Do Speaking Clock Phone Numbers Exist Any More?
Al Dykes
cell phone to prove to someone that they's closed a gate too early
because their clock was fast.
I called 411 several times and got a different number each time. None
of them were reachable from a cell phone. One 411 operator said
they'd never heard of a phone number that gave the time. Another
offered to tell me what time it was, which could of lead to a
discussion of time zones.
The last 411 query gave me a 540-xxxx number and bells went off in my
memory about ripoff per-call charge phone numbers. I didn't call
it. It wasn't worth $19.99 to know the time.
Have all the speaking clocks gone away ? I wouldn't mind funding
credits ("this minute was brought to you by....")
Al Dykes
ady...@panix.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: 202-651-1920 is the Naval Observatory
Master Speaking Clock. It alternates UTC and Eastern Standard time.
PAT]
Herb Stein
news:telecom...@telecom-digest.org:
> Al Dykes
> ady...@panix.com
Try again, Pat.
Herb Stein
The Herb Stein Group
www.herbstein.com
he...@herbstein.com
314 952-4601
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What did I say wrong, Herb? Is there a
typo in the phone number somewhere. Tell me what I should have said,
Herb. PAT]
Reed
> Today I really really wanted to get hold of a time service from my
> cell phone to prove to someone that they's closed a gate too early
> because their clock was fast.
> I called 411 several times and got a different number each time. None
> of them were reachable from a cell phone. One 411 operator said
> they'd never heard of a phone number that gave the time. Another
> offered to tell me what time it was, which could of lead to a
> discussion of time zones.
> The last 411 query gave me a 540-xxxx number and bells went off in my
> memory about ripoff per-call charge phone numbers. I didn't call
> it. It wasn't worth $19.99 to know the time.
> Have all the speaking clocks gone away ? I wouldn't mind funding
> credits ("this minute was brought to you by....")
> Al Dykes
> ady...@panix.com
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: 202-651-1920 is the Naval Observatory
> Master Speaking Clock. It alternates UTC and Eastern Standard time.
> PAT]
NIST has the WWV time announcement at 303-499-7111. Time spoken
each minute in UTC. 1 second ticks in between.
Hudson Leighton
Dykes) wrote:
> Today I really really wanted to get hold of a time service from my
> cell phone to prove to someone that they's closed a gate too early
> because their clock was fast.
Some sort of voice software on a PDA with a GPS?
Gary Breuckman
<ady...@panix.com> wrote:
> Today I really really wanted to get hold of a time service from my cell
> phone to prove to someone that they's closed a gate too early because
> their clock was fast.
> I called 411 several times and got a different number each time. None of
> them were reachable from a cell phone. One 411 operator said they'd
> never heard of a phone number that gave the time.
If you have a digital cellphone, the clock in the cellphone is (can be)
set from the system, so the clock on your phone should be as accurate
as an announcement number.
-- Gary Breuckman
PaulC...@aol.com
> credits ("this minute was brought to you by....")
They are still around. In the NYC area the clock is on (212) 976-1616
(also accessible via NPA 516, 718, etc.).
Some places give the time to the nearest minute on their weather
service lines. Try (304) 345-2121 for an example (Charleston, WV).
The British speaking clock is still available ("The time sponsored by
Accurist will be ..."), accessed from anywhere in the country with the
service code 123. Unfortunately, that means it's no longer possible
to reach it from outside the U.K. as used to be the case when it was
assigned a regular local number (usually 8081).
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: 202-651-1920 is the Naval Observatory
> Master Speaking Clock. It alternates UTC and Eastern Standard time.
> PAT]
That number is reported as not in service Pat. It's now available on
(202) 762-1401.
The U.S. Naval Observatory website has some interesting information:
http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/
Paul Coxwell
Norfolk, England
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: So that is what his complaint was
about yesterday. The old number (651-1920) is no longer in service!
Now it is 762-1401 ... well, okay, sorry. PAT]
Wes...@aol.com
writes:
> Today I really really wanted to get hold of a time service from my
> cell phone to prove to someone that they's closed a gate too early
> because their clock was fast.
> I called 411 several times and got a different number each time. None
> of them were reachable from a cell phone. One 411 operator said
> they'd never heard of a phone number that gave the time. Another
> offered to tell me what time it was, which could of lead to a
> The discussion of time zones.
