Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

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  • jayjr1105
    Badcaps Veteran
    • Jan 2018
    • 281
    • United States

    #1

    Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

    My grandfather had this Micronta VoxClock3 digital alarm clock that just had random digits displayed when you plugged it in and just overall acted crazy. Opened her up last night and found every single cap either completely open or ESR in the 50 ohm range. All caps replaced but waiting on a .47uf 50v cap to arrive as I didn't have any.

    Attached Files
    Last edited by Per Hansson; 07-26-2023, 04:27 AM. Reason: Offsite image uploaded
    --------------------------------------------------------------
    Ryzen 3600x
    16GB Patriot 3600MHz
    MSI B450 Gaming Plus
    MSI Air Boost Vega 56
    Acer 32" 1440P Freesync
    Rosewill Capstone 750W
    --------------------------------------------------------------
    Hakko FX-888D Station
    FX-8802 Iron
    MG Chem .8mm 63/37 RA 2.2%
  • stj
    Great Sage 齊天大聖
    • Dec 2009
    • 30934
    • Albion

    #2
    Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

    .47? use a polyester cap - 470n

    Comment

    • jayjr1105
      Badcaps Veteran
      • Jan 2018
      • 281
      • United States

      #3
      Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

      Originally posted by stj
      .47? use a polyester cap - 470n
      I don't have any of those lying around either. Need to invest in a polyester assortment.
      --------------------------------------------------------------
      Ryzen 3600x
      16GB Patriot 3600MHz
      MSI B450 Gaming Plus
      MSI Air Boost Vega 56
      Acer 32" 1440P Freesync
      Rosewill Capstone 750W
      --------------------------------------------------------------
      Hakko FX-888D Station
      FX-8802 Iron
      MG Chem .8mm 63/37 RA 2.2%

      Comment

      • stj
        Great Sage 齊天大聖
        • Dec 2009
        • 30934
        • Albion

        #4
        Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

        well even 1uf electrolytic caps are being phased out because film caps are small enough to replace them.

        what chips are in that clock?
        spo250? spo256? texas tms5110??
        Last edited by stj; 05-17-2021, 08:34 AM.

        Comment

        • jayjr1105
          Badcaps Veteran
          • Jan 2018
          • 281
          • United States

          #5
          Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

          Originally posted by stj
          well even 1uf electrolytic caps are being phased out because film caps are small enough to replace them.

          what chips are in that clock?
          spo250? spo256? texas tms5110??
          My pic is out of focus, I'll check soon
          --------------------------------------------------------------
          Ryzen 3600x
          16GB Patriot 3600MHz
          MSI B450 Gaming Plus
          MSI Air Boost Vega 56
          Acer 32" 1440P Freesync
          Rosewill Capstone 750W
          --------------------------------------------------------------
          Hakko FX-888D Station
          FX-8802 Iron
          MG Chem .8mm 63/37 RA 2.2%

          Comment

          • jayjr1105
            Badcaps Veteran
            • Jan 2018
            • 281
            • United States

            #6
            Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

            Originally posted by stj
            well even 1uf electrolytic caps are being phased out because film caps are small enough to replace them.

            what chips are in that clock?
            spo250? spo256? texas tms5110??
            Here you go. Probably late 80's early 90's by the date codes on chips.
            Attached Files
            Last edited by Per Hansson; 07-26-2023, 04:27 AM. Reason: Offsite image uploaded
            --------------------------------------------------------------
            Ryzen 3600x
            16GB Patriot 3600MHz
            MSI B450 Gaming Plus
            MSI Air Boost Vega 56
            Acer 32" 1440P Freesync
            Rosewill Capstone 750W
            --------------------------------------------------------------
            Hakko FX-888D Station
            FX-8802 Iron
            MG Chem .8mm 63/37 RA 2.2%

            Comment

            • redwire
              Badcaps Legend
              • Dec 2010
              • 3900
              • Canada

              #7
              Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

              It came out in 1986? https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com
              Attached Files

              Comment

              • stj
                Great Sage 齊天大聖
                • Dec 2009
                • 30934
                • Albion

                #8
                Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                nice, i wonder if the sample rom has been dumped!

                Comment

                • redwire
                  Badcaps Legend
                  • Dec 2010
                  • 3900
                  • Canada

                  #9
                  Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                  TMS5110 speech synthesizer was in TI Speak & Spell, it used LPC linear-predictive coding. I think it had better speech quality than SPO256 allophones.

                  It looks like it could use a 1-bit or 4-bit databus to read ROMs. One IC must be the main MCU and another ROM.

                  TMS5110AN2L-1
                  MP1343
                  CM72010NL

                  Comment

                  • stj
                    Great Sage 齊天大聖
                    • Dec 2009
                    • 30934
                    • Albion

                    #10
                    Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                    it uses a custom databus for the roms - there are replacement projects online.

