Realistic Chronomatic 104 - Numbers not changing- but motor is moving.

[pleaselastforever]

Hi there,

I have a Realistic Chronomatic 104, it is kind of dusty, and a few days ago the numbers stopped moving.

I have a soldering iron and a multimeter, but I think this may be a mechanical problem as opposed to an electrical one.

Are there any experienced technicians on here who would be able to take an expert guess as to what would be the issue?

How should I go about diagnosing this?

Thanks.

[Mackey]

Disassemble the clock. See if the rotor of the motor turns easily. That is the wheel that you can see turning from the front of the clock.
If it's not turning, you need to take it out and put a couple drops of oil on the axle of that wheel.

[Mackey]

Hold on ...
I just made a video and will be uploading it soon.

[Mackey]

Hold on. I just re-read your post... you're saying that the motor is spinning but the clock isn't flipping.
I guess I just read that too fast.
If that's the case there is probably a messed up gear.
Again, if the motor is definitely spinning, it's not electrical at all. It's mechanical and you're going to have to determine if it's the gear just off the motor, or the ones that this gear connects to.
You should consider taking the clock apart and trying to get a close look at it. take pictures if you can.
There's no video coming for that ... But I may post it here anyway. It's good info about getting the motor going again.

[Mackey]

This is the video I just posted.

[Mackey]

I actually have a Realistic Digichron IV which I'm guessing is very similar to your clock.

The motor on this clock runs at 60 rpm and the clock advances the numbers by flipping a lever every 60 seconds. I have videos of this clock too, but I never posted them. The clock I was working on had been put together wrong. The gear off the clock has to fit inside it's place just right. Maybe one of the video clips I have of that will help..

I'll look and see.

UPDATE:
No... I just have videos of disassembly.

Again, you'll need to disassemble to get a look at what's going on inside.

[Mackey]

pleaselastforever
If you think it will help. I can do a video this weekend of me taking my clock part and showing you how it's supposed to work.
let me know.

[Mackey]

Just some info about the Realistic Chronomatic 104

It seems this clock first started showing up in newspaper ads about 1973. From what I can tell, the clock was last sold around 1977. You can tell as they start lowering the price. In 1977 you could pick up a Chronomatic 104 for $37.88 US dollars. But you have to remember that $37.88 adjusted for inflation would be $157.14 in 2017 dollars (info from dollartimes.com). That would be $212.32 Can$ (Canadian dollars).

Ad below from a newspaper local to me
The Courier-Journal
(Louisville, Kentucky)
06 Nov 1977, Sun • [First Edition] • Page 187

[pleaselastforever]

pleaselastforever
If you think it will help. I can do a video this weekend of me taking my clock part and showing you how it's supposed to work.
let me know.

Yeah I figured it was a gear, in fact I oiled the motor a few years ago.

Yes please post a video it would definitely help me understand the mechanics better. Thanks.,

[pleaselastforever]

I'm about to take it apart, what all should I perform maintenance on while it is in a disassembled state?

and what should I use to clean it?

[Mackey]

I don't really know what to tell you. If it ain't broke ... Don't fix it. I really don't know of any preventative maintenance that you should do.
In your case I'd try to spot if the motor gears were mating with the mechanism, or if you could tell if there was a gap. After taking the motor off I'd push the lever that the motor gear touches to see if the mechanism flipped. Then look at the motor off the clock when it's powered on. The motor runs the gear on this clock at 1 RPM. you should be able to see it moving.

[pleaselastforever]

I don't really know what to tell you. If it ain't broke ... Don't fix it. I really don't know of any preventative maintenance that you should do.
In your case I'd try to spot if the motor gears were mating with the mechanism, or if you could tell if there was a gap. After taking the motor off I'd push the lever that the motor gear touches to see if the mechanism flipped. Then look at the motor off the clock when it's powered on. The motor runs the gear on this clock at 1 RPM. you should be able to see it moving.

Thanks.

I wish I read this prior to just taking the entire flipclock apart. I took the motor off (It runs at 60hz),When I apply a bit of pressure on the lever which changes the time, I hear a "tick a tick tick", then the "tick a tick tick" stops. I took the protective cover off the gearbox, and the bottom two gears run, then it stops........so its an intermittent run for a few mins then just stop.

So something is up with the gearbox, I dont know wth it could be....

What should I do next??

[pleaselastforever]

I feel one of the gears has some broken teeth..............so hard to find those gears!!!

[Mackey]

I have no suggestion except to get a new motor. You'll most likely have to buy another clock. I'm sure there's someone, somewhere who could fix that for you, but the cost would be more than just getting another clock.

[12River0520]

I agree with what you have said. Those gears in my experience, once they get messed with too much they can get stripped. I've seen a few of these stripped myself. I usually have to buy a whole second clock to get the mech out of it. I usually replace the whole mech. I hope this help. I hope you find a second clock. I'll keep my eye out for you.