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Thank you very much; this is a very detailed post that covers several things I was wholly unaware of. One minor gripe: > However, what's perhaps more useful is

Thank you very much; this is a very detailed post that covers several things I was wholly unaware of. One minor gripe: > However, what's perhaps more useful is that the Navy continues to offer a telephone time service (202-762-1401) while NIST does not. NIST also has a phone # service, but regardless, I'm struggling to think of a scenario where dialing a phone # would be more useful and/or accurate than any other method. I haven't called a number to set my clock since the '90s.

ignoramous 7y ago
In the 2000s, we set clock from cable TV news channels that displayed time on-screen.
- mikeryan 7y ago
  In the 80s we called POPCORN (767-2676) to get the current time. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/remember-when-you-could-call-the-time/488273/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/remem...
  - dylan604 7y ago
    In the 80s it was also very common for local banks to provide a number that would provide time. It was also common for the sign outside the bank to have a clock attached as well. "At the tone the time will be..."
    - jcrawfordor 7y ago
      A somewhat surprising number of these services still exist, mostly just because it's very inexpensive to offer them now.
  - jrnichols 7y ago
    I remember doing this a lot as a kid! and was sad to see so many of them going away. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-aug-29-fi-lazarus29-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-aug-29-fi-lazar...
michaelt 7y ago
NIST also provides "Automated Computer Time Service" [1] where you can call by modem to get an ASCII time code. It supports baud rates between 9600 and 300. And the best part? It gets 2,000 calls a day. [1] https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/services/automated-computer-time-service-acts https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/service...
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  > It gets 2,000 calls a day. I would absolutely love to hear from these folks as to what these systems are.
- exikyut 7y ago
  This thread is a tad old now so this link is primarily for posterity, but I couldn't not share this elsewhere: https://www.reddit.com/r/retrocomputing/comments/f2i9s4/have_a_300_to_9600_baud_modem_til_nist_has_run_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/retrocomputing/comments/f2i9s4/have...?
  - exikyut 7y ago
    Can't edit the above comment now, but I just noticed the link got misinterpreted by an Arc bug - I'd rapidly copy-pasted "https...til_nist_has_run_a/?", the link had a questionmark on the end. So I'm not asking a question :)
jcrawfordor 7y ago
Yeah, for some reason I thought the NIST had ended that service but evidently it hasn't. That's a bit amusing since there is discussion of ending the shortwave radio service which is significantly more important than the telephone service, although admittedly much more costly to maintain. Fortunately, so far, WWV/WWVH/WWVB have survived the budget process despite a pseudo-decision having been made to end the service. We'll see how long that continues.

ignoramous 7y ago

In the 2000s, we set clock from cable TV news channels that displayed time on-screen.

mikeryan 7y ago
In the 80s we called POPCORN (767-2676) to get the current time. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/remember-when-you-could-call-the-time/488273/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/06/remem...
- dylan604 7y ago
  In the 80s it was also very common for local banks to provide a number that would provide time. It was also common for the sign outside the bank to have a clock attached as well. "At the tone the time will be..."
  - jcrawfordor 7y ago
    A somewhat surprising number of these services still exist, mostly just because it's very inexpensive to offer them now.
- jrnichols 7y ago
  I remember doing this a lot as a kid! and was sad to see so many of them going away. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-aug-29-fi-lazarus29-story.html https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-aug-29-fi-lazar...

michaelt 7y ago

NIST also provides "Automated Computer Time Service" [1] where you can call by modem to get an ASCII time code. It supports baud rates between 9600 and 300. And the best part? It gets 2,000 calls a day. [1] https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/services/automated-computer-time-service-acts https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/service...

toomuchtodo 7y ago
> It gets 2,000 calls a day. I would absolutely love to hear from these folks as to what these systems are.
exikyut 7y ago
This thread is a tad old now so this link is primarily for posterity, but I couldn't not share this elsewhere: https://www.reddit.com/r/retrocomputing/comments/f2i9s4/have_a_300_to_9600_baud_modem_til_nist_has_run_a/ https://www.reddit.com/r/retrocomputing/comments/f2i9s4/have...?
- exikyut 7y ago
  Can't edit the above comment now, but I just noticed the link got misinterpreted by an Arc bug - I'd rapidly copy-pasted "https...til_nist_has_run_a/?", the link had a questionmark on the end. So I'm not asking a question :)

jcrawfordor 7y ago

Yeah, for some reason I thought the NIST had ended that service but evidently it hasn't. That's a bit amusing since there is discussion of ending the shortwave radio service which is significantly more important than the telephone service, although admittedly much more costly to maintain. Fortunately, so far, WWV/WWVH/WWVB have survived the budget process despite a pseudo-decision having been made to end the service. We'll see how long that continues.