Copal 703 Custom

[Michael_]

I have not been very active in the last couple weeks due to personal circumstances. (Just look up the last thread i started here)
But today i did some DIY stuff that i thought might be worth sharing.

Anyway,
I needed a new alarm clock so i bought a vintage Copal 703 flip clock with alarm feature. Very nice looking 70s clock.
Unfortunately these have an inbuilt light that is permanently on.
You can't turn it off and i can't sleep like that with the whole room lit up. I didn't knew that pre purchase obviously.

So i decided to try modifying it with a switch for being able to turn on/off the light as i like.
Today i successfully did that.
It was actually pretty easy. The hardest part was the 3 wires soldered to the middle pin of the "black box".
I had to unsolder all 3 and then later resolder 3 wires on there. Not to easy because you also cant access that area very well.
But i managed to get that done aswell.

Now i have a very nice looking, actually usable alarm clock.
I attached some pictures below.

For those interested in getting a flip clock:
The battery powered units usually have no inbuilt light (braun phase 2 for example) or have a switch (Copal T11 for example).
But most of the battery powered variants do noticeably tick. (Which my socket powered copal 703 does not)
From the research that i've done i SUSPECT the battery powered models with Quartz Movement (Especially from Copal, Seiko/Lorus, Citizen Brands)
will be just as quiet as my socket powered Copal 703. But i'm not 100% sure since i have not owned one yet.
There are different types of quartz movements, some tick and some don't. So it depends on the exact type of quartz movement used.

 

[Budnicks]

& there are not photos ^^^ of said flip clock/or work performed

you do know this is a B-Body car forum, right ?

interesting

 

[Michael_]

& there are not photos ^^^ of said flip clock/or work performed

Yes i already edited the post and uploaded them. But they get resized and are to small to really see any details.
So if someone is interested in seeing the details/instructions/explanation click these links:

https://abload.de/img/image01jfa9.jpeg

https://abload.de/img/image1s2d3r.jpeg

https://abload.de/img/image23yc7w.jpeg

https://abload.de/img/image3m4c9t.jpeg

https://abload.de/img/readmehndhy.jpeg

 

[Michael_]

you do know this is a B-Body car forum, right ?

Well i thought it might be of some interest for some. I posted it in the off topic section.
This whole "flip clock" thing cost me A LOT of time. I originally just wanted to buy some alarm clock and be done with it...

 

[Michael_]

I know probably no one here on FBBO cares but i wanted to update this with the lastest information anyway.

For those interested in getting a flip clock:
The battery powered units usually have no inbuilt light (braun phase 2 for example) or have a switch (Copal T11 for example).
But most of the battery powered variants do noticeably tick. (Which my socket powered copal 703 does not)
From the research that i've done i SUSPECT the battery powered models with Quartz Movement (Especially from Copal, Seiko/Lorus, Citizen Brands)
will be just as quiet as my socket powered Copal 703. But i'm not 100% sure since i have not owned one yet.
There are different types of quartz movements, some tick and some don't. So it depends on the exact type of quartz movement used.

Meanwhile i bought a second flip clock, this one:
Citizen Flip Clock 8RD102 | eBay (Citizen 8RD102)
It's a japanese model that i bought directly from japan.

Turns out i was right. It does not noticably tick. It's just as quiet as my socket powered copal 703.

But it additionally:
- is battery instead of socket powered
- has an inbuilt light you can turn on/off with the press of a button

So if you want a battery powered flip clock with alarm feature that does not tick and without a permanent light look for a citizen, seiko or copal brand unit with quartz movement.

I would stay away from everything else unless you specifically want a socket powered unit.

That said those units (including my citizen) usually have a control led that flashes every second. But if that turns out to be a problem i will just unsolder it from the pcb. No big deal for a DIY type of person and with that probably most people on fbbo.

Edit: Those who do not have a control led usually do not have an inbuilt light at all.