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New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

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Darren Cal.11/12

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New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post13 Feb 2012, 21:18

Digital clocks 
Hi to everyone, i'm a new member here but have a been a long term contributor at a number of watch related forums ( most notably the Heuer On The Dash forum ... chronocentric. )
I have a pair of 1970's  LED desk clocks with non fully functioning indicies & would like to find a specialist that could repair them. 
Here's a photo of 4 i have previosly owned (now sold) fully functioning. 

Image

I am based in Europe but would be willing to send to outside if neccessary. 
Any help appreciated , thanks , Darren. 
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Kasper

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post13 Feb 2012, 22:08

welcome Darren,

never seen these clocks before, looks new but they are vintage..reminds me again that the last beautiful things
were made in the 70ties. Incredible pieces.
I want one like the one under in the picture.

Wait and some specialists in led wil help you further here. In the meanwhile..have fun browsing.
Hey you all...this board is FREE and without ADS, so at least post something every now and then to show your appreciation.


Get the latest active topics of the board here.
http://www.newdwf.com/search.php?search_id=active_topics

- Kasper -
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Led-Time

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post13 Feb 2012, 23:46

Wonderful clocks and beautiful Panaplex displays...is the movement electro-mechanical or solid state i.e. no moving parts.

Can you show a picture of the internals.

I own a Datatime Panaplex clock with electro-mechanical innards I did a full re-build on it a while back.
Thread is here (the pictures are gone see link below) -http://www.strikesandspares.net/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=3075
Pictures here - http://www.dwf.nu/Gallery/thumbnails.php?album=34
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Darren Cal.11/12

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post14 Feb 2012, 00:15

Led-Time wrote:Wonderful clocks and beautiful Panaplex displays...is the movement electro-mechanical or solid state i.e. no moving parts.

Can you show a picture of the internals.

I'm afraid I'm out of my depth on this, there are no parts as i remember. There was some old fashion resisters but i think it will be best if i take some photo's to show you.
I will post them tommorow.
Thanks - Darren

I own a Datatime Panaplex clock with electro-mechanical innards I did a full re-build on it a while back.
Thread is here (the pictures are gone see link below) -http://www.strikesandspares.net/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=3075
Pictures here - http://www.dwf.nu/Gallery/thumbnails.php?album=34
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Old Tom

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post14 Feb 2012, 19:19

What exactly is the fault? Is it darkening of parts of the lit segments or complete loss of a segment(s)? The Heuer clocks used Beckman SP-352 flat panel nixie displays and while easy enough to replace they are in very short supply! I must admit I have a search running on Ebay for these as I have quite a lot of these flat panel nixie clocks (Timeon, Heathkit etc), but I haven't seen any SP-352s for quite a while. Unlikely to be the main clock chip (pretty certain that is a Mostek MK5017AA), could be the cathode drive transistors (easy!). I don't think the ambient brightness sensor option was used on the Heuers- gives trouble on Heathkit clocks as it dims the display down and you find out that not all your segments have the same striking voltage.
Last edited by Old Tom on 15 Feb 2012, 10:32, edited 1 time in total.
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Darren Cal.11/12

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post14 Feb 2012, 19:57

Thanks for your reply.
I intend a detailed reply tommorrow with photo's & explain the issues.
Valentine's Day date now & the gf will freak if i dont pay attention.
Cheers - Darren
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Darren Cal.11/12

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My clocks internals - ( warning - heavy photo content )

Post15 Feb 2012, 23:35

Hi again , i'm back with some more info for the masses.
I have taken some clock internal photo's to help identify what exactly we are dealing with here. I really hope i have taken the right photo's for you to see - if not i'm happy to take more from different angles.

Image

Image

Image

Image


Now all the above photo's are from Clock No.1. (the oval cylinder one) & here is a photo of its display fault

Image

Clearly the 4th digit of the display (which displays minutes) is completely blank. Aside from this it seems to be quite good.



Here is clock No.2 ( the rectangular wedge )

Image

As the above photo shows there seems to be a general "bleed" of light along the bottom row segments of lights.


Lets see if this post helps the forum form some theories & leads my in the right repair direction.
Thankyou - Darren
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SASM

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post16 Feb 2012, 09:54

Hi Darren,

well this should be an easy fix: The 125V NPN 7-segment display driver is a DI297N and seems to be bad. Change it, however I would assume it´s hard to get but not impossible. If you are not successful, you can replace it with a series of MPSA42 NPN HV drivers (or MPSA92 for common anode displays) and a 74248 (TTL) or 4543 (CMOS with latch).

Hanno.
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Old Tom

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post16 Feb 2012, 10:28

SASMs fix is for the second clock with the phantom segments. The first clock has lost an anode driver- probably the high voltage transistor rather than the drive transistor (Silicon, PNP, 200 volt CE or more- can't remember what that round top package was called- Heathkit used MPS-L51s in this position, but the choice nowadays is huge).
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Old Tom

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post16 Feb 2012, 10:49

I had a quick look around all the usual suspects/purveyors of ancient Silicon and none had the D1297N listed. Now it is possible there is a specialist Heuer clock repairer out there who is sitting on a hoard of these, but you'll have to hunt him down. As only one of the segment cathode drivers has failed it probably wouldn't be too difficult to replace/bridge it with a discrete resistor/transistor combo on small daughter board (or moulded into a blob of black Milliput!) and clip off the two offending pins on the driver chip as the other six drivers in the chip are OK.
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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post16 Feb 2012, 12:18

yes, Old Tom is right, I meant the clock on the 2nd picture.

From pinball displays with a similar layout I know that there are usually resistors between the common anode or cathode of the display and the transistor to reduce the current flow. Typically they have around 100K. Check these first, they are likely to be defective, too.
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Darren Cal.11/12

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post16 Feb 2012, 23:54

Thankyou gentlemen for your replies . I really apreciate your wisdom/advice.

I have never been one to mess with the curcuits & electronics in the past. I'm a little embarrased to say i have never owned a soldering iron :oops:
I think i started this thread hoping to locate someone that would be able to repair the clocks for me, BUT, i now question whether i would be capable of making these repairs myself ?
Ok clearly the road to repair starts with trying to locate the parts you gents have highlighted in your previous replies. Once i locate these parts is it a job a novice could take on ?

My final point is where do i start looking for these parts. I have a deep knowledge of all things Heuer, i know of no stash of spares for these clocks. Is there a resource available to help locate some of these components ?

Thanks again for your help - Darren
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Old Tom

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post17 Feb 2012, 14:21

I would have to say that the repairs on these two clocks are not something you should attempt as a novice! You will need more than a soldering iron & solder! First you have to identify the exact fault- all the advice given so far is for "the most likely fault", it may be something different and testing for the fault needs experience. Also, these clocks will need to be tested live and since you have Beckman planar displays in there (strictly speaking they are not, as most will tell you, Panaplex displays which only need a single 200 volt supply) that means there will be a 205 volt line (for the main discharge) and a 135 volt line (for the pre-ignition electrode) ready to give you a nasty surprise if you put a finger in the wrong place.

You would also need to find a pinout for the D1297N driver chip (if no direct replacement can be found) to find the defective internal driver and isolate it. Finding a transistor is not that difficult, most are marked on the side with a type number and a quick google/ebay search should find one (I would also check a site like Cricklewood Electronics who have a huge stock of unusual transistors, and are 1/2 mile up the road from me!).

I must admit I tempted to volunteer to mend them as I just love these clocks, but .....
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Darren Cal.11/12

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Re: New member says HI & asks for some HEUER help

Post18 Feb 2012, 08:59

Hi Old Tom - i have PM'd you
Cheers

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