Lumitime clock question

[flipoclock]

It might be a long shot but I know there are some people here that love the / their Lumitime clocks.

I was recently able to acquire one with green lights and it is labelled as 'Lumijaz', a derivative from the french clock maker 'Jaz'. it is a bit of an odd one for it is 120v and 50Hz and it does not seem to be switchable (perhaps by switching a gear inside the motor, not sure) so it almost certainly started its life in Japan, but no matter the history of the clock, I have an issue with it now.

I have lubricated the motor, it was running fine, but with these motors, it is always good to check. Whilst doing so, I had to disassemble the clock a bit. This clock has an alarm as well, which is quite an intricate mechanism and yes, there's my issue. I forgot to take pictures and just delved into the disassembly and you can guess it, I now have a non-working alarm, some bits of which I have a vague guess of how to put them back, but not 100% sure and it's for sure not working.

Would anybody here have a Lumitime C31 type like clock with an alarm and be willing to take a picture of the inside of the clock? With the front cover removed would be great, with the cover plate which seeds beneath that removed, would be even more perfect. That way I can sort of see which part goes where and more importantly, which spring goes where for there are 2 springs as well and i can see what they are supposed to do, but not how they were mounted.

Worst case scenario, I will have to go and search for a parts clock which also houses an alarm so that I use that one as an example, but that might be one bridge too far for now?

Thanks for reading this in any case

[typogenerator]

I would love to see pictures of this. I've got a couple of Lumitime C31's, none of which have an alarm, as well as an LT-11, or some variation on that model, which has an alarm. If you have a similar looking model, I'd be glad to open it up. I've attached a photo of mine.
If anybody can identify this particular model, or confirm that it is the LT-11, that would be great! It has all the same functions and features but it has a difference in the placement of the time set knob.

I've only been able to find pictures similar to this and they are VERY similar. The only difference is that in the photos I can find, is that the three knobs on the right side are evenly spaced. That's not the case here in my example. I've also seen models that have a really weird spacing of those four knobs with one below the line of the others
Can anyone confirm that that is an LT-11 and tell me what year does model came out please? Thank you!

flipclock_nl: Does this help at all?

[Performa]

I have a C31 over here. I'll break out the big camera and get you a whole bunch of pictures when I'm home from work.

[typogenerator]

If anybody can identify this particular model, or confirm that it is the LT-11, that would be great! It has all the same functions and features but it has a difference in the placement of the time set knob.

.....

flipclock_nl: Does this help at all?

A really interesting thing about this model is that it does not use shutters at all. It simply uses light bulbs or neon bulbs, with one bulb in each segment. The clock is still completely mechanical but there's a lot of complex electrical circuits on the back of the main clock.

[typogenerator]

UPDATE! I've been able to determine that my clock in this thread is a Lumitime CC-11! The discussion and content of this link (http://www.objectplastic.com/2011/02...14771543404660) is EXTREMELY INFORMATIVE when identifying these clocks.

@flipoclock: This might be helpful for your question especially especially. From the site:

"I don't know of any differences between the C-11 and the LT-11, but the CC-11 is a newer model and uses the KT-2 mechanism as opposed to the older KT-1 mechanism used in the C-11 and the LT-11."


Note KT-2 marking on circuit board

[typogenerator]

If anybody is curious about the simplicity of this model versus the C31 here's a great picture to illustrate it.



So there no shutters, only neon bulbs.

Any experts out there who can explain how this clock's circuitry works?

Thanks!

Again, here's a photo of the back.

[typogenerator]

I have started to answer my own question and have some very interesting findings for Lumitime fans!

To anybody reading this thread stay tuned. I have a as of right now unidentified model that looks just like a C-31. However it ain't. It uses the same shutterless neon bulb switching setup as the CC-11 above! And this model has a clear cover over the the switches so we can see exactly how it works. It's so much simpler than the shutters but mechanically, a big yawn!

Here's a picture of it slightly disassembled. I'm going to locate the rest of its pieces to determine what model it actually is but it does answer the question for anybody interested in, "How do these Lumitimes without shutters work?" I asked that question above and here's what I've figured out.

Here's the overview. Take note of the missing linkages to the shutters you would expect.



If we zoom in on the dial for this to the right we can see how it works.


The yellow arrow is pointing an set of 8 contacts, and there are two more contacts to the right to the left of that gear shaft. The blue arrow points to a contact plate with odd shapes cut out of it.

The gear setup for the rest of the clock seems to be identical to the C-31. But I haven't confirmed this. Knowing this however you can see how, in general as the gears turn, different circuits are opened and closed, turning on or off of segments (neon bulbs) of the number array.

I will start a new thread on this as of yet unidentified model, comparing it to the flagship C-31.

If anybody wants to help out or has questions please let me know!

[Performa]

Apologies for the delay! Unfortunately, I fear typogenerators photos will be more helpful than mine. My C31 is the mantle clock variant that lacks an alarm altogether. :P

[Performa]

I filmed the whole thing, and got the back screws off before it dawned on me that this one doesn't have an alarm button...

[typogenerator]

I'm very perplexed. It was always my belief that the C-31 was the shutter-based model.

Based on Performa's pictures above, and my own C-31, this is not the case! Those use the a comparable switches-based mechanism I photoed and attempt to describe above (model CC-11).

So, are there any Lumitime experts out there to help?

Thanks!

[jgofish]

This might not answer your question but there is some handy Lumitime info here

[typogenerator]

Thank you!

[Carlos]

Does anyone have any information on how to actually change the light bulbs themselves? I've purchased the correct neon bulbs, but there isn't a video that I've seen that goes into details about changing burnt bulbs.

[flipoclock]

Never had to do that yet, but they are soldered in place so it wiuld have to be a case of de-soldering and soldering, there's no way around that... Just make sure your bulbs are actually broken and it's not an electrical contact which needs cleaning with a bit of alcohol. From my experience, the bulbs do not go very often.

Let us know how you fare, good luck!

[typogenerator]

I haven't done this either but I agree that likely all you need to do is unsolder the connection from the back and that should allow you to push the bulb out. Should be easy especially if your neon bulbs have leads already.

The wiring of the light bulbs is very simple. There's no complicated circuitry with those bulbs. As far as I know, someone correct me if I'm wrong, all the bulbs are connected via the green lines and solder points. So just find the correct bulb and put your finger on the back of that and desolder! And then you know replace.

Do not open the back of your Lumitime without unplugging it first! Unmodified, at any given point, each of those shiny solder points is a live contact.




This is also a good time to point out that a lot of clocks that don't light up only need a simple bulb replaced. These Lumitimes just have a lot more bulbs!

Does anyone have any information on how to actually change the light bulbs themselves? I've purchased the correct neon bulbs, but there isn't a video that I've seen that goes into details about changing burnt bulbs.

[JWinters]

I'm a newbie here and love these Lumitime clocks. We have 4 and wish we had more.

Is there a source for parts, especially replacement gears and knobs? I would greatly appreciate any help in that area!!