Digitron

[Johan de Jong]

‘Digitron’ is the label on the front, ‘Japan’ it says at the back. No model or type number, so that is about all I know about the origins of this clock. But it is a nice clock and the first one I got with a date and day indication. The window is glass and the strip above it is aluminium.




The days are in German. Sundays are red, all other days are white.



It has quite a nice mechanism with mostly brass gears. The date and day are synchronised, so they flip at the same time, but there is no exact synchronisation with the hours. Instead the day change happens roughly around half past midnight.



The clock was and still is in a very used state. Cracks, scratches and dents show it has been handled roughly. Luckily most cracks are on the bottom. I repaired them with super glue as good as I could.
One other thing needed work was the Toshiba motor that was very noisy. It sounded like it desperately needed some lubrication. This is how I relubricated it:

1. From a piece of PVC tube I made a reservoir for oil around the axle
2. I heated up the motor using a hairdryer. After a minute or so the expanding air inside the motor starts to escape through the oil.
3. Then I let it cool down. The contracting air draws in a little oil (in the picture most is spilled, but a second attempt went better).
4. Then I rotated it every possible angle, also while running, to spread the oil on the inside, until it suddenly became quiet. Apparently the oil had hit the misbehaving axle.

It has since been running silently for a couple of days

[flipoclock]

That is a nice clock indeed! It was sold in the US under the Seth Thomas label. Good job on the motor, I might try that the next time I encounter a noisy specimen!

[Guest]

UGH, those Toshiba 3.6 (VA-82 model) motors are VERY difficult to source, if not impossible. They have fragile gearsets. These motors are slightly larger copies of the Telechron "S" type motor that also runs at 3.6RPM. I am very glad yours is working! Good job servicing it.

With some modification to the field cage they sit in, you can interchange them. Telechron S motors are currently being rebuilt by a few clock shops. I have rebuilt a few and it is difficult so I refer to the shops that can do it far more efficiently!

[Mackey]

Excellent demonstration of this process.

[Johan de Jong]

Telechron S motors are currently being rebuilt by a few clock shops.

Do you have some references to these shops?

When I searched for it I only found websites of people that did offer to rebuild some Telechron rotors, but not the S type. They only sold NOS (new old stock) for these. And only for 60Hz, not 50Hz.

I had a broken Telechron S earlier and tried to fix it myself. I could not find a way to take it apart without destroying the case, so that was the end of that rotor.

[Guest]

Yes, the Telechron S-type is difficult to open! I have not had much success, either. I think some specialized tools are involved.

Try these shops:

About Us (telechronclock.com) I have not used them, but have their info.

"S" Type Rotor (timesavers.com) I have used them and they are a good company.

[randytherat]

"S" Type Rotor (timesavers.com) I have used them and they are a good company.

Are the rotors from timesavers.com rebuilt or NOS? It says they are "new".

[randytherat]

Is there a way to tell if one has been rebuilt? I have received one and am not sure how to tell. The motor is a little noisy when under load.

[Stefan]

Hello all,

My grandma asked me to take a look at her old flip clock that she's been using for decades. The problem seems to be the VA-82 rotor. This thread is the best source I've found on this specific part.

The pinion won't turn at all aside from a little slop back and forth. From Johan's lubrication instructions it sounds like I should be able to rotate it. Is this indicative of broken gears inside? Or something else unrepairable?

Can I replace the VA-82 rotor with an S type Telechron? Engineer said that this is a slightly larger version of the S type, but I don't know whether it has the same dimension where it fits into the field. Mine measures 0.59" or 15mm.

[Johan de Jong]

Hi Stefan,

If it is not turning most likely the issue is that the lubrication inside has dried up. The trick I described above may help to get some fresh oil in and get it going again. Be patient, it may take multiple attempts to get enough oil in and it may take some time before it starts solving the old grease. Be careful not to apply too much force on the outgoing gear as you may brake a gear inside or get it detached from its axle. Not too much is: use your fingers, not a pair of pliers ;-)

If that does not work an alternative is to open up the motor. It is possible, I recently opened one up for repair, see this post: https://www.flipclockfans.com/forum/...-toshiba-motor
But it is not an easy task and I definitely do not advice to try this if you have no experience in repairing delicate mechanics!

Replacing it with a type S will probably not work. Not only size matters, but also speed. The outgoing speed needs to be the same. And be aware that of both motors there are versions for 50 and 60Hz. They differ in a gear ratio inside.

[Stefan]

Hi Johan,

Thanks for the info. I will try the lubrication procedure and see how it goes. It can't really get any worse than it is now!

After seeing pictures of what these things look like inside, I don't think I have any business opening one up. But if several attempts at lubrication fail, I may still try it.

Of course I would need a replacement with the same gear ratio and line frequency. The S type from timesavers linked by Engineer is the same speed and frequency as mine. The pinion has 10 teeth like mine, and looks to be in the same location. With all those variables matching, would you expect it to work?

Thanks,
--Stefan