Telechron Master Clocks and Time Distribution

1. Telechron Master Clocks and Time Distribution Mitchell Janoff October 2003

2. Largest Blackout in US History Affects over 50,000,000 People and 9,300 Square Miles • August 14, 2003: Blackout in the northeast effects 50 million people over 9,300 square miles • Ripple affect due to the interconnection of power plants across US and Canada cause of problem.

3. Times Square

4. Grand Central Terminal

5. Empire State Building

6. Brooklyn Bridge

7. Statue of Liberty

9. So what does this have to do with Henry Warren???? • Henry Warren is responsible for the modern International Power Grid due to his early work in: • Frequency stabilization • Time distribution • Clock synchronization • Interconnection between power stations

10. Henry Warren and the Introduction of Synchronous Timekeeping • How did Warren revolutionize timekeeping in the US • What obstacles did Warren overcome to accomplish his goals • How does the synchronous self-starting AC motor work • How did Warren help power stations to maintain 60Hz • How did Warren convince the power generating companies to adopt his technology

11. What is the Function of a Clock? • There are two distinct function of all clocks: 1. Measure time as accurately as possible, and 2. Tell time with the greatest possible convenience

12. What is the history of telling time? • Very early clock makers recognized the desirability of telling the time over as wide an area as possible. • Early clocks were typically equipped with bells to toll the hours. • Now we need to know minutes and seconds in addition to the hours.

13. Time has been Distributed Locally Throughout History • Tower Clocks began distributing time in the 1300’s. • By the 19th century, the industrial revolution had made tower clocks regular features on factories and railroad stations • Standardize timekeeping across the United States is just over 100 years old. MetLife Clock Tower New York City

14. Western Union and the US Naval Observatory Begin a Time Service in 1865 • First locally to Washington, DC • By 1869 to the B&O Railroad • In 1877, Western Union initiated its national time service • In 1886, Western Union’s time service delivered both time and timepieces.

15. On November 18, 1883 Standard Railway Time went into effect in North America • Standard Time Replaces Local Time and Railroad Time, each determined by the position of the sun in a community or region. • Most large cities immediately adopted the railroads’ time system • United States is divided into four time zones based on the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England.

16. The Naval Observatory and Western Union Lead the Way in Time Distribution • Western Union’s time ball in New York City fell to inaugurate Standard Railway Time based on a signal telegraphed from the U.S. Naval Observatory 240 miles away in Washington D.C. • Western Union also flashed a time signal across the country over its network of telegraph lines.

17. Time Signals were Distributed Hourly on the Hour • Clocks were supplied by the Self Winding Clock Company of New York • Master clocks in the Western Union network were automatically corrected once a day at noon. • Western Union’s low cost and nationwide distribution quickly drove the competing time services out of business.

18. The Standard Time Act of 1918 made Standard Time a Federal Law • Standard Time introduced a need for synchronized timekeeping • The United States Naval Observatory is chosen to maintain and distribute the time due its long history of time distribution. • Clocks throughout the United States now differ by only the hours.

20. Western Union Time Service is aimed at Municipalities and Businesses • Time Service to Individuals is not as well developed. • In 1883 John Oram, a Dallas Jeweler applies for a patent on the “Oram Time Machine”, the “Oram Time Regulator” and the “Oram Time Indicator”. • Oram’s system signaled the time of day continuously via a system of coded pulses heard over the receiver of a telephone.

21. Time Distribution over Telephone Lines Fails to Generate much Interest • Equipment was expensive for exchanges ($5,000+) • Customers refused to pay for a time service • Bell did not encourage its franchise holders to make time a fundamental part of the telephone business *Picture from: Selling The True Time Ian R. Bartkey, Stanford University Press Stanford CA 2000

22. Master/Slave Clock Systems were introduced around the turn of the Century • Advantage of having all clocks in a building synchronized • Battery powered and all connected to a master eliminated the need to set clocks individually • Required separate system of wires

23. How was Time Distributed? • Primary distribution via Telegraph from 1890 • USNO Begins Radio Time Distribution in 1904 • By 1923 Fourteen Stations are in Operation across the US Picture from: Time and Timekeepers, Willis I. Milham, The Macmillan Co 1941

24. What’s Going on with Electric Clocks in the Early 1900’s? • Electric Clocks were • more costly • more delicate • more likely to get out of order, and • No better time-keepers than common variety • While they didn’t need winding, batteries were somewhat uncertain in durability.

