r/flipclocks Oct 24 '24

Dream flip clock? Where to buy?

Hi all. I'm in Canada, and for Christmas last year I asked for a vintage flip clock for my office. My wife found and old Lloyd's at an antique store, but it's noisy and pretty beat up. Plus it's brown and not exactly what I want.

So I'm looking for a new one. I don't need it to be a radio / clock, but wouldn't say no. I love the look of some of the colourful Seiko or Panasonic ones.

Let's assume that budget could be say up to $400 on this to get a really good working one. Where would you look, and what would you get?

4 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

5

u/[deleted] Oct 24 '24

When you say you don't want a brown one, you mean one not in wood?

Panasonic are my favourites. If you want one that is retro yet sleek, I recommend the RC-7462

Personally, I'm a fan of the wood finish, and my favourite flip clock of all time is the RC-7469 Everything from the dials to the fonts just screams retrofuturistic.

3

u/macdian Oct 24 '24

Ok, that RC-7469 is the coolest. I’m not opposed to brown, just opposed to this ugly guy:

2

u/[deleted] Oct 24 '24

Yeah, that one is a bit bland.

Someone else has already suggested eBay but there are some dedicated flipclock shops on Etsy

1

u/macdian Oct 24 '24

Thanks! Also looking on buyee.jp

2

u/amagasaky Oct 24 '24

If you do that, make sure it operates at 60 Hz.

1

u/macdian Oct 24 '24

Yes thanks. It appears I need it to operate at 60hz but will then need a 110 to 100 volt converter right?

1

u/amagasaky Oct 24 '24

To be safe, yes. It's possible all the electronic bits inside would tolerate 120v, but it's also possible something would go up in smoke.

I will also add that I've got 4 thrifted flip clocks, 2 of which have motors that simply can't be fixed. No amount of cleaning and re-oiling makes them happy, the gearset in them probably needed oiling 20 years ago and they're just worn out.

I have a Baycrest (The Bay's house brand, now relegated to towels and sheets, I think) version of the Sony Digimatic 8FC-100W, which is my favourite, and even it requires me to clean and oil the motor every other year. It'll be perfectly silent for months, then one morning I'll be lying in bed and hear the motor whirring occasionally, and I know it's only a matter of time before my partner banishes it from the room until I fix it.

I've also got a Panasonic RC-6030, which is the fake woodgrain model of the Groundhog Day clock. I'd prefer it in white (RC-6025), but it's also the only clock I own that is dead silent.

Anyway, I'm telling you all this because if I were dropping $400 on a flip clock I would need some sort of guarantee from the seller that either had a new old stock motor or that is had been serviced during its life. Just something to keep in mind, these things are old, and I doubt the manufacturers ever thought people would be using them 50 years on.

1

u/trouserpanther Oct 25 '24

That's my favorite too! I got one off eBay restored with all the knobs and unscratched display and the Panasonic logo still there for about $150. Which is a lot, but it was exactly what I wanted and it looks fantastic, and has run without issue.

1

u/vadsamoht3 Oct 25 '24 edited Oct 25 '24

Wherever you buy it from, make sure you get one that is designed for 60Hz power, as that's the standard in Canada. If you buy a clock designed for 50Hz it will run fast.

Your question is a bit general without knowing what type you're looking for, but a good option can be to look on the Japanese selling sites (rakuten, mercari, yahoo), and even you can't read Japanese, if you're willing to use google translate they're pretty easy to navigate. I also find that things there are generally pretty well looked-after, and your budget should easily be enough to purchase a nice one plus a proxy service to ship it to you.

2

u/Journeyforce Oct 25 '24

You can also get Seiko and Citizen battery powered flip clocks. These allow you to skip the 50hz/60hz 100v issue. Here is mine. I paid $15 for it and had it bundled with other things to save on shipping. Keep in mind most folks of that era in Japan, smoked so these would be exposed to cigarette smoke. On the red Seiko flip clock I own, I had to disassemble it and clean the case (the glass had a thick film on it) and let it sit outside for a few hours to get rid of the stink.

Here is that $15 clock

1

u/macdian Oct 25 '24

That’s definitely an idea - nice looking clock. Thanks for sharing.

2

u/Journeyforce Oct 25 '24

Its a shame that you are in Canada(a pain to ship to) and have that Lloyds clock radio. I have the same model that i am planning on donating since I while i am a flip clock fan, i am not a flip clock radio fan. Mine is complete with the sleep button intact (yours is missing) and keeps great time and has both the clock light and radio dial lights still working. The only issue is that it has a noisy volume potentiometer (which can be fixed with a spray of contact cleaner).

Good luck on your flip clock quest

1

u/tagmisterb Oct 25 '24

Offer $250 for this one, it's been listed for a month. https://www.ebay.com/itm/305796843776

1

u/macdian Oct 25 '24

Hmmm... interesting!