| N9JKP |
Rating:      |
2019-09-18 | |
| Always wanted a Geochron, and love it |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I am running version 2. It looks just awesome on my 50" 4K monitor in my shack. I have taken it (with a smaller (23")) monitor to some hamfests for our DX Club's membership table. It has proven to be a great draw to our booth and we use it to get conversations started.
It works well and when I did my conversion from Version 1 to 2 I needed some help and the support staff was superb. |
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| AL7B |
Rating:      |
2019-09-17 | |
| Great Shack Addition |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Purchased the Geochron digital V2 four months ago. The clock has been running 24/7 without a problem. It has only been restarted after a firmware update.
The clock computer is small enough that it begs to be installed behind the monitor on the VESA mount or on the wall. I was not aware of any mounting options for the computer so made one. The clock case has two 3mm threaded inserts. these were used to mount the case to counter sunk holes on 1/4" plexiglass. The plexiglass was made a bit oversized allowing for mounting to the wall with two additional holes.
Very happy with the clock and handy to watch the gray line change with time of day and seasons. It is a helpful tool. |
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| N4KZ |
Rating:      |
2019-09-15 | |
| Great ham shack addition |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Love my Geochron Digital. I display the ham prefix map on a 55-inch 4K UHD screen. Very nice tool for DXing. For those with mechanical clocks that have issues, check the company's website. Discounts on the repair of older units are being offered. Also, the company is buying back some older units to beef up their supply of now-hard-to-obtain components used in older mechanical versions.
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Earlier 5-star review posted by N4KZ on 2018-07-26
Geochron, longtime maker of the famous mechanical Geochron World Clock, has just introduced the Geochron Digital. It offers many new functions not available on the mechanical version and at a fraction of the cost. I just got mine hooked up. Wow. It's breathtaking, particularly when output to a 4K UHD TV. For years, I wanted a Geochron on my ham shack wall. (I like DXing on the low bands and seeing sunrise and sunset on the clock is a valuable tool,) But I was too frugal to buy a mechanical version but now the digital version is completely affordable. While not optimal, it still looks good even when output to a regular HD TV. It displays 5 different map sets, one of which is a ham radio map showing country prefixes, ITU zones and more. And it shows the ISS position and updates it every 15 seconds. It's great to be talking with a ham and be able to tell him, "By the way the space station is coming over your house in a couple of minutes." It connects to your WiFi and will add new features from the factory. This was a long time coming but worth the wait. |
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| W5MT |
Rating:   |
2019-08-20 | |
| Great display, but that's all |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I recently bought the Geochron 4k V2 from Gigaparts. Since I had no TV/monitor in the shack, I also bought a 24" 1080p HD TV and wall mounted it above the operating position (the 24" 16:9 is plenty big being only 30" or so from my eyes).
The Geochron display looks very nice in HD and the basic map features (terminator, city lights @ night, sun location, etc.) are also quite nice. I have seen a few mechanical versions of Geochron over the years and they are of course very impressive, but don't be swayed by your fascination of the mechanical instrument and think that this product is something unique; this is a computerized display with some overlays available with some "live" and some "sort of live" data displayed.
The Ham Radio Map is a huge disappointment if you're looking for any useful amateur radio information not otherwise shown on the other maps. As best as I can tell on the Ham Radio Map, Geochron added only two features: country callsign prefixes across the globe and a CQ Zone overlay. First, the font size of the country prefixes is so tiny, they're useless. Of course, all the print on all the maps is very small, it makes one wonder why they bothered; it certainly would be a cleaner map without any country labelling since you can't read it anyway. Secondly, in ALL other map modes, the time zone boundaries are shown in black, allowing the other map detail to be more easily seen. In the Ham Radio Map, the time zone boundaries are white, which totally detracts from the CQ Zone Map overlay that Geochron included; IMO, they should have left the time zone markers in black and made the CQ Zone boundaries in white so they'd stand out.
On the Ham Map, there are several other features I can think of to add, but I'm wondering if the processor used in the product is about max'd out with this limited set of overlays. I imagine if Geochron were interested in selling a product more towards the amateur market, they could get rid of a bunch of the weather and commercial/military satellite data and recoup space for more amateur features; however, at present, the product seems to be designed as a universal product, specific to no one.
