Clock this time...

[richard btype]

I've been searching for a past thread on the clock but have not found one related to the series 1.

I would like to have my clock working - is there someone out there who is able to get this working - speedograph have said they do not repair them... [/b]

[Heuer]

Mike Ecke in the USA. Superb service. clever upgrade and quick turn around: http://www.jaguarclock.com/ or via Coolcat Corp.

[ChrisC]

+1 for Mike Ecke

He did my clock a couple of years ago and it has kept good good time ever since...

[richard btype]

Thanks gents was rather hoping to find a UK repairer who could breath some life into the existing old unit...

[Heuer]

Don't be worried about sending the clock to Mike in the US - he has done many clocks for UK owners and the turn around time is probably quicker than getting it done here. I notice from the invoices on my FHC the clock was repaired about 18 months ago by a UK vendor - I can look it up for you if you want. On the other hand it does stop frequently so it will be winging its way over to Mike very shortly.

[richard btype]

David

That throws up two questions, one being the duty from the states - this one I always find annoying as it generally entails visiting the sorting office handing over lots of duty to get the item released. Secondly I have just found a company on ebay 'John Gordon Jaguars' who will do an exchange service for ?90.00, the existing mechanism is repaired so not a quartz alternative - I wonder if it were they who repaired yours earlier? Personally I enjoy the sound the mechanical ones make.

Richard

[Heuer]

Richard

The first thing to understand is the Smiths clock design is fundamentally flawed in that it uses two contacts coming together momentarily to drive the movement. The contacts arc and because they are not up to the current draw they erode. An exchange service that only repairs the same bad design is going to fail again fairly quickly. Mike Ecke uses an electronic circuit to switch the current (by passing those contacts) so you still get the 'tick-tock' but it never fails.

"The tach-mounted Smiths clock has been used on Jaguars from the mid 30's to the mid 60's. The electrical contact is the weak link in these clocks, so they never seem to run long enough for anything else to wear out. Actually, it's not surprising that the contacts fail, when you consider what they are required to do. Normally, the current for the coil passes directly through the contacts, which close and open five times per second. Each of these cycles causes a spark, which is easily visible. At the rate of 5 per second, this spark occurs 18,000 times per hour, 432,000 times a day, and 157,680,000 times per year! It's no wonder they fail so quickly. Our upgrade uses the contacts as a trigger for an integrated circuit (IC), which actually provides the power pulse to the coil. The contacts are required to pass much less current than they normally handle. In addition, the circuit produces a constant width electrical pulse to the coil, which gives the balance wheel a solid kick, no matter how bouncy or dirty the contacts are. The same idea is used in dwell-extender electronic ignitions. We use a custom printed circuit board that uses surface mount techniques to shrink the circuit down to the size where it will fit inside the clock. None of the original clock parts are removed, so the installation is totally reversible, in case you ever want a non-functional clock again!"

Others have done a similar thing but none of them has achieved the reliability of Mike's design. It is is not a 'quartz' conversion, it is a Smiths clock 'upgrade'. If you are worried buy a clock off eBay and send it to Mike for conversion. I had no problems with customs charges

[richard btype]

Very good advice - many thanks...

[ALAN COCHRANE]

Richard

If you want to keep it in the UK try:-
Autoflux
Higher Derricoombe
2 Watersfoot
Liskegard
Cornwall
PL14 6HS
Contact: Sylvia Cooper
Telephone: 01579 320 459

They don't have a website, but were extremely good to deal with.

I sent my S1 clock to them and they did an electronic conversion for about ?70. Two years on it's still going strong and it still makes that reassuring ticking sound.
The only thing they advised was not to leave the clock disconnected for long periods.

Cheers

Alan

[stef]

Mike Eck did my clock 2 years ago and it is still keeping the time perfectly. No problems with sending it to the US from OZ

[richard btype]

Thanks Gents, in fact have already sent the clock to Mike Eck in the states.

[phil.dobson@mac.com]

send it to Mike Eck

[abowie]

Mike Eck did my clock 2 years ago and it is still keeping the time perfectly. No problems with sending it to the US from OZ

Ditto. He's done 3 for me in the last 2 years.

[JD-JAG66]

Just received my clock back from Mike. Excellent service and very quick replies to my mails.
Shipping to the US : 29,35€. In order to get it back, I had to pay 15,68€ in import duties and Italian mail handling costs.
So make that a total of 45€ for shipping and receiving on top of the 85US$ (= +/- 80€ today), for a grand total 125€.
Recommended I reckon, especially after calculating shipping in Europe on top of repair/conversion quotes.

[cactusman]

Or you can try a kit from
Www.clocks4classics.com

providing you have a steady hand
Neat circuit that replaces the troublesome contacts with an optical system. Retains the clocks tick.

Delicate to fit but not impossible. Did mine two years ago and it has ticked ever since.

Your mechanism will need to work and the solenoid coil must be ok and not open circuit. I believe he also offers a refurbishment service too. The DIY kit is £50.

[ETTony]

Or you can try a kit from
http://Www.clocks4classics.com

providing you have a steady hand
Neat circuit that replaces the troublesome contacts with an optical system. Retains the clocks tick.

Delicate to fit but not impossible. Did mine two years ago and it has ticked ever since.

Your mechanism will need to work and the solenoid coil must be ok and not open circuit. I believe he also offers a refurbishment service too. The DIY kit is £50.

I will second that.
I did try to fit the kit myself but could not get all four of the little screws out, so before i made a total horlicks of it, I sent it back to Mark to fit for me.
In fact my clock arrived this morn and is now ticking away merrily in the car.
Very happy
About two weeks turn around, super helpfull..

[Heuer]

I think there is a way of sending something to the US (or elsewhere) for repair and not having to pay duty/VAT on it. I did it with my clock and an Audio Research pre-amplifier which had to go to Canada for some upgrade work. Can't for the life of me remember the full process but I think you have to fill out a customs form before you send it. Maybe someone can look into the correct procedure and if it is still valid and let us know?

[JD-JAG66]

I had to fill in a "invoice for customs purpose only" when I shipped the clock to Mike.
The invoice allowed to mention clearly that my clock was about to be repaired and returned to me.
So making clear that I did not buy a new clock in the US.
I could see that the "customs invoice value" from Mike, 50US$, was converted to € 46,27. On which I had to pay 22% VAT = 10,18€ and 5,5€ customs expenses (basically administration costs)
There were no import duties (called Dazio here in Italy) on the 50US$ - 46,27€.
Hope this helps. Guess we will have to tell Mike to put value 0 on his invoices?

[ETTony]

I would point out that clocks4classics are in Engerland, Mark Willows.

[cactusman]

Audio research pre amp valve by any chance? My pre and power amps plus the phono amp are valve but as I designed and built them myself I can fix if needed...bonus....valves....love em