On: The 25¢ Apple II Real Time Clock (1981)

[matthewowen]

Fun things happen if you do this and run your hardware outside the US: most countries use 50hz mains AC.

[Someone → matthewowen]

Fun things also happen if that frequency isn’t what you think it is. EU clocks derived from the 50Hz signal, for example, ran up to 6 minutes slow in March 2018 (https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/8/17095440/europe-clocks-run...)

And of course, it also is “fun” when you accidentally do not only pick up the frequency of mains power, but also its voltage in your electronics.

[segfaultbuserr → matthewowen]

That's why PDP computers come with a 50 Hz version and 60 Hz version.