Turn a quartz clock module into a time reference

If you're looking for a 1 second time reference, you'll probably just need a commercially available GPS module and use the 1PPS output. As demonstrated by [InazumaDenki], however, an old quartz clock module can also do the job with just a little work.

The module was salvaged from an old Seiko wall clock and features the familiar 32.768KHz crystal you've come to expect. This frequency easily halves several times until you get a useful output of 1 Hz. The module, originally designed to run a clock movement, can be reused with basic analog electronics to produce a useful time reference. [InazumaDenki] explains various ways to achieve this, before demonstrating his preferred method by building the device and demonstrating it with a decade counter.

It has some advantages over a GPS time reference, such as operating at a much lower voltage and requiring no external signal input. However, it won't be as accurate either. Whether or not this matters to you depends on your specific application. Video after the break.