If you want the ultimate in accuracy just take the batteries out of your clock (providing it's analogue!). Instead of maybe being within a few milliseconds of the atomic clock throughout it's battery life, it will in fact be EXACTLY right... Twice per day...
@@TomVycital He literally said "(providing it's analogue!)". Analogue clocks do not have am and pm indicators, at least not usually, as someone who has quite a few of them and also collects pocket watches.
I AM THE GREAT CORNHOLIO! I know, +++Top seller, super fast delivery. Thank you+++ LOL. The US shipping lable was from about 18 months after I'd ordered it to so what the hell kind of eBay would you call that XD Techmoan should hold on to some hope for his alarm clock arriving sometime before 2020.
The primary issue I see with the open flip clocks is the accumulation of dust. It won't be easy to dust them, so perhaps a bell jar over the top of them might help.
Just clocked this terrible joke . On the face of it a bad pun , it took me a second but i got to hand it too you , one to watch . #timepiecereferences .
I reckon the chinglish in those first instructions means to set the time one minute ahead of what it is, so that manufacturing tolerances in the gear backlash then take that minute out.
It does mean that. I have one similar to the one in the middle. When you set it you have to set it one minute ahead and then it takes two minutes until it flips over to the next minute. So if I was setting the clock to 5:10. I would set it to 5:11 when my phone hits 5:10 and then two minutes later at 5:12 it will flip over and be correct. So then both will show 5:12.
I own the one with the big digits, and I recommend it highly. Mine has gained 30 seconds in about six months, so I can't complain too much. There's a low, quiet hum all the time that's pretty easy to ignore, but otherwise, it's great!
Techmoan, admittedly I wasn't expecting to get much out of this video about flipping clocks, but again you continue to exceed expectations. Thanks for the information. I think I may be hooked on the postscript puppet performance. Cheers from Texas.
I saw this video about 2 years ago and decided to get the large one as shown in this video. It has been brilliant, it has kept perfect time for 2 years and not needed any adjustment. But I have had 2 digits fall off (one of the 2x tabs the digit rotates on broke) but these were easily repaired with super glue and a pin. Highly recommended.
Still waiting for a giant airport flipboard to show up for cheap somewhere... That will be my new kitchen memoboard :D What's that dear? Pick up milk after work ? RATATATATATATATTATATATATA XD Btw if you want a reliable source of time do not get the cheap ones, even with fresh batteries they will run slow !
Ooooh, app connected from the internet! Send each other into a swoon with messages from "out there" at unexpected times! Ah yes, what every passive aggressive couple needs. Lol.
Awww, hell, that's actually a pretty damn neat idea. Shame I couldn't even find one from a railway station. Although those can't just write anything your heart desires. But still, that flipboard sound, I miss that.
Good afternoon. First tell you that I love your channel, it's sensational, congratulations !. After commenting that I have exactly that clock (the biggest) and is very nice but makes a very sharp noise at night, you can hear the mechanism very strongly.
I'd be interested on your take on those fancy simulated sunlight alarms that are supposed to make waking up in the morning alot easier. Would be interesting to see a budget one compared to one of the mad high end ones
I just wanted to say thank you for the video. I've always loved this style of clock and keep my eyes open for them when at thrift stores, but rarely find a working one. Well, I just received mine today (the cheapest one), and it fits in great in my retro themed gaming room. Awesome!
It's weird, i haven't touched or set a flip clock in maybe 20 years, but the moment you started turning the wheel on the second clock, i had a very tactile memory of how it felt to spin those things.
I got that largest clock as a present about a year ago. i really love the way it looks. It took a short while to get used to the sound of it flipping as I kept it in my bedroom, but I don't even notice it anymore.
I finally got around to getting the cheaper flip clock thats in the white case and i really love it! Me and my gf were looking for a clock we could put next to our tv, and we didn't want something with a big face or made with led's or anything too bright to distract us from gaming, and this clock was perfect since it has no backlighting! The ticking & flipping is very soft and not noticeable at all while gaming or watching stuff.
