WT-3102B 10-Inch WWVB Self-set Analog Wall Clock and automatic DST reset,Black/silver

Replacement for clock that was in operation for 25 years. This clock not only look elegant in our kitchen but it appears to be easier to set up and operate. It automatically set the proper time and (as I will find out in a few months) also automatically changes from regular time to daylight savings time and back again. Now, all I need to do is change the battery once a year.

Many 1 and 2 star reviews for this clock date back to 2007 and are outdated. Hopefully, a review can be up-voted enough to replace those outdated ones. Otherwise, all the old reviews are really doing La Crosse a big disservice. As of Sept. 2014, the La Crosse Technology WT-3102B has two switches in the back, one to set the timezone and the other to set DST on/off. There are also three buttons. Set, Wave, and Reset. Operation: When you first insert a AA battery, the clock will reset itself to 12:00. The clock will then begin to adjust itself to the correct time. - Set button -- This button is for manual time setting. Hold it for a few seconds and the minute hand will start to move. Press it and the minute hand will jump in minute increments. - Wave button -- Hold this button to force the clock to look for the Atomic clock signal. - Reset button -- Resets the clock to 12:00 and start again. Good: - COMPLETELY SILENT (not really, see update) -- When you first insert a battery. The clock resets itself to 12:00 and begins to increment the minute hand at high speed to get to the correct time. What you'll notice is that even though the clock gears are grinding at high speeds, you hear NOTHING. No ticks and no tocks to mock you on those insomniac nights. No being woken up at 2am because the clock is automatically adjusting itself for DST (I had a clock that did that. Scared the crap out of me). - Easy to use -- Insert the battery, hang it up, have a cup of coffee. - Peace of mind -- I bought three of these clocks to replace cheap clocks that were always going out of sync after just a few weeks. It's great to be able to look at the time and know that it is accurate. Bad: - Manual time adjust mode -- Having to hold a small button until the minute hand turns enough revolutions to get to the correct hour would be a real pain. Imagine having to do that for the "Fall back" adjustment. You'd need to hold the button long enough for the minute hand to turn 11 revolutions. I believe you'd have to hold the button for a full 3 minutes for that. Stay away from this clock if you aren't able to receive the atomic radio signal. Tip: Be patient. If it doesn't seem like the clock is working correctly, don't pull the battery or hit reset to try it again. Just leave it on the wall and the clock will wait for the signal and adjust itself correctly. When I first inserted the battery and hung the clock up, it started moving the minute hand rapidly, and after about 3 minutes of turning, it came back to 12:00 and stayed there. I thought it wasn't working and hit reset, pulled the battery etc. Each time, the clock tried to adjust itself, but always came back to 12:00 and stopped. I decided to just leave the clock on the wall and after a couple of minutes, the clock received the signal and adjusted itself to the correct time. Update: Working into the night when all was quiet, I realized that the clock DOES make a ticking sound. To me, it doesn't detract from how I feel about the clock, but if you're sensitive about that, deduct one star.

I now have 4 of these atomic clocks by La Crosse Technology. I bought this one, "Used-Like New". It works perfectly. I highly recommend this brand. (If you are considering this brand for an atomic clock, follow the directions: set the back for your time-zone and for whether or not you are in a state that has Daylight Saving Time. Put in a new battery. Set it in or near a window that faces Colorado. That is where the signal comes from. The clock will almost certainly set itself and work just as it is supposed to.)

It’s a great clock! Easy to read, keeps accurate time since it’s satellite controlled and I like the way it looks on my wall. Plus it’s very reasonably priced.

Accurate time keeping is just a way of life today. This clock gets it's time signal from the NIST, and its nice to have a battery operated wall clock that is as accurate as most of my other devices, changes automatically for daylight savings or that feature can be turned off if needed. Battery life is claimed to be 2 yrs for a single AA cell, that's impressive to not have to mess with your clock for two years to know you have the exact time being displayed. Your other devices all get their time ultimately from the NIST, cell phone, cable tv, many cars, GPS devices, the internet, a lot of appliances, so why not your battery powered wall clocks as well. This is a giant step from the now old fashioned battery wall clocks that were so amazing in their day, but were accurate to +or- 5 min. a year, needed to be reset on the time change and needed a new battery every year. This is my second one of this model, the first went probably 15 to 18 years before it stopped working, so I can testify to it's durability. The initial startup can be a little confusing and take a frustratingly long time especially when everything else you have just happens right now. How long this takes depends on a radio signal sent from Colorado I believe, and is effected by atmospheric conditions, time of day, walls, siding, electrical interference, and they suggest it may take up to 5 days to acquire the signal it needs to atomically set the time, but offer a manual set option that will let the clock run fairly accurately until it finds the signal it needs and then goes into the Atomic clock mode automatically. I found very quickly with my first one that if I take the clock outside on a clear night, point the face in the direction of Colorado, it generally captures the signal within a half hour and then I am good to bring it in and hang it in a location suggested in the users guide, and that's the end of my maintenance on this other than the battery change occasionally. which the clock notifies you about with the hand movement. Nice timepiece to help all of your devices display the same time rather than guessing about the minutes differences between all of your devices.

