Chump Stumped: Restringing a Sound Design 3453B

[Friendly Scientist]

So my Sound Design came in the mail two days ago, tested the clock for a day and it works GREAT.

However, I'm having trouble restringing the radio tuner as it only goes from left to right, but not right to left.
Is there anything I can do before I go completely bonkers from many restring attempts?

Also, the radio/alarm will always be on when switched to the wake up function. I've been told by the seller that it should be better used as a clock/radio only, which I don't terribly mind but... worth asking the experts eh?

[Friendly Scientist]

*UPDATE*
After watching Flipclockfans video on restringing the tuner on a Panasonic, I applied the similar techniques and FINALLY HAVE A WORKING RADIO TUNER.

The original wax string was in pieces when I got it and the seller did try with his own string, but eventually gave up and left one end loose lol

My solution: Curtain blind string.
My dad saved old curtain blind string so borrowing some was no problem. Plus I had lots that left me a lot of room to mess up, although my sanity may not last that long.
Anyways, although the string's a bit thicker than the original, the tuner can identify and track all stations of the spectrum!
As a result, a great working radio (tuner is a but harder to turn but doesn't get stuck), a quiet motor (isopropyl alcohol probably needed in near future), but a nonfunctioning alarm.

I could live not using it as an alarm clock, but I would like to know why ^^

[Performa]

Aha, glad to hear you got it restrung after all!

That buzzer issue is a real mystery. The best guess I have is that somehow it's receiving power when it shouldn't either through a crossed connection in the switch or in the alarm buzzer itself.

[Performa]

Wish I had more info for you, but I've not dealt with one of these myself yet, and so I'm not entirely sure what the problem might be beyond that.

[Friendly Scientist]

Got some pictures of my first flip clock ^^


Seems like the seller simply gave up on the tuner string.

Now she lookin' better!
Then I used curtain string and took a page from the flip clock master on Youtube... I'm guessing that's Mackey????

Oh, and I had to leave a service sticker to pat myself on the back. Lemme tell you, that was no easy task. Took several hours of trial & error as well as surfing the web for help ^^

[Friendly Scientist]

What's funny is that there is no lightbulb to illuminate the radio, just the one lightbulb for the clock.
Makes me wonder if this is one of the lower end basic models compared to the higher end Panasonics of the same era.

Nevertheless, this means that there is less worry of maintenance when the bulb goes out and pretty straightforward to take apart, which is always nice.

[stmzu56]

Funny enough, I have a Panasonic vacuum florescent display clock that turns the buzzer/radio on after one moves the knob from alarm set to either radio or buzzer. Have you tried using contact cleaner on any microswitches in the clock? Maybe that will fix it.

[Friendly Scientist]

Thank you for your reply, I have not thought about cleaning the microswitches. That would be a good idea because the alarm set dial seems to work fine, so I know that's not the problem. I did trace the alarm wiring and they are in good condition with no corrosion or loose wires at the solder areas.

I'm assuming the microswitches are located at the circuit board itself? :

[Friendly Scientist]

stmzu56 Oh, and one more thing: Do you know how to repair a vacuum fluorescent display clock? I have a Yorx one with AM/FM radio with 8 track that I picked up a year ago and I keep it unplugged because I did not want to burn out the light entirely.

If I have to replace the whole display, can the displays fit universally and are they expensive?

Mine looks just like this only part of the display is fading.

[stmzu56]

Friendly Scientist
I'm not sure where they might be tbh, since it probably varies by clock. I've seen an Omron microswitch on the back of the clock assembly of a Panasonic RC-6003.

I would see if there is something that looks like a volume potentiometer underneath the knob for Alarm On/off etc. and get DeOxit on the inside of it. In the case of the Panasonic VFD clock, there was such a thing (I assume it's called a switch, but I don't really know) and I sprayed it indiscriminately with DeOxit and that seemed to fix m,y problem. For the time being, anyway.

[stmzu56]

I forgot to answer your other post. I don't know anything about VFDs. I know some people who are good with electronics have adjusted the voltage current going to the bulbs to make the bulbs burn brighter.

[Friendly Scientist]

I forgot to answer your other post. I don't know anything about VFDs. I know some people who are good with electronics have adjusted the voltage current going to the bulbs to make the bulbs burn brighter.

Hmmm, I'm pretty sure mine's a bit burnt out from time, but there is a dimmer switch where you turn it to the maximum, you won't notice too much of a difference! I've never done this before and I do not want to mess it up on this one as I've never personally seen an 8 track clock radio combo. But thank you very much for the advice, I really appreciate the feedback!

[Friendly Scientist]

I would see if there is something that looks like a volume potentiometer underneath the knob for Alarm On/off etc. and get DeOxit on the inside of it. In the case of the Panasonic VFD clock, there was such a thing (I assume it's called a switch, but I don't really know) and I sprayed it indiscriminately with DeOxit and that seemed to fix m,y problem. For the time being, anyway.

Ah, I have looked at my Soundesign but I have not seen a volume potentiometer on mine (at least not on a Soundesign vs. a Panasonic)

But would WD-40, Vaseline, or some other lubricant work as DeOxit?
And for the time being, did your alarm problem come back after a few weeks?