zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

Wild story. Though some of their description is inaccurate about how clock work under such circumstances.

Most wall-outlet powered analog clocks are NOT quartz. They use highly calibrated electric motors that run off alternating current. These are the kind that would really be effected by the country reducing the frequency of the electrical current.

Quartz clock mechanisms are not driven by the frequency of the electric current. That's why they can run off batteries, which product direct current (DC), not alternating current (AC). The frequency of the timing is controlled by the quartz crystal, not the frequency of the current. So a real quartz clock shouldn't be thrown off by moderate changes in the electric current frequency. The electronics should filter that difference out unless it exceeded the electronic's limitations -- what's commonly known as a brownout situation.