Please Note: The following is the text from an upcoming video that I have yet to do the voice over for. I have had quite a time trying to find information about the so-called "ATO clocks" in general and the SEIKO Sonola clocks in particular. People like to post videos of them but they don't explain the working very well. I think my explanation works. You can let me know. Thanks
~Mackey
Welcome Flip Clock Fans.
And no. This is not a flip clock...This is the Seiko Sonola Transistor Time-Dater Wall Clock.
While not a flip clock - it seems to me part of this design harkens back to the design of the earliest digital clock, which in turn is related to the inventor of the first flip clock. - I'll explain more in just a second.
I came upon this clock pictured here in the home of a wonderful, 92 year old British lady named Margaret, and just had to learn more about this clock and it's workings.
So, I went to a Japanese auction site and bought this clock. While I have yet to receive it, I wanted to start a discussion about this type of clock.
Unless you're familiar with various types of pendulum clocks, you may not have seen a clock of this type. I never had until I visited Margaret. While the early pendulum clocks are wound, with the main spring providing the energy to keep the pendulum moving (which makes the clock work), the pendulums in these clocks are electromagnetic. Once started, they should keep moving until you remove the battery - or the battery dies.
These Seiko Sonola clocks are based on a brand of clock call ATO or Ato clocks (I don't know if you say "A - T - O" or the word "Ato" ). Ato clocks were marketed as far back as the 1920s. In the 50s and 60s a transistor was added to the electronic of these second generation ATOs, making them more reliable.
The pendulums of these clocks have two curved extensions that contain permanent magnets at the ends, within their hollow cores. These alternately swing in and out of two fixed coils.
The transistor in this clock, controls the current to what's called the motor coil on the right. The motor coil acquires a magnetic field when power flows through it, drawing the pendulum towards itself - which is the impulse that keeps the pendulum moving. The other coil acts as a trigger for the transistor to send current to the motor coil. As the magnetic rod passes into the trigger coil on the left, it generates a small current that is sent to the transistor. While the rod remains moving in the trigger coil the power will remain on to the motor coil by the action of the transistor acting like a switch. Once the rod exits the trigger coil, the power to the transistor stops, which interrupts the power to the motor coil, causing the magnetic draw to cease, allowing the pendulum to continue its swing back into the trigger coil - repeating the process.
The Date and Day feature of these Time-Dater models have wheels that remind me of the World's first digital clock designed by Austrian inventor, Josef Pallweber in 1883. Pallweber, you may know, patented the World's first flip clock in 1890. Which is why this clock showed up on a YouTube Channel devoted to flip clocks.
Well, I hope you found this as curious as I did.
Thanks for taking the time.
I really do like the look of that clock. There is something warm and inviting about it.
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