INTRODUCTION

Every clock's speed is different from the standard. If the clock speed is known and remains constant, it is possible to adjust it at any time and maintain a very high degree of accuracy. The clock speed can be determined quite accurately if the measurement is averaged over a long time.

On a personal computer it is possible to apply system clock corrections at convenient times and achieve accuracy that is much better than that of clocks normally provided. The CLOCKWORK utility performs a system clock adjustment automatically at startup if invoked by the AUTOEXEC.BAT or at any other time if run manually or called by some other program.

Clockwork v5.50 automatically adjusts the clock drift, changes from daylight saving to standard, to local time or to Universal time, or changes time zone when traveling, all without losing the time setting. Makes it easy to set the system time accurately using any kind of audio-visual time signal, or does it by dialing the NIST atomic clock. Clockwork measures the clock drift and calculates the necessary correction.  The clock drift measurement is refined over time and the average accuracy can be one second per week or better.  Clock correction data is stored in a data file and a complete log of clock adjustments is kept in a history file, if desired.  Calculates time between dates and converts time to Julian or Julian Decimal.

PROGRAM FEATURES

• Automatic adjustment of the system clock with a very high degree of accuracy - one second per week is achievable!
• System clock adjustment by entering the amount of correction.
• Switch between Daylight, Standard, Universal and Local Meridian time as well as change of time zone while traveling across time zones and date line.
• Display of Julian day and day of the week for any date.
• Days between dates calculator. The values entered are preserved for editing or reuse.
• A menu system for easy setup and use.
• Time setting with accuracy of 1/18 second in spite of the "Real Time Clock" resolution of 1 second (type 2 systems).
• Easy and accurate comparison of system time to a standard, easy generation of the adjustment value.
• Selection of screen color for better readability on different displays.
• On line help.
• Conversion from unregistered to registered installation. Elimination of shareware messages and delays by entering a registration code.
• Recording of system clock adjustment history, if desired.

Each of these steps takes only a few seconds to accomplish. After step 2, automatic adjustments reduce the clock drift dramatically. Repeating step 3 can provide the long term accuracy of up to one second per month!

ClockWork accessories:

CWKMODEM.EXE

If you have a modem you can use the Automated Computer Time Service provided by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. The process of comparing the computer system time to the atomic clock standard is now much easier and more accurate. Simply click on the menu item and sit back! Yes, every computer can have a super accurate system clock now! To enjoy the benefits of exact system time, fill out the Order Form and send for your copy of ClockWork!

CLOCKWORK maintains a super accurate system clock without a modem and long distance calls and without any other costly hardware. Copyright (c) 1992 by Pavel Otavsky, 26 Barberry Hill, Woodstock, Vermont 05091-1269

CLOCKWORK consists of two files: CWK49.DOC and CWK.EXE.

GENERAL NOTES

There are no special system requirements. The program can be installed on the hard drive or a startup diskette. It can be invoked by a batch file that is run occasionally. It can be used every day or once a month. There is no limit on the amount of clock adjustment. After a long time it will simply apply a larger correction. Ambient temperature and computer case temperature effects will be averaged over a long time.

This program is not a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident). It only corrects the clock when you want it. It does not use any memory or processor time when not being used.

Once you begin using this utility, do not set the clock by using the DOS commands TIME and DATE or any other utility or shell programs. Those adjustments would not be accounted for! Also, for the same reason, do not adjust the battery clock by the clock setting utility on type 1 systems. No matter how far off the battery clock is, CLOCKWORK will adjust the system clock correctly. (Read more under Troubleshooting.)

Following are some of the ways of obtaining a time signal. Shortwave radio WWV or WWVH on 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20 MHz or CHU on 3.33, 7.335, 14.67 MHz. Many short wave radio stations give time signal on the hour (e.g. BBC World Service). WWV or WWVH can be also heard by telephone: (303) 499-7111 or (808) 335-4363, respectively. The U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C. time signal number is (202) 653-1800, or (900) 410-8463. Many areas have local telephone numbers that give time, but the accuracy may not be always guaranteed. Many AM and FM radio stations and TV stations come on air with amazing accuracy and could be used as a time signal of sorts. Some of them even give exact time explicitly. Of all these, the U.S. Naval Observatory time service has the best format for use with CLOCKWORK, with voice announcements every five or ten seconds, a beep every second and different tone for every fifth second.

Downloading

CLOCKWORK 5.5 can be found on the SimTel depository and its mirrors. The link to is is: ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/clocks/clkwrk55.zip. The size of the file is 111114 bytes

clkwrk55.zip    Clockwork: Adjusts drift, std/dst, dials NIST

Special requirements: DOS, Win3, or Win95/98.

Changes: NIST dial-up added as standard, minor bugs fixed.

clkwrk55.zip has replaced clkwrk54.zip.

Shareware.  Uploaded by the author.

Pavel Otavsky, Barberry Hill Software and Engineering

Email: otavsky@sover.net

/ Time Software