[CW] Chelsea Clocks - Quartz and Mechanical (12E movement)

[D.J.J. Ring, Jr.]

Here is info (below my signature) that  I collected on Chelsea Clocks -
including info on the quartz movement they use and notes about the suitable
hands.  The Chelsea Radio Room clocks had a very long second hand that
passed over the four second long red sectors so that the operator on a ship
could manually send the autoalarm signal of 4 second dashes separated by 1
second space for 1 minute duration.  (4 correctly received sequential
dashes and spaces would ring the autoalarm receiver wall mounted bell in
the radio officer's cabin and on the bridge.

Some of the CW operators have taken a liking to downloading the PDF clock
face files I and Dan Zeitlan, K2YWE made.
There are ones with red and red and green sectors as well as just a "mess
room" type clock without any red or green sectors.
https://archive.org/details/rrclocks

My pdf files are vector art and can be expanded without further distortion.

73
DR

CHELSEA Clocks

Mechanical Movements:

The mechanical version is a Chelsea 12E movement.
(Chelsea also produces a 16E movement which has a small chapter (dial) for
seconds which often was used on ship as Mess/Saloon clocks - small dial was
under
the 12 at the top.)

Quartz Movement

Patriot Clock:  U.T.S QUARTZ (Germany) http://www.u-t-s.de/quartz_1.htm
Now at:  http://www.uhrentechnik-schwarzwald.de/html/u_t_s__1.html

U.T.S movement part # 800 353

TIMEMASTER quartz clock:   QUARTEX, Lake Geneva, WI
Quantities under 100 are sold by https://www.klockit.com/

Klockit also sells the continuous sweep second hand quartz movement:
https://www.klockit.com/seiko-high-torque-continuous-sweep-quartz-clock-movement-bundle.html

2.5 inch hands Second Sweep
2.5 inch minute hand

1/32” dial thickness of R/R clock.

5/16” shaft diameter

Shaft length ~ 5/8” aprox.

Bushing, 5/16” long metal, threaded
Nylon Hour Shaft 1/8” long, smooth
Metal Shaft 1/16” long, smooth
Keyed (flats on two sides) metal minute shaft, threaded

Measurements from Patriot Chelsea clock April 16, 2017.

7/32” diameter, 1/16” thick rubber grommet goes into hole in dial.
1/32’ bottom of white nylon – slightly thicker – didn’t measure to avoid
scratching dial.
7/32” long, 7/32” diameter white nylon hour hand shaft. (Round, not oblong)
7/32” hole in washer, 7/16” diameter white nylon washer (between black and
white
hands)
1/32” keyed brass shaft 5/32” diameter for minute hand.
7/64” long 5/32” diameter threaded brass shaft for fixing nut.
Overall HEIGHT of shaft length:  3/8” long.

The movement is attached to the dial with glue only and if Chelsea Repair
has to
remove the movement from the dial they use a razor blade and gently slide
it down
so as not to damage the dial or the movement. (From Chelsea Repair  on
April 24,
2017)



The 12E Clock, A Warriors Guide

A comrade through the tragedies and triumph of war, for decades Chelsea
Clock has
been crafting specially made clocks for the United States Navy that have
accompanied men to withering adventures, remote areas, surging seas and
temperamental environments. Rigorous testing and the proof that the pulsing
tick-tock of a Chelsea Clock would keep beating consistently and precisely
above
all and many tribulations were some of the requirements for a Chelsea Clock
to
enlist as a timekeeper for the nation’s battles.

It was the accuracy and durability of a Chelsea Clock that the government
sought
out when it chose to supply a large portion of its navy vessels with the
Boston
Based company’s time instruments. As the government expected the clock went
along
with their men to the depths of the earth. Sometimes both companions came
out
unscathed from the unforgettable acts of war. And sometimes it is the clock
alone
that is intact, salvaged from the wreckage of war.

Experts at the Chelsea factory ensured the timely instrument would thrive
in
unexpected conditions. And before the 12E clock was packed up and shipped
off to
anywhere “World” it withstood internal tests that mimicked situations it
could
encounter endured during World War II or Vietnam.

In an interview with now retired John McCarthy, an employee that worked as
a
manufacturing manager for 28 years, he explained that the clock Jim Leone
built
was more accurate than any of its day. “In those days a mechanical clock
would
only keep time maybe an accuracy of only two or three minutes a day. But
the 12E
that Jim Leone built was plus or minus three seconds a day in accuracy,”
said
McCarthy who currently works for the company in a consulting role. Leone,
the
director of engineering during the mid 1900’s designed a clock above and
beyond
government requirements. The clock was required to have the utmost
resilience to:
various conditions, weather, sea, the sound waves of a shooting ship’s gun
etc.
“It doesn’t take much of a shock to stop it [the escapement of a clock],
and the
parts are very small. But this clock was made [to go through all kinds of
tests]
to drop to the floor and it would still work.”

McCarthy recalled several of the tests the clocks were put through before
they
were sent to locations he could not recall. In particular the staff placed
clocks
in a deep freezer cabinet with dry ice. The clocks would stay in that
sealed off
environment for days, with the temperature dropping to below 80 degrees
below
zero. The clocks would stop working as the conditions would congeal the
oil;
however the testament to clock’s ability to endure extreme conditions was
that it
would start working again once the temperature rose. The amazement was not
that
it only still ticked. The amazement was that the clocks kept time
precisely, even
after living through temperatures that most wildlife could not withstand.
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