**UPDATE 3/8/20: All of these I have around my house updated correctly this morning for the DST time change.** I needed 4 of these. I bought one as a tester, and moved it to each location as a test to its auto time setting function. Let me start by saying THE CLOCK WORKS. I live in the Pacific Northwest, so about 1000 miles as the crow flies from Ft. Collins. In two of my rooms, it set itself overnight to the correct time. The other two rooms, it would NOT reset. BUT, I believe this was due to the amount of electronics in the rooms (computers, monitors, routers, modems, things that could affect signal reception). So, initially you may say, "so those clocks DIDN'T work...", BUT I moved those clocks to a window in a different room, and again, overnight, they set themselves correctly. So the problem with them not setting was MY problem, NOT the clocks problem. But, when it comes time for them to be reset for DST (or switching FROM DST), I would rather move them into a window before bed and move them back, than reset them. And not sure what people are hearing from this clock, but it is virtually SILENT. You get 3 feet away, and you cannot hear it. I have already ordered the other 3 clocks. There is also a button on the back labeled "WAVE", which the directions do not address. That is to restart the signal search without resetting the whole clock, so if needed, you just PRESS AND HOLD the "WAVE" button for about 5 seconds, and it will start to rescan for the signal.

This clock could have not been simpler. I installed the single AA battery, pushed the button on back labeled WAV, and it set itself. What the clock did was spin the second hand around one full minute and stop exactly at 12:00. Believe it or not, the instructions said it could take up to 5 days to set itself! No, no it will not, not for me. I decided if it took VERY long it was a deal-breaker. That's a ridiculous restriction. When I came back in the room, probably within an hour, it had set itself absolutely perfect, to the second. I would have given this 1 day to setitself, otherwise it would have been sent back. That's about the extent of my pain threshold on something like this that's supposed to be more advanced and accurate. There is a dial on back where you can set it by hand. Now... if I wanted to set a clock by hand I would have bought the $4 version at Wally World, which actually is the clock I'm replacing. I'm sure you know this but if your cell phone is configured properly, it will synchronize its time with your cell provider when you reboot the phone. If you didn't screw around with time settings it should be set correctly. I guess the exception would be people that don't reboot their phones very often. You really should reboot your phone every couple days, or at least once a week and clear things out and update to the correct time. The Cell provider syncs it's time to the atomic clock. Your cell phone time is accurate unless you've turned off the automatic synchronization. I configured my cell phone with an analog clock display with a sweeping second hand. It precisely matches this atomic clock. This is not a huge deal but I was somewhat taken back by it. You've probably receive cheap Chinese stuff with lots of old cardboard and massively over taped? That's how this was packaged, it's like what would go inside a retail box but there was no retail box. I only mention this because if you're going to gift this item... and it is a really good clock... the packaging is not very presentable.

I purchased both this clock, and The Weather Channel WT-3131TWC Atomic Wall Clock with Forecast, and use them both. The Weather channel clock cost $69.99 so this is a considerable price difference to pay for the larger size and weather forecaster option (which does seem to work fairly well) so decide if these are important features for you. I actually like this LaCrosse clock's appearance and size better, and I certainly like the $12.99 price better. I found both clocks very easy to set up, and the written directions unnecessary, as the back of the clock explains itself quite nicely with its four little buttons to choose from: (PT; MT; CT; ET). I merely had to put the battery in, chose ET for Eastern Standard Time, and the clock automatically set itself. You won't have to take it off the wall to re-set it for Daylight Savings, as it will automatically take care of that too! Besides a battery change when needed (one AA battery) there is no work involved with this clock. Given that my other clocks were continually changing the time I had set (depending on the power of the battery??) I really appreciate now being able to look up and know for sure that this is the exact time. However, on the flip side, if you are someone who wants to trick yourself into getting places on time by purposely setting your timepieces ahead, be aware that this is not an option with atomic clocks. There are also digital atomic clocks with backlight available, so if you prefer the visual clarity and a night time view of lit up numbers you may want to do a search for these. I personally did not choose the digital because the light emitted from digital clocks at night conflicts with recent medical recommendations to keep your interior as dark as possible when you sleep at night in order to insure the most deep and healthy sleep, and I was using these in personal areas. Obviously not an issue if placed away from the area you sleep in, and some of these looked very attractive, though the prices were not nearly as good. There are also digital clocks, such as the LaCrosse Technology WS-6002U-A Atomic Digital Wall Clock that Amazon sells for $19.99, which do not have a backlight, so you get the digital read out without the light. There are many options to choose from. For the price I highly recommended this item. I intend to order more of these, as gifts for time challenged friends and family, and one for my office. 5 Stars!