Telechron Master Clocks and Time Distribution

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Telechron Master Clocks and Time Distribution

• Mitchell Janoff
• October 2003

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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.

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Times Square
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Grand Central Terminal
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Empire State Building
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Brooklyn Bridge
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Statue of Liberty
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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

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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

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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

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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.

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Time has been Distributed Locally Throughout
History

• Tower Clocks began distributing time in the
  1300s.
• 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
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Western Union and the US Naval Observatory Begin
a Time Service in 1865

• First locally to Washington, DC
• By 1869 to the BO Railroad
• In 1877, Western Union initiated its national
  time service
• In 1886, Western Unions time service delivered
  both time and timepieces.

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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.

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The Naval Observatory and Western Union Lead the
Way in Time Distribution

• Western Unions 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.

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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 Unions low cost and nationwide
  distribution quickly drove the competing time
  services out of business.

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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.

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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.
• Orams system signaled the time of day
  continuously via a system of coded pulses heard
  over the receiver of a telephone.

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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
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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

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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
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Whats Going on with Electric Clocks in the Early
1900s?

• Electric Clocks were
• more costly
• more delicate
• more likely to get out of order, and
• No better time-keepers than common variety
• While they didnt need winding, batteries were
  somewhat uncertain in durability.

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Warrens 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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 1920s Telechron clocks were in use by
  20 million people

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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

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Type A Master Clock combines Pendulum Regulator
and Synchronous Clock
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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.

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Although Initially There is a Lack of Interest in
Warrens 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

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Warren Introduces the B Type aster in April and
July 1920
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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

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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

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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

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• Weight 13 Hanging on endless belt

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• Weight 13 Hanging on endless belt
• Weight is lowered by pendulum clock

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• Weight 13 Hanging on endless belt
• Weight is lowered by pendulum clock
• Weight is lifted by the synchronous motor left

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• When the line frequency and the pendulum rates
  agree, weight remains stationary.

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• When the line frequency and the pendulum rates
  agree, weight remains stationary.
• If rates disagree, the difference is registered
  on the the scale

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• When the line frequency and the pendulum rates
  agree, weight remains stationary.
• If rates disagree, the difference is registered
  on the the scale
• When weight is lifted by the synchronous motor,
  it closes the switch which reduces the speed of
  the generator.

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• When the line frequency and the pendulum rates
  agree, weight remains stationary.
• If rates disagree, the difference is registered
  on the the scale
• When weight is lifted by the synchronous motor,
  it closes the switch which reduces the speed of
  the generator.
• As the weight falls the switch is open, and
  generator speeds up.

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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

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Power Grid

• The U.S. and Canada (with the exception of Quebec
  and most of Texas) are tied together in a single
  large power grid.
• All generators are synchronized to an exact 60Hz
  standard using references calibrated to the NIST
  atomic clocks.
• Phase matching and power transfer between
  networks effected by phase-varying transformers
  (a leading phase pushes powers, a trailing phase
  pulls it).
• On average, though, the finite speed of light
  implies 4000/186000 sec propagation delay
  between Nova Scotia and San Diego - more than the
  16.7ms of a complete 60 Hz wavelength.

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Modern Electric Clocks

• A paper read at a meeting of the Clock Club held
  at the Old State House, Boston MA on February 6,
  1937