The Mystery (Westclox?) Mechanism

[Performa]

Title to change when/if we figure out who made these things.

As seen elsewhere on the forum, I've turned my obsessive mystery hunting skills onto locating an elusive electro mechanical oddity in the form of the Ken Tech "5XX range" (for lack of a better name as of this writing) which uses a mechanical motor assembly to "pretend" to be an LED/LCD display alarm clock. Through this hunt, I've found several more interesting clock types attempting to do the same, and thanks to some absolutely excellent people, been directed to even more interesting devices to document and explore (a more complete "thank you" thread is coming soon!).

Today I wanted to take a dedicated look at an interesting mechanism that FCF user flipoclock pointed me to via a video they found on YouTube, which can be found below:

In the video, the presenter has a Westclox Model 22544, which uses what I believe is a familiar mechanism to "masquerade" as an LED/LCD digital clock. Ingenious.



This mechanism struck me at once as very familiar- the arrangement of knobs and levers leads me to believe that this may be the very same mechanism as the one in my own noisy monster RCA clock. Are the mechanisms the same? Only one way to find out!

[Performa]

In the video, the presenter shows off the "guts" quite a bit while disassembling, but here's a screenshot for a general look at how it all fits together, and how the clock works.



The numbers are stylized to look like LED/LCD numbers, while the lamp shines through them. Then on the front of the clock, a red piece of plastic replaces the clear faceplate, making the numbers appear red. Honestly, that's a pretty ingenious way to use old tech to look like new tech if you ask me. But, is this the same mechanism as is found in my RCA?



At a glance, they do appear very similar. I do think that the Westclox model in that video was perhaps a later and even possibly improved version of the mechanism as it appears to be physically smaller and with a more compact arrangement of it's parts- but the actual operation of the mechanism appears to be the same. If you look at the plastic film in both clocks, you can see that the holes that allow it to mesh with the gears from the motor are in the same places on both clocks, and that the spacing is about the same. The wheels to control the alarm and time setting are in the same place, and while the RCA's lever has more positions (on account of having a radio) it too is in the same spot. At a glance, I think we've got this one pretty well settled.

[Performa]

But, as with most of these mysteries, answering one question still leaves many more unanswered. Who made these mechanisms, and when? At what point did they decide to try and "fool" people into buying these instead of LED/LCD clocks, and for how long? How many brands used this mechanism, and for how long?

I suppose in the grand scheme of things, these are all unimportant questions, but it strikes me as incredible that something as prolific, widespread, and clearly popular at one time as this mechanism was has now become so obscure that no searches can even turn up a name or a date on it- it's creators and legacy lost to time. Perhaps there is some niche archive where all of this data resides that has simply eluded me, but if not it seems only right to shine a light on these odd devices and perhaps yet find some answers to these questions.

I suppose I wouldn't be much a detective in this effort by comparing something "similar" to something posted in one YouTube video quite a while ago. To that end, I went and scoured the depths of eBay and I promise you'll see more on this subject very soon!

[flipoclock]

Yeah, I have started to develop an interest in the flip clocks successor, led/lcd/digital for awhile now and this one is certainly out there, it is funky with that film, which also makes it frail I guess. It is certainly rare!

[Guest]

Another one here: Vintage WESTCLOX Digital Flip Alarm Clock Dialite Drowse USA Made #20380 | eBay

That film turns quite brittle most times. I had a Panasonic that used a similar mechanism and digit display, the Panasonic RC-6362, and the film was just disintegrating after getting the motor was working for about a week. Zenith also used the same mechanism. I suspect the mechanism was Japanese, but was never able to confirm who actually made it for these manufacturers.

FM-AM Clock Radio RC-6362 Radio Panasonic, Matsushita, Natio (radiomuseum.org)

[flipoclock]

yeah it's a shame about the material falling apart. I am sure there is proper material out there that will last, but you would have to get that printed and cut it and stick it together. Quite a job if you ask me, it would make for a very cool clock in the end.

[Guest]

I agree. The mechanism operation is really quite fascinating to see operating, but seems to have reliability issues as we have seen.

[flipoclock]

I mean, if you would know someone in the printing industry that would have the resources and time to spend on this without it breaking the bank, yeah, I could see it happening.

[Performa]

I'd be open to experimenting with it. The "minute" film on that RCA is definitely on it's way out. What to replace it with that could also be printed in that manner is the tricky part though- I'm open to ideas.

[RetroFlip]

Well, there are different ways to get there I think. You could look at a matte white polyester/polypropylene film that is non-adhesive, some are printable on color laser printers. I would measure the thickness of the existing film to try and get the right flexibility. Could even just do a test on laser transparency film to see how it looks. Maybe a small hole punch for the gear holes would make it useable.

[Johan de Jong]

Or get an old analog camera, take pictures of a real LCD, develop the film and use that?
Just kidding. I love the mechanism. Fun to see how many ways people have thought up to show the time!

[flipoclock]

Yes, I do like all these different ways of telling the time.

The beauty of making new prints is that you are able to choose your own font for it! You could even print random letters so that the clock will show random words at certain points in time of the day?

[RetroFlip]

Performa I've been ruminating a bit more and another place you might look is a local screen printing shop, they tend to have transparency printers for making the screens. There may also be online services that target printers you could use, for example search for 'film output service'. Bigger ones tend to be geared B2B but maybe there are some smaller shops that would print something for you. This would be for black artwork on a clear film.

[Performa]

Performa I've been ruminating a bit more and another place you might look is a local screen printing shop, they tend to have transparency printers for making the screens. There may also be online services that target printers you could use, for example search for 'film output service'. Bigger ones tend to be geared B2B but maybe there are some smaller shops that would print something for you. This would be for black artwork on a clear film.

Good thinking! I've got a friend who works at a print shop downtown, but I haven't been over to visit since Covid hit. I think I'll have to swing by and show him what we've got here- if they can get the materials printed, I'm confident I can modify a punch tool to get the gearing right. I suppose at that point the only limiting factors are cost and imagination. Hmm... so many fonts to choose from!

[Performa]

I think we can say with confidence that this mechanism was developed by Westclox. Virtually all the advertising media I've found for it has been for Westclox- and it would make sense for them to sell mechanisms to Zenith, RCA, and others who might have wanted in at the time. Here's a pretty good print ad I found online: