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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1. Weight 13 Hanging on endless belt

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1. Weight 13 Hanging on endless belt
2. Weight is lowered by pendulum clock

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1. Weight 13 Hanging on endless belt
2. Weight is lowered by pendulum clock
3. Weight is lifted by the synchronous motor left

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

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

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

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1. When the line frequency and the pendulum rates
   agree, weight remains stationary.
2. If rates disagree, the difference is registered
   on the the scale
3. When weight is lifted by the synchronous motor,
   it closes the switch which reduces the speed of
   the generator.
4. 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