Deco Wall Clock With Player Piano Chime Tape

[rp2813]

I've never seen anything like this. Can anyone provide information?

Sorry for the quality of the photos. Taken with my seriously obsolete cell phone.

At Salvation Army for $50. I did not buy it.[this post was last edited: 12/6/2010-23:21]

 

[rp2813]

The tape has holes in it like a player piano roll. There are rollers top and bottom and it looks like it's supposed to thread through a mechanism similar to a movie projector.

I love the industrial switch in the corner.

 

[rp2813]

The top and back side.

 

[petek]

I dunno but if I saw it it would be at my house not in the store for sale any longer .
Do you think it's home made, hard to tell from the pics.

 

[rp2813]

I don't think it's home made. I failed to commit to memory the manufacturer's information on the black box up top. I also don't know if it works. It could be a bit of a project to get up and running.

It's a handsome clock that lends itself to a man's home more than a frilly grandfather clock or old fashioned "regulator" though, and I think that even in "as is" condition it would be priced a lot higher in an antique store.

It's tempting.

 

[coldspot]

I might be wrong but think I seen a system like that before. It was used to ring automatic church bells.

 

[rp2813]

Hmmmm. So this may be the brains of a larger contraption? Interesting.

 

[cornutt]

That's what I'm thinking too; it was a mechanism for remotely controlling bells in a church or courthouse. That tape looks like Teletype tape.

 

[rp2813]

There are a lot of snipped wires on the top rear. I suspect there were external elements that are no longer with the clock. Even if it could be made to work, I don't think it would make any noise. Just by itself it's nothing more than a wall clock, but it's a nice looking one none the less.

 

[roto204]

Carillon control?

That makes sense.

Ralph, the answer to your doorbell issues! ;-)