Mechanical digital clocks are so cool, and there's a whole world out there of unique and interesting designs and mechanisms. I've got a 1970s Strauss flip clock at my desk and it keeps perfect time; if the power didn't go out for a year, it would still be accurate down to the second... and I only paid a couple bucks for it! Finding vintage ones isn't that easy anymore and if you're lucky to find one, it's likely to be broken, so it's nice that they make new ones again. That 6 digit model demonstrates why this particular type of mechanism didn't display seconds on vintage units... usually they had a spinning wheel that displayed a spiral pattern or something similar, just to show that the clock is running.
I recently got a Panasonic RC-6030 on eBay for $40. It's a great clock and seems pretty accurate, especially being from 1971. It's the wood version of the one from Groundhog Day.
I have a flip clock from around 1975 and one with a rolling mechanism from the 80s, both Japanese, they both keep time perfectly. Also have a strange mechanical 7 segment display clock (the “lumitime” clock), gears were gunked up a bit but I freed them up and its kept time well since
I can vouch for the one in the middle keeping good time as we have one. May just be lucky but it's lost about a minute in a year. And that's easy enough to fix just by flicking it a two minutes forwards (As when you adjust it, it takes two minutes for the first minute to flip over). However, the minutes do not drop exactly a minute apart I may add. That's why the cheapest one was seemingly faster. Due to tolerances and whatnot minute 57 may last 67 seconds whereas minute 7 may last 53. It all averages out though.
I had picked up one of the 6-digit ones a while back and I think part of the problem with the seconds is that it doesn't have the tab hanging down from the bar to hold back the digits like the hours and minutes have. I think if you added a tab it would be more consistent, but never actually tested it. Of course the main problem is it's meant to be a modular design so they can use the same parts for the 4 digit version that never showed up
Follow all your videos with interest. You convinced me to purchase the flip-clock you liked, and purchased via ebay, and I am very happy with it. The unexpected astonishing thing is that I after about two months since I received it, it is still keeping exact time! Amazing considering that it is not quartz but mechanical.
At 3:58 you can see some brown coloured residue on the 'seconds' wheel, this is on the number 44 flap so probably explains why some flaps get stuck together when it comes round to 42 seconds each minute
I would say it does count seconds, it is just that the minute drop is not consistent enough. So it is really that it doesn't count minutes properly. I also see that the other clocks don't have such a connection between the minute and hour, do they change right on the hour? That wasn't in the video.
I bought that cheap white one a few months back (from Germany): don't find it as noisey in general use but do have hrs:mins syncing issues and noisy when it does finally flip over (whole unit shakes). They are pretty from an engineers/retro view point, but that's about it. Great vid.
I bought one of the large flip clocks, and I love it. It's accurate "enough"... but it scares the cats at the half hour and the hour when both flips snap forward.
I have the white clock, would definitely recommend, had it for almost a year now and never went out of sync! the clicking sounds might disturb some people at sleeping though, but I got used to it :)
Yes, It's very important to making up tooling short accuracy, also you must remember to adjust forward clock change the button for order to well keep time accuracy.
im sure some one said this but you have to move it one minute ahed if your trying to synce them so if clock a is at 5 35 then you need to flip clock b to 5 36 so they will both sync at 5 37
Definitely one of my favorite channels. Was thinking of getting a flip clock last week after watching a bunch of the retro vids, and lo and behold, now there's a vid for flip clocks. Doesn't sound like these new clocks are as good as the old Emerson AM/FM/alarm flip clock I had as a kid though!
Got the cheapest plastic box flip clocks, just like in the video, but in black colour. Ended up with hour flip freezed at 4 pm (can't move it even with button pressing), while minutes still keep running. Thanks for the video!
I've had a very similar model to the cheapest one in my kitchen for more than a year now. Same batteries, albeit very good batteries, but the time is still set correctly, maybe off by a minute or so.
