Mr Harry Pollard - Introduction

[Gilbern]

Greetings from Hertfordshire in the UK -where its trying to snow.

I've just got my first Flip Clock from Ebay - marked as spares or repair. The advert mentioned that the motor was faulty as the owners had taken it to a repair man.

First of all - i'm a total amateur with no background in Electronics or engineering but like to buy goods that need repair and try to restore them. Over the last few months I have been fascinated by the YouTube videos you put together and now that I have also joined the FlipClock Fans I have the following questions that i hope you may be able to help me with.

The clock is a Copal RD-180 in fabulous condition both inside and out. No dust inside, motor seems to work fine, gears all look perfect. I immersed the motor in IPA and then dried it out followed by a touch of 3in1 oil. I then let it run for about an hour, and it had no problems immediately spinning after stopping with my finger.
First question - is there any recognised colour for the positive wires - I have assumed purple is positive and white is negative. The clock arrived with the plug cut off and both external wires had no markings or codings.

Second question - my main question is about the control wheels for the clock and alarm. The clock wheel turns and sets the time with no problem. However the alarm wheel seems to be jammed and won't turn at all. I have taken a photo showing the gear wheel behind the alarm dial. It looks as though it needs repositioning as it is slightly off centre, how do I do this without damaging the movement.

I'm hoping I can have a fully operational clock. I have another on its way to me that also needs work - a Murphy MV5600.

[Performa]

Welcome! I expect that if you're willing to tinker with it, we can help guide you to a solution!

[Mackey]

Welcome to the forum. Going forward we should discuss your clocks in the restoration area instead of here. But be that as it may:

First, its very very difficult for us to diagnose a problem by just description and a picture. Not saying that it can't be done, but it's very difficult.

...
First question - is there any recognised colour for the positive wires - I have assumed purple is positive and white is negative. The clock arrived with the plug cut off and both external wires had no markings or codings.

Generally, there is no positive and negative when it comes to flip clock mechanism inside of clock radios. It's running on AC not DC. So, there's not a positive and negative. I'm not sure where these wires are in relation to your clock radio. Are you describing wires to the motor? Generally the wires from your household current goes into the clock then through a transformer. Personnally I've not seen this particular model in person. Again, More pictures are necessary (if you post, please start a new thread in the Restoration area).

Second question - my main question is about the control wheels for the clock and alarm. The clock wheel turns and sets the time with no problem. However the alarm wheel seems to be jammed and won't turn at all. I have taken a photo showing the gear wheel behind the alarm dial. It looks as though it needs repositioning as it is slightly off centre, how do I do this without damaging the movement.

Again, no way we could know what's going on here unless we had it in our hands. This is not a common problem. My gut feeling is that it's a bad situation. Possibly from someone trying to force the wheel. But without seeing it, there's no way I could know. It would have to be disassembled. If you're not handy with stuff like that I would say it's not an easy fix. Otherwise, you have to figure how to disassemble carefully and step-wise take it apart. There's no way I can write up a how to on that that someone could understand and I'd need to see your particular model. There are many ways these were put together. If you did take it apart you may find something just jumped a gear or something is broken. If it's broken it may be able to be replaced or glued.

Finally, more pictures.

Good luck. just take your time and have fun.

[Gilbern]

Many thanks for your replies. I'm away for a few days. When I come back i'll have another look and if necessary post further info in the restoration forum.