What is a Radio-Controlled Watch?

　　By using batteries that do not need to be discarded, limited earth resources can be saved and pollution reduced, making it a truly eco-friendly product. Therefore, Eco-Drive and radio-controlled watches are increasingly becoming the mainstream. So what does a radio-controlled watch mean?

　　What is a radio-controlled watch?

　　Radio-controlled eco-drive watches receive the standard time radio waves transmitted by transmission towers via a built-in radio receiver and antenna to obtain data such as the time and calendar, automatically correcting the watch's time and date. The standard time signal uses a high-precision, highly stable caesium atomic clock as its signal source, with an error of one second every hundred thousand years.

　　How Radio-Controlled Watches Receive Information

　　a. Press the button for forced signal reception: Forced signal reception allows the user to manually perform signal reception whenever they feel it is necessary to correct the watch's time and date. Depending on the environment, the time taken to receive the signal will vary. If the signal is strong and stable, reception can be completed in about 2 minutes; if the signal is weak and the environment is poor, it will take about 15 minutes.

　　b. Automatic scheduled signal reception: Citizen Eco-Drive radio-controlled watches are set to automatically receive signals at 2 or 4 in the morning. During this time period, standard radio wave signals experience less interference. If reception is successful at 2, it will not receive again at 4; if reception fails at 2, it will automatically retry at 4.

　　c. After the power is completely depleted and stops, the watch automatically receives signals upon being recharged and restarted.

　　Radio-Controlled Watch Principle

　　Standard radio signals operate by broadcasting waveform signals containing time codes, which are then calculated and converted into a time display.

　　1. The so-called time code consists of time elements such as year, month, day, day of the week, hour, minute, and second. This signal is then received by the watch's receiver.

　　2. The receiver converts the received signal into the watch's time pulse signal.

　　3, comparing the watch's pulse signal with the newly received pulse signal to correct any time discrepancies, ensuring the watch remains permanently accurate.

　　The standard time radio signal is transmitted by a civilian standard time radio tower established by the National Time Service Centre (NTSC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Yucheng County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province. The signal covers most of China, though remote areas such as Xinjiang and Tibet cannot currently receive it. The signal from this tower can also be received in North Korea, South Korea, and the western regions of Japan.

　　How to determine if reception is successful

　　Can radio-controlled watches purchased in China use signals from foreign transmitters? Each signal tower transmits on a different frequency. Some Eco-Drive radio-controlled watches sold in the Chinese market can only receive the standard time signal from the Shangqiu, Henan tower. However, Citizen Eco-Drive radio-controlled watches capable of automatically adjusting world time have been sold in overseas markets and are now available in China. These watches support multi-station reception; simply select the city name of your current location to acquire the signal from the nearest tower and automatically adjust to local standard time, making them ideal for business travellers who frequently cross borders.