2x Solar - GPS time sync not accurate

Lets start with NIST (UTC) and GPS time are two different standards that are currently ~18sec apart.  Then there is the possible "slop" when the watch samples the GPS time and applies that value to the internal clock which could then be updated via Garmin Connect mobile.  I'd say within a second ok in my book.

Dan.Boilermaker said:

Lets start with NIST (UTC) and GPS time are two different standards that are currently ~18sec apart.

Yes, that's true, "since GPS time does not adjust for leap seconds, it is ahead of UTC(USNO) by the integer number of leap seconds that have occurred since January 6, 1980 plus or minus a small number of nanoseconds. However, the time offset from UTC is contained in the GPS broadcast message and is usually applied automatically by GPS receivers."  (from NIST Time Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | NIST)

And since we do not see a multi second difference, I guess it is true for Garmin devices that they use the broadcasted message for the time compensation, too. The difference of up to 1s is possibly a margin Garmin adds, to leave some room for the signal and data processing, and to avoid delays due to the 1s display refreshing rate. At times, even a very small difference in the processing or display refreshing may therefore create up to 1s advance or lag. Looks good enough to me too.

I have worked with clocks/stopwatches for event timing that are set using GPS signals, and the display on those devices are always exactly in sync with WWV radio time after setting. Any difference is not visible ( in the milliseconds range). I was hoping that the accuracy after setting on the 2x would be comparable. An error of up to 1 second doesn't matter for almost all purposes, but it just isn't usable for timing of some events which depend recording time of day with better accuracy. The 2x processor is doing a lot more things than a dedicated clock, which could account for the discrepancy.