bring in their own "novelty" clocks and then complain that they are the wrong time..

[Keyolder]

We have a playground clock that is radio controlled and viewable from the school entrance. As I was on gate duty in the mornings, I would wait a few minutes for the stragglers then return the gates to remote activation. One particular parent who was continually late always complained to me that the clock was 5 minutes fast, I explained many times it was radio controlled and accurate to one second per day. She would not accept this and complained to the HT about it.

After yet another morning confrontation with this parent I noticed she had her mobile in her hand, check the time on your mobile I suggested. After a confused pause she said the battery was flat even though she was viewing the screen at the time…

[Dunroamin]

We’ve a mix of radio controlled and battery clocks here. Nothing much I can do with the radio controlled other than a battery change and maybe sit it on the window bottom for a while to reset. The battery clocks, when either changing a battery or switching between GMT/BST, I always ask if the CO in that room wants it set to correct time, 5 minutes fast or 5 minutes slow. The ‘setting’ time coming from my Garmin watch.

[Cherryf1]

Unsure what make ours are but they are battery operated and work good

[TheTaker]

Left the radio controlled ones as they never work properly slowly going back to good old fashioned Aylesbury clock

[Keyolder]

I worked as an assistant in a very large comprehensive school when I started in this job way back in the dark ages. As I was a bit mechanically and electrically aware I was given the job of looking after the master pulse clock.

It was an electric powered (with battery backup) pendulum clock, highly accurate and sent a pulse out every minute to all the slave clocks throughout the school buildings. When the school was quiet you could hear the click echo around the building as the pulse was received and the clocks responded.

I had the job of setting the Dst and Bst times, I would stop the master clock for 1 hour or advance it by pressing the advance button 60 times. I would adjust the time late on a Friday evening and got one hours overtime for it, although it only took a few minutes in total to complete.

[thecaretaker]

Did you know? All the railway clocks in Switzerland, the second hand stops on the 12 for one second while they receive the correct time from HQ. Every clock on the network is synchronised. Thought I'd just throw that in