Setting Your Clock

Setting Your Clock on the Atlantic

Set it once; it tells the tides until the battery needs replacing.

To set your Tide Timer:
* Click here to find the next high tide in your area. (Do not install the battery yet)

Choose an upcoming time of high that will be convenient for you to set your clock. If high tide is at 2:05pm in your area and your red ball hand is at high tide, install the AA battery (plus side to the right) at 2:05pm and you are good. If the next low tide in your area is more convenient, you must rotate the wheel on the back of the clock many times to get the red ball to get to Low Tide and install the battery at the next Low Tide in your area.

If you have to adjust the red ball hand, please rotate the tide adjustment wheel on the back of the clock many times to move the red ball hand.
Once the clock is set, you should not need to adjust it again until the battery expires or it experiences an extended period of lack of use (like from one summer beach season to the next). If you wish to obtain the most balanced readings, you may double check the settings of your tide clock vs. tide charts on any day of a full or new moon.

Setting Your Clock on the Pacific

Do not look up tides in your area, please see below for our proprietary tables. Set it once; then you must adjust it weekly with our proprietary tables for optimum results.

To set your Tide Timer on the Pacific, you will need:
* The special setting tables for your area of the Pacific - Click here for 2024 tables and weekly setting instructions. Click here for 2023 tables.
Use the tables you received 1 line above. You will also find more detailed instructions when you click on the above. Each year they will be updated and can be found here on our website. If you can not access the website to get our tables, you can request it by email at info@tideclocks.com
Find the tables for an area nearest where you want to use the clock. This is the only section of the special setting tables page that you need to be concerned with going forward. You may then ignore all the other setting tables for other Pacific Coast towns.
Rotate the tide adjustment wheel on the back of the clock to move the hand pointing to high or low tide at the time indicated on your weekly setting tables. If the tables say high tide is at 12:05pm today, you install the AA battery at 12:05pm today. If our tables call for low tide at 2:10pm, install the battery at 2:10pm.
The tides are now set for the week ahead. On each of the following Saturdays you will need to follow the same procedure of referencing the time of High/Low Tide on your special setting tables, and adjusting the red tide hand only. No adjustment to the time of day is necessary.
You may notice that our setting times will be different from the published tide tables and may vary an hour or more at times. Our proprietary computer programs have developed these special settings to provide you with the most balanced readings through out the week. Remember, along the Pacific Coast, setting our Tide Timer or by the official published tables will NOT give satisfactory results.

Coastline Barometer

Before you can begin to use your Coastline Barometer, you must set it to match your local barometric pressure. Your local barometric pressure can be found from weather reports or television, or from one of many sites on the Internet. Here are some sites to try:

http://weather.noaa.gov/

http://home.accuweather.com/

http://www.weather.com/http://weather.yahoo.com/

http://weather.yahoo.com/

http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/

The barometer has a slotted adjustment screw on the back of the instrument. Turn this screw with a small screwdriver until your barometer matches the barometeric pressure from your local weather report. Best done while the weather is stable.

Compass Barometer

Before you begin to use your Comapss Barometer, you must set it to match your local barometric pressure. Your local barometric pressure can be found from weather reports on television, or from one of the many sites on the internet. Here are some sites to try:

http://weather.noaa.gov/

http://home.accuweather.com/

http://www.weather.com/

http://weather.yahoo.com/

http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/

Best done while the weather is stable.

To Adjust Your Barometer: Simply depress the set button in the top right corner of the movement. When the button is depressed the needle will begin to move in either a clockwise or counter clockwise direction. To move the needle in the other direction, release the button and then push it again. If you hold the button down long enough, the hand will begin to move more rapidly. By using a series of rapid & slow adjustments you will be able to set your barometer to a precise setting. Once adjusted, your barometer will accurately react to the slightest change in pressure.

Lunatime Clock Settings

Set it once; it will track the moon until the battery needs replacing.

To set your LunaTime you will need:

   * Access to the Internet
   * One C Alkaline battery
   * Your LunaTime Clock

Instructions:

Log onto http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications on the Internet.
Click on the Data Services Section.
Click on the Link Complete Sun & Moon Data for One Day.
Type in your city, state and date you are setting the clock.
Find the moon transit time. This is the time your LunaTime clock hand should be pointing directly up on the clock; so it's also the time you should ideally be setting your clock.
If you need to turn the hand, gently pull the knob on the back of the clock movement out and turn it. Push it back in when you are finished.
Ideally at this time, insert the battery and make sure the switch on the movement is on.
If the published times are not convenient, you may extrapolate and set the LunaTime at a convenient time.
For most balanced readings, double check the settings of your clock with the website's moon transit time during a full or new moon. Then do not adjust it again until the next new or full moon.