Panasonic RC-7469 runs noisy

[Ilichtenstein]

Thanks for the help with the bulbs! The clock arrived today and works great. It just runs noisy. I've looked this up online and I think the motor needs oil. Any recommendations on what oil to use and any other tips would be welcomed. The clock keeps great time and everything flips but the motor noise is bothering my wife so any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Ilichtenstein]

Hi everyone,

I've always wanted a flip clock and finally bit the bullet and bought an RC-7469. It should arrive in a few days. The listing noted that everything works except the bulb for the clock and the bulb for one of the radio dials both need replacement. What kind of bulbs does this clock take and where does one get them? Thanks in advance for any help!

[Mackey]

Ok. I've got your infomation.

The AM/FM Dial lights:
#40 MINIATURE BULB E10 BASE - 6.3 Volt 0.15 Amp 0.945 Watt T3-1/4 (or 3.25) Miniature Screw (E10) Base

Clock light:
#46 MINIATURE BULB E10 BASE - 6.3 Volt .25 Amp 1.575 Watt T3-1/4 Miniature Screw (E10) Base.

Both lights are sold from the following in boxes of 10 for about .33 to .35 each bulb:
www.bulbtown.com
www.1000bulbs.com
Both companies above are great, I've used them both.

Both bulbs look like the following:


It's not as hard as I remember taking the clock apart (I had to open up my clock to get the above information). I'm thinking about making a little tutorial video about basic disassembly and light replacement.

[Mackey]

You know what's interesting (to me anyway) about these bulbs. They're all supposedly rated for 3000hrs. Now, that's only 125 days of continuous use. I've been trying to figure how it is that I have a clock with an original light that still works. I've read that they're made much more cheaply now. Evidently, getting old GE 40s and 46s are the rage for people who collect pinball machines.
see the following for a detailed discussion
There's a box of 2 GE 40s on ebay now for about 10 dollars!!
There's a sylvania box of 4 #40s for about 15 dollars!

I'm thinking getting a box of these lights is a good idea (I mean the cheaper ones) or perhaps investing in some of the old ones (the #46 for the dial light). I suspect the new radio dial lights will be fine, since no one runs the radio constantly ... but the clock light (#46 bulb) will likely burn out twice a year.
That's crazy.

[Mackey]

I merged the two topics by Ilichtenstein to try to keep everything all in one place... Below you will find a new tutorial about taking the clock apart, the lights and getting it back together.

[Mackey]

Thanks for the help with the bulbs! The clock arrived today and works great. It just runs noisy. I've looked this up online and I think the motor needs oil. Any recommendations on what oil to use and any other tips would be welcomed. The clock keeps great time and everything flips but the motor noise is bothering my wife so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Ilichtenstein - If you have any way to post a video of the clock making the noise, that may help us diagnose it.

[rc6030]

If the noise comes from the flyweel also if you put the hand on the flyweel (no power to the clock) and vibrates when you rotate by hand, you need oil to the shaft of the flyweel. I put one drop of bicycle oir (fine mechanics oil) on one of the holes of the flyweel and let it to go to the shaft. Works belive me!