Power Grid Freq Variations To Be Allowed

[Mark Lloyd]

[snip]

Maybe you could leave one of those devices at a friend's house in another city and see if it runs fast there too.

[The Daring Dufas]

There are always the computer implant augmented brains to contend with in the future. I think Star Trek The Next Generation had some little folks called Binars who were computer experts because they had all sorts of computer parts implanted in their bodies. :-)

TDD

[The Daring Dufas]

I had the atomic clock for years which had a WWV radio receiver built in and the newer Sony clock radio set its time in some mysterious way. ^_^

TDD

[Kurt Ullman]

Okay, I've been good and have managed to keep myself under control. But I am officially breaking down under the strain of respectability and asking, when is the first time a person in the control room will turn to another and ask: "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" I feel MUCH better now.

[Robert Green]

First it's Casablanca references, then Dan Rather. Do you think you're in some arty-farty culture group?

(-:

I believe they said "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" when they beat him. My guess? Timecops, pre-punishing him for the Bush ANG debacle.

Back to reality: What bothers me most about the frequency thing is their attitude: "Let's just do it and see if anyone complains." Seems a little cavalier.

-- Bobby G.

-- Bobby G.

[Robert Green]

Ah yes! I remember the stunning brunette Minuette (sp?) on the holodeck who obviously found a materializer and a time machine and came back to Earth to be the psychiatrist on the Lawn Order series of procedural police dramas.

-- Bobby G.

[The Daring Dufas]

I started reading SciFi books when when I was a little kid and I've been hooked ever since. The episode was "11001001" and the babe on the holodeck who captivated Riker was "Minuet". That episode first aired in February of 1988, DANG! it's been a long time. ^_^

TDD

[Peter]

Thanks for the suggestion Lloyd. However, with 4 digital clocks behaving this way, I find it hard to believe that the clocks are at fault. I suspect the power line is despite the power company's failure to find problems here. Given that my power is provided by the infamous PEPCO, I don't exactly have faith in their reassurances. This is the same power company that caused me to waste $150 when I called them to report an open neutral in their supply and they told me to hire an electrician because they insisted that problem must be in my house. (The electrician confirmed my diagnosis and when PEPCO repaired the supply line, there wasn't a word of apology - or a refund/rebate of my electrician's bill.)

[Don Klipstein]

The difference between 60 and 60.5 Hz is 14 cents, to the nearest cent. There are 1200 cents in an octave, 100 in a semitone.

I have heard songs on the radio sounding sharp when they were played

2% fast - 34 cents. Those with good "perfect pitch" can hear if a whole musical performance is 14 cents off.

In comparison between two slightly different tones, 4 cents is often audible, 3 cents sometimes is. 3 cents is a frequency difference of .17%.

[larry moe 'n curly]

I think a lot of them did it only to get free equipment or maybe a monthly stipend. Actually I don't know if the GI Bill paid stipends for courses by mail. One of my father's buddies mentioned ending up with a bunch of Heathkits, including a big TV (big for the time), but another friend went with a differnet company that furnished a line of kits that weren't nearly as good. (something about the TV failing every month, just after becoming very bright and smelling like tar). My father didn't major in electronics or engineering but did manage to design and build a digital clock from TTL chips. He hated its LED display so much that he bought a second Heathkit clock.

[krw]

>

Yep. That's why I said "Right.". They were IBM design engineers, not likely to take up TV repair for a career but the "free" TV was worth their time. They would sit around the office and "dry lab" the tests needed to get the next part. There were a dozen of so of them, including my manager.

I think they did originally, then dropped that. Or it may have been means tested.

I never liked digital clocks so never bothered making one.