Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Benjamin Michael 24 hour Wall Clock

Category: Ham Shack Clocks

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Benjamin Michael 24 hour Wall Clock
Reviews: 8MSRP: 49.99
Description:
Battery operated 24-hour quartz controlled clock with sweep second hand. 12" dial, 14" dia. black textured case and glass crystal. Uses AA batery.
Product is not in production
More Info:
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0084.8
N0PL Rating: 2012-05-30
Great Clock Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had mine since the 80's and it has kept perfect time and still does. I'm looking to find the 12 hour version so I can have a local and GMT. Like most other reviews, I change the battery every year and it's good to go. I have a number of the atomic clocks but I still like the "hands" clock. Guess I'm old fashioned.
KC8WH Rating: 2009-10-08
Great Clock Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I got mine in 1982. I paired it with a twelve hour clock the same size. I've got them mounted side by side on the wall facing the operating position. This clock on UTC, the twelve hour clock on local time.

Easy to see and read across the room. Annual battery changes keeps the accuracy up.

I've got a digital MFJ-108 that I take to field day and other remote events but this is my main shack clock.

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KC8WH on 2009-09-17

I've had mine since the mid 80s. Never had a problem with it. Accurate time. Battery life is good. I set it for UTC and paired it with a similar sized twelve hour clock set to local time. Easy to see across the shack. It was a great investment. I would buy it again.
AL7B Rating: 2009-10-02
I Like Mine Again Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought two 24 hour clocks in 1993. At first they were great then after a few years began to keep terrible time. Battery life was poor and I modified them to run from C cells instead of the original AA cells.

After reading several comments about bent hands I decided to take a look at my clocks. Sure enough the second hand was rubbing across the minute hand on both clocks. A slight bend upward fixed the problem. I set one clock for local and the other for UTC two weeks ago and both are smack on.

The front crystal is easily removed by snapping a retaining ring from the front. The crystal is actually glass, not plastic, so resists dust collection from static.

I had looked around for replacement clocks but was unable to find analog 24-hour clocks to match this one. I am glad I decided to give mine one more try. For the money they are the best true 24-hour clock.

----------------------
Earlier 4-star review posted by AL7B on 2003-08-17

I have had two of these clocks in the shack for several years, one for local and one for GMT.

With fresh batteries they both keep accurate time for about 3 months. They then begin to drift and after 5 months accuracy is poor.

I installed a type C battery holder behind each clock and life is much better. The holders are epoxied just below the clock movement and wires soldered where the AA batter was installed. I have not been running like this for a full year yet, but at 6 months things are much better.
KB0XR Rating: 2009-09-18
19 years Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I received this as a gift 19 years ago. Needs a new battery about once a year. Not super accurate but good enough for my needs. Looks nice on the wall but a little large. I'd like one with a second hour hand so both local and UTC could be displayed.
Z303 Rating: 2004-11-27
REAL NICE CLOCK Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have a business that deals with many overseas factories, so we needed many 24 hr clocks in our offices. We own 14 Benjamin Michael 24 hour clocks and 26 of the 12 hour clocks., for the 24 hr clocks 10 are in 14" diameter and 4 are in 10" diameter. We have owned most of them for over four years now. They have been working great for us,no problem at all with battery life, bat. averages about 1 to 1-1/2 years per clock. Very high quality clock still made in Chicago USA (we tried a cheap China import at one time but did not have the classic quality look of the B.M. clock that our offices deserved). I have recently ordered several more with the new colors avaiable a vibrant blue and also some with bright green bezels, looks great. A real nice company to deal with.
Jim Blackthorn
Designtech Engineering Co.

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by Z303 on 2004-08-01

I have had a Benjamin Michael 24 hour clock for more than 5 years. It runs accurately and looks great. I have the reverse dial with black face and white numbers. I called the factory and they said that batteries running out early are from the hands dragging. They offered me free lifetime repair! I recently bought another of their clocks in one of the new colors (orange) and its been trouble free and great looking!
K5PU Rating: 2004-03-25
Works for me Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I guess I'm lucky. I picked mine up on eBay (for about $23) well over a year ago and just now had to replace the battery.

I've only needed to adjust the time once/twice (never over a minute or two) and that was really only a periodic exercise to synchronize all my clocks together with D4 (www.thinkman.com).

My only complaint is it's HUGE. I'd love to find this clock in a 6" version
WZ7I Rating: 2003-09-20
I may have found the battery problem Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This clock, purchased from AES, is a nice addition to the station. It is quite accurate and looks like the commercial grade clock that it is.

There is only one problem: Instead of the one year battery life that is advertised, the batteries sometime last only a few weeks, sometimes 3 or 4 months. I glued a Radio Shack D battery holder to the back of the clock but in a few days the clock was reading the wrong time.

I decided that hands may be dragging on the glass cover. The white plastic retaining ring is easy to remove and then the glass cover comes off. The hands could then be gently bent closer to the face of the clock and the glass replaced. The clock has kept excellent time since my modification.

I enjoy the clock when it is working correctly.

----------------------
Earlier 3-star review posted by WZ7I on 2002-11-02

This clock, purchased from AES, is a nice addition to the station. It is quite accurate and looks like the commercial grade clock that it is.

There is only one problem: Instead of the one year battery life that is advertised, after about 5 months the voltage of the AA alkaline battery has dropped to about 1.4 V and the clock’s timekeeping becomes erratic. I guess I would prefer if it simply stopped because I often don’t realize that it is not longer accurate.

Maybe I can hook up a power supply. But then I would have to reset it every time I lost power for a few seconds –not an infrequent occurrence in my rural setting. I probably should just relax, enjoy it, and feed it batteries.
VE3IOS Rating: 2003-02-14
Works Perfect Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Excellent clock that keeps perfect time. No battery problems here. Change the battery once a year if it needs it or not. Looks good in the shack! Bought mine on Ebay