Need advice for new clock

[jsmithers]

maybe i'm looking for a unicorn here.
what i would like to get is a QUIET clock for a bedside table.
the ones i have now either have a constant hum or are loud when the digits flip.
don't care if it has a radio. just something that's silent, available and reliable for north american use.
thanks

[Guest]

Flip clocks, due to their manufacture, have varying degrees of noise. Some are DEAD silent when they flip, others have the soft "tick" when they flip.

The noise is very highly likely due to the tension of the tines that hold the tiles back before they actually flip forward. They can be adjusted to some degree, but it is not an accurate science. I have done it to several clocks that had fairly aggressive "flips". The trick is to ease the tension without compromising the ability for it to flip forward. The Copal 702 I converted to a blacklight-enabled version had that issue and I was able to make it virtually silent.

So, flip clocks can be made to attain a little more silence.

As for the hum...that's a bit trickier. Some are worse than others. Some have no issues, electronically. These are 40-50 year old electronics so they are going to need attention in some way at some time. Some models are notorious, like the RC-6551, but it varies for that unit as explained in another thread. Some examples of the 6551 are dead silent.

[Mackey]

Like Engineer said, there's likely to be some noise.
And if you're not running a fan or some other kind of "white noise" in your bedroom, you're going to hear a flip.

But, be that as it may. I have found that the modern flip clocks are actually louder than the vintage ones.

I'd get a copal for sure, no question. I now run a Copal 225 on my night stand without much problem. Others to consider are the Copal 222, Copal 227, copal 101, copal 201.
copal mini-mod, Copal 701 (that was my last one before the 225 I use now and it was quiet).
I have all these and find them relatively quiet.

Again, if you have decent hearing, you're going to be able to pick up the flip. Here in my living room (where my hobby corner is locate) you should hear it. I can even take a nap on the couch though without any problem because my brain is use to it. It's a flippin circus

[jsmithers]

thanks for the advice. being new to this i just assumed that different manufacturers might use different mechanisms.
i guess i didn't notice the noise when i was a kid.
engineer, i also didn't know that it was the tension of the tines . . . i always thought it was a spring that put the tiles under tension.

are the rolling ones all quiet or are there ones better than others?
just in case my next copal doesn't work out.

[Guest]

Rolling clocks, or cyclotrons can be fairly quiet, although many of those use motors that can become noisy or be failure-prone. They never use the same motors as Copal-based flip clocks. Sankyo is hit or miss, but they make many of the cyclotron movements. I have worked on a few that needed motor work, but the mechanism as a whole was pretty quiet.

The vast majority of flip clocks have Copal mechanisms. Not all, but most. Those are going to have the quietest motors.

[jsmithers]

thanks for the advice.

[Performa]

The quietest flip clocks I've had were the Copal clocks, no contest. The quietest cyclometers I've had were the Tymeter style, though even these make a very soft sound when the numbers settle into the next position on the hour.

[jsmithers]

just deciding on the copal 222, 225, 227, or the mg-111.