Junghans Atomic Watches: FAQ and
Troubleshooting
· Why
should I consider an atomic (radio controlled) watch/clock?
· How do Junghans Atomic
clocks and watches work?
·
I
bought an atomic (radio controlled) watch in Europe. Does it work here in
North America?
·
Does
my atomic (radio controlled) watch work everywhere in North America?
·
If I travel overseas
can I use my watch?
·
How do I
find out what time zone my watch is set at?
·
How do I adjust the time zone?
·
My
watch does not show any of the North American time zones when pressing the
button at 10 or 2 o'clock.
·
Do I have to
adjust the date/month of my watch?
·
Do I have to
adjust my watch for daylight savings?
·
Will
my watch adjust itself when I travel from one time zone to another?
·
My
watch does not receive the synchronization signal. Why?
·
My watch is off by a few
seconds. Why?
·
Can
I find out when my atomic (radio controlled) watch was last
synchronized?
·
What
does this single digit mean? (see previous question)
·
When
is the atomic (radio controlled) watch synchronized?
·
Can I activate the
receiver manually?
·
Why
is there a difference between reception of signal during the day and
night?
·
What do I
do if my watch does not receive the signal?
·
My watch never gets the
signal. Why?
·
I
keep my watch in a safe. It does not receive a time signal.
·
I
am a retailer, located in a large shopping mall. I noticed that the
watches are not synchronized. Why?
·
My
watch behaves strangely. It displays the wrong date, time or is
otherwise not properly functioning. What do I do?
·
Why
is the display of my atomic watch constantly blinking?
·
After
I had my battery replaced, how do I set the watch?
·
If
I replace my battery do I have to adjust the hands of my atomic watch?
·
Where
can I find more information about atomic timekeeping in general?
· How water
resistant are Junghans watches?
· Where can I find
instruction manuals?
· How can I adjust
the ceramic bracelet?
·
I
saw a Junghans watch in Europe, but cannot find it on your website. How do
I get it?
· How
do I get my older Junghans clock/watch repaired?
·
Where can find more information about Junghans products outside the United
States?
Why
should I consider an atomic (radio controlled) watch/clock?
The accuracy of an atomic watch (radio controlled) watch/clock is
unprecedented and absolute. You will never have to adjust your watch
for Daylight Savings Time (DST) or bother with the date. This is
taken care of automatically by the synchronization signal.
How do Junghans Atomic
clocks and watches work?
All watches receive a radio
signal from the Caesium atomic, the world's most precise clock, accurate
to 1 second in 1 million years. The signal is encoded so that it can
be transmitted in long wave radio form. The signal originates from
the WWVB transmitter in Fort Collins, Colorado and is transmitted on a
frequency of 60 kHz.
The atomic watches contain an
antenna and internal program to receive and encode the radio signal.
It is then decoded to display the precise time. They maintain total
accuracy by automatic nightly updates with the radio signal.
Junghans watches and clocks may be manually updated by the user.
I
bought an atomic (radio controlled) watch in Europe. Does it work here in
North America?
It will only work as a regular
quartz watch. The transmitter frequencies between Europe and North
America are different.
Does
my atomic (radio controlled) watch work everywhere in North America?
The transmitter range is 1864
miles (radius) from Fort Collins, Colorado. Your watch will work in
most parts of the USA and Canada. The exceptions are Hawaii, Alaska,
part of the Maritimes and all of Newfoundland. In Newfoundland, the watch
cannot be used at all. At the present time, there is no way to
adjust the time zone to half hours. For actual signal coverage in North
America visit:
www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/stations/wwvbcoverage.htm
If I travel overseas
can I use my watch?
Yes, you can use your watch,
however not as an atomic (radio controlled) watch - but as a regular
quartz watch. You simply have to adjust your watch to the
appropriate time zone. (Push button at 10 o'clock to select time
zone) Make sure to select the appropriate "am" or
"pm" time to assure date change at midnight.
How do I
find out what time zone my watch is set at?
Press button located at 2
o'clock (ceramic watch only: press recessed button with a pointed
object.) You should see a letter P, M, C, E followed by a
number. The letters stand for: P=Pacific, M=Mountain, C=Central,
E=Eastern Time Zone. The number shows the actual hour the watch
displays at the moment. If your watch displays a number without any
of the letters, your watch is not set to any of the North American time
zones.
How do I adjust the time zone?
Press the recessed button at
10 o'clock until you see the letter appear for your time zone. You
might have to press this button repeatedly up to 23 times to arrive at
your time zone.
My
watch does not show any of the North American time zones when pressing the
button at 10 or 2 o'clock.
Simply keep on pressing the
button at 10 o'clock until you get the Pacific time zone (P). Now
choose your time zone (if other then "P") by pressing button
repeatedly.
Do I have to
adjust the date/month of my watch?
No, your watch adjusts itself
automatically - even in a leap year (February 29th) the watch will set
itself properly.
Do I have to
adjust my watch for daylight savings?
No. Your watch will adjust
itself overnight - provided it can receive the synchronization signal.
Will
my watch adjust itself when I travel from one time zone to another?
No. Your watch is not equipped
with a GPS system (global positioning system). You will have to
adjust the time zone yourself.
My
watch does not receive the synchronization signal. Why?
Make sure that your watch is
set to your time zone (see above). Your watch can only receive the
radio signal if it is set to one of the 4 North American time zones (P, M,
C, or E).
My watch is off by a few
seconds. Why?
Your watch is adjusted to run
on average within +/- 0.5 seconds in a 24 hour period as a regular quartz
watch. Most likely, your watch did not receive a signal for some
time and was not synchronized with the atomic cesium clock in Colorado.
