They were synchronized through a 20 Milliamp loop that went through several TV and Radio stations on the same street. The broadcast station I worked for in the late 1950's had them scattered about the studio building. I have had and worked on a ton of those Western Union Self Winding Clocks. Good luck, visit Ken's site, and best regards! The famous 4-sided clock in the middle of the information booth in Grand Central was a SWCC product, though my understanding is that it has been reworked, since the SWCC service is no longer available. At one time, as I recall, the entire NYC subway system was full of SWCC clocks. This was fed into the mixing board, so that you always got a time tone over the top of whatever program was running at the beginning of the hour.Ĭlocks like the one you have, without the sweep-second hand, were often found in public buildings. Some stations, I heard, used the synchronizing relay to actuate a 1000-cycle tone at the top of the hour. This was essential for scheduling, and especially for interacting with the network. In those days, if memory serves, we paid $6 per month per clock to have highly accurate time in the station. Western Union sent a guy out to replace the cells and check the operation of the clocks at regular intervals. The contact closure caused the synchronizing solenoids to pull and the red light above the numeral "6" to light up momentarily.Īll our clocks worked on two, 1.5v #6 cells, which were, as I recall, good for about 6 months or so. This relay provided a contact closure to all of our clocks. They sent a 90v AC ringer pulse down a phone line at the top of the hour to a relay housed in our phone wiring cabinet. (Announcers often said, "You can always make the clock wind itself by opening the mike.") By the late 1960s, Western Union was working with the phone company. Ours were the sweep-second type, with lots of largely ineffective soundproofing inside. When I worked in broadcasting, we had these in all the studios. If he doesn't know about it, it's probably not worth knowing. Wire connectors or splicing means installed on conductorsįor direct burial shall be listed for such use.I am beginning to sound – to myself at least – like a broken record, but the foremost expert I know on these is Ken Reindel of The conductors or with an insulating device identified for Shall be covered with an insulation equivalent to that of All splices and joints and the free ends of conductors Splices shall first be spliced or joined so as to be mechanicallyĪnd electrically secure without solder and then be ![]() ![]() ![]() Or soldering with a fusible metal or alloy. Splicing devices identified for the use or by brazing, welding, Conductors shall be spliced or joined with Used to connect aluminum shall be so identified. Terminals for more than one conductor and terminals Lugs or the equivalent shall be permitted for 10 AWG or Wire-binding screws or studs and nuts that have upturned Pressure connectors (including set-screw type), solder Parts shall ensure a thoroughly good connection withoutĭamaging the conductors and shall be made by means of I don't want to think about if one of those splices was inside some random wall. I had to make and extend several extra junction boxes because the original NM was only long enough to use the kit. They went bad at the connection point (not where the NM connected). ![]() I remember going back to one of these houses in the dead of summer because some of the kitchen receptacles weren't working. The kits were already installed, and we would go under the house and connect them together. This included connecting these splice kits in the crawl space. The house would arrive in 2+ pieces, and we would build the service and make all the final connections. The company I started working for was contracted to do the final hookup (service, etc) for prefab houses. It will be because some homeowner or GC is too cheap to pay for a proper repair or renovation.Įarly on, I was lucky enough to experience these NM splice kits first hand, in an accessible (sort of) situation, and be witness to their failure. They will be behind cabinetry, in a sub floor, or behind a mirror. The splices will never be just behind drywall. Will they make you the hero in the short term? Yes.Ĭan they go bad just like any other electrical connection? Yup. Just run a new wire or splice it from an accessible spot. Click to expand.Do yourself a favor and don't Goddamn do it.Įver.
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