Miniaturization has gotten to the point that there's now a complete Cesium based atomic clock module that's about the size of a matchbook (yes, 18th Century size reference). Based on that Hoptroff, a small British firm that makes high-tech electronic watches, has designed the first pocket watch with an internal Cesium reference. The Hoptroff 10 will be quite the beast, 82×25mm, and priced under, but nearing $100,000. Interestingly the dial, at least the sketch that they've released with the PR, is very much in the style of the great 17th and 18th C watchmakers, possibly harking back to the last time England was truly important in world horology.
For that you get all the following bits and pieces:
Internals:
- Symmetricom Chip Scale Atomic Clock
- USB socket
- 4 x pusher actuators
- 9 x Soprod bimotors (permits hands to move in reverse, they're the little black V-shaped things with 4 copper coils)
- 10 x Soprod monomotors (only moves hands clockwise, small black blobs with only 2 coils)
- 6 x PIC microcontrollers
- 60 x side-emitting LEDs
- Flexipanel Bluetooth Low Energy radio
- Sensirion humidity / temperature sensor
- Measurement Specialties pressure sensor
- Freescale magnetometer
- Union Fortune Lithium Polymer battery pack sandwiched between circuit boards (not visible)
Functions:
- Hours
- Minutes
- Seconds
- Annual wheel
- Magnetic compass
- Longitude - coarse scale
- Not shown due to patent applications
- Day of week
- Humidity
- Date
- Sidereal seconds
- Power remaining
- Tide forecast
- Tide height
- Temperature
- Atmospheric pressure
- Latitude - minutes
- Latitude - degrees
- Sidereal hours
- Sidereal minutes
- Longitude - minutes
- Longitude - degrees
- Microwave resonator status
- Charge status
- Atomic resonance lock indicator
- Clock status - atomic / ACXO / TCXO
- Caesium oven status
- Laser status
A
Leave a comment