[time-nuts] Re: Schatz Ships clock

[William H. Fite]

Hold on to your hats, gentlemen. I'm about to launch hip-deep into heresy.

I think Peter's advice is about right; just replace the movement, don't try
to repair it. My question is, why would you not simply replace the
electronic movement with a mechanical movement as was intended in the
original design of the clock?

Over the years, fifteen or twenty Schatz marine clocks have passed through
my hands, most mechanical, some electronic. I have not paid a great deal of
attention to the electronic movements except to remove them and toss them
in the trash because their reliability is not good. Some, apparently, were
manufactured in Germany or Switzerland but others are Chinese in origin. In
the latter case, I very much doubt you will ever find schematics.

As I'm sure you know, Schatz clocks are mid-market consumer-grade
instruments, not nearly as good as Chelsea, for example, but lots better
than the eBay knockoffs. They were designed from the ground up to use
mechanical movements. Putting an electronic movement into a clock intended
by its original designers to be mechanical in nature, is like buying a
battery and motor from Tesla and putting it into a 1928 Pierce Arrow. Will
it run? Yes, and very fast, but it will not be what the designers intended.

Replacing an electronic movement with a mechanical movement requires a
little bit of effort but it is certainly doable. You will need to find a
movement that fits in the case and you will have to replace the face with
one that has arbor hole(s) of the correct size and in the right location
for the movement. It is a fun Saturday project.

Or just install a new electronic movement in the case and call it good.

Or, unless the one your friend has now has sentimental value, consign it to
outer darkness and pick up a Royal Mariner off eBay. They're not very
expensive.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Bill


On Tuesday, May 18, 2021, Peter Torry via time-nuts <
time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:

> Joe,
>
> If its a hardware fault it can usually be repaired but if its software
> then that could be a show stopper. If you have the required test equipment
> and some expertise then trace the signal from the antenna ( usually a cross
> field) through the crystal filter to the processor.
>
> I would thing that the best way would be tp open up the clcok and find the
> movement type and manufacturer and get a new one from somewhere like
> Timesavers - I assume that you are in the US.
>
> Good luck
>
> Peter
>
>
>
> On 18/05/2021 19:26, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
>
>> A friend of mine has an old round brass Schatz Ships clock (looks
>> like a Royal Mariner clock, but is not) with a radio-clock quartz
>> mechanism.  This clock is quite dead, but one would think it can be
>> repaired.  When I google on this clock, I don't find repair details
>> and schematics, I see only offers to sell me a new clock, or nw clock
>> innards.  If the problem is electronic, I'll probably be the one
>> doing the repairs.
>>
>> So, my question is if these old clocks can in fact be repaired, or is
>> the only option to polish the brass and wood, but replace the innards?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Joe Gwinn
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