(Re-)Installing the Hands on a Radio-Controlled Clock

As I already mentioned in my earlier instructable 'https://www.instructables.com/Saving-a-Wall-Clock-With-Warped-Hands/' a few days ago, (re-)installing the hands on a radio controlled analogue clock can be quite tricky. Several years ago, when trying to clean another radio controlled clock, I had to learn that the hard way. Here I tell you how to succeed.

Step 1: Installing the Hands - Two Different Scenarios

- When you considered my recommendation in the earlier instructable mentioned above, you exactly know in which position they where when you removed them. Then you're saved - just install them in exactly the same position. Your clock should now be ready to work correctly. Once the battery/ies is/are inserted, it will start in fast forward mode but stop again at the 12:00 position after a while. It will then wait for the complete time information, assuming it can receive the time signal at its current location, as shown in the "1 - Reset 1200.mp4" video clip below. After a short while it will start again in fast forward mode and set itself to the correct time. You're done and can ignore the further steps.

- When you didn't consider my recommendation (or if it was too late), just install the hands at a random position, insert the battery/ies, and proceed to...

Step 2: Watch What Happens :-)

Once you have inserted the battery/ies, the hands start to move for a while, and then they stop at a different random position - similar to the one in the "2 - Reset random.mp4" video clip below.

There are different possibilities here, as well:

- The clock only knows one neutral position (which usually is 12:00) - then you know it is at this position as soon as it stops. Then you quickly remove the battery/ies, followed by removing the hands and setting them back at, you guessed it, the 12:00 position.

- There are some clocks with more than one neutral position; once I repaired an alarm clock that had three of them, at 12:00, 04:00, and 08:00. In such a case you have to experiment a bit, which will take some more time. Once it has stopped, you install the hands at the 12:00 position, as in the simpler procedure above, and then restart the clock. When it stops again after some time, it will either indicate 12:00 or a different time. Then you need to repeat the process with different positions of the hands until it shows the correct time.

Step 3: Almost Finished

After all this is done, install the battery; the clock will first set itself again at 12:00 and wait for a while (see "3 - Start setting.mp4" video clip). As soon as it has received enough time information, it will start to set itself to the correct time (see the "4 - Setting in progress.mp4" and "5 - Setting finished.mp4" video clips below).

Step 4: Tadaa!

Even if it looks difficult at first sight (it looked this way to me at first), it is easy if you know what you're doing :-)