This is the Panasonic RC-6551, also known as the "Digi-Dater" flip clock. It's one of two Panasonic models I'm aware of which displays the date and day of the week in addition to hours and minutes. It was available in two colors, black and white. The RC-6551 features an AM-FM radio, 60 minute snooze timer, tone control, chirp alarm, touch-sensitive "extra wink" snooze bar, lighted alarm and radio dial, external AM/FM antenna connections and a headphone jack.
The Digi-Dater has always been one of my favorites. I bought the black model of this clock 10 years ago. The eggshell white color is more striking and visually interesting in my opinion, but prices on eBay were a bit unreasonable until recently. A couple years ago, you'd be lucky to find the RC-6551 in any condition for under $100. I paid "only" $58 back in March. That's partly because it was rather dirty when I got it. There was 40 years’ worth of dust on and under the speaker grill. It is, however, largely free of scratches and visible abrasion. When I'm shopping for these things, I'm happy to find something that looks mint... but I'm just as fine with something that looks dirty so long as there aren't any scratches or damage that can't be fixed with soap and a toothbrush.
It took a good six hours of disassembly, cleaning and reassembly to restore the clock to its current condition. Unlike every other clock I've dealt with, all the components are screwed into the top of the clock. I had to remove every internal component to free the top half of the case and its speaker grill for cleaning. This was also the first time I needed a soldering iron just to clean something. The capacitive "nap bar" is hard-wired between the upper shell and main board. With all the external components entirely separated, it was a simple matter to clean the shell and knobs with warm water and dish soap. I used a soapy toothbrush to free dirt from the speaker grill and tiny grooves in the various dials. I don’t mind saying I’m quite pleased with the result.
Comment