Where to Find a 24-Hour Wall Clock for Easy Timekeeping Across Timezones

[DaveC426913]

I'm looking for a clock that tells 24-hour time. I want a clock that I can set to New Zealand time, which is 15-hours ahead of EST.

Wait! Before you point me at one of a zillion 12-hour clocks with a second set of numbers from 13:00-00:00 on them:

- a 12-hour clock with a second set of numbers does not TELL you whether it's AM or PM; you must interpret for yourself whether to read off the 1-12 versus the 13-00 numbers.

- I don't simply want a digital clock with an AM/PM indicator - the indicator is too small - I want one large enough to be easily seen from ~15' away

- analog is easier to read than digital (for us old folk, anyway) but this is not a showstopper

- preferably wall-mounted

Really, for starters, I'm just looking for a clock that clearly shows the time and the day or night.

 

[cristo]

Don't all digital clocks have a 12/24 hour option?

 

[DaveC426913]

Don't all digital clocks have a 12/24 hour option?

Oh, you mean showing military time? Good point.

But I wish to avoid military time. Some people have a lot difficulty reading it...

So it would be OK if it were digital, as long as it said: 3:15 PM, not 15:15.

 

[rolerbe]

So, basically, you just want a 24-hour analog clock.

Here's one: http://www.ccrane.com/science/atomic-clocks/24-hour-clock.aspx?RefID=WS110401WSDG0100"

 

[berkeman]

Oh, you don't want military time.

How about just making one? Take a standard military analog wall clock, and make your own custom face for it with Visio or some similar drawing program?

 

[mgb_phys]

So, basically, you just want a 24-hour analog clock.

Thanks I've been looking for one of those.
We used to have a row of them in our radio room, but when it was removed the boss pinched them (before I could).

 

[FredGarvin]

Wait a minute...a "true" 24 hour clock is easier to read than a digital military time clock? Huh?

I suppose this addition would make it "easier"

http://www.officeclocks.com/images/MilitaryTranslator_Thumb.jpg

 

[DaveC426913]

How about just making one? Take a standard military analog wall clock, and make your own custom face for it with Visio or some similar drawing program?

Oh I see. A military clock completes one rotation in 24 hours...

Hm. Good idea.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Oh I see. A military clock completes one rotation in 24 hours...

Hm. Good idea.

I was going to say to check a military surplus shop. My grandfather had a nice big clock on the wall in his living room that was a navy wall clock. Why anyone would want a 24 hour clock that is not military time is beyond me though.

 

[FredGarvin]

Military time is 24 hour time.

 

[Sorry!]

Ok, I'm confused. What's the difference between 24 hour time and military time? And why would you need an indicator to show that 15:15 is 3:15PM. It's quite obvious that it has passed through all the AM hours... I do not see how it's difficult to pick up on if something is AM vs PM... I actually think it's much easier to do with 24hr clocks than 12hr.

The amount of times I have fallen asleep at home after work during the day and wake up at 8PM to look at the clock and think I've slept the entire night... if it was a 24 hour clock however I would easily be able to recognize that 20:00 is not an AM hour as 20 comee after 12...

The most difficult part I've found with 24 hour clocks is getting used to what time they are saying... since most people are used to 12 hour rotations they have to do math... simple math... but it's still math in order to figure out what hour it actually is to them.

 

[berkeman]

Ok, I'm confused. What's the difference between 24 hour time and military time? And why would you need an indicator to show that 15:15 is 3:15PM. It's quite obvious that it has passed through all the AM hours... I do not see how it's difficult to pick up on if something is AM vs PM... I actually think it's much easier to do with 24hr clocks than 12hr.

The amount of times I have fallen asleep at home after work during the day and wake up at 8PM to look at the clock and think I've slept the entire night... if it was a 24 hour clock however I would easily be able to recognize that 20:00 is not an AM hour as 20 comee after 12...

The most difficult part I've found with 24 hour clocks is getting used to what time they are saying... since most people are used to 12 hour rotations they have to do math... simple math... but it's still math in order to figure out what hour it actually is to them.

I believe that your last paragraph is Dave's point. If you aren't used to 24-hour military time, it can be hard to reliably and quickly make the conversion. I think Dave was looking for a clock that had noon at the bottom, and 1PM, 2PM, and so on up the lefthand side.

(I'm an Army brat and an EMT, so all my clocks and watches are set for military time...)

 

[starjar]

http://imgwe.com/accessbee/27/1.png Do[/URL] google search and type time display. :)

 

[DaveC426913]

Military time is 24 hour time.

True, but the inverse is not true: 24-hour time is not necessarily military time.

Why anyone would want a 24 hour clock that is not military time is beyond me though.

The clock is for my wife to be able to tell at a glance what time it is in New Zealand, where her sister lives.

It needs to be 24-hour time because NZ is 16 hours ahead: At 11AM here a 12-hour clock simply says that it's 5 o'clock in NZ; it requires an extra step to realize that that means 5AM, not 5PM.

And military time is tricky for those not used to it. 1700 is often mistaken for 7 o'clock, 1900 for 9 o'clock.


It would appear I have 3 options:

1] Get a regular 12-hour digital clock that has an ample AM/PM indicator.
2] Find an analogue clock that also has AM/PM indicator (if there is such a thing).
3] Get a 24-hour military analogue clock and put a new face on it with standard AM/PM numbers.

I think option 3 is my best bet. Thanks Berke.

 

[DaveC426913]

http://imgwe.com/accessbee/27/1.png Do[/URL] google search and type time display. :)

Yes. Thank you. I never would have thought of that.

 

[Moonbear]

http://www.officeclocks.com/home/Html/Options/24hrdials.html

Dial style #9 is probably what you're looking for.

There's another clock that uses the normal positioning of numbers and has an arrow that points to AM or PM that might be even easier to use if you scroll down this page a bit:
http://www.officeclocks.com/24_Hour_Clocks.html

 

[DaveC426913]

http://www.officeclocks.com/home/Html/Options/24hrdials.html

Dial style #9 is probably what you're looking for.

There's another clock that uses the normal positioning of numbers and has an arrow that points to AM or PM that might be even easier to use if you scroll down this page a bit:
http://www.officeclocks.com/24_Hour_Clocks.html

Cool. But yikes! The prices!

Say, I wonder why all the 24 hour clocks have AM on the left and PM on the right... That puts midnight at the bottom and noon at the top. ?Intuitively, one would think midnight should be at the top - so a full day goes from top-to-top.

 

[mynameinc]

Cool. But yikes! The prices!

Say, I wonder why all the 24 hour clocks have AM on the left and PM on the right... That puts midnight at the bottom and noon at the top. ?Intuitively, one would think midnight should be at the top - so a full day goes from top-to-top.

I have a design idea in my mind for what I think you're looking for, and may be able to translate it into blueprints for you.

 

[DaveC426913]

I have a design idea in my mind for what I think you're looking for, and may be able to translate it into blueprints for you.

As long as I can have two of them within two weeks, for about $20 apiece...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Dave, have you checked the 24-hour stores?

 

[Moonbear]

Cool. But yikes! The prices!

Say, I wonder why all the 24 hour clocks have AM on the left and PM on the right... That puts midnight at the bottom and noon at the top. ?Intuitively, one would think midnight should be at the top - so a full day goes from top-to-top.

Sorry, I didn't look at prices.

I really wonder why it's so hard to find that sort of clock. As I looked through all the other time zone clocks, I see what you mean that they don't specify AM/PM on a lot of them while still using 12 hour time. I don't have a problem with 24 hour time, but I could see that being a pain in an office setting with staff who aren't used to thinking that way. I found a site that sold items for the visually impaired (with strangely small font on their product descriptions ), but even those had big numbers but not big AM/PM indicators.

 

[GeorginaS]

The model AL13 AM/PM clock on the site has the twelve-hour analogue clock with an am/pm indicator that's really cool, Moonbear. But yeah, the prices! Yikes. Why on Earth would that cost $112.00?

 

[ideasrule]

Just get a clock that shows military time instead of AM/PM. They're very easy to get used to.

 

[mgb_phys]

Say, I wonder why all the 24 hour clocks have AM on the left and PM on the right... That puts midnight at the bottom and noon at the top.

You could just hang it upside down !

 

[Borek]

I suppose clock with 24 hours face for someone not used to it will be even more difficult to read than 24:00 type clock (whatever they are named) - I am more than sure 6 pm (hours hand horizontal to the left) will look like 21:00 or 9:00 to me (no idea which one). So if the clock is for someone who may have problems spotting difference between 19:00 and 9:00, 24 hours face can be even worse.

http://www.ccrane.com/science/atomic-clocks/24-hour-clock.aspx?RefID=WS110401WSDG0100

8:07 anyone?

 

[DaveC426913]

So if the clock is for someone who may have problems spotting difference between 19:00 and 9:00, 24 hours face can be even worse.

No. Reading a 24-hour face only requires reading what it says on the clock, (as opposed to glancing at it).

Reading military time requires either a mental calculation (subtract 12), or learning to think in military time.

 

[rolerbe]

It would appear I have 3 options:

1] Get a regular 12-hour digital clock that has an ample AM/PM indicator.
2] Find an analogue clock that also has AM/PM indicator (if there is such a thing).
3] Get a 24-hour military analogue clock and put a new face on it with standard AM/PM numbers.

Or make flash cards to learn how to subtract 12.

sorry, couldn't resist -- when I was in the military, I had to memorize an approximate sine table. Wish I could remember that now.

 

[Borek]

No. Reading a 24-hour face only requires reading what it says on the clock, (as opposed to glancing at it).

It is going to work against a life time habit, it won't be easy. Especially from 15', when you don't concentrate on digits, but on the familar face.

 

[rolerbe]

I also found it not too terribly hard to learn to think in military time (as opposed to 'translating' by subtracting 12). About the same as learning to think in Kg and Liters. Very similar, in a much simpler sense, to learning a new language. The first step is always translation, then eventually native thought in the new 'language'.

 

[DaveC426913]

OK, if this were for me, I'd have no problem with mil time.

Thing about a wife is that one can't "do her an unsolicited favour" and then turn around and tell her she needs to be trained to use the thing.

By definition, it has to make her life easier, not harder.