> last 411 query gave me a 540-xxxx number and bells went off in my
> memory about ripoff per-call charge phone numbers. I didn't call
> it. It wasn't worth $19.99 to know the time.
> Have all the speaking clocks gone away ? I wouldn't mind funding
> credits ("this minute was brought to you by....")
> Al Dykes
> ady...@panix.com
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: 202-762-1401 is the Naval Observatory
> Master Speaking Clock. It alternates UTC and Eastern Standard time.
> PAT]
The SBC Oklahoma City directory lists seven different time, or
time and temperature, or time and weather, telephone numbers. They
are sponsored by various businesses.
Interestingly, the traditional time number for Oklahoma City,
599-1234, still exists, too, and is sponsored by a major regional
hospital chain. It is not listed in the SBC directory, but is
included in the Feist directory. Don't know if the 599 prefix is
still a bus that exists in each central office so that calls to
599-1234 go to that bus in the local office and do not tie up the
interoffice trunking network. (A problem at the beginning and end of
daylight savings time and after big power outages.)
Wes Leatherock
wes...@aol.com
wlea...@yahoo.com
Al Dykes
Reed <re...@rmi.net.N0SPAM> wrote:
>Al Dykes wrote:
>> Today I really really wanted to get hold of a time service from my
>> cell phone to prove to someone that they's closed a gate too early
>> because their clock was fast.
>> I called 411 several times and got a different number each time. None
>> of them were reachable from a cell phone. One 411 operator said
>> they'd never heard of a phone number that gave the time. Another
>> offered to tell me what time it was, which could of lead to a
>> discussion of time zones.
>> The last 411 query gave me a 540-xxxx number and bells went off in my
>> memory about ripoff per-call charge phone numbers. I didn't call
>> it. It wasn't worth $19.99 to know the time.
>> Have all the speaking clocks gone away ? I wouldn't mind funding
>> credits ("this minute was brought to you by....")
>> Al Dykes
>> [Telecom Digest Editor's Note: 202-762-1401 is the Naval Observatory
>> Master Speaking Clock. It alternates UTC and Eastern Standard time.
>> PAT]
> NIST has the WWV time announcement at 303-499-7111. Time spoken
> each minute in UTC. 1 second ticks in between.
I just tried both of these #s, The Navel Observatory # is no longer in
service and the NBS^H^HIST is RNA, maybe they take Sunday off.
In response to the person that suggested my cell phone # was an
alternative; no, my phone doesn't have a second, and it's not a third
party that I can refer to, to prove a point.
Al Dykes
ady...@panix.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: See the earlier message for my
screw-up. The number now is 202-762-1401. I guess the 'you
pay for it' version of 900-410-TIME is still around also. PAT]
Reed
>> each minute in UTC. 1 second ticks in between.
> I just tried both of these #s, The Navel Observatory # is no longer in
> service and the NBS^H^HIST is RNA, maybe they take Sunday off.
Found this at NIST site:
http://www.bldrdoc.gov/timefreq/stations/sig.html
"NOTICE: The NIST Telephone Time-Of-Day Service might be
unavailable on Saturday, November 8th, 2003 from 9 a.m. to
midnight Eastern Time (1400 UTC on November 8th until 0500 UTC on
November 9th), due to scheduled maintenance on the NIST telephone
system.
The audio portions of the WWV and WWVH broadcasts can also be heard by
telephone. The time announcements are normally delayed by less than 30
ms when using land lines from within the continental United States,
and the stability (delay variation) is generally < 1 ms. When mobile
phones are used, the delays are often more than 100 ms due to the
multiple access methods used to share cell channels. In rare instances
when the telephone connection is made by satellite, the time is
delayed by 250 to 500 ms.
To hear these broadcasts, dial (303) 499-7111 for WWV (Colorado), and
(808) 335-4363 for WWVH (Hawaii). Callers are disconnected after 2
minutes. These are not toll-free numbers; callers outside the local
calling area are charged for the call at regular long-distance rates.
The telephone service is very popular. The WWV number receives over 1
million calls per year, and the WWVH number receives more than
50,000."
S Falke
http://www.textfiles.com/phreak/NUMBERS/dial30.phk {age unknown} for
{PacBell} NorCal area codes 209, 408, 415, 707, 916. Not listed are
"new" codes 510, 530, 650, 925.
In NorCal in the 1950-60s, 76-any-five-digits worked, too.
