A film roll clock was high on my wish list already for a while, because I find it an interestingly different mechanism. I had already bought two broken Philips 90RS455 radio alarm clocks, hoping that I could merge them into one working clock. But after a first investigation they sank to the bottom of my ‘still-to-repair-stack’ and never resurfaced because I was afraid it will be a painfully difficult repair.
Then I found this Vendomatic PQ-55 that was in a much better shape. Apart from the motor not running, everything seemed to be working fine (spoiler: it didn’t).
This radio alarm clock has an AM/FM radio with tone control and a headphone jack, but I especially like large bright green numbers in a funky 70’s font on the clock! I love to watch the numbers “morph” (or melt as I read elsewhere) when the time changes.
The clock mechanism is from Westclox and in this version they applied the same trick as some Sankyo roll clocks: the large slanted numbers are overlapping on the film and a mask at the front filters out the relevant bits. And just as with the Sankyo clocks you can recognise this trick by the small gaps in some numbers that are an inevitable side-effect of this method.
The motor was easy to fix. It just needed a good clean and lubrication to get running again. I noted it is running pretty hot (around 50 degrees Celsius), but another motor I had reached similar temperature so I assume that this is normal.
Now I got that working I could properly test all functions of the clock and everything was wrong! The radio went on when it should be off and vice versa. The buzzer was always on, except when you set the sleep timer. After some investigation I found the culprit: a lever had cracked and was no longer attached to the axle. As glue alone was not strong enough I fitted a sleeve around it that I made from an old ballpoint filling. Then it took me some time to reverse engineer the correct position on the shaft. And since I had taken so many things apart, I also needed to sync up the alarm again.
Then a bit of history:
The Vendomatic brand was created by the Dutch Vroom & Dreesman department store to market a wide range of electrical appliances: radio’s, televisions, fridges, washing machines, etc. Judging by what I can still find online they were especially successful with their sewing machines. Vroom & Freeman was founded in 1887 and went bankrupt in 2015. I found the below advertisement that featured the Vendomatic PQ-55 in a local Dutch newspaper the ‘Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant’ on November 8, 1974.
The intro I'll translate for your enjoyment:
Saint Nicholas (or ‘Sinterklaas’) is the Dutch version of Santa Claus. Both traditions stem from the Saint Nicholas, a Greek bishop who presumably lived in Myra in present day Turkey. In the Dutch tradition Sinterklaas gives presents to primarily children but often adults as well. It is mainly celebrated within families at the eve of the 5th of December. So the above advertisement is aimed at promoting gift items for that celebration. And quite a generous gift: 149 guilder would be 242 euro in todays money.
Although mine was not a gift from Sinterklaas, I’m very happy with it!
Then I found this Vendomatic PQ-55 that was in a much better shape. Apart from the motor not running, everything seemed to be working fine (spoiler: it didn’t).
This radio alarm clock has an AM/FM radio with tone control and a headphone jack, but I especially like large bright green numbers in a funky 70’s font on the clock! I love to watch the numbers “morph” (or melt as I read elsewhere) when the time changes.
The clock mechanism is from Westclox and in this version they applied the same trick as some Sankyo roll clocks: the large slanted numbers are overlapping on the film and a mask at the front filters out the relevant bits. And just as with the Sankyo clocks you can recognise this trick by the small gaps in some numbers that are an inevitable side-effect of this method.
The motor was easy to fix. It just needed a good clean and lubrication to get running again. I noted it is running pretty hot (around 50 degrees Celsius), but another motor I had reached similar temperature so I assume that this is normal.
Now I got that working I could properly test all functions of the clock and everything was wrong! The radio went on when it should be off and vice versa. The buzzer was always on, except when you set the sleep timer. After some investigation I found the culprit: a lever had cracked and was no longer attached to the axle. As glue alone was not strong enough I fitted a sleeve around it that I made from an old ballpoint filling. Then it took me some time to reverse engineer the correct position on the shaft. And since I had taken so many things apart, I also needed to sync up the alarm again.
Then a bit of history:
The Vendomatic brand was created by the Dutch Vroom & Dreesman department store to market a wide range of electrical appliances: radio’s, televisions, fridges, washing machines, etc. Judging by what I can still find online they were especially successful with their sewing machines. Vroom & Freeman was founded in 1887 and went bankrupt in 2015. I found the below advertisement that featured the Vendomatic PQ-55 in a local Dutch newspaper the ‘Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant’ on November 8, 1974.
The intro I'll translate for your enjoyment:
Let yourself be awakened by such a nice clock radio from the Treasury of Saint Nicholas
The clock radio occupies a place of honor in the renowned range of radios, TVs, turntables, boxes and recorders in your department store. And rightly so, because the clock radio is a small electrical miracle. In the first place, it is the most sympathetic alarm clock in the world. Secondly, it is an extremely contemporary timepiece. Third, there is a lot of great music in it. And finally, it is a very nice gift idea!
The clock radio occupies a place of honor in the renowned range of radios, TVs, turntables, boxes and recorders in your department store. And rightly so, because the clock radio is a small electrical miracle. In the first place, it is the most sympathetic alarm clock in the world. Secondly, it is an extremely contemporary timepiece. Third, there is a lot of great music in it. And finally, it is a very nice gift idea!
Although mine was not a gift from Sinterklaas, I’m very happy with it!
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