Can
I find out when my atomic watch (radio controlled) watch was last
synchronized?
Yes. Simply press the
button at 2 o'clock and hold for 10 sec. After approx. 3 seconds, your
hands will start to move to the 12 o'clock position. A double 00
appears in the LCD display. After 7-8 seconds, a single digit
appears (0-9). Within 9 minutes the watch resumes normal operation.
To return to the saved internal time, press the 2 o'clock button.
What
does this single digit mean? (see previous question)
If the displayed number is
"0" (zero) your watch received the signal within the last 24
hours and your watch is synchronized. A number of 1, 2, 3, etc.
means that your watch did not receive the signal for 1, 2, 3 days.
The number 9 means that your watch was not synchronized for at least 9
days (perhaps more).
When
is the atomic (radio controlled) synchronized?
Your watch is programmed to
receive the signal during the night (starting at 11 pm) on the hour for 9
minutes. If the watch does not receive the signal during the first
attempt, it will try again (for 9 minutes) at 12 o'clock and so on during
the whole night. Once the signal is received, the receiver shuts
down until the next night in order to save battery power.
Can I activate the
receiver manually?
Yes. Simply press the button
at 2 o'clock and hold for 3 seconds. The hands will go to the 12
o'clock position and stay there for 9 minutes. The receiver is now
manually activated. If the signal is not received within 9 minutes,
the watch will go back to the time which was previously displayed.
Why
is there a difference between reception of signal during the day and
night?
There is a lot of
"electronic pollution" especially during working hours in urban
areas. Many factors can affect the reception of the signal such as
cell phones, computers, faxes, satellite dishes, etc. The watch is
subject to such interferences similar to a cell phone. During
the night, the "electronic pollution" is greatly reduced.
What do I
do if my watch does not receive the signal?
Make sure that the watch is
not placed beside or on top of an electronic device which
might interfere with the reception.
For best reception conditions:
Place watch on it's back near window (preferably on a window sill) with
the 12:00 facing towards the transmitter station in Boulder, CO.
My watch never gets the
signal. Why?
Make sure you have a watch
made for the North American market. Furthermore, make sure you are
within the range of the transmitter. Also check if you are living
near power lines, they can interfere with reception.
I
keep my watch in a safe. It does not receive a time signal.
Your safe does not just keep
burglars out but also the time signal. The metal casing acts as a
shield and prevents the signal from reaching the watch.
I
am a retailer, located in a large shopping mall. I noticed that the
watches are not synchronized. Why?
Most likely the watches did
not receive the synchronization signal for some time. Most shopping
malls have heavy duty steel roofs which shield your watches from the
signal. Also note, that the watches can interfere with each other if
they are kept very close together in you showcase or overnight in a safe.
My
watch behaves strangely. It displays the wrong date, time or is
otherwise not properly functioning. What do I do?
Perhaps the memory of the
watch is mixed up due to any number of factors. You have to wipe the
memory clean (hardware reset). Press and hold both buttons (at
2 and 10 o'clock) simultaneously for at least 4 seconds. The hands
will go back to 12 o'clock. The watch memory has now been cleared
and the watch is waiting to receive the signal. This can easily take
overnight - so, please be patient. Once your watch receives the
signal, it will be on to the proper time and date. However, the
watch will set itself to the Pacific time zone ("P") by
default. If necessary adjust to your time zone.
Why
is the display of my atomic watch constantly blinking?
You need a new battery.
Have a qualified watchmaker replace it or send it to the
national service center:
Providence Watch Hospital Inc.
Garden City Shopping Center
168 Hillside Rd.
Cranston, RI 02920
P: 1-877-203-0542
F: 1-401-944-6344
info@watchhospital.com
After I
had my battery replaced, how do I set the watch?
Replacing the battery is
the equivalent of a hardware reset. You simply have to wait
(probably overnight) until the watch receives the synchronization signal.
If
I replace my battery do I have to adjust the hands of my atomic watch?
No, the atomic
Junghans watches are equipped with an exclusive world wide patented system
which remembers the 12 o'clock position of the watch. See the
technical information for further details.
Where
can I find more information about atomic timekeeping in general?
Visit
www.boulder.nist.gov.
How water resistant are
Junghans watches?
Depending on the model,
Junghans watches are water resistant to 3 bar (30M/98ft.), 5 bar
(50M/164ft.) and 10 bar (100M/328ft.)
For water resistance details
and suitable use please click our
Where can I find
instruction manuals?
We had the following manuals in PDF format.
(download Adobe Acrobat to view
PDF files)
•
Junghans Atomic Watches
•
Junghans Solar Atomic Watches
•
Junghans Mega Atomic Watch
•
Eurochron Atomic Watches
•
Junghans Solar Watches
•
Junghans Max Bill
Watches
•
Junghans Atomic Clock
•
Eurochron Atomic Clock
•
Shortening the ceramic bracelet
I
saw a Junghans watch in Europe, but cannot find it on your website. How do
I get it?
Not all Junghans watches are
available in the United States, though all Junghans watches available in
the US can be found at Junghans USA.
How do I get
my older Junghans watch repaired?
Please contact Providence
Watch Hospital for all Junghans clock and watch repair and warrantee
questions:
Providence Watch Hospital Inc.
Garden City Shopping Center
168 Hillside Rd.
Cranston, RI 02920
P: 1-877-203-0542
F: 1-401-944-6344
info@watchhospital.com
Where can find more information about Junghans products outside the United
States?
Please contact Junghans
Germany at
information@junghans.de