Solari Udine Cifra 2 Repair?

[genuine-d]

Hi.

I just purchased a Solari Udine Cifra 2, shipped from Italy in near mint cosmetic condition from ebay.
Unfortunately the clock doesn't seem to be functioning properly. Any ideas where I might be able to find someone to do a repair? I live in Los Angeles but would be happy to send the clock somewhere else in the US.

If anyone's got any insight on what might be wrong, here are the symptoms:
The clock seemed to be working perfectly when I first plugged it in. Then, after a few hours, it began making a kind of rapid "pulsing" sound that I assume was coming from the engine. When I picked up the clock, to listen closer, the sound stopped. But when I put the clock back down on the table, it stopped telling time (the numbers stopped advancing). I tried unplugging and plugging back in to no avail. So I left the clock unplugged overnight. To my surprise, when I tried plugging it back in the next morning, the clock seemed to be working again. But when I checked on it an hour or so later, I noticed the clock was running fast, by about 15 minutes in two hours.

Any ideas or tips would be greatly appreciated! If I can't figure out a relatively easy solution right away I think the best move is to request a refund from the seller. Hate to see this one go though.

[RetroFlip]

Bummer, always sucks to wait for a new flip clock and have something not quite right with it. First thing I would consider is if this clock is getting the right voltage and frequency. What are you using as a converter as a 50hz clock will not keep correct time on the 60hz 120v US current.

[Mackey]

Retro Flip is right. If you got the clock from Italy, it most likely is for 220V 50Hz. The good thing is, plugging in a clock like that in the US won't hurt it. But if the Europeans plug in one of our clocks, the 220 fries the transformer.
This Article may give you more information.
I actually have one of the transformers described in the article just for the purposes of running clocks that require 220 v 50 Hz.

[genuine-d]

Oh boy. Now that you guys are telling me about the voltage difference that seems like something I should have definitely looked into right away ( :
I just purchased a plug adapter and, at first, the clock seemed to be working fine. The one thing I left out in my previous description was that when I first opened the package I found a large marble-sized ball of dust sitting in between the numbers and the clear plastic cover. So I suspected that perhaps the works were clogged with dust and I carefully opened up the clock. I found an extremely small piece of black plastic (the size of the tip of a match) loose inside the casing but I couldn't find any spot it might've been previously attached. I then carefully refit the case. Afterwards I found the numbers were no longer advancing at all. But I can't really take that as evidence that I messed anything up because the numbers were intermittently not advancing before I opened the case ( :
Anyhow I'll look into the transformer situation right away. Thanks so much!

[genuine-d]

Hey guys. Just read the article about the power inverters. Question: Do you know of a slightly more affordable inverter option? I am obsessive enough that I would splash out for one of the Ken's Clock inverters if I were certain that was the fix I needed. But it would be a mega bummer to spend another $179 and then find out I needed an additional repair...

[RetroFlip]

I found an extremely small piece of black plastic (the size of the tip of a match) loose inside the casing but I couldn't find any spot it might've been previously attached.

If it's a thin piece of plastic it might be off of one of the number slats, where they fit into the rotating cylinder. You can manually rotate through the time and see if you have a slat that is hanging differently than the others.

I can't speak to the inverters as I haven't ventured into that realm yet.

[flipoclock]

Hi,

Cool clock! You will be able to run the clock without a special inverter. It will either run too fast or too slow, but as far as my knowledge goes, it will not damage the clock... This will enable you to check whether it is working or not.