Maybe inclusion of the Amateur Satellites overlay is new in Version 2 (I don't know), but unless you're a satellite enthusiast, after you watch them go round and round for a few days, you've seen enough hihi. As to their geolocation accuracy, I can't say, but if you're an satellite enthusiast, you likely have many more reliable sources for timing passes. |
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| WB1FFI |
Rating:      |
2019-08-19 | |
| Nice shack accessory |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
I had frustration with the Version 2 upgrade but after a 20 minute phone call with their tech support, we navigated through the issues and I was able to upgrade my Geochron to the latest version. The unit is on 24/7 and only goes off if the main power is lost during a storm. I use mainly the ham radio map and not extensively used the many other applications included with the updated version. I still think this is one of the nicest shack accessories. A good internet connection is really needed for optimal use (a wired connection needed for upgrades).
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Earlier 5-star review posted by WB1FFI on 2019-02-06
I agree with previous comments that this is one accessory that I always wanted for the shack but could not part with over $3,000 for the mechanical one. The digital unit works beautifully with the Samsung 43 inch 4K TV on the wall and I run it 24/7. The features are easy to use and it is nice to follow the grey line for optimal band conditions. It would also make a great gift for a ham that has some spare wall space in the shack. |
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| AG7AG |
Rating:  |
2019-08-12 | |
| Not impressed |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I purchased this from DX Engineering in Nov 2018. It is a very nice looking clock but with problems. The first is that it will not stay running. I had this on 24/7 but at intermittent times it would just freeze. A reboot would fix the issue. I contacted Geochron and they assured me this would be fixed with the next update. This leads me to my next issue. The update to Ver 2 was supposed to be free for Ver 1 owners. I did get an email from Geochron on the update and followed their instructions. Unfortunately, it would not install. I contacted Geochron and again they assured me the problem would be fixed in within a couple of weeks and if not they would offer a factory update. Long story short, the update will still not install, no offer for a factory install, and just got an email that the window for ver 1 owners to update is closed. In other words, I'm stuck with a faulty unit and the only way to fix it is to buy a newer unit at full price. |
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| N3CAL |
Rating:     |
2019-07-28 | |
| Nice |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Purchased my Version 2 Digital 4k through DX Engineering. Very nice display on 4K TV /Monitor. Lots of choices for maps and display options through provided remote. Only issue I've found is International Space Station (ISS) when displayed it's position is off by at least 2 zones. Unable to updates it Kep Elements as well. I'm still waiting on response from Geochron on this issue. My email has not been answered yet? For price I would have expected better on accuracy. I have mine hooked up via Ethernet cable. |
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| W5SJR |
Rating:      |
2019-07-14 | |
| Works Great |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Got it pre-owned (looks New) on ebay for $125. When I powered it on, I noticed it had the Android OS, followed the quick instructions on the GeoChron webiste on how to upgrade to the Linux OS. (FYI: Had to call GeoChron, the download did not allow my Serial# to download the Update.) A quick call and then fixed the issue, the girl who answered was very nice and very helpful. Everything is working perfect. GeoChron 4k is connected to my 65in 1080p TV, not a 4k display. Looks great. |
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| K4TK |
Rating:      |
2019-04-27 | |
| Very nice addition to the shack |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just bought one of these DIRECT from Geochron (nobody else seemed to have them in stock?). The unit just arrived, with a hand written note that says I AM THE FIRST PERSON....to get the all new Version 2. It apparently includes some features that weren't available in version 1. I LOVE THIS THING. So much detail you can put into it....various maps (but I like the Ham one, of course). Weather, shipping lanes, airline traffic lanes, precipitation, cloud cover, city lights (at night)....the list goes on and on and on.
The only thing I find interesting....that I'd like changed....is you can use the remote control to turn the unit OFF. But when it comes to turning it ON....the remote power button doesn't seem to do anything. you have to reach back on the back of the unit and turn it on with a button back there. Just a small inconvenience for me. But....I'd love to see the remote power button actually turn it ON.......
Still a solid 5 out of 5 on the rating. Thrilled to be the FIRST one with version 2! |
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| K6CTA |
Rating:    |
2019-01-09 | |
| OK |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| I've had the Geochron Digital since last summer. I had always wanted one of these, but never could justify the price of the mechanical unit. The digital version looks great and is a much more reasonable price point. However, it can be a bit frustrating at times. I normally do not leave it running 24/7, but, since it's digital, turn it on when I come in the room and then off when I am done for the day. The odds of it booting up and turning on seem to be 50/50 at best. More often than not, the unit gets stuck in a boot-up loop, and requires me to remove power and start the process over. I would expect the computer to be stable enough to be turned on and off with the remote control. However, that does not seem to be the case. If you leave it running 24/7, you'll never see this issue..... |
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