[Boatanchors] OT: AC Clocks Running Backwards

[Adam Vaughn]

 I've owned several dozen AC-powered clocks at this point (as seen on my website), and I've never seen one start to run backwards on its own. Well, Hammonds and most other non-self-starting clocks could be made to run in reverse if you spun the starting knob the wrong way, but it takes some effort to do that. Telechron and GE clocks could be made to run in reverse if you mounted the coil the wrong way; I've heard of them being modified in this fashion for use in a barbershop, complete with mirrored numbers on the dial. One example of such a clock can be seen here:

http://www.telechron.net/postwar/1b915.htm

I rather doubt that lightning could somehow cause the clock's coil to reverse its own polarity without frying the thin wires of the winding. My guess is that they reversed the coil on the clock, and came up with a fancy story to mess with people's heads. If I wanted an electric clock which ran backwards, I'd get one of those cheesy Spartus (IIRC) wall clocks which looked like a large pocket watch, and had reversed numbers on the dial.
-Adam
 
 
-- 
Adam Vaughn
Collector of old computers, video game systems, radios and other electronic equipment... 
Visit my page at http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/index.html
 
On 05/07/17, Bill Mellema via Boatanchors<boatanchors at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
 
Guys,
I know this is way off topic but I want to get opinions/inputs from the gang. On a trip this past week I mentioned that I saw a AC Clock running backwards at a 7-11 I stopped into back in the early 70's. The guys with me didn't call me a liar but suggest that I had been drinking too much susia hi hi I remember asking the cleark what's with the clock and she told me it started running backwards after a lightning storm. The internet suggest that a broken stepper could cause the same problem. The story of it starting to go backwards after a lightning storm could be a myth that was passed onto the clerk I'm thinking.
Please has anyone seen this before??
Thanks in advance...
Bill N3WM


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