Auto Clock Setting Problem

M

MundoKev

Guest
I currently have an old Aiwa video recorder and get the same problem every year.

This is when BST starts

My video (which automatically sets the clock via a radio signal) always reverts to GMT even when I try setting the clock manually

There is no override feature, and when I contacted Aiwa on this they did not have a clue as to why it is happening

As a result the videoplus feature cannot be used, and it takes a maths degree to work out the mannual setting of a program, especially as I do not know what the specific time of day it is when the adjustment takes place

Surely there must be someone else with this problem out there

BTW, the problem last year lasted a couple of weeks, and I am not sure what cured the problem eventually
 
I would imagine that the clock on the vcr is set by the teletext signal, not by radio signal as you suggest. (I've never come accross such a feature on a vcr). So, in theory, it should be the same time as the teletext.

On some makes/models they have a feature/button you can select to enable/disable BST, without reseting the clock. Maybe this has been accidently kicked in?

The only solution I can offer is to re-run the full auto setup (where the vcr tunes in channels/sets clock) procedure again, as if installing for the first time.
 
Thanks for that

There is no feature that lets me disable BST, but will try re-tuning from scratch, as I have already tried leaving the power off for a few hours to no avail
 
Not sure if this is the same as your problem, given what you describe and the measures you've taken...but my mum has similar difficulties every six months and never remembers.

Her "Auto Clock Update thingy" is assigned to a particular channel, so the video has to be put onto that channel, then into standby until the clock changes (usually no longer than a minute).
 
What a good idea, almost though it would work....but alas it did not

As a last resort I did an auto retune for all stations and ..voila.. success, although it only recognised 3 of the 6 stations initially

After a bit of manual retuning it now shows all the channels and the correct time as well

Result
 
Spoke too soon....back the clock goes an hour.....why, it is like having a new BST every day...oh well back to the drawing board

Either that or a new video recorder, but must make sure it is not an AIWA

Sorry AIWA but saying it is not your fault is a bit of a cop out, especially as YOU decided to have the feature built into the unit, and obviously deciding it would not be a future issue which it obviously is
 
I have had the same problem this year with the switch to BST on my Aiwa FX2500. Has anyone found a solution to the original post as it sounds the same thing which may be Aiwa related?

Having worked fine for seven years this weekend it failed to update the time to BST and has remained an hour slow. I have been through auto set up several times over the past couple of days and powered the vcr off and on to force a time reset but each time it comes back with a GMT time )- 1 hour from actual time). I have manually set the time but it is internally programmed to validate the time at 03:00 07:00 12:00 and 18:00 and it resets the time back to GMT. Frustrating as it means VideoPlus is not usable.

Noted that after auto set up the two BBC channels are not being set up as Channels 1 and 2 in Position 1 and 2 they end up as Channels 11 and 12 with no Channels 1 or 2 set at all, so I have had to manually reset the channels and positions but it still fails to get the time right. Don't know if its a it's a factor but the on screen display does not indicate the BBC channels (ie, BBC1 and BBC2) but it does for ITV and Ch4. Anyone know if the auto clock set uses only a BBC channel? I tried making ITV channel 1 but that made no difference. Teletext time is set correctly so where does it pick up GMT from?

An
 
The problem is back again this year

Set the clock to GMT and overnight it goes back to BST

I think it sorted itself out last time by leaving on for a few hours instead of putting on standby

I seem to recall when I talked to the AIWA engineer last year he mentioned something about it using teletext to set the clock, but could not offer a solution as he said it was out of their (AIWA) control

Anyway, will probably be getting rid later this year, and doubt I will be getting an AIWA again
 
I have tried the trick of leaving the vcr on (i.e not on standby) and notice that it retains the time over the time slots when it is supposed to validate via auto time check(according to the manual this is at 03:00, 17:00 12:00 and 18:00). However when it is back on standbay at the next auto timecheck it rest back to GMT. I suspect when not on standby it suspends the automatic time check.

I'll keep trying and post any solutions found, other than replacing it with another vcr!
 
