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Last Update: 2013-06-19
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Frequently Asked Questions

Questions to the Terms of Sales Questions to Time Synchronisation


Question: MEINBERG is in Germany. Do I have to deal with US Customs? TOP
Answer: No. JTime! MEINBERG USA is the exclusive distributor for MEINBERG in the United States. We take care of getting the product into the US, and that means taking care of any Import Duties and Freight expenses. Typical freight terms are FOB Origin, Windsor, California.
Question: Once I've decided what I want, how do I pay? and what are the terms? TOP
Answer: JTime! MEINBERG USA accepts corporate purchase orders, credit cards (MasterCard and VISA), prepaid check, COD, or, if you want to make a trip to glorious Northern California, we'll take cash (all in US funds, of course). Standard payment terms on approval of credit for purchase orders is Net 30 days. If you prefer that we be your bank for payment terms beyond 30 days, then 1.5% per month is assessed. Credit card orders are not processed until product has been shipped to you.
Question: What is the Evaluation and Return Policy? TOP
Answer: JTime! MEINBERG USA stands behind our offered product. Because of the technical nature of the product, customers often wish to confirm for themselves that it will do what we say it will. To provide assurance to our customers, JTime! MEINBERG USA offers a money-back guarantee, on standard product. This is for a one-unit purchase for evaluation, when specified at time of order, and when the product in question is returned in original condition within 30 days of receipt. This does not apply to "special" or custom orders.

Returns after 30 days are subject to minimum 15% handling charge, to be defined on a case-by-case basis. In the event the product does not meet the customer acceptance specification, the following process is in place:

  • 1. Call JTime! MEINBERG USA (TEL 707-837-9570) to advise that the unit is to be returned, and to receive a Return Material Authorization (RMA) number.

  • 2. Send the item, along with a copy of the original invoice and all of the original packaging and material (including manual and cable, as applicable). Write the RMA number on the cover of the package. The shipping cost of returning the item to JTime! MEINBERG USA is the reponsibility of the customer.

  • 3. The address to ship to is:
    JTime!, Inc.
    228 Windsor River Road, #225
    Windsor, CA95492

    ATTN: RMA # ___________
    TEL 707-837-9570
The item is subject to inspection upon receipt. Physically damaged items that are not in sellable condition are not refundable.

Customer is responsible for freight to return to JTime! MEINBERG USA.

Credit and check refunding can take up to 10 business days to confirm and complete after receipt of the item. In the case of crefit card orders, only a credit to the credit card account is permitted.

If the order is via Company Purchase Order, the order will be adjusted to reflect the return, with no net amount due.

Question: Why do you need your own time server although there are time servers available on the internet? TOP
Answer: In principle it is possible to synchronize your computers with time servers on the internet.

However, a lot of our customers rely on their own time server in their network environment for security and/or maintainability reasons:

  • Particularly in the case of our LANTIME you or a responsible person can be notified by mail or SNMP trap if there is a malfunction in your time synchronisation.
  • The clients on the network do not depend on an active internet connection.
  • The clients on the network do not depend on the availability of an external time server.
  • A test of other freely available time servers reported that many NTP servers distributed a significantly wrong time, although they were classified as stratum-1 time servers. This is the responsibility of the server's administrators.
  • If an internet connection is working properly then NTP can determine and account for the packet transmission delays quite reliable. However, if the internet connection is at its capacity limit, time synchronization can be significantly degraded due to high dispersion in packet transmission delays. Reasons for this may be hacker attacks, which must not address your own network, or new viruses causing a huge flood of emails, like it has already happened in the past.
  • An own time server can not easily be compromised out of the internet.
Question: What's this DCF77 stuff? TOP
Answer: DCF77 is a 77.5 KHz radio signal which is the German equivalent of the WWVB 60 KHz timing reference that NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) transmits in the United States. The transmitted frequencies and signals of DCF77 are derived from the atomic clocks of PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) - the highest technical authority of the Federal Republic of Germany for the field of metrology and physical safety engineering in Germany.

The signal from DCF77 can be received throughout most of Europe - unfortunately, it is not a signal that is applicable to the United States. GPS is the choice for radio reception of precise time in the United States.

For more informations visit the MEINBERG DCF77 Info-Page