P.O. ENGINEERING DEPT.

MISCELLANEOUS
ENGINEERING INSTRUCTIONS TIME
INSTALLATION

INSTALLING AND MAINTENANCE

A quick guide to running your clock system

Before we deal with complete systems, I will clear up a So with the standard resistance of the drive magnet being
few points that have arisen over time, using the 10 ohms, the supply should be 4 volts at 0.4 Amps.
information from the G.P.O. itself!
But there again...
Contacts - I have followed a debate about running slave
clocks directly from the Master. While it is true that the The Tests & Routine instructions, Z5503 states that the
30 second pulse contacts generally spent their working drive current should be between 450-500 mA.
life driving two 5000Ω relay coils in parallel; one for
exchange equipment, the other for clocks; the contacts After proper adjustment of the spring pressures, etc., my
for all the spring-sets in the clock 36 are made of an alloy Mark 6 was found to require a driving impulse every 8-9
containing 90% Platinum and 10% Iridium. The drive complete swings of the pendulum, using approximately
magnet usually operates more often that the 30 second 430mA, about 4.3V. Ignoring the conflict of information
pulse contacts, and it has a nominal 450mA running above, somewhere between 4.25 and 4.5 Volts keeps a
through it. Therefore, running only 200-300mA through nice balance between the number of complete swings
the 30 second pulse contacts should not be a problem. made, and the volume of the pendulum “rattle” as the
Having said that, I would still suggest getting a miniature magnet is cut off.
relay with a coil resistance of at least 500Ω
A most important point on any new installation is to
Drive magnet voltage - While we are on the subject of check the current of both the drive magnet and the slave
power, I will just say that one of the usual questions that I clock circuit(s) and adjust the resistances accordingly.
get asked is; “What is the voltage required to run the
Clock 36’s drive magnet?” There seem to be two answers System power supply (mains adaptor) - There are two
for this! points to consider here. Firstly, the number of slave dials
that you intend to run, and secondly, whether you also
To explain:- intend to use a relay, GMT 34 or 35 unit, or some of the
other equipment that was available for Master clock
In the GMT 34, resistor R3 is in series with the 10Ω drive systems (Programmers and the like!).
magnet, across the supply voltage. Using the chart from
diagram GMT 34/1, we see the values given for this For a simple Clock 36 - slave dial installation, a small
resistor for various supply voltages. ‘plug in the wall’ 4.5 or 6 volt mains adaptor should
suffice as long as it has a rating of at least 450mA. A
24V 40V 50V 60V 4.5V adaptor will run the clock 36 directly and also 2-3
50Ω 90Ω 110Ω 135Ω slave dials. If you intend to use a relay, then get a 6V
adaptor, as this is a common voltage for small relays. 6V
adding the 10Ω for the drive magnet coil, we get:- will run 3-4 slave dials, but you will also need a 5Ω
resistor in the drive magnet circuit.
24V 40V 50V 60V
60Ω 100Ω 120Ω 145Ω For 12V supply, a 20Ω resistor in series with the drive
magnet will run half a dozen or so slave dials.
this gives us current in amps of:-
For the above voltages, you will also need a resistor in
0.4 0.4 0.4167 0.414 the slave dial circuit if using less than the maximum
number of dials.
multiply the current by the drive magnet resistance to get:
System power supply (Battery) - The main advantage
4V 4V 4.167V 4.14V of this system, is that the clocks continue to run in the
event of a mains failure.
therefore, the drive magnet seems to be designed to run
between 4 and 4.2 volts, and the actual figure of 4V is Although dry cells work, even the D size alkaline cells
found in paragraph 3.3 of PR479B, which outlines the did not last more than a few days when I tried them, so I
specification for the Clock No. 36. do not recommend them. The best way I have found, is to
get a ‘no maintenance‘ sealed lead acid battery with a
"The pendulum shall require not more than one driving plug in the wall charger. 6V does work OK, but if you
impulse for every 15 complete oscillations when a battery intent to expand your system or maybe even obtain a
of 4 volts is connected to the terminals of the driving GMT 34 or 35, then I suggest getting 12V. A 2Ah battery
coil." is not very big or expensive either.

A copy of this specification can be seen by clicking here.

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It is important to use a modern ‘plug in the wall’ lead the relay’s coil, in series with it. You will now need an
acid battery charger which looks very similar to a mains additional resistor for the pendulum drive, 5Ω for 6v,
adaptor, and again, these are not very expensive and after 20Ω for 12v.
initially charging the battery, they switch over to trickle
charge, thus avoiding damage due to over charging. At this point it starts to get hard to hide everything in side
the clock itself. One idea it to have a small box,
VERY IMPORTANT - Never, ever, even consider using preferably of wood to match the finish of the clock case,
a lead acid battery without putting a 1 or 1.5 AMP fuse that can either just sit on top of the clock or you could
on one of its leads. just locate the extra stuff further away.

To explain - If the battery has a capacity of 2Ah, that For supply voltages over 4.5v, you will need to run 4
means it is designed to supply current at the rate of 2 wires into the Clock 36. These are:-power for the
amps for 1 hour. it will also supply 1 amp for 2 hours, 4 pendulum drive, power for the spring-sets, a common
amps for 30 minutes, 8 amps for 15 minutes, and return and also the output from the 30 sec. clock spring-
(possibly)... 120 amps for one minute. This last figure is sets.
probably more than twice the current that is needed to
start an average motor car, not the sort of condition you You will need to connect a number of wires to both side
would want flowing through your clock system if of the power supply. A neat way to do this is to use a
something were to go wrong! Not only that, but a dead connector block, 8 terminals long and connect the
short across this type of battery even for a few seconds, negative power lead to one end. Along that side of the
will seriously damage or totally ruin it! block, link every other terminal to the power lead,
leaving the terminals in between them spare. For the
Clock systems - First we will look at the most basic positive, use a 3-4 connector block and link all the
system possible. terminals down one side

Basic mains system - This comprises of a Clock 36, Using a relay, there are three power circuits.
some wire, a 3 way terminal block, one resistor, a 4.5 volt
power supply and 1-3 slave dials. DRIVE MAGNET CIRCUIT - take the correct resistor
for the voltage that you are using, connect between a
Inside the Clock 36, use a short piece of wire to link the power terminal and the spare next to it on the negative
together the pendulum drive+ and the battery+ or E connector block. connect a wire from the resistor to the
terminals. Connect one side of the power adaptor to Clock 36’s -ve pendulum drive. connect a wire from the
either one of these linked terminals. Now link the +ve pendulum drive to the +ve connector block.
pendulum drive- and battery- together (4.5v adaptor
ONLY) and connect the other adaptor lead to that. Take RELAY CIRCUIT - If the relay coil voltage is less than
one wire for the clock circuit from the terminal marked the supply, then use a resistor on the -ve power connector
30 sec. clocks, and another from either of the positive + as above, otherwise; take a wire from one of the -ve
terminal. (G.P.O. Strowger exchanges were positive earth power terminals to the -ve battery terminal in the Clock
systems, which is why the positive terminal is marked + 36. Take another wire from the 30sec. clock terminal to
or E). take the two leads to two of the three terminals on one side of the relay coil, and a last wire from the other
the terminal (or connecting) block. If you have 3 slaves, side of the relay coil to the +ve connector.
then connect the clock circuit to the same two terminals
otherwise; connect one lead to one of the two terminals SLAVE CLOCK CIRCUIT - It can be wise to add a
that are connected to the clock 36. and the other wire to 500mA fuse into a large slave circuit, which would be in
the spare terminal. There will be two positions left in the series with the clocks. You would need 2 spare terminals
connector block for the resistor. For 2 slaves use a 5-7Ω on the -ve block and proceed as follows;- take a fuse
resistor, for 1 slave; 10-14Ω. holder and wire between one of the -ve power terminals
and a spare next to it. connect a resistor (dependent on
the number of slave dials) between that and another spare
terminal. take a wire from the resistor terminal to one
side of the ‘Make” contacts on the relay. You can use a
meter; set to resistance; to test which contacts make when
the relay is operated. Take a wire from the other side of
the make contacts, and also a wire from the +ve terminal
block, and these two wires connect to your slave dials in
As long as the Clock 36 and slaves are adjusted properly, series. If you are not using a fuse, then wire as above for
turn on the power, slowly increase the swing of the the other two circuits, adapting for whether or not you
pendulum until the hipp toggle catches, and everything need a resistor.
should work fine.
Adding a GMT 34 or 35 - You will need at least 12v to
Relay output system - You will need a supply voltage run this unit. The relay armatures tent to pull in a little
that will run the relay coil. 6v or 12v is a good value, slower on 12V and you might need to adjust the spring-
remembering that you can run a 6v relay from 12v as sets in the clock so that they give a longer pulse. To do
long as you put a resistor that is the same ohm value as this, carefully bend the springs at the buffer block end, so
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ENGINEERING INSTRUCTIONS TIME
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that the springs are very slightly nearer to the pendulum.

Also, you might find that you need to take a small
amount of tension off the GMT’s relay lever springs,
these are the ones nearest to the relay armatures.

These units can be a little noisy and it can be a good idea

to either mount these remotely from the clock, or if noise
is not a problem then they can be fitted in a purpose made
wooden case, designed to fit just under the Clock 36. A
nice wooden case with a glass panel is excellent if you
wish to leave the cover off the GMT 34 to show the
relays working. Not only that, but the box could also
house all the other parts; fuse holders, etc. including the
lead acid battery, and to make that look in keeping, a
paper label can be pasted around it, one idea for the
common 12v 2.1Ah size of 178 x 66 x 34 mm is shown
Now to check the voltage that the unit was wired for. If it
here.
came from an exchange, then it should be 50v, from an
administrative building; 24v. The resistor coil No. 9’s are
the ceramic cotton reels to the lower right of the unit
(Left in the picture below.), hopefully topped with a
black disc, marked to show which resistor is which. If
there is more than one resistor in a ‘stack’ then the label
had a radius line on it, and you read the resistor names
R1, R3, etc. in a clockwise direction. The first number
relates to the top resistor.

Another consideration for both noise and power usage, is

whether you require all of the relays to function or just
the ones for the 30 sec. slave dials. You will need to run a
minimum of 4 wires into the clock for just the 30 sec.

pulses, 8 wires to run the whole unit. There are two ways
to run the wires to the Clock 36, the first is a multi core
cable as used on telephone and alarm systems, or you can
use single wires, laced together with twine, which can
look quite good. To check for the original supply voltage, locate R3. This
resistor is for the pendulum drive and it will be 110Ω for
Here we see the inside of a GMT 34, which is still as 50v, and 50Ω for 24v. To run on 12v, you will need to
initially supplied with 5 relays. If you examine one of change this either for a 20Ω resistor or if you want to get
these units, then it could have any number between 5 and the drive supply exact, a 25Ω wire wound variable
8 relays, the extra ones would have been fitted locally to resistor. Now for R2, which is a resistor coil No.12
supply extra slave dial circuits. (Right side of picture.) and located in the back of the
unit, along with the terminal block. At 50v, its value
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would be 500Ω, at 24v (and 12v) it would not be needed. course, you do not need to
Sometimes it was taken out of the unit, but the more make a set-up like this, as
usual way was for both wires to be joined on one side of small 36A type fuse
the resistor, using it more as a connecting tag, while carriers can be fixed and
leaving the other end disconnected. This is what you will concealed inside the
need to do with yours, unless you are running it on a GMT 34 if need be as
voltage greater than 24v. shown below.

Fuses - below is pictured a typical installation, with all You will need diagram GMT 34 (with synchroniser), or
the whistles and bells, including the smaller Clock No. GMT 34/1 to show which circuits run to which terminals,
46! or failing that; I have composed a list below.

The front left tag is number 1, the rear right is number 50.
Odds at the front, evens at the back.

Red highlighted terminals indicate the bare minimum,

blue to run all the relays, Green indicates the 1 sec. and
the additional 30 sec. clock circuits (if installed), black
concerns other equipment and is shown for completeness.

GMT 34 terminals and connections

There are 2 type of fuses here. At the top is a block 1! power -ve! AP, BP, CP, DP via 1.5A
containing the type 44 fuses. There are four in use, which ! ! ! fuse
run the pendulum drive and clock spring-sets at 1.5 A; 2! Clock 36! -ve drive magnet
one to run the 30 sec. Relays at 1.5 A; and two 3A fuses,
3! Clock 36! -ve to pulse springs
one for the battery jack in the GMT 34, the other as a
further fuse between all the slave dial circuits and the 4! Clock 36! 1 sec pulse BR
battery. If one of these fuses blew, part of the fuse would 5! Clock 36! 30 sec, clocks AR
spring onto the bar in the middle of the fuse block, which 6! Clock 36! 6 sec. pulse CR
would then light the lamp at the top left to indicate a 7!
blown fuse. The lamp circuit had its own fuse at the right 8!
end of the block. 9! Clock cct! 1 sec. Clocks (installed)
10! power -ve! Battery to drive magnet
! ! ! and pulse springs via
Below these are the individual slave circuit fuses. It ! ! ! 1.5A fuse, R2 and R3
seems that there are six circuits in this installation. These 11! Clock cct 1! AP1 springset
are the type 36 1¼ inch (32 mm) glass fuses rated at 500
12! Clock cct 2! AP2 springset (installed)
mA.
13! Clock cct 3! BP1 springset
There are four power circuits that usually leave the unit 14! Clock cct 4! BP2 springset
as they use an external 44A type fuse mounting, before 15! Clock cct 5! CP1 springset
the individual power leads return to the GMT 34. Of 16! Clock cct 6! CP2 springset

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17! Internal!+ve to DR1 springset locking nut, tighten until the pawl just begins to stick,
18! Exchange! DR1 30 sec. pulse then loosen a fraction of a turn until it falls and travels
19! Internal!+ve to BR1 springset freely. Tighten the lock-nut whilst preventing the screw
20! Exchange! BR1 1 sec. pulse from turning (Can be tricky!) having locked the nut up,
give the pawl a final check. Take note of the face of the
21! Internal!+ve to CR1 springset
pawls that travel along the count wheels. Take an elastic
22! Exchange! CR1 6 sec. pulse band, slip it over one pawl, up over the one second cams
23! and then down over the other pawl. This should keep the
24! pawls in their uppermost position, and out of the way of
25! Clock 36! Drive magnet +ve the count wheels.

31! Clock 36! Synchroniser The next item is the iron pole piece that the drive magnet
attracts. Usually, this is in about the correct position, as is
34! Internal!+ve to CR2 springset the agate for the Hipp toggle below it. Leave these for
35! Exchange! CR2 6 sec. pulse now and with luck, we will not need to do anything about
36! them yet.
37! Clock 36! 30 Sec. exchange
The Hipp toggle spring-set is screwed to the clock
! ! ! equipment DR casting. This is the usual thing that gets bent up just as
you think you have successfully made it! It will probably
41! Clock cct 7! DP1 springset need to be adjusted anyway, so it is a good idea to
42! Clock cct 8! DP2 springset remove the two screws from the casting, and then
43! carefully let the whole assembly hang.
44!
45! Power! +ve! provides earth to AR BR Now you are ready to install the pendulum. Remember
! ! ! CR DR and whole unit that it quite heavy and that a little mental preparation can
49! Spare! ! Use for -ve if installing go a long way. It is also quite useful to read the next
! ! ! internal fuses section a few times while studying how to get the thing in
by looking at the parts on the main casting.
50! Internal!Battery jack -ve
Before you start, place a small slotted screwdriver inside
Having got the system wired up, it is wise to check a few
the bottom of the clock case on the right hand side.
adjustments on the Clock 36, before turning the whole lot
Hopefully, you will not need this, but if you do, then it
on!
becomes vital that you can get hold of it easily!
Installing the pendulum - I have had some practice but I
Rotate the pendulum until the Hipp toggle agate is
still find this manoeuvre a little tricky, so please read all
pointing to the left. Hold the rod near to the top (if right
of this first and try not to take shortcuts, every time I try
handed) and take the weight with the other hand. Do not
and do that, something gets bent!
hold the big ‘bob’ as it can slide up. Hold either just
above or below the bob.
First check the two suspension springs at the top. These
are 1¼ inch by ¼ inch, and should be straight and flat. If
Keeping the bottom of the pendulum about one foot (30
there are any signs of cracking or breaking, or if they are
cm) away from the clock case, aline the suspension bar at
severely bent, then you will need to get replacements. It
the top of the rod with the locating casting at the top of
is better to do this now, then to have the possibility of the
the main casting. There are two small slots for the
very heavy pendulum coming adrift when the clock is
suspension bar to fit into, carefully help it to drop into
running.
these. You may need to rotate the pendulum a little to
help the suspension bar into the casting.
More detailed information about the suspension spring is
available by clicking here.
Slowly move the bottom of the pendulum toward the
clock whilst checking first that the one second arms clear
Next down from those, are the two arms that operate the
the contacts, and then the same with the pawls and count
1 second contacts. Push them in towards the pendulum
wheels. At about this point, you will need to swing the
rod (You would have probably needed to adjust these
pendulum to the left, for the rod to clear the drive
anyway, so get them out of the way now. Check that the
magnet. If you did not unscrew the Hipp toggle spring-
sleeves that push against the contact springs rotate freely,
set, then this is the time to keep an eye on it!
and if not, investigate why.
When the rod has passed the front drive magnet arm,
Now come the two pawls which operate the six and thirty
slowly allow it to move to the right, until it is hanging
second count wheels. The screws that hold the pawls in,
naturally. Check to make sure that the suspension bar is
have pin point ends and if adjusted correctly, the pawls
still located properly.
should move up and down freely, with no sideways
movement. If you need to adjust these then loosen one
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If the drive magnet fouls the pendulum, then grab the contacts. Check that all contact separations (springs
screwdriver and loosen the pole piece screw on the rod, normal) are 10 mils minimum. Check that all lever
move it up until it clears. springs are tensioned against their buffer springs or
stops with a pressure of 5 to 8 gm, measured at the tip.
Initial adjustments - Check the position of the Check that all ‘make’ springs have pressures of 15 to 20
pendulum against the register that is screwed to the case gm against their buffer springs, measured at the tip.
below it. If the pendulum is a little behind or in front of
it, then it means that the wall is not quite plumb. The The lever springs are the ones that move first, the make
clock has a good tolerance and this should not be a springs being the ones that the lever springs contact.
problem. To adjust a left or right error, go to the There is more in-depth information in Z 5503.
suspension rod at the top and loosen the lock nut on the
side that you wish to move the pendulum. As you tighten Clock 36 spring adjustments - these are made to adjust
the nut on the other side, the pendulum will slowly move the length of the 30 and 6 second pulses and also the
across. Adjust these two nuts until the pendulum is in the count wheel detents or “stops”. I refer to the letters in the
correct position, then tighten them both, followed by a picture below.
final check.

