Wasting time, Clock and gauge calibration stuff - sorta OT Options

[Superhawk996]

Laid up . . . Again. So doing little tasks that can be done in small bites of time.

One of these projects was to see if I could get an early VDO mechanical movement clock working again. It will eventually need a full rehab to repaint it, and to fix the cracked gauge face.

But before even contemplating that work, it’s useful to see if the movement still works. No point in cosmetics if the thing doesn’t work.

So what did it take to get it working?

1) resolder the internal low temp solder “fuse”
2) cleaned old oil and dust gunk with denatured alcohol.
3) lubricated the pivots of the movement with a tiny drip of watch makers oil.

Success. Movement works and keeps time.

Here’s a little time lapse video of the movement and the winder working

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBtOB2sAbOU?is=SwPxV8_ONXBQdB_z


A few weeks back we had the thread on the VDO CHT temp gauge and verifying that it uses a J-type thermocouple.

www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act=ST&f=2&t=378667

I have a Made in USA Simpson Electric temperature gauge that also needed to be checked out & calibrated. This one also uses the J-type thermocouple. Not 914 related but I still think it’s a cool gauge and have plans for this on a motorcycle project.

Beyond the stempunk vibe of this temp gauge, it has a cool calibration screw that allows the gauge to be calibrated so that the cold junction compensation is sort of taken care of. The main limitation being that it’s all mechanical & analog so if the temperature of the gauge is changing (like it would in a vehicle cabin) it will never be 100% accurate. However it does do a good job of letting you dial in a 30-40 degree offset to account for the difference between the standard cold junction temp (32F) and ambient temp of 70F (ish).



Next up: will get back to working on the seat belt interlock relay project in a few days.