I have a synchronome clock built for the British Post Office. I find that the 10V or so that a USB to serial adapter can produce can trigger the solenoid, if allowed to charge a capacitor for the intervening minute. The effect is that I can print a single character once a minute at a low bit rate and, with a few components but no power supply beyond USB, step the clock.
A better solution would include a microcontroller to remember where the hands had stepped to, for automatic recovery after a stoppage. On Fri, Oct 16, 2015 at 1:25 AM, Brooke Clarke <bro...@pacific.net> wrote: > Hi Don: > > I've got a number of SWCC clocks and 3V doesn't work for any of them. > I've done a number of experiments and a higher voltage and series resistor > makes a huge improvement. > > > Mail_Attachment -- > Have Fun, > > Brooke Clarke > http://www.PRC68.com > http://www.end2partygovernment.com/2012Issues.html > http://www.prc68.com/I/DietNutrition.html > Don Couch wrote: > >> Hi, Brooke, >> >> My self winding clock synchronizes fine on three volts. I built a >> synchronizer using a PIC controller with a 32KHz quartz crystal, running on >> three volts. You might want to carefully check the coil and connections on >> yours. By the way, the winding coils also are running on three volts. >> >> Don Couch >> >> On 10/14/2015 11:02 AM, Brooke Clarke wrote: >> >>> Hi Nick: >>> >>> One of my Self Winding Clock Co. (WU) clocks was taken down yesterday >>> for painting. >>> When put up one of the Ken's Clock Synchronizers was installed and the >>> hands moved to align with the heart shaped cam it uses, but it never worked. >>> The problem was it used a 4.5 Volt signal which can develop the current >>> needed to pull the sync electromagnet the time constant is far too slow. >>> I'm going to add a high voltage circuit with series resistor to get the >>> time constant down one or two orders of magnitude. The key to this is a >>> PCB I make that holds 5 each 9V batteries connected in series, so I'll use >>> one, two or more of them to get the time constant down. >>> http://www.prc68.com/P/45VS.html >>> >>> Before I had the 45 Volt Stick I was considering getting the needed high >>> voltage by charging a cap a minute or two before the top of the hour and >>> discharging it through a resistor. Here's a video showing that would work. >>> http://www.prc68.com/I/SWCC.shtml#Experiments_Feb_2014_ >>> >>> Mail_Attachment -- >>> Have Fun, >>> >>> Brooke Clarke >>> http://www.PRC68.com >>> http://www.end2partygovernment.com/2012Issues.html >>> http://www.prc68.com/I/DietNutrition.html >>> Nick Sayer via time-nuts wrote: >>> >>>> On Oct 14, 2015, at 4:42 AM, billriches <bill.ric...@verizon.net> >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Not milisecond time distribution but time related! >>>>> >>>>> In the early half of the 1900s Western Union was in the time >>>>> business. They >>>>> would rent businesses such as banks, office buildings, etc clocks for >>>>> a few >>>>> dollars a month. These were pendulum wall clocks that had 2 #6 dry >>>>> cell >>>>> batteries inside that would wind them every hour or so. The clocks were >>>>> connected to the WU telegraph line and for a minute before and after >>>>> the >>>>> top of the hour all traffic on the circuit would stop. Exactly at the >>>>> top >>>>> of the hour they would push a pulse of 50 ? volts or so over the line >>>>> and it >>>>> would reset the clock to the top of the hour. >>>>> >>>> The WU standard time service goes back further than the turn of the >>>> 20th century. It started in 1870. >>>> >>>> I’ve always wanted to get my hands on one of those clocks and come up >>>> with a circuit to recreate the synchronization signal for it, probably with >>>> a Raspberry Pi running ntpd and a big ol’ MOSFET. The problem is that at >>>> this point, those clocks are quite expensive once they’re reconditioned. >>>> >>>> My understanding (perhaps incorrect) was that the sync pulse was once >>>> daily and, as you said, would cause the hands to “snap” to 12. The trailing >>>> edge of the pulse was synchronized and would release the clock to operate >>>> normally. >>>> >>>> That they had something as accurate and widespread as it was so early >>>> is astonishing. >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com >>>> To unsubscribe, go to >>>> https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts >>>> and follow the instructions there. >>>> >>>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com >>> To unsubscribe, go to >>> https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts >>> and follow the instructions there. >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com >> To unsubscribe, go to >> https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts >> and follow the instructions there. >> >> > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com > To unsubscribe, go to > https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > and follow the instructions there. > _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.