Video has been on standby since the clocks changed and guess what....
The time is now showing correct. Couldn't believe it....got up this morning and there it was....larger than life... and correct....
Twilight zone stuff....
 
MundoKev says "Video has been on standby since the clocks changed and guess what....
The time is now showing correct
."

Great news
Mine still reset itself back to GMT at 18:00 today so hope that what ever it is that made yours work makes its way south! Perhaps it only responds to being ignored!
 
Also got the Aiwa, got the same BST/GMT problem. It can't be the signal however, as the Sony VCR in the living room retuned correctly. (The Aiwa is in my bedroom). The Aiwa has worked perfectly for over 10 years. Software bug anyone? Barclays ring any bells?!
 
:thumbsup: Well it just goes to show the twilight zone mysteries can be real. At 10:00 this moring the clock on the vcr was showing a GMT time of 09:00. I went out for the day and left it on standby and at 16:45 noticed that it was now showing the correct BST time! Nothing else had changed. Summer time is finally here and the sun was shining.

It is clearly not a purely signal issue as other vcrs with the similar feature would suffer the same problem. However something remote does seem to kick it into adjusting the time after a while so I suspect some sensitivity in the decoder in the vcr that shows it self over time.

All the machines that show the problem are Aiwa's and it seems each machine has reached a certain age before showing the problem. Next time I'll just ignore it until it puts itself right.
 
freecell said:
:thumbsup: Well it just goes to show the twilight zone mysteries can be real. At 10:00 this moring the clock on the vcr was showing a GMT time of 09:00. I went out for the day and left it on standby and at 16:45 noticed that it was now showing the correct BST time! Nothing else had changed. Summer time is finally here and the sun was shining.

It is clearly not a purely signal issue as other vcrs with the similar feature would suffer the same problem. However something remote does seem to kick it into adjusting the time after a while so I suspect some sensitivity in the decoder in the vcr that shows it self over time.

All the machines that show the problem are Aiwa's and it seems each machine has reached a certain age before showing the problem. Next time I'll just ignore it until it puts itself right.

There was a fault on the BBC at the weekend.....Check p698 Teletext which screwed up the time on certain vcr's where the auto-clock setting was switched on.
 
Thanks to JayCee for spotting the information on Ceefax.

BBC have received a number of reports of this problem and claim to be investigating but don't list the makes of vcr affected. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/answers.shtml#vcrclock

No cause is given (as at 02/04/2005) but something changed as the problem seems to rectify itself. Given this was at different times it looks as though the issue affected a number of different transmitters
 
The BBC have had this problem for some time now. Try tuning CH4 to channel posistion 1, and put BBC1 to posistion 4. So now when vcr time updates, it will use CH4.
 
It's back! Summer Time ends and the Aiwa hasn't picked up the right time again. Will have to try jeffo's idea but not sure if that will screw up VideoPlus.

The BBC are saying nothing on their transmitter website this time. I am in Hampshire/Surrey border (Meridian region). Anyone else having the same problem (again)?
 
freecell said:
It's back! Summer Time ends and the Aiwa hasn't picked up the right time again. Will have to try jeffo's idea but not sure if that will screw up VideoPlus.

The BBC are saying nothing on their transmitter website this time. I am in Hampshire/Surrey border (Meridian region). Anyone else having the same problem (again)?

It is due to the BBC. It's all over todays newspapers (at least up here in Central Scotand)
 
Thanks Jaycee. Seems to have fixed itself again so maybe BBC have decided what the solution is. When I spoke to them in the Spring they wer very helpful but baffled by what caused it. I haven't seen anything in the papers down here so wonder if they admitted what the problem was that caused it?
 
freecell said:
Thanks Jaycee. Seems to have fixed itself again so maybe BBC have decided what the solution is. When I spoke to them in the Spring they wer very helpful but baffled by what caused it. I haven't seen anything in the papers down here so wonder if they admitted what the problem was that caused it?

The newspapers had chided the BBC for forgetting to "pull a switch" to update the time but the Beeb said it should have happened automatically and there had been gremlins in the system and engineers had been called in overnight and were still there Monday morning trying to fix it The BBC said it "had affected the whole country outside of London" :D
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom