Remember that columns are vertical and rows are horizontal. You can number the columns 1-6, from left to right, to help you keep track of which is which. Of each set of columns, the one on the left represents the 10s place while the one on the right represents the 1s place. The numbers for each row are derived from the power of 2. The first row represents 20 (1), the second represents 21 (2), the third is 22 (4), and the top row represents 23 (8).
For instance, if the light in the bottom row of the first column is lit and the second column is blank, the hour would be 10 because the first row represents 1 and no lights represent 0.
For instance, if the bottom 2 lights in the first column (the tens place) are lit and the bottom 3 lights in the second column (the ones place) are lit, the minutes correspond to 37.
For instance, if the third light in the first column (the tens column) and the fourth and first light in the second column (the ones column) are lit, the clock is displaying 49 seconds.
For instance, you may get a result that reads 18:30:07. Subtract 12 from 18 to find the hours in traditional time. The time would be 6:30:07 p. m.
Most binary watches do not indicate the time in seconds.
These numbers are derived from the power of 2. The top row, from left to right, represents 23 (8), 22 (4), 21 (2), and 20 (1). The bottom row, from left to right, represents 25 (32), 24 (16), 23 (8), 22 (4), 21 (2), and 20 (1).
For instance, if the 2 left-most lights are on in the top row, you would add 8+4, which equals 12. If the 3 right-most lights are on in the bottom row, you would add 4+2+1, which equals 7. That means the time is 12:07.
The first two columns of lights represent the hours. The second two columns of lights represent the minutes. The final two columns of lights represent the seconds. In each pair, the first column represents the tens place, and the second column represents the ones place. The first row has a value of 1, the second row has a value of 2, the third row has a value of 4, and the top row has a value of 8.