I found flip clock in the trash/ rubbish the other day. It works fine all I do is work is the radio. So I cleaned it up and use right now my study. And I always wanted to a flip clock back to the future movie and the groundhog movie that's why I always wanted one. It is a General Electric flip clock. I put my digital alarm clock next to it. And so behind by a couple seconds. I had for a few years now. And it's reliable. It also has a light tell what time it is. That's neat.
i find it funny you found the noise to be an issue on the cheapest clock. at my house my dad repairs clocks of varying ages and movements (the oldest is a clock from the 1860's) we have west minister chimes, aniversary, banjo, schoolhouse, Cockoo you name it (we have 3 cockoo's running atm). Not a knock against you and i understand why you would find it annoying, but its easy to get used to. I don't even notice the clocks running in my house anymore.
I have old GE flip clock from somewhere between late 70's and early 80's. Unfortunately, it runs for about 10 minutes before it gets stuck and will not move. At least it looks nice on my desk and it's still right once a day. :)
I have a flip clock I picked up about 15 years ago that proudly sits above my TV. It loses about 5 minutes over the course of 6 months, which is how long the batteries last. This reminds me, do you remember the ball clocks of the 70s? Ball bearings would course through a maze until coming to a stop at the hour and minute.
You could always buy a old flip clock, there are heap tons of the fuckers. I bought a 70s GE flip clock a few years ago for like 20 bucks...and never had any problem with it. Cool Dashie photo btw... :P
This is A Great Video. When i was younger my parents had a Panasonic flip clock radio with a faux wood grain finish. It also had an amber glow light when the lights turned off. These clocks bring great memories of my home as a young man. Great ending with your puppets. They always make me laugh. I agree, whats with the comments of "First" on You tube videos anyway. Cheers!
Original flip clocks are driven by 220 volt 50 hz syncro motors in a way to be precise as the power supply frequency is. 50 hz frequency can slightly oscillate but is kept in long term in sync by an atomic clock across europe
The instructions that you didn't understand said to set the minute one ahead of the desired time. That's why your seconds clock was one minute behind every time you set it.
I actually bought the four-digit version of the second clock in the video about a year ago. I quite like it and it kept decent enough time for a desk clock and was easy to read when I got out of bed. Unfortunately the minute panel that has the little wing broke off recently, which messes with the way the hour switch over works so that the initial couple minute panels get messed up. Thankfully the mechanism still keeps decent time.
I used to have a flip clock alarm clock next to my bed, pretty common in the 80s. These all plugged into the wall and ran off a very simple AC motor running at 50/60Hz. I never noticed much of a timing issue thanks to the accuracy of the electrical utility. It seems moving to battery power DC has hurt their accuracy, you may want to pick up a mains powered flip clock instead.
Best flip clocks you can buy on the cheap are broken vintage ones. They're very precise, come in a wild array of styles, and can be purchased broken. Most of the time, all it needs is a light oiling of the motor assembly. Some Sony Digimatics (and others) have accurate "rolling second indicators", which is just a synchronized rolling ring with the seconds printed onto the side. That way, you can see the seconds, it's accurate, and it isn't too distracting.
Did you notice if the digits glowed in the dark? The largest one seemed to have that greenish tint that glow-in-the-dark paint has. I miss my old GE flip alarm clock. The numbers were illuminated with a tiny black light bulb which made the glow-in-the-dark paint fluoresce in a pleasing manner.
Thanks so much for this vid! After the timer I was scouring the net for my own flip clock and there are TONS of CHEAP ones and I figured they would be terrible time keepers given the low low cost. Lee Valley sells an accurate one with calender but its very pricy. I am going to get the large one for fun.
It's really difficult to find a good flip clock. Your best bet is to find a new old stock one. Panasonic had a lot of models and you can find some on ebay... Although most look very rough.
