Give Your Pocket PC Atomic Clock Precision

[Andy Sjostrom]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=124281' target='_blank'>http://www.handango.com/PlatformPro...roductId=124281</a><br /><br /></div>Using mTimeSync from <a href="http://www.slipstreamsolutions.co.uk/">Slipstream Solutions</a> you can have your Pocket PC synchronize its clock with atomic NTP (Network Time Protocol) time servers. mTimeSync has been around for a while and the new version, 1.0.3, features improved support for international regions. To use mTimeSync you need .NET Compact Framework (built in since Pocket PC 2003) and a connection to the Internet (GPRS, WiFi, LAN, Passthrough etc). mTimeSync is available on a 15 day trial basis.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/time_01.gif" /> <br /><br />Features include:<br /><li>Configurable NTP server settings, including server name, NTP string and NTP port.<br /><li> Automatic, configurable polling of an NTP server, including synchronizing every N minutes and N retries of a failed sync.<br /><li> Application automatically starts synchronizing when the application is run.<br /><li> Application automatically runs on a device soft-reset (from \Windows\StartUp folder).<br /><li> Supports worldwide timezones and daylight saving times.

[corrosive]

Doesn't vxutil (http://www.cam.com/vxutil_pers.html) do this and more - and it's free for personal use?

[Ryan Joseph]

Don't PPCs sync the time with Windows whenever they're docked? So as long as XP keeps its time synced with the Atomic clock, the PPC should be correct, too.......right?

[jeff]

Perfect. Now I'll now EXACTLY when my alarm didn't go off.

[victore]

it's true that our devices will synch to our pc's clock, but if the pc is running 2k and below, the clocks won't have atomic clock precision (unless it's running a third party app).

i think this app could be used for pocket pc phones or any other device that doesn't "dock" with a pc.

[surur]

i think this app could be used for pocket pc phones or any other device that doesn't "dock" with a pc.

which would a really crazy way to run a pocketpc.

Surur

[piperpilot]

I tried to run this application on my H5455 iPAQ running WM2003, but it crapped out. Tried to unload the application but it installs a file in the Windows/Startup folder which prevents it from being unloaded completely. Tried to use Resco File Explorer to get the file out of my startup folder but it wouldn't delete. Had to do a hard reset and restore from Sprite Backup. All is well now. I am very disappointed, however. I really wanted to have atomic clock precision so that I could just use my iPAQ to walk around the house and set all the clocks on the right time. I have the atomic clock web site bookmarked in my mobile favorites, so I guess I will just have to keep relying on that.

[Steven Cedrone]

it's true that our devices will synch to our pc's clock, but if the pc is running 2k and below, the clocks won't have atomic clock precision (unless it's running a third party app).

And one of the best is from AnalogX! Atomic Timesync: (http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/ats.htm) it's free and it works well!

Steve

[felixdd]

it's true that our devices will synch to our pc's clock, but if the pc is running 2k and below, the clocks won't have atomic clock precision (unless it's running a third party app).

i think this app could be used for pocket pc phones or any other device that doesn't "dock" with a pc.

Does XP do it automagically?

[Sven Johannsen]

it's true that our devices will synch to our pc's clock, but if the pc is running 2k and below, the clocks won't have atomic clock precision (unless it's running a third party app).

i think this app could be used for pocket pc phones or any other device that doesn't "dock" with a pc.

Does XP do it automagically?

It can. Open your time app. double click the time in the system tray. There is a tab for internet time which lets you choose a server to sync to. There is also a link to get more info.

[Brad Adrian]

It can.
But if your PC is part of a domain, the atomic clock synch is not available. That's why I created a scheduled task that once a week runs the synching software on my PC.

Nobody's mentioned the best reason for keeping up to date with an atomic clock. I really LOVE it when somebody keeps me waiting by being late to a meeting. When they say they "just made it," I can say with all confidence that MY clock says they're 5 minutes late!

[Janak Parekh]

But if your PC is part of a domain, the atomic clock synch is not available.
There's a reason why: the machine is supposed to be sync'ed against the domain controller, which in turn should be set up on atomic time.

When they say they "just made it," I can say with all confidence that MY clock says they're 5 minutes late!
That's what I use my SPOT watch for :P, but good point.

--janak

[Gerard]

I've been using CityTime by Kenny Goers for almost 3 years now. It comes with loads of features, with one of these being a clock synch. A couple of taps and one may set the device clock according to any of a list of internet time servers pre-loaded with the application. If one fails, just use the menu to choose another. Works in about a second over wi-fi, about 3 seconds over dialup.

With my old iPAQ 3835 the clock typically lost between 15 and 40 seconds per day, so I was using this constantly. With my Dell X5 I rarely see even a 5 second loss per day, so I usually don't bother setting the clock more then twice a week. After three days it'll usually be off between 3 and 8 seconds. The iPAQ seemed to forget to advance the clock during soft resets. Seems the only rational explanation that somehow Compaq rigged it so the clock was run by the shell, which when not loaded for a few seconds would just leave the clock sitting idle. With the terrible stability of that unit I'd usually have to soft reset 8-10 times per day. The Dell I usually soft reset once or twice per day, once after a Sprite Backup, then maybe one or two more times if I try to jump between PIE pages too fast, as MultiIE has a couple of bugs which sometimes freeze things up.

I'd suggest folks consider CityTime before this thing, as it's just got so much else going for it. Has a nice Today plugin component too.

http://www.codecity.net/prodctppc.html

[Underwater Mike]

That's what I use.


Doesn't vxutil (http://www.cam.com/vxutil_pers.html) do this and more - and it's free for personal use?

[ctmagnus]

it's true that our devices will synch to our pc's clock, but if the pc is running 2k and below, the clocks won't have atomic clock precision (unless it's running a third party app).

Actually, Windows 2000 (at least Pro in a standalone environment) does have this feature. Open up Administrative tools\Services and set the Windows Time service to start up automatically.

[victore]

but will it synch with a atomic time source?

[ctmagnus]

I don't know where it gets it's time from. I do know that since I enabled it, the PC's clock has been much more regular than it was previously.