--s falke
John R. Levine
> 976-1616 (also accessible via NPA 516, 718, etc.).
That's a surcharged number, so you can't call it from outside the LATA.
(I think the surchage is only a quarter, but it's still too much.)
The Boston time-of-day number is 617-637-1234. I just tried it, and
it's about 15 seconds fast. There's no ad other than "Verizon time is
..."
The whole prefix is time-of-day, the last four digits don't matter, so
I often pick a number in that range when some bureaucrat demands a
phone number.
Garrett Wollman
<pu...@catbox.com> wrote:
> If you have a digital cellphone, the clock in the cellphone is (can be)
> set from the system, so the clock on your phone should be as accurate
> as an announcement number.
But unless it's on a CDMA system, the clock in the cellphone may be no
more accurate than the wall clock at the MTSO.
--
Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every
wol...@lcs.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own
Opinions not those of| search for greater freedom.
MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA| - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. ___ (2003)
COTTP
says:
> Al Dykes wrote:
>> Today I really really wanted to get hold of a time service from my
>> cell phone to prove to someone that they's closed a gate too early
>> because their clock was fast.
>> I called 411 several times and got a different number each time. None
>> of them were reachable from a cell phone. One 411 operator said
>> they'd never heard of a phone number that gave the time. Another
>> offered to tell me what time it was, which could of lead to a
>> discussion of time zones.
>> The last 411 query gave me a 540-xxxx number and bells went off in my
>> memory about ripoff per-call charge phone numbers. I didn't call
>> it. It wasn't worth $19.99 to know the time.
>> Have all the speaking clocks gone away ? I wouldn't mind funding
>> credits ("this minute was brought to you by....")
>> Al Dykes
>> ady...@panix.com
>> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: 202-651-1920 is the Naval Observatory
>> Master Speaking Clock. It alternates UTC and Eastern Standard time.
>> PAT]
> NIST has the WWV time announcement at 303-499-7111. Time spoken
> each minute in UTC. 1 second ticks in between.
Why not just write a quick app that takes the NTP string and speaks
it. Voila! Speaking clock.
Or get on of the atomic clock sync programs for you PC.
Touch Tone Tommy
>> Have all the speaking clocks gone away ? I wouldn't mind funding
>> credits ("this minute was brought to you by....")
>> Al Dykes
>> ady...@panix.com
What you want to do is find out where your cell phone is "really"
based, by calling one of the toll-free anac numbers. Even though mine
is based in the 805 area code, I get a readback of 626. The local time
number for 626 is 626-853-1212, instead of my local 805-767-7000. So I
just dial 853-1212 and get the time recording.
Jack Hamilton
> If you have a digital cellphone, the clock in the cellphone is (can be)
> set from the system, so the clock on your phone should be as accurate
> as an announcement number.
That depends on the phone and the carrier -- some do, some don't.
There's been discussion of this on the wireless phone newsgroups, and
it seems to depend on the mood of the carrier, or the phase of the
moon.
I can tell you that my Siemens S46 (GSM/TDMA) on AT&T Wireless doesn't
set the time in Sacramento. Sprint PCS used to and probably still
does (I think their cellular technology requires it), but it might not
be worth going with Sprint just to have the correct time.
Locally, I can get the time by dialing POP-CORN. That's probably good
in any former Pac Bell area in northern California. I just tried that
number in the 916, 415, 510, and 650 area codes, and they all gave me
the time. The 213 area code (Los Angeles) gave me a "call cannot be
completed" message.
Jack Hamilton
j...@acm.org
If men are to wait for liberty until they become wise and good in slavery,
they may indeed wait for ever.
- Lord MacCaulay
yeltr...@email.com
>> Today I really really wanted to get hold of a time service from my cell
>> phone to prove to someone that they's closed a gate too early because
>> their clock was fast.
>> I called 411 several times and got a different number each time. None of
>> them were reachable from a cell phone. One 411 operator said they'd
>> never heard of a phone number that gave the time.
On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 23:14:11 -0600, Gary Breuckman <pu...@catbox.com>
wrote:
> If you have a digital cellphone, the clock in the cellphone is (can be)
> set from the system, so the clock on your phone should be as accurate
> as an announcement number.
For CDMA, yes. Other systems, no.
