You are off the coast of Mexico and are taking a time tick for 1600. At approximately 1554, you hear the preparatory signal "VVVV de XDD" from the time signal station. Then you hear a series of 1 second dashes followed by a 9 second silent period and then a long 0.8 second dash. At the beginning of the long dash, your comparing watch reads 03h 59m 56s. When compared to the chronometer, the comparing watch reads 04h 01m 22s, and the chronometer reads 04h 02m 11s. What is the chronometer error?
⢠Radio time signals: Identify which part of the signal marks the exact time (e.g., the beginning of which dash). ⢠Comparing watch vs. chronometer: Understand how to step time from the radio signal â comparing watch â chronometer. ⢠Fast vs. slow error: Decide whether the chronometer is ahead of or behind the correct time, and by how many seconds.
⢠From the signal description, which specific instant is 1600:00 UTC? Is it the start of the long dash, the end of it, or another part of the sequence? ⢠At that instant, what is the true time, and what does your comparing watch show? From that, is the comparing watch fast or slow, and by how much? ⢠How do you transfer that comparing-watch error to the chronometer, using the stated readings, to get the chronometerâs true error (fast or slow)?
⢠Be clear which watch is being directly compared to the time signal (that is where you get the true time). ⢠Carefully track signs: if an instrument reading is greater than the true time, it is fast; if less, it is slow. ⢠Make sure your final answer states the chronometer error as "fast" or "slow" referenced to the correct 1600:00 time, and that you have not accidentally mixed the comparing-watch error with the chronometer error.
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