                    Comment

                    • jayjr1105
                      Badcaps Veteran
                      • Jan 2018
                      • 281
                      • United States

                      #11
                      Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                      Got the new .47 cap today and installed. Powered up without the daughter board even being re-soldered back in and it's working great! good crisp digits, no funny business. I'll post later on once I have it fully back together.
                      --------------------------------------------------------------
                      Ryzen 3600x
                      16GB Patriot 3600MHz
                      MSI B450 Gaming Plus
                      MSI Air Boost Vega 56
                      Acer 32" 1440P Freesync
                      Rosewill Capstone 750W
                      --------------------------------------------------------------
                      Hakko FX-888D Station
                      FX-8802 Iron
                      MG Chem .8mm 63/37 RA 2.2%

                      Comment

                      • jayjr1105
                        Badcaps Veteran
                        • Jan 2018
                        • 281
                        • United States

                        #12
                        Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                        All done, working great.

                        Attached Files
                        Last edited by Per Hansson; 07-26-2023, 04:27 AM. Reason: Offsite image uploaded
                        --------------------------------------------------------------
                        Ryzen 3600x
                        16GB Patriot 3600MHz
                        MSI B450 Gaming Plus
                        MSI Air Boost Vega 56
                        Acer 32" 1440P Freesync
                        Rosewill Capstone 750W
                        --------------------------------------------------------------
                        Hakko FX-888D Station
                        FX-8802 Iron
                        MG Chem .8mm 63/37 RA 2.2%

                        Comment

                        • ChaosLegionnaire
                          HC Overclocker
                          • Jul 2012
                          • 3264
                          • Singapore

                          #13
                          Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                          good fix! yet another happy old folk! this past year has been bad for them. good to fix their stuff for them and make them happy again! thats if u are fixing it for them to return it to them and not if u get to keep it if u fix it...

                          Comment

                          • stj
                            Great Sage 齊天大聖
                            • Dec 2009
                            • 30934
                            • Albion

                            #14
                            Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                            i like the colour, that's done using red leds behind a purple filter isnt it?

                            Comment

                            • redwire
                              Badcaps Legend
                              • Dec 2010
                              • 3900
                              • Canada

                              #15
                              Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                              I need a video or sound snip to hear what it sounds like

                              In the 80's many red LED displays were behind a purple filter. I think it works much better for contrast (compared to red).

                              edit: youtube versions are crap https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=voxclock
                              Last edited by redwire; 05-21-2021, 03:45 PM.

                              Comment

                              • ClockChip
                                Member
                                • Jul 2023
                                • 14
                                • USA

                                #16
                                Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                                Originally posted by jayjr1105
                                My grandfather had this Micronta VoxClock3 digital alarm clock that just had random digits displayed when you plugged it in and just overall acted crazy. Opened her up last night and found every single cap either completely open or ESR in the 50 ohm range.

                                Am I right in thinking that failing caps is a relatively rare phenomenon with this particular clock? O, rather, is this a widely-known problem with the VC 3 and most owners simply choose to bin their clock rather than taking the time and trouble to repair it?

                                (I ask because I was quite surprised to find a mere single mention of this nearly forty-year-old clock on the forum. Perhaps my sense of surprise is misplaced?)

                                Comment

                                • eccerr0r
                                  Solder Sloth
                                  • Nov 2012
                                  • 8670
                                  • USA

                                  #17
                                  Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                                  Capacitors have limited lifetime and people tend to throw away clocks after they...get their cell phones?

                                  Comment

                                  • jayjr1105
                                    Badcaps Veteran
                                    • Jan 2018
                                    • 281
                                    • United States

                                    #18
                                    Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                                    I have this clock back in my possession. My grandfather claims it still acts weird after some time. I'll take it apart and give it a closer inspection for cracked solder joints.
                                    --------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Ryzen 3600x
                                    16GB Patriot 3600MHz
                                    MSI B450 Gaming Plus
                                    MSI Air Boost Vega 56
                                    Acer 32" 1440P Freesync
                                    Rosewill Capstone 750W
                                    --------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Hakko FX-888D Station
                                    FX-8802 Iron
                                    MG Chem .8mm 63/37 RA 2.2%

                                    Comment

                                    • stj
                                      Great Sage 齊天大聖
                                      • Dec 2009
                                      • 30934
                                      • Albion

                                      #19
                                      Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                                      not enough info,
                                      you should have asked if he meant the display or the speech

                                      Comment

                                      • ClockChip
                                        Member
                                        • Jul 2023
                                        • 14
                                        • USA

                                        #20
                                        Re: Micronta Talking Alarm Clock Full Recap

                                        Originally posted by jayjr1105
                                        I have this clock back in my possession. My grandfather claims it still acts weird after some time.
                                        Can you please ask your grandfather whether the clock kept accurate time until recently?

                                        I ask because, rather than using the 60 Hertz mains to maintain accuracy, this particular clock relies on the MCU frequency; I am not clear on why the manufacturer would do this (perhaps someone here knows?). However, I am informed this is not an accurate way to keep the clock synced when using the simple RC oscillator the clock was designed with.

                                        (I know of no one else who owns one of these, so I hope you will not mind my asking.)

                                        Comment

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