However, people being funny, an automated annoucnement such as 303-499-7111
is more authoritative. It also means you don't have to let go of your
celfon if it has speakerphone mode.
Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without
duct tape - Richard Preston, THE COBRA EVENT.
Gene S. Berkowitz
says:
> Al Dykes wrote:
>> Today I really really wanted to get hold of a time service from my
>> cell phone to prove to someone that they's closed a gate too early
>> because their clock was fast.
In the Boston area, Verizon Time is: (617) 637-1234
Actually, you can dial (617) 673-XXXX, where X is any digit, and it
still works.
It's about 20s fast, according to my NIST-set PC clock.
--Gene
Herb Sutherland
seises_de_corazones
What ye be sayin'?
>> Al Dykes wrote:
637 or 673? Let's not be calling any poor joe in the middle of the
night.
Aaarr, ady...@panix.com (Al Dykes)
What ye be sayin'?
> Have all the speaking clocks gone away ? I wouldn't mind funding
> credits ("this minute was brought to you by....")
772-287-6500 is the one I grew up with. I just checked it and it
still works. (I had to look up the latest area code.
305->407->561->772)
Ted Rathkopf
Bob Vaughan
<bus...@pacbell.net> wrote:
> 767-8900 for time is listed at
> http://www.textfiles.com/phreak/NUMBERS/dial30.phk {age unknown} for
> {PacBell} NorCal area codes 209, 408, 415, 707, 916. Not listed are
> "new" codes 510, 530, 650, 925.
650-767-1234 works fine ... (and probably any 650-767-xxxx number as well.)
-- Welcome My Son, Welcome To The Machine --
Bob Vaughan | techie@{w6yx|tantivy}.stanford.edu | kc6...@w6yx.ampr.org
| P.O. Box 19792, Stanford, Ca 94309
-- I am Me, I am only Me, And no one else is Me, What could be simpler? --
Mark Brader
the National Research Council of Canada. 613-745-1576 if you want
the time in English, 613-745-9426 if you prefer French. (Source:
<http://inms-ienm.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/time_services/cbc_broadcasts_e.html>)
Mark Brader, Toronto | Any company large enough to have a research lab
m...@vex.net | is large enough not to listen to it. --Alan Kay
Seth Theriault
> In the Boston area, Verizon Time is: (617) 637-1234
Verizon also provides a local weather forecast, something useful for
those braving the ever-changing New England climate. Dial (617)
936-1111.
And, their provider is AccuWeather.
Seth
Stanley Cline
> Have all the speaking clocks gone away ? I wouldn't mind funding
> credits ("this minute was brought to you by....")
Unlike many other phone companies (Verizon, SBC/PacBell, various
independents) BellSouth has never had its "own" time numbers that I
know of. Around here, most time numbers are sponsored and/or run by
banks:
423-265-1411 SunTrust Bank, Chattanooga, TN
865-977-5395 First Tennessee Bank, Maryville/Knoxville, TN
423-476-1111 First Tennessee Bank, Cleveland, TN
770-253-8463 Bank of Coweta, Newnan, GA
or churches:
770-455-7141 churches vary, Atlanta (IIRC, this number is actually
run by a company that *makes* the "time and temperature"
machines!)
Stanley Cline -- sc1 at roamer1 dot org -- http://www.roamer1.org/
"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might
be a law against it by that time." -/usr/games/fortune
PaulC...@aol.com
>> 976-1616 (also accessible via NPA 516, 718, etc.).
> That's a surcharged number, so you can't call it from outside the LATA.
> (I think the surchage is only a quarter, but it's still too much.)
You can reach 976 numbers from the U.K., billed at normal
international rates for a call to the U.S. The same goes for NPA 800,
888 etc. (preceeded by a recording from the American end of the
connection: "This number is not toll-free if dialed from outside the
United States. If answered you will be charged at international
direct-dial rates for this call. If you do not wish to proceed, hang
up now").
I don't think 540 prefixes are accessible, although with all the
different carriers these days it might just be possible with the right
combination. NPA 900 is always blocked. Calls to (NPA) 555-1212 are
blocked by some carriers but not others.
As in Britain, many TelCos outside the NANP seem to have switched
speaking clock numbers to local service codes, making them unreachable
from outside the local C.O. Does anyone know of any foreign countries
where time-of-day service is still on a regular number?