Next item is the Hipp toggle and agate. Even if the

bottom of the pendulum is either forward or backward of
the register, then the adjustments are still basically the
same. Firstly, when at rest, the Hipp toggle should be
hanging freely, just a faction to the left of the agate, but
not quite touching it. There are two slots on the main
casting to adjust this and you will probably find that the
correct position is almost as far to the left as the toggle
assembly will go.

Next, align the toggle springs with the agate holder. If

your clock is perfectly vertical, then they should both line
up with the swing of the pendulum. If not, then you will
need to adjust both of them, until they are pointing
directly at each other. It can be useful to have a small
mirror and position it so that you can look along the line
of the toggle and agate. It is quite important to make sure
that the Hipp toggle is aligned as centrally as possible to
the agate.

Now to check the agate/spring-set height. Firstly, check

that the pawls are either still held out of the way or are
sitting on the count wheels correctly, before moving the
bottom of the pendulum to the left. Be careful not to pull
it forward or backward, as the pawls tend to drop off the ’A’ and ‘B’ have an off-centre bar, whilst ‘C’ has an
count wheels and fouls things up! Move the pendulum so eccentric cam. Assuming that you now have the Hipp
that the toggle (if roughly adjusted correctly) rides up the toggle adjusted and a supply of 4V to the magnet drive,
agate and then falls into the gap between the agate and then give the pendulum a few increasing swings until the
pendulum. Slowly move the pendulum left and right so Hipp toggle operates. Usually, it will operate 3 to 4 times
that the toggle travels the whole length of the gap. The in a row as it gets the pendulum into its normal range of
toggle should just clear the bottom of the gap for its operation.
whole length of travel. Either adjust the agate holder
itself, or with care, bend the bottom buffer (thick) spring The first adjustment is ‘C’. As the pawl moves the count
of the spring-set, by using spring adjusters, or with care, wheel, the detent or ‘stop’ behind ‘C’ should fall into the
thin nosed pliers. It is best to adjust these as close to the next tooth and continue until it is about 20% along the
buffer block end (Not the contact end!) as possible by next tooth before the pendulum and count wheel reverse,
putting the adjusters over both the buffer and contact when the detent should stop the wheel. To adjust:- loosen
spring, and giving a little twist in the direction that you the screw at ‘C’. Move the centre rod forward or
want the spring to go. Err on the side of a wider gap as backwards to centre the detent on the count wheel, turn it
opposed to the toggle touching the bottom of the gap. to alter the ‘stop’ position. When set correctly, the pawl at
the top should also fall 20% past the next tooth. Again,
The last check is the gap between the two toggle spring refer to Z 5503 for more information.
contacts. This is covered in Tests & Inspections, Routine
Z 5503, but I will repeat it here for convenience. Having noted the action of the count wheels, detents and
springs, it is actually better to have the clock stopped to
Ensure that contact springs are straight against their adjust ‘B’ and ‘A’.
buffer springs or stops, and check the alignment of the
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Adjustment ‘B’ is for setting the height of the arm that

operates the spring set. The correct height is obtained
when riding on the normal (shallower) teeth, the pawl
just misses the arm, and that when riding in either of the
two deeper teeth, the pawl engages and moves the arm.
Again, loosen the screw and turn to set the height. Check
that the arm is sitting on the bar, but take care not to push
the rod in too far, or it can foul the count wheel.

‘A’ is for setting the length of the pulse. The gap between
the two springs should be adjusted after setting the length
of pulse. ‘A’ can be moved forwards and backwards to
position the rod on the lever spring, and rotated to adjust
pulse length. Moving the spring nearer to the count wheel
increases the length of pulse. One cause of having slave The Marks 5-6, shown in the left picture, never had a
clocks going out of sync with each other, is having too synchroniser, whereas the Mark 4 in the centre picture
short a pulse which leads to one or more of the slaves not tells a familiar tale of a clock that has had the
having time to operate, especially at minimum pendulum synchroniser removed during refurbishment. There are a
swing (just before the Hipp toggle operates.). The correct few examples that still contain the synchroniser, shown in
length of pulse is between 200 and 500 ms. To save the picture on the right.
power, especially on a battery run system, try to get
nearer the 200 ms timing, remembering that the There are three items that should to be checked.
difference between the pendulum’s minimum and
maximum swing will affect this slightly. Having set that, There is a spring at the bottom of the armature (not
then adjust the gap between the two springs, by bending shown), This should have enough tension to return the
the thicker buffer spring as near to the buffer block as armature to the non-operated position.
possible. The last check is that the lever spring pushes the
make spring enough to just lift it off the thick buffer Referring to the picture below, the two round nuts (C)
spring when the pendulum is at it’s minimum swing. I should be adjusted so that the main lever (A), is just clear
find it easier to disconnect the drive magnet power, then of the momentum stop (B). The vain adjusting nut (D)
wait until the Hipp toggle operates, checking the springs should be loosened. The vain should contact the detent
on the swing after that. The toggle will keep operating for arm roller (E), in such a position that the following
several swings after that, so restoring the power quickly conditions apply. 1) When the clock is correct and the
can save having to help the pendulum manually. synchroniser operates, causing ‘A’ to hit ‘B’, the detent
‘F’ lifts a little but is still engaged in the count wheel
The one second contacts are less complicated. The two teeth, preventing it from turning backwards. 2) when the
arms that operate the contacts should be positioned so point of the heart shaped wheel is opposite the main arm
that at the pendulum’s minimum swing, they still move roller, the detent has lifted just enough to allow the count
the lever springs far enough to lift the make springs off wheel to rotate freely by the time the roller touches the
their respective (thick) buffer springs. The nearer the heart shaped wheel.
arms are to the springs, the longer the pulse will be. Try
to adjust both arms, so that the alternating 1 second
pulses are of the same length!

GMT 34, 35 Relay and spring-set adjustments - as

above with lever spring about 5-8 gm, make springs
15-20 gm, but if running on 12V, then the lever springs
need to be nearer to 5 gm, for the relay to operate
satisfactorily. The complete set of adjustments for 3000
type relays, including spring-sets, armatures, etc. can be
found in Telephones, Automatic, B 5144.

Synchroniser Adjustments - Firstly, let us identify the

differences between the mark 4, 5 and 6 Movements.

If it is not possible to get it adjusted as above then lower

the main arm ‘A’ by turning the nuts ‘C’ a little, then re-
adjust the vane ‘D’ again.

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The synchroniser operates at 20 Volts, the pulse being 1 System Installation - Slave dials - Firstly, we take a
second in duration. look at the slave dials. having a good multi meter is
preferable, especially a digital display type, but although
For more on G.P.O. synchronisation, click HERE. desirable, this is not a necessary.

Oil and lubrication - Firstly, a little about the type of oil No multi meter - Take a 1.5 volt battery, connect a pair
that should and should not be used. Some of the horrors of short wires to the first slave clock’s terminals. keeping
to be avoided at all costs come with names like “3in1”, the clock upright, with the back facing you, connect the
“WD40” and “penetrating oil”. These products are very battery for half a second and watch the movement. on
good at doing the tasks that they were designed for, but connection, the solenoid armature should pull in, making
they are much too thin to be of any use on a clock the pawl on the large toothed wheel advance by one
mechanism (any clock mechanism!). The engineering notch. on disconnection, the armature should return
instructions suggest Wakefiled’s Superfine Oilit (No promptly, with the pawl advancing the toothed wheel and
longer available!), or ‘Oil, Bearing No. 16’ but a decent minute hand by one half minute. If this fails to work
clock oil or Marklin HO model train oil is fine along with correctly, then refer to Z 5506 for more detailed tests and
any good oil with a viscosity of S.A.E. 10. The synthetic adjustments.
versions do not tend to thicken if they evaporate, and are
considered more suitable. A small bottle of good quality Multi meter - The G.P.O. recommended that the slaves
oil may incur some expense; but with the amount used; it were tested with short pulses of 200ma (minimum) and
should be a lifetime purchase and therefore justified. 300ma for correct adjustment and operation, but it is
possible to run these slave as low as 170ma without
Without Synchroniser - There are only 4 (or 6) places sacrificing accuracy. There are two good reasons for
on a clock 36 that should ever be oiled! A small drop using the lower figure, the first is obviously less power
should be applied to the front and back pivots of both used, which is important in a battery run system. The
count wheels, with an option of oiling the two pivots on second point becomes more important where noise is
the Hipp toggle if necessary. Putting oil around the count concerned as the lower the current, the less noise that the
wheel teeth or anywhere else does more harm than good, slaves tend to make.
as minute particles of dirt can get stuck into the oil and
cause more wear than normal. If your clock has visibly
dirty or hardened oil, then it is better to clean it off by
disassembling the section concerned and using lighter
fluid applied either on a small artists paintbrush or a
matchstick to clean the old dirt from the pivot holes.
Finish up by removing any other dirt by bathing and/or
wiping.

Putting fresh oil over very old and dirty oil, usually
results in the dirt being pulled into the bearings and
accelerating wear.

With Synchroniser - A drop of oil may additionally be

used on the bearing at each end of the three rollers. These
are located as follows:- 1) on the right of the main arm,
contacting the electromagnet armature. 2) On the left side
of the main arm, contacting the heart shaped wheel, and
3) On the bottom of the detent (stop) that prevents the 30
second count wheel from turning backwards.

Oil the six bearings of the three spindles (count wheel,

main arm and detent.)

Officially, a ‘drop’ of oil is defined in E.I. Telephones,

Automatic, B 5137, Paragraph 1d as:-

The amount pendant from the end of a piece of 23 S.W.G.

Gauge wire (9¼ lb. per mile copper wire) after
immersion in oil to a depth of 5/8 in.
Gents Movement - Loosen the screw that can be seen at
Click here for B 5137. the top of the spring lever shown to the left of the
movement and carefully adjust the lever for the correct
Yes, even a drop of oil was described in a specification spring tension.
somewhere!

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P.O. ENGINEERING DEPT. MISCELLANEOUS
ENGINEERING INSTRUCTIONS TIME
INSTALLATION

DR 30 second Exchange equipment.

If you have a circuit of 1 second slaves, then these should

be operating now. Move the Advance/Retard key to the
Normal (Central) position and study the 30 second count
wheel. A few seconds before the 30 second contacts are
due to operate, watch the relays in the GMT 34. AR and
AP should operate almost together as the AP relay is
operated from AR’s contacts closing. You may have up to
4 relays on the top section marked AP, BP, CP and DP,
and these should all operate together. If all is correct, then
move the key to the Advance position until your slave
dials show the correct time, then restore the key to the
normal position.

TROUBLESHOOTING - A copy of Diagram GMT 34

or 34/1 is almost essential, either on a handy computer, or
printed out onto paper and stuck together.

