(Re-)Installing the Hands on a Radio Controlled Clock

by Piffpaffpoltrie in Workshop > Repair

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(Re-)Installing the Hands on a Radio Controlled Clock

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As I already mentioned in my earlier instructable 'https://www.instructables.com/Saving-a-Wall-Clock-With-Warped-Hands/' a few days ago, (re-)installing the hands on a radio controlled analogue clock can be quite tricky. Several years ago, when trying to clean another radio controlled clock, I had to learn that the hard way. Here I tell you how to succeed.

Installing the Hands - Two Different Scenarios

- When you considered my recommendation in the earlier instructable mentioned above, you exactly know in which position they where when you removed them. Then you're saved - just install them in exactly the same position. Your clock should now be ready to work correctly. Once the battery/ies is/are inserted, it will start in fast forward mode but stop again at the 12:00 position after a while. It will then wait for the complete time information, assuming it can receive the time signal at its current location, as shown in the "1 - Reset 1200.mp4" video clip below. After a short while it will start again in fast forward mode and set itself to the correct time. You're done and can ignore the further steps.

- When you didn't consider my recommendation (or if it was too late), just install the hands at a random position, insert the battery/ies, and proceed to...

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Watch What Happens :-)

Once you have inserted the battery/ies, the hands start to move for a while, and then they stop at a different random position - similar to the one in the "2 - Reset random.mp4" video clip below.

There are different possibilities here, as well:

- The clock only knows one neutral position (which usually is 12:00) - then you know it is at this position as soon as it stops. Then you quickly remove the battery/ies, followed by removing the hands and setting them back at, you guessed it, the 12:00 position.

- There are some clocks with more than one neutral position; once I repaired an alarm clock that had three of them, at 12:00, 04:00, and 08:00. In such a case you have to experiment a bit, which will take some more time. Once it has stopped, you install the hands at the 12:00 position, as in the simpler procedure above, and then restart the clock. When it stops again after some time, it will either indicate 12:00 or a different time. Then you need to repeat the process with different positions of the hands until it shows the correct time.

Almost Finished

After all this is done, install the battery; the clock will first set itself again at 12:00 and wait for a while (see "3 - Start setting.mp4" video clip). As soon as it has received enough time information, it will start to set itself to the correct time (see the "4 - Setting in progress.mp4" and "5 - Setting finished.mp4" video clips below).

Tadaa!

Even if it looks difficult at first sight (it looked this way to me at first), it is easy if you know what you're doing :-)