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Circuit to Amplify the ticking sound of a clock

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romosco

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Hello. I repair and make clocks and pocket watches etc, I need a circuit for a small hand held battery powered amplifier, with a sound pick up lead, that will amplify the tick of a clock/pocket watch; I need to be able to hear the tick so that I can set the clock in beat.
I need to be able to clip the sound pickup lead very close to the balance spring, there is very limited space. Professional units have a crocodile clip that acts as the pickup?? Unfortunately these units are very expensive.
Can any one offer any advice? Thank you Roger
 
You didn't fill in your location, so I don't know if you have a Radio Shack available
Clarity® CE125 Portable Telephone Handset Amplifier - RadioShack