Paul Coxwell
Norfolk, England
Group Special Mobile
> Today I really really wanted to get hold of a time service from my
> cell phone to prove to someone that they's closed a gate too early
> because their clock was fast.
> I called 411 several times and got a different number each time. None
> of them were reachable from a cell phone. One 411 operator said
> they'd never heard of a phone number that gave the time. Another
> offered to tell me what time it was, which could of lead to a
> discussion of time zones.
> The last 411 query gave me a 540-xxxx number and bells went off in my
> memory about ripoff per-call charge phone numbers. I didn't call
> it. It wasn't worth $19.99 to know the time.
> Have all the speaking clocks gone away ? I wouldn't mind funding
> credits ("this minute was brought to you by....")
> Al Dykes
> ady...@panix.com
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: 202-653-1920 is the Naval Observatory
> Master Speaking Clock. It alternates UTC and Eastern Standard time.
> PAT]
+1
207-775-4321 Portland, Maine (unsponsored)
617-637-1234 Boston, Massachusetts (sponsored by Verizon)
410-844-1234 Baltimore, Maryland (unsponsored)
202-844-1234 Disctrict of Columbia (unsponsored)
202-762-4101 DC (National Bureau of Standards)
407-646-3131 Orlando, FL (sponsored with two messages!)
303-499-7111 WWV, Ft. Colllins, Colorado (male announcer occasional
weather info)
808-335-4363 WWVH, Hawaii (female announcer)
On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 23:14:11 -0600, Gary Breuckman <pu...@catbox.com>
wrote:
> If you have a digital cellphone, the clock in the cellphone is (can be)
> set from the system, so the clock on your phone should be as accurate
> as an announcement number.
CDMA has time as part of the system spec (Verizon, Sprint, etc.)
GSM (T-Mobile, ATTWS, cingular etc.) has NITZ (Network Informed Time
Zone) as a possibility, but not all GSM systems provide the facility
to automatically update the time.
To send an email reply send to
GSMthemobilestandard (@) yahoo.com
Group Special Mobile
> And if Ottawa is the most convenient place for you to dial, there's
> the National Research Council of Canada. 613-745-1576 if you want
> the time in English, 613-745-9426 if you prefer French. (Source:
> <http://inms-ienm.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/time_services/cbc_broadcasts_e.html>)
Just out of curiosity is there telephone access to CHU (Dominion
Observatory) similar to the WWV by telephone?
Wes...@aol.com
writes:
> In the Boston area, Verizon Time is: (617) 637-1234
>> Actually, you can dial (617) 673-XXXX, where X is any digit, and it
>> still works.
>> It's about 20s fast, according to my NIST-set PC clock.
> 637 or 673? Let's not be calling any poor joe in the middle of the
> night.
It's no fun. When I moved back to Oklahoma City probably about
1956, I was assigned VIctor 3-6056 (843-6056).
The Time number for Oklahoma City then was REgent 6-0561 (736-0561).
Most, probably all, offices in Oklahoma City were SxS. From
most offices the second digit "4" was absorbed when you dialed
8-4-XXXXX, and you could dial 843-6056 as 83-6056.
So if your hand slipped, as drunks often do when dialing
736-0561, and they dial 836-0561, they got our telephone several times
a night. They were shocked to hear a human answer "Hello" and from
the background noise most of them were calling for places where
alcoholic beverages were likely to be found.
After two or three weeks, we'd had enough and got SWBT to
change our number.
Wes Leatherock
wes...@aol.com
Mark Brader
> Just out of curiosity is there telephone access to CHU (Dominion
> Observatory) similar to the WWV by telephone?
According to
http://inms-ienm.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/time_services/shortwave_broadcasts_e.html
CHU is also based in the Ottawa area and has been operated by the NRC,
not the Dominion Observatory, for more than 30 years. So there would
be no point in having a separate phone number from the NRC one I
posted.
Mark Brader, Toronto Don't put all your X in one window.
m...@vex.net -- Peter Neumann
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Garrett Wollman
<m...@vex.net> wrote:
> CHU is also based in the Ottawa area and has been operated by the NRC,
> not the Dominion Observatory, for more than 30 years. So there would
> be no point in having a separate phone number from the NRC one I
> posted.
... unless you happen to have an HF receiver and are trying to verify
that the signal you are listening to on 3330 and/or 7335 is in fact
CHU and not some other station. (Although those modem tones are
pretty distinctive ...)