Singing Bird Clocks!

Yes, that's our clock too. The Owl is at 12 o'clock. Small world huh?

We do have another one someplace that has never been out of the box that hasn't different birds on it though. Both received as gifts but probably not in Beverly Hills.

Well, thanks to this thread, I got the Mr. Hooter going today..

Of course, the damn owl will probably wake me up at midnight..

Not to worry, Osso. As long as he's in the dark, he won't hoot.

It's only 10am here the Owl is sounding on my clock (12noon). I gotta adjust it again!

I didn't hear him last night - the refrigerator rumble must have drowned him out.

The bird clocks don't work when it's dark. Look at the 12, above it should be an light sensor!

I get ya.. and not working when it's dark is a good thing. But I'm odd in that I keep a low light on in my kitchen (I'm extremely nightblind, and feel more secure with some low lights on - and this actually helped me once, when there was a fire next door and people were banging on my front door.) Maybe that light is too dim for zee birds.

When the light is low in my apartment I can not hear the bird sounds if I am in another room. As the light goes down, so does the sound! I have another clock in my living room that chimes. From 6am to 10pm the clock chimes. From 11pm to 5am it does not chime. I guess it has some kind of chip in it!

I succeeded once in resetting the birdsongs to match the clock, but now failed; the blunt approach is to remove the clock face (4 screws) and simply move the hour hand to the correct bird.

You may not have noticed but the thread is dated back 2 yrs.

THANK you! I did what you suggested and it worked! Now I will wait till the next hour to see if it is set properly.

Had the same problem [no sound].
The one battery is for the clock itself.
The two batteries are for the bird chirping.
In addition to just changing the batteries, check for rust on the terminals where the batteies go. After I cleaned the terminals lightly with sandpaper to remove visible rust from the end of the terminals [especially the spiral wound wire terminal(s)], the bird chirping began again. The rust was preventing the batteries from working.
I did set the clock to 11:50 without and batteries installed, then with the batteries installed I pressed the red reset button and birds began th chirp again. Also, I had to press the red button a number of times afterwards to get the correct chirp to the specific bird.
Good Luck!

I'm baaaaak. I looked online and this a2k thread is the most useful to me, she chirps. I'm tired of putting up with the owl hooting when he's supposed to be a chickadee.

My batteries are relatively new, so I figure it'll work, and because of this thread, now I remember about the button.

Hi Foxfyre, it's been a while, but could you please ask your husband how he set the clock so that the silly birds sing again. Some say to set it at 10 others at 10 to 11... It just does not work for me! And I miss the little tweeties!!!!

Thank you thank you thank you Victor Murphy. I literally registered to get into this forum just to let you know that you solved my bird clock problem! I thought the chirps were gone, and it was sad because it was my mother's clock and she died in April. I wouldn't have thought to reset it while the batteries were OUT...but I did, and the rewind thing too, and now it's chirping away on the hour. Thanks and I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season.

How To Set and Synch a singing Bird-Clock

Prologue:

I have 2 of these puppies. Well, actually one belonged to my wife, who was my girl-friend who gifted me with a second one when we started dating. But now it's April 2017. We’re married, both clocks are almost 20 years old, and I am tasked with maintaining them both. I don’t mind because it’s a labor of love - every time it chirps it reminds of her. After 19 years, it's so much more pleasant than when she chirps, which sounds more like a condor’s cry just before it flies off with some poor bunny in its mouth. (Just kidding. She’s one of 13 siblings so she naturally talks kind of loud. Understandable, no?)

History: (Note, you can skip down to the Quick, Easy fix if you growing impatient.)

The clock was functioning OK, but the glass plate protecting the face was really dirty and the face itself was so grungy, I decided to clean the inside before re-hanging it in the kitchen. Not the smartest move.

When I put the glass back on, the second hand froze up. It appeared to tick or shake, but just could not make any progress moving around the numbers To be honest, it was more tremor than shake, it just sort of trembled every second.

Not knowing how simple it was to fix, I became anxious. “Did I actually screw it up?” I asked myself, already knowing the answer. My wife was less charitable. "You just can't leave things alone, can you?" she asked, obviously dismissive of my good intentions.
Her challenge drove me to soul-search. I had to learn why it had stopped working, so I could demonstrate her how much I cared by restoring it. (You, the reader, can probably figure it out. I was by then so anxious - moving into panic- that I lost all perspective.) I decided to take the plunge into the forbidden territory.

I started researching the “thing” on YouTube ("thing" is a noun I use to describe something that no longer works. If it starts working again, it regains its former glory and I restore its respectful title.)