I'm looking for a flip clock for years now but it has to run via the mains and use the 50 Hz frequency to keep time, but I believe these clocks do no longer exist or never did. We had a nice clock in the local postoffice with a calendar function but I only found a battery operated one years later exactly as you showed in the beginning of your video. It needs adjusting once a month so the 90 sec / month seems typical for these clocks.
I love sweeping clock, but I do except that vintage or pendulum ones will be noisey. I won't have a double tick of any kind, unless it's packed up for profit later.
I bought the cheap one due to your video, for a bit of fun, at the time of the video, and it worked fine until a week ago and the hour mechanism is sometimes not flipping, with a loud click/bang. Maybe budget flip clocks aren't the way to go in the long run :-)
I wish you would have opened the plastic-encased one. Wonder if it looks nicer with showing the mechanics. I have the one which didn't arrive from your order. Since 10 years at least - and I love it. It only makes a soft audible sound at the one hours, which is practical. But a couple of the minute digits are broken by now. They have very small parts that break off. Sadly I can't find replacement of this.
For the leftmost clock, the seconds is not connected to the hour and minute part. It's for ease of changing the time, instead of moving the second everytime you move the gear, it moves the minute.
As much as I like flip clocks, I have an old General Electric clock with dials that rotate like an odometer that I prefer. It was only a couple bucks at a thrift store too.
I like the design of the little white one, but I like that the middle one has an alarm. It's funny, I've got one of the old Panasonic RC-6015 flip clock radios that I found at a thrift shop about a decade ago, and I'm amazed at how well it keeps time. It stays synced with my Squeezebox, and that gets it's signal via the the internets. I even have a GE one in my Aunt's spare room that keeps pretty good time, but I had to clean & lube the motor in it recently after it stopped. I wonder what it is about the new ones that makes them run so randomly? Oh... well, I do have a National Panasonic one that keeps good time, but for some reason the alarm goes off 28 minutes before it's supposed to. I even took the mech apart (as much as I dared) to try and fix it, but I couldn't figure out how to.
I bought the cheap one about a year ago, before seeing this video. I always fancied a clock like the on in LOST (alas ThinkGeek's April Fool version never made it to reality) so the intent was to install this one in a custom case and possibly modify the minute digits to be white-on-black and more closely resemble the one from the show. As with many of my projects none of that happened, but the clock itself is surprisingly nice. A pair of decent rechargeable batteries lasted about 11 months (changed them a couple of weeks ago and I don't recall changing them previously) and it had only gained about 15 seconds in that time. Certainly accurate enough to use as a quick glance clock, although I'm guessing limited QA means there'll be a lot of variation in accuracy and I may have just got lucky. In my home office with computers and/or ceiling fan running, I don't notice the ticking or even the "flap" of the changing digits most of the time. I'm not sure I'd want it as a bedroom clock though.
I have middle ones for about 4 years. Apart from one of the minute cards broke off they are still running. They are about 5 min late per month, and you want it to be late rather than early, couse it can be adjusted only forward.
I had the cheapest flip clock when I was a teen. It made two sets of batteries explode inside the clock and that's when I decided to throw it away. It could work again after cleaning the contacts for the batteries but I didn't think it was worth using if it meant that I'd have to repair it every time I put in fresh batteries. It was about $15 so I'm glad it didn't break the bank.
I own the large-digit clock, as well as the cheap one for a couple of years now. The large one runs like forever on a single battery and mine keeps really good time, like 1 minute + in a month. It's noisy as hell, you can hear the motor running all the time - so yours must be of better quality :) What's funny about the cheap version: mine seemed to have a problem with stuck gears, if you set it to the correct time, after a week or so it showed the time minus one hour - the minutes were still correct! That's the miracle of cheap stuff, I guess ^^
i have the large flip clock, have had it a couple years now. It is a great clock! The only issue is it runs slightly fast. Slowly it will get faster and faster before I change it. Currently at 10 minutes fast!
