Copal T5, accurate to the hum!

[cyb3rbyte]

Just got in my Copal T5 from japan. This clock is so interesting because it’s my first clock besides some bulova accutron watches I’ve owned that use a tuning fork to keep time! You can hear it humming away at 360hz while it flips. I’ll post more about the clock in a bit when I clean it up and oil it.

Here it is “pre-restoration”. It’s actually in good shape to begin with!

[Guest]

Very cool and unique. It's funny how this was sort of a "quartz" imitation since quartz movements send an electrical impulse into a quartz crystal which then vibrates at a frequency to measure time from. Looking forward to pics.

I also have a 1970 Citizen GX "Cosmotron" watch that has a tuning fork based movement which was licensed for production in Japan from Bulova. It's a weird watch.

[cyb3rbyte]

A little bit more progress this evening, I was able to figure out how it opens up. If anyone ever gets one of these, they're much easier to open than many other Copals of this era, but be careful, as the bottom is hinged and not meant to be taken completely apart!

Here are a few shots of the mechanism. You can see the coil that runs it at the top, it's the small green one. The geartrain on this clock is very intricate and I'd hate to have to take it all the way apart. I gave small amounts of oil to what I could see, and then closed it up.









Last thing to do here is to clean up the battery terminals! The negative one was a bit crusty. It will be spending the night in some vinegar!

[flipoclock]

They are lovely clocks, if they run, they usually keep running for a good while.

I would love to yet own a yellow and/or a white one. I've had the orange and the (avocado) green one.

[cyb3rbyte]

Cleaned up and resoldered the battery contact, it’s ready for another couple years of use. What a neat looking clock. I’ve only seen two others, and they’re so rare I honestly almost forgot where I saw them! I believe one was on Mackey’s videos. Another was on a website for retro, neat colored items. I saw a yellow one on there as well.

I may have a lead on a silver T11 24 hr version. I’ll let everyone know how that turns out.

[flipoclock]

The T11 is nice as well, I currently have a black/black version and I have to say, this is my favorite although silver with nice white plastic (not discolored) elements is also nice!

[Performa]

It is a beauty! Thanks for sharing!

[cyb3rbyte]

Alright, finished polishing it up and found a nice little place for it in my dresser. This will keep it from getting any more UV damage over the years. It also has a wall mounting hole so I may look into that later, too.



Next to my Seiko QN-401T, you can see it’s one of the larger battery operated flip clocks.





One of the coolest features of these battery operated clocks is the cool mini-whirligig they have. It turns much slower than a regular one from a AC clock. But it’s a nice touch!



It’s new home, next to my Apple Watch bands! It fits right in. Can’t wait to find more of these clocks. They’re harder to find than the AC operated Copals and typically fetch more money as well.

Here’s a short video of the 360hz hum. You have to turn your volume up to hear it. In person, unless you are an inch or so away from the clock, you don’t hear it normally.

https://youtu.be/vX28gVruG30

Now I have to find a place for the Seiko! The problem of having a lot of clocks!

[Guest]

Beautiful machine. Here's the company that made the motor. Really incredible engineering.

ジェコー株式会社 (jeco.co.jp)