G-SHOCK with radio sync: what is MultiBand 6

Wrist Watch

What modern high-tech watches cannot do! In the current mode, report information about the state of your body (pulse, pressure, oxygen content in the blood) and the environment (temperature, pressure, altitude, depth under water), remember the indicators of your previous activity (the number of steps taken, kilometers traveled, calories burned) and plan upcoming activities (for example, build routes), send a distress signal if you get lost, look for a missing smartphone, even pay for purchases ...

But still a clock is a clock, their main task is to show the time. And I want the watch to do it as accurately and reliably as possible. Modern technology allows this. As a matter of fact, they allow wristwatches to work with almost absolute precision. Specifically, we are talking about the MultiBand technology used by Casio. Today - with the number “6”, which indicates the number of radio towers located on different continents that provide precise time signals: MultiBand 6.

An antenna built into the clock receives these signals, and then, several times a day, automatic synchronization is performed: the clock readings are corrected according to a standard, which is an atomic clock. They, working on the isotope cesium-133, are installed on each of six towers, and their accuracy is such that a deviation of 1 second will accumulate over 30 million years! Well, or even more, nobody knows this today ...

Two MultiBand radio towers are located in Europe - in the British Anthorn and the German Mainflingen, their nominal range is 500 km, the maximum - 1500. However, we will say about the nominal, maximum and real ones a little later ... In the American Fort Collins there is a tower with the longest range - nominally 1000 km, maximum 3000 km, it covers almost all of North America. The Japanese have provided themselves with two stations (Fukuoka and Fukushima) even more than completely, which is not surprising - they are pioneers in this business, and the country is quite compact. Even part of the South Kuril Islands fell into the zone of action!

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In China, it is a little worse: the tower in Shangqiu serves about half of the country's territory (and at the same time all of Korea and part of Mongolia). By the way, the Chinese station is young itself, before its appearance the system was called MultiBand 5. Probably, the next towers are not far off, they will be renamed into MultiBand 7, 8, etc. Now about what is important for you and me. Let's look at the maps: it is clear that the nominal 500 km from the German tower does not give us anything. And the so-called maximum 1500 km give something only to Kaliningrad. To St. Petersburg - and that does not hold out. However, ingenuity is our everything, and therefore not everything is lost!

The fact is that all clocks with radio synchronization can do it not only automatically, at the times specified by the program, but also at your command. Just turn off the AUTO option and switch to manual mode. And turn off the automatic summer / winter time change too. How to do it - see the instruction manual of the watch. Climb somewhere higher - say, to the top floor of a high-rise building.

We hope you don't need instructions on how to do this ... Put your smartphone aside, it may interfere. Place the watch on a flat surface such as a stool or something. Orient them so that the 12 o'clock position faces approximately west. And turn on auto-calibration - this is again according to the instructions. It remains to wait for the notification of successful synchronization.

By the way, sophisticated people are advised to put something metal and long under the watch (and even a ruler) and place it in the direction of the west as well - you get, as it were, an additional antenna. And yes, it is better to do this whole operation at night, so that there is less interference. That's it, your clock runs like clockwork! And atomic!

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In conclusion, let's give a couple of examples of Casio G-SHOCK watches with MultiBand 6 radio synchronization.

Casio G-SHOCK FROGMAN GWF-A1000-1AER... In fact, the Japanese position the Frogman as a diving watch. However, like any G-SHOCK, they are extremely functional and reliable in all human environments and work environments. In addition to almost absolute accuracy, they are also practically eternal, because they are also equipped with a solar battery (Tough Solar technology).

We will not expand on the long list of other functions. We only note that Bluetotooth synchronization with a smartphone is also provided, and therefore the clock will adjust the current time via this network four times a day. So the accuracy of the readings is ensured not only where the signal from the MultiBand radio tower reaches.

Casio G-Shock MT-G MTG-B1000TJ-1AER... You can say the same about this model as about the previous one, but there is something to supplement. Here we are already talking about purely artistic merits: the design of these watches (by the way, limited ones) was developed in collaboration with the Chinese artist Chen Yingjie, whose works reflect the connection between traditional oriental ink painting and western street art. The theme of the design was Tai Chi's teachings about the volatility of the world. Well, this has a lot to do with watches and technology ...

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