YouTube has at least half a dozen videos on how to deal with the battery operated quartz movements found in bird-clocks, which are fairly simple if you don't mess with them. They are self-contained meaning, “do not mess with them unless you suffer from OCD and can’t help yourself.”
Actually, removing the screws that connect the colored outer-ring that holds the glass over the face won’t cause serious problems. However, removing the inner ring of screws that fasten the clock back to the plate is downright dangerous, in fact foolhardy. You can mess up one of these things in seconds just by opening it up. They should stencil the warning "abandon hope all ye who enter here," at each screw hole on the clock back. It’s like a miniature version of the Temple of Doom.

If you aren’t that adventuresome, just send the clock to me, taking care to protect the glass cover from breakage. I always can find some use for another bird clock. I’ve actually thought about starting a vintage bird-clock museum here in San Francisco. People here are just crazy enough to pay money to hear a bunch of bird clocks chirping in unison.

OK, let's get back to business.

Fortunately, you don't have to do much to set and resynch them. It’s much easier than any video or instructions I've found. The trick is a tiny black button on the back of the clock. (there's always a trick, isn't there?) I call it the "bird-call-synch" button. Each time you push it, it fires off a pulse to a separate bird-call chip inside the clock, which sounds the next bird call in the sequence. Push it 12 times and you'll hear every different call.

The Quick Easy Fix
Note: you will need 3 live strong batteries, the clock, and two working fingers of your favored hand

1. Assuming all parts are in good working order and you didn’t unscrew anything, confirm the batteries are strong.

2. 2 batteries drive the bird-call chip. They reside together in the lighter-colored cavity that is inset in the clock’s back. The 3rd battery drives the clock movement. It resides in the black cavity that is part of the 2” square clock movement.

3. Remove the 2 bird-call driver batteries. This resets the bird-call chip sequence to the first call. Note: You don’t have to remove the clock-movement battery, but go ahead if it makes you feel better.

4. With the bird-call batteries still removed, use your two good fingers to turn the little time-setting wheel on the clock movement so the clock hands move clockwise until they indicate 11:55 o’clock.)

5. In a well well lit spot, point the clock face to the light source, and correctly replace the batteries you removed. The clock should start running as usual. The moment of truth will arrive In a few minutes, when hopefully you will hear a bird call.

a. If you hear the first bird call within 10 minutes of replacing the batteries, the clock god has smiled on you.

b. If you hear the first bird call within 1 minute on either side of 12 o’clock, the clock god has favored you. Say a little prayer of thanks.
Important Notes: if you can’t find the time-setting wheel, don’t bother trying any of this. If the bird call sounds more than 5 minutes away from the 12, you have my sympathies. Either live with it, learn how to take it apart, or send it to me. I will add it to my bird clock museum.

Unless you are looking for a new Fixit-adventure, don’t unscrew anything anywhere on the clock

Even Easier Fix

If the clock god favors you, and you are hearing bird-calls properly on the hour, there is an even simpler way to synch up the bird-calls. You don’t even need to remove the batteries or move the hands. You must however be able to locate the tiny black bird-call-synch button located in its own light-colored indentation on the back of the clock, and you must be able to associate at least one particular bird with its correct bird-call. We’ll call that bird the “benchmark.”

1. When the clock shows the hour that has your identified benchmark bird on it and the unknown call sounds, press the bird-call-synch button on the back repeatedly until the right call sounds.

Boom! Done!

Epilogue
Remember to change the batteries every year (or test them if you like to play "chicken" with leaky batteries. Testing gives you an advantage if you enjoy winning when you play chicken with batteries.

If you do wind up with leaky batteries, remove the excess whitish gook and clean up the remainder by dabbing with a little white vinegar on a Q-tip.

Finally, remember, if you grow tired of your bird-clock, you can always send it to me. In return, I will send you a lifetime pass to my bird-clock museum and you can visit it anytime you like.

Hi, cbornheim, welcome to a2k. This has been a good thread, started in 2008, but still a useful thread for many of us to check when the birds go quiet or change places, and, since my same old bird clock is still ticking but not right now in chirping mode, I'll review your instructions happily.

Now I'm trying to pinpoint when I bought it, though I know where. Beverly Hills is, as some readers know, a city of money and some fame. I bought the wonderful and sometimes difficult clock there. I worked in BH as a lab tech for ten months in 1968 --- but was the nature store there then? If so, it was close by our office. Did they make bird clocks back then?

Or some other time later, when I investigated a cookery supply place in the same neighborhood. Lux, to me then, the company still is. Well, fun to look at.

The sound gets quiet because there is a little photocell at the very top on the front of the clock. Hold a flashlight over it and test the sound. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. I think it either wears out or just needs to be in a bright room.