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UTC uses a 24-hour system of time notation. "1:00 a.m." in UTC is expressed as 0100, pronounced "zero one hundred." Fifteen minutes after 0100 is expressed as 0115; thirty-eight minutes after 0100 is 0138 (usually pronounced "zero one thirty-eight"). The time one minute after 0159 is 0200. The time one minute after 1259 is 1300 (pronounced "thirteen hundred"). This continues until 2359. One minute later is 0000 ("zero hundred"), and the start of a new UTC day. To convert UTC to local time, you have to add or subtract hours from it. For persons west of the zero meridian to the international date line (which includes all of North America), hours are subtracted from UTC to convert to local time. Below is a table showing the number of hours to subtract from local time zones in North America in order to convert UTC to local time: The second table is direct conversion from UTC to U.S.A. timezones.
To hear the latest time in UTC, you can tune to stations WWV, in Fort Collins, Colorado and WWVH, Kauai, Hawaii on 2500, 5000, 10000 and 15000 kHz to hear the time announced in UTC each minute. WWV uses a man's voice to give the time, while WWVH uses a female voice. If you live in the central or eastern United States, and those frequencies aren't usable, you can tune to station CHU, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 3330, 7850 and 14670 kHz, to hear the current UTC time. If you're like many radio hobbyists, you will soon add a second clock set to UTC to your collection of radio gear. |