25. Warren’s Attempts at Electric Clocks • Warren files a patent for battery clocks in 1908 • Started as a hobby, led to a small business • By 1916 Warren realized that the battery clocks would never be a commercial success

26. So what Problem is Henry Warren Solving? • While all clocks within the same time zone should read the same time, each clock operates essentially independently. • Clocks need to be wound, and set frequently • Electric clocks are unreliable and no more accurate than wind-up clocks • Master/Slave clocks solve some of the problems, but are expensive and complex

27. Why Adopt the electrical Network for Timekeeping • By 1916 there were two independent networks connecting people in the US. • Telephone network connected the well-to-do and offices • The light and power lines covered a more extensive territory • By 1916 More than 90% of all electric light, heat and power was distributed in the form of alternating current. • People were thinking about using the electrical network for timekeeping; nobody did anything about it.

28. Warren is the First to Develop a High Torque, Self-Starting, Synchronous Motor • 1918 Warren Patents the self starting synchronous motor after years of experimentation with various technologies • Type A is an enclosed movement rotating within an electrical field

29. The Telechron Motor is the Best Self-Starting Synchronous Motor • Motor is small and compact • Comes to full speed, under rated load, instantaneously with no measurable lag • Self-lubricated, rotating parts entirely enclosed • Unaffected by changes in voltage, current, or temperature • Can be made to operate on any commercial frequency or voltage

32. Telechron Synchronous Motor • Previous Motors • Self-Starting but low torque or not synchronous • Manual-Starting but high torque and synchronous • Telechron Motor • High Torque, synchronous and self-starting • Single Phase Motor can be installed directly on the power lines in most homes and businesses

39. Early Experiments in 1916 with A-Motor Uncover Problems • First experiments show clock to to gain or lose as much as 10-15 minutes each day. • Warren calls Boston Edison and reports frequency is off by approximately one-half cycle daily. • Boston Edison checks their laboratory standards and works closely with Warren

40. 1916: Warren introduces the Master Clock Type A • Warren is given an opportunity to demonstrate his regulating instrument, intended to eliminate errors in frequency • October 23, 1916 Boston Edison puts the Warren Master Clock into Operation • By the Mid 1920’s Telechron clocks were in use by 20 million people

41. The Warren “A” Type Master Clock is a Precision Regulator • The Type “A” is an exceedingly accurate time-keeper, mounted in a floor standing case • 60-beat pendulum and a Graham “dead beat” type escapement and invar pendulum • Clock can be regulated to within one second per day • Clock main-spring is continuously wound by synchronous motor

42. Type A Master Clock combines Pendulum Regulator and Synchronous Clock

43. Regulation of Pendulum Clock by Weights and Magnetic Pulse • Weight Tray on Pendulum Allow Operator to Change Rate. • Dials in Case allow Operator to add Pull/Push to Pendulum via Electro-Magnets in Clock Base.

44. Although Initially There is a Lack of Interest in Warren’s Clocks • By 1925 400 Warren Master Clocks have been installed • By 1947 Warren Master Clocks regulated over 95% of the electric lines in the United States.* * From Electrifying Time by Jim Linz

45. Warren Introduces the “B” Type aster in April and July 1920

46. The Warren Type “B” is a Compact Wall Mounted Master • Motor and Clock act on the same index hand through gearing • The motor tends to drive the hand in one direction, and the clock in the opposite direction • If the rate of the clock and motor are the same, the hand stays at rest • If the motor is fast the hand moves in a clockwise direction

47. Differences between the “A” and “B” • “The Type “A” is recommended for use where the greatest accuracy and reliability are sought” • “The Type “B” may be used in exactly the same manner and for the same purpose as the Type “A” it finds its principal use in smaller plants that are tied in with a large system”

48. Warren “C” Master Frequency Regulator • Designed in 1920 • Differential Reading on Middle Dial • Upper dial (with knob) allows adjusting of seconds of clocks on lines • Lower dial displays the time