My android phone does not display seconds, just HH:MM. But, there are apps that will display seconds. I use Navy Clock. It shows the phone clock, and an atomic clock (time that it gets over the internet) right below it.
I was puzzled to see that there was a consistent 16 seconds difference once it syncs up to NTP (network time protocol). I thought that was strange since I know that digital networks depend on accurate time to operate correctly, and the phone (android) gets its time from the cell network (I think). Then I realized that the current difference between GPS time and UTC is 16 seconds. I did a little bit of research and found that is a "bug" in android software. GPS broadcasts the current difference, but android does not apply the correction.
So, if you are ever doing a star shot or a solar and using your phone for time, make sure you know what time is being displayed. Apparently apple does apply the correction.
Outstanding. Thanks John for the knowledge.
Hope things are well in your world.
Larry P
My android (Samsung Galaxy) displays standard time - not GPS time. Just checked against both the US & Canadian time signals.
I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think the time your phone displays comes from the cell provider so I think the conversion takes place there. Part of my theory on this is based on the fact that when you are driving along (even previous to GPS phones), the time would change when you crossed a time zone based on information being received from the cell tower.
However, the main point of John's post is to know what you are seeing. I'm going to install the app John mentioned and see what I see.
Navy Clock
I installed the Navy Clock app and its time and the phone time are in agreement.
Thanks for the APP
Been looking for one
My Droid Razr is 17sec ahead of the Atomic Clock
:beer:
All I know is that if you have your phone and need the accurate time for a celestial observation it's too easy not to call WWV. Put it on the speaker and start the stopwatch.
But you are correct in that there is a definite lag between phone time and real time in the Navy Clock app.
I use that, plus clocksync; it shows the difference and if rooted will update your phones time.
> I did a little bit of research and found that is a "bug" in android software. GPS broadcasts the current difference, but android does not apply the correction.
I wonder if this is manufacturer- and/or provider-dependent. I just installed Navy Clock II, and my Samsung Galaxy S2 with service from Sprint shows both the phone time and the atomic time as the same.
> I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think the time your phone displays comes from the cell provider
On some days when I am on the West coast of Michigan, my phone will switch to Wisconsin time. Took me awhile before I figured out why my phone was changing time zones. I guess cell signals bounce across water very well.
Upon reading this thread, I installed Navy Clock II on my Samsung Galaxy S4 and everything is in sync. :clock:
Funny you say that, Scott. When I'm on the beach in Wisconsin, my phone will switch to Michigan time. It messed me up on several occasions.
