Copal 101 gear repair

[Johan de Jong]

Just bought my first Copal 101!
As correctly stated by the seller, the motor is running but the tiles are not flipping. I expected/hoped this would be a relatively easy first gear replacement. But to my big surprise this clock has a different gearbox. Instead of the usual gearbox most Copal clocks have, this one uses two worm gears. I wasn't aware there were different versions of the 101. This one also supports both 50 and 60 Hz. By shifting the motor between two positions it can be made to drive either a 50 or a 60 teeth spur gear.

The issue with this one is the 50 teeth gear has worn out. (The 60 teeth gear still works fine, but that is of little use to me here in Europe ;-))
I think I will order a replacement at kkpmo.com. It is not one of their standard sizes, but I can order it from their 'customized' section. It will be a bit pricier (about 9 euro) but ok.
Or do you see another option?

[flipoclock]

Nice find and interest gearbox setup indeed, I like these although they are a bit harder to work on (on the other hand, maybe not, never really thought about that).

What has happened to me in some cases with this particular motor/gearbox setup is that the 2 main parts of the setup have gone out of alignment and when pushing the part that houses the flywheel just a little bit more towards the large gear, they started making contact again and it was working fine. I had one of these with this same issue just recently. It is working 100% perfectly just now.
You could try that if you feel up to it. Ordering a new gear might be better for the long run though.

[Johan de Jong]

I tried that and it improves but still now and then skips some teeth. That of course will not keep accurate time and deteriorate quickly. So I will order a new one.

[Johan de Jong]

Finally completed this repair:
- bought the gear from kkpmo.com (module 0.25, 50 teeth, height 4 mm, bore 3 mm),
- cut off the old gear,
- fitted the new gear after minor adjustment of the bore hole.
It is running fine again! One 101 saved from the scrapheap

[flipoclock]

That is GREAT work, congrats!

[Mackey]

Great work. Congratulations, you own a "Copal I." You have what I think is one of the first iterations of the Copal 101. It's an historic clock and it was first described in the April 1966 Horological Journal.



I made a cleaned up diagram of this clock.



Actually, I did a little more than that ... I made an article about it (see article) and a video:

Again, great work keeping this clock alive!

[Johan de Jong]

Oh wow, I was already happy owning a 101 and was not aware it was such an early one!

I recognise a lot of stuff: the mechanism using the two worm gears, and switchable between 50 and 60 Hz, and it has 12 hours with 5 tiles per hour.
But there are also differences: the power cord is fixed, there is no screw to close the case (it just clicks shut), and there is no tray for the neon bulb (Btw replaced the blackened bulb of course).



I think it is still an early one, but compared to yours you can see where they started to reduce cost.
Thanks for the very interesting background information!
Nice to now own a clock that is about my own age

[Mackey]

Yeah. I did notice a couple of things after I posted. The material of the gears is different also. But yes. Definitely earlier. Prbobably the step between the first and the later models. It's interesting to see this evolution.
Is the motor labeled "Copal II"?

[Mackey]

Nice to now own a clock that is about my own age

Funny. That's why I like the 101 as well.

[Johan de Jong]

Is the motor labeled "Copal II"?

No, it not labelled as far as I can see.

[Mackey]

No, it not labelled as far as I can see.

Flipoclock and I have taken to calling this the "Copal I"

[Jumblejeff]

Amazing work repairing that gear! I’m still looking for the right Copal 101/201. Love the look of them. Simple without a radio or alarm.

Great post and pictures