Anyone convert dead clock into desk clock?

[RSBob]

I have picked up several clocks on evil-bay which run for a year or two and then croak. I like the look of the clock face and think it would make a nice desk clock. Anyone done a conversion to battery powered or electric? If so, where did you find the guts?

[RSBob]

One clock I have does a perpetual rewind, which runs down the car battery - this means the clock keeps time just fine, but some other function inside has gone bad. My stupid question is, is there any easy cheap product availble which converts regular house current into 12V current with ground?

[old man neri]

Originally Posted by RSBob

My stupid question is, is there any easy cheap product availble which converts regular house current into 12V current with ground?

A simple cheap plug in transformer should do the trick. You probably have one somewhere in your house already being used for something.

[EdT82SC]

Originally Posted by old man neri

A simple cheap plug in transformer should do the trick. You probably have one somewhere in your house already being used for something.

You can also get a transformer at Radio Shack in a variety of voltages if you don't want to deal with evil bay.

[the]

Just take it apart and replace the guts with those from a cheap battery powered clock. Then you don't have to worry about a cord.

[RSBob]

BRAVO! Found an old 12V converter in a box. Snipped off the old plug, and popped on a couple of female spade connectors and now its ticking away. Need to build a box or wall mount board for it to sit in.

Thanks neri and Ed!

Edit - plus I now have a nice 12V tester. Never thought of that before. Duh.

[dshepp806]

What is the DC current draw for the VDO clock? Anyone here actually measured it (not a battery drain test....) ???? Or know the published ratings of it?

Time to do a search................

"My stupid question is, is there any easy cheap product availble which converts regular house current into 12V current with ground?"

It's a step down transformer with power supply (diodes/caps for rectification/filtering), delivering it's rated output DC voltage (5 volts DC, 9 volts DC, 12 volts DC, whatever) BUT rated at a current DC current ( 5 mA, 20mA, 50 mA, 200 mA, 1000 mA, whatever). You never want to use a transformer (wall-wart) that's underrated for the load.

Secondly, and mostly irrelevant here unless you're going to use these style-specific connectors,......you should match up the connector's connection styles,..as they have different polarities............( [+] could be on the center pin, whereas [-] could be on the cener pin in a different connector). Just check first.....BUT, in the case of the VDO clock,.....probably cut off the connector and wire her in properly...totally up to you, as to connector ideas.....

Best of luck (and a really cool idea,...piece of your car right on your desk!),

[dshepp806]

Originally Posted by RSBob

BRAVO! Found an old 12V converter in a box. Snipped off the old plug, and popped on a couple of female spade connectors and now its ticking away. Need to build a box or wall mount board for it to sit in.

Thanks neri and Ed!

Edit - plus I now have a nice 12V tester. Never thought of that before. Duh.

(late post by me...) Glad to know you got it.....!!!

Best,

[RSBob]

one old clock face - one dremmel - and it works for me. Maybe I will put in something nicer when I have time

I see I need to fix the wobblies around the edges.... oh well that's easy enough

[the]

Very cool!

Where'd you get the stand? You could market that. I'd buy one!

[axl911]

On Rennlist...search for "Carrera Desk Clock".

[tcar]

Looks great, Rick...

I like the battery clock idea, tho... no cord.

[RSBob]

It's kind of a hack job- done in less than an hour with an old clock stand I had around - with the old clock guts scattered on the work bench. I like that it swivels to line of sight. The pic doesn't do it justice because of the reflected glare from the flash. If I mess with it another 15 mins, it should look right.

I would think Radio Shack or some other place would have a 12V converter from standard batteries as well if you didn't want to go the cord route.

The Rennlist clock is stunning - but just not appropriate for us 60's-70's vintage car guys.

[tcar]

Couldn't find it on Rennlist. Looking to see if they also had an earlier version, but found no clock at all.