Pendulum drive - With the power on, test for 4 to 4.5v

Synchronome movement. across the Hipp toggle contacts. if present then either the
wiring in the clock is faulty, or the coils of the magnet
Synchronome and most other types - Adjust the lower drive are faulty. With the power off, test the coils for a
and larger screw, seen to the lower right of the picture. resistance of 10Ω. if correct, then check the internal
wiring of the clock. If there is no power across the Hipp
To adjust for the lower current, connect the meter in toggle contacts or the pendulum drive terminals at the top
series with the slave, low voltage power supply or of the clock, check fuse FS12 (which also provides power
battery, and a variable resistor (or resistors) adjusted so for the AR to DR relay coils). if the fuse is fine, then
the the circuit had a current of 160ma. turn the power on check the magnet drive circuit for continuity,
and off and see if the movement steps. If the solenoid remembering that the Hipp toggle will be open circuit in
failed to operate then adjust the movement as shown it’s normal position.
below, in small stages until the solenoid operates. There
should still be enough spring pressure to advance the All relays not working - If none of the relays seem to be
slave dial’s hands when the power is disconnected. If the operating, then press in the armature on AR. This should
slave will just step on 160ma, then it should definitely operate AP (to DP). If nothing happens, then check fuse
run reliably on 170ma! All slaves will need to run at FS10 and also check that the contacts are closing on the
170ma for a low power circuit to run reliably! AR relay. If still bad then refer to Diagram GMT 34, or
34/1, to test the complete circuit. If AP operates, then
Ensure that the slave dials are wired in series with the check fuse FS12 which supplies power to the coils of
correct resistor (if needed) so that on the half minute AR-DR relays. Also visually check that the 1, 6 and 30
pulse the circuit passes a current of 170ma (or at least second contacts are operating in the Clock 36.
200ma for normally adjusted slaves.)
One or more relays are operating - Manually operate
System Initialisation - Set all the slave dials to the same the AR relay and watch to see if AP (to DP) pull in. These
time, as this can save a lot of work later on. Check that (1-4 depending on your GMT 34) relay coils are operated
you have installed (any) fuses in their holders and power from the contacts on AR and are wired in parallel. if one
up the system. Assuming that none of the fuses have fails to pull in, then check the spring tensions (especially
blown (If one or more has blown then go and check those on 12v operation) and if need be, the wiring. If one or
circuits out first before restoring power.) Check that the more of the AR-DR relays are not operating, then again,
Advance/Retard key is in the Retard (lower) position and check the spring tensions and also the contacts in the
then give the pendulum a few gentle nudges until the Clock 36.
Hipp toggle engages. Within a few seconds, the
pendulum should have settled into a nice steady pattern. Another good point to check is the contacts themselves,
A good Clock No. 36 when properly adjusted, will as even a very minuscule particle of dirt or grit can get in
operate the Hipp toggle about every 8-9 complete 2 between the contacts and stop them from conducting
second swings. electricity!

GMT 34, Fully wired - The following relays should Slave Dials not working - For installations with more
already be operating:- than one slave circuit: If all clocks have failed, check
fuse FS13, if at least one circuit is working then check
BR 1 second fuses FS1 to FS8 depending on the number of circuits
CR 6 second installed. For 1 second clocks, check fuse FS9 and FS13.

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P.O. ENGINEERING DEPT. MISCELLANEOUS
ENGINEERING INSTRUCTIONS INSTALLATION

For a single clock circuit installation, only one fuse is supply, the 30 second contacts, any resistor fitted and the
required, FS13 with a value of 0.5A. coil. Check the Slave circuit, including the continuity of
the power supply, relay contacts, resistor (if fitted) and
For each clock circuit, check the right resistor is installed the slave dial wiring.
and that the current is correct for the slave dials. check
for a pulse on the terminal block between the tag and +ve Clock 36, no relay - check that there is 4 to 4.5V across
earth (circuit 1 = tag 11, circuit 2 = tag 12, as per diagram the pendulum drive terminals, and that the Hipp toggle
GMT 34 or 34/1). check the continuity of the clock contacts operate correctly. With the power off, check for
circuit itself. a resistance of 10Ω across the drive magnet coils. For the
slave dials, check the 30 second contacts are operating
If only one slave dial on a circuit is losing time or not correctly, and that there is continuity between power
working, then check the adjustments to ensure that the supply, 30 second contacts, the resistor (if fitted), the
movement steps correctly for the current that the rest of slave dials, back to the power supply again, remembering
the circuit runs on. Refer to Maintenance Routine Z that there is no continuity except when the 30 second
5506. contacts are actually operated!

GMT 34, Partially wired - Same as above, but you will SYSTEM MAINTENANCE - For Clocks No. 36 and
probably only have the AR and AP relays, and the clock No. 46, refer to Z 5503, for slave dials refer to Z 5506.
circuit(s) to check. System accuracy tests are covered in Z 5501, and if you
really have a huge system, then Z 5502 covers change
Clock 36 and relay systems - Check the pendulum drive over of duplicate Clocks No. 36. The frequency of these
as above ignoring the fuse if there is none fitted. Check routines is shown in Z 5014.
continuity of the relay coil circuit, including power

END

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