MORNING STAR OBSERVATORY
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A Radio Dial Neon Clock


A friend gave me what was once a nice retro-style neon clock with a Federatd Auto Parts background, but it had definitely seen better days; it was dirty and scratched up, and nothing in it worked. The clock movement was corroded inside from an old battery, and the neon driver was toasted, and it was missing the wall wart power supply for the driver board. But the neon tubes and the dial glass were unbroken so I thought I could still salvage it and make it into a nice radio dial clock.

Picture
On the driver board both power transistors were toasted and replaced. I've cleaned up the driver board as much as I can, but the PCB is charred in the area where the transistors mount. It also looks like someone tried to work on it before I got it and miswired the two neon tubes to boot, so I fixed that too. Maybe that's what toasted it.
Picture
Picture
One of the original transistors got so hot it has a hole burned right through its case. Just to be safe with the new transistors I added some small homemade heatsinks. The board is badly burned where the transistors solder in so I really should make a new PCB, but for now I patched it up.

Picture
The clock is dead because of corrosion inside from the bad battery. I tried cleaning it, but it's a goner.

Picture
I ordered a radio-controlled "Atomic" clock movement to replace the defunct one, but it's slightly larger than the original and I had to trim some plastic to make it fit. I was worried that noise from the neon drivers would interfere with the clock's radio, but it synced up and is working fine. There is also a cover that goes over the clock movement and driver board area that is not shown.

Picture
At the last minute I decided to add a rotary lamp switch to turn the neon lights on and off, and a power input jack on the bottom rim of the clock for the driver's wall wart. I found both parts in my stash of stuff. Besides the switch and jack, rebuilding the clock has only cost me some time, a little ink, paper and cardboard, a new clock movement, and the two transistors and wall wart from my parts bins.

Picture
Here's the finshed clock face. I painted the hour and minute hands antique gold, and the second hand red, to make them a little more "Zenithy" and easier to see against the black dial. I made the dial by editing and resizing the Zenith radio dial graphic in Affinity Designer and printing it on my HP 7500 wide carriage color printer. The print was sealed with spray laquer and mounted on cardboard before being cut out. It is held in place by the clock nut and washer, plus the white neon tube and wires that strap it down. Since the dial has the 0 to 60 outer scale, with marks that match the hours, I didn't feel it was necessary to add any numbers, the dial just looks good all by itself. I'm very happy with the final result and it looks great on the wall.

Page created 10/15/2020
​Last edit 10/17/2020
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  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Astrophotography
  • The Observatory
    • The New Observatory
    • - About the ExploraDome
    • - About the Lancaster Dome
    • - Building the Lancaster Dome
  • Equipment
    • CCD Cameras >
      • Orion Starshoot Pro
    • Mounts >
      • Orion HDX110 (EQ-8)
    • Telescopes >
      • Astro-Tech AT6RC
      • Celestron C-11 XLT
      • Zhumell 152mm Refractor
  • Projects
    • C11 XLT Mods
    • Orion SSPRO Camera >
      • Disassembled Views
      • Noise Reduction Mod
      • Temp Controller Mod
    • Ultima 8 Mods
    • Zhumell Refractor Mods
  • Non-Astronomy
    • Amateur Radio >
      • Boat Anchor Radios >
        • BC-348N Receiver
        • Collins 51J4 HF Receiver
        • R-392 HF Receiver
      • DIY >
        • Station Boom Microphone
      • Ameco >
        • Ameco AC-1
        • Ameco OCM
        • Ameco PT-2
        • Ameco R5A
      • Heathkit >
        • Heathkit SB-102 Station
      • Knight-Kit >
        • Knight Kit Span Master II
      • Yaesu FT-817 >
        • Yaesu FT-817ND
        • LDG Z-817 Autotuner
        • Windcamp LiPo Battery
    • Antique Radios >
      • Building A Radio Workbench
      • Radio Dial Neon Clock
      • Radios >
        • 1938 Zenith 6-S-254
        • Echophone EC-1
        • Eltz Radione 2
        • Panasonic RF-5000A
        • Silvertone Model 4465
    • Geiger Counters >
      • AN/PDR-27G Radiac Set
      • Lionel CD V-700 Geiger Counter
      • RCA WF-12A Geiger Counter
    • Test Equipment >
      • DIY Test Equipment >
        • DIY Curve Tracer
        • DIY Signature Tracer
      • Military Test Equipment >
        • BC-221-AF Frequency Meter
        • LM-21 Frequency Meter
        • TS-323/UR Frequency Meter
        • TS-465 C/U Sweep Generator
        • TS-505D/U VTVM
        • TV-3C/U Tube Tester
      • Tube Testers >
        • Alternating Current Sink
        • Drug Store Tester
        • EMC Model 200 Tube Tester
        • Hickok Model 6000A Tube Tester
        • Hickok OZ-1 (550X)
        • Precise Model 111 Tube Tester
        • Precision Model 10-12
        • Supreme Model 385
        • TV-3C/U Tube Tester
      • VTVMs and Multimeters >
        • B&K Model 290 Hi-Low FET Multimeter
        • Hickok 225K VTVM
        • McMurdo Silver VOMAX 900
        • Micronta 22-220 FET Multimeter
        • Simpson 360-2 Digital FET DMM
        • TS-505D/U VTVM
      • Hickok >
        • Hickok 19X RF Generator
        • Hickok 225K VTVM
        • Hickok 288X RF Generator
        • Hickok OZ-1 (550X)
        • Hickok 6000A Tube Tester
      • Simpson >
        • Simpson 360 DMM
        • Simpson 360-2 DMM
        • Simpson 480 Genescope
      • Supreme Instruments >
        • Supreme 385 Automatic
        • Supreme 560 Vedolyzer
        • Supreme 560A Vedolyzer
        • Supreme Model 561 AF/RF Generator
        • Supreme's Model 562 Audolyzer
        • Supreme Model 562 Audolyzer circa 1941
        • Supreme Model 562 Audolyzer circa 1946
        • Supreme Model 563 Audio Generator
        • Supreme Model 576 RF Generator
      • Other Test Equipment >
        • Rider 162 Chanalyst
        • Tektronix 326 O'scope
        • VU-Data Model 941B Oscilloscope
    • ---------------
    • Fossils
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Star Trek >
      • Star Trek Rock Mood Lamp
      • Star Trek Communicator