Record Clock With Solar Power

I made a clock out of a record, powered by a solar panel and a rechargeable battery.

What you'll need:

• a record
• a small solar cell and battery connections (I bought a cheap solar powered garden lamp, and I removed the solar cell and connections from it.)
• a clock movement (you can purchase these from places such as Hobby Lobby)
• balanced clock hands (can also be purchased from Hobby Lobby)
• numbers to decorate the clock face (again, Hobby Lobby)
• a plate, or pottery holder
• a soldering iron and soldering wire
• electrical tape
• a double AA rechargeable battery
• and a drill press

• Check the connections between the solar cell and the wires. Faulty connections here will prevent the rest of the project from working. If the connections are bad, a new solar cell may be needed.
• Make sure the wires connected to your solar cell will be long enough to reach the battery pack, if not you'll have to solder more wire to the end.
• Also, make sure to purchase a solar panel with battery connections, or, if you take the solar panel from a garden lamp, make sure you keep the battery connections from the lamp (this may require some additional soldering).
• Cover any soldered wire with electrical tape for extra insurance.

• Apply the numbers to the clock face. The ones I used were just stickers. Make sure you measure out the accurate distance between each number.
• Next, drill two holes in the clock face to feed the wires of the power cell through to the back. I used a drill press to drill the holes close to the 12 o'clock mark.
• Then, mount the solar cell to the clock face, and feed the wires through the two holes. I used hot glue to mount the solar cell.

• The clock movement I bought was slightly too big to fit in the hole in the record, so I used a file to make the hole slightly bigger.
• Installing the clock movement and hands is fairly straight forward. The clock movement should come with all the necessary parts.
• First, place the rubber washer over the clock movement.
• Next, place the clock face (record) over the movement.
• Then, place the metal washer over the clock face.
• The clock hands go on next, starting with the hour hand. Make sure it has a snug fit on the shaft.
• Next, place the minute hand on the shaft, and place the small bolt over it.
• Finally, snap the second hand to the top of the shaft.

• For a temporary connection, you can attempt to wedge the battery connections into the clock movement.
• My battery connections were too large, however, and I wanted a permanent connection. So, I simply soldered the battery connections on the wires to the battery connections in the clock movement.
• Make sure you do this very carefully. I accidentally melted part of the plastic on the clock movement, and almost burnt a hole in my record.
• Finally, place the AA rechargeable battery in the clock movement, and make sure all needed parts have a good connection.

• Place your finished solar powered record clock in a plate/ pottery holder. Make sure to purchase one the comes up far enough in the back, so your record clock will stay balanced in it.
• The last step is to place your new clock in a sunny location, so the solar panel gets plenty of light, and your battery is always fully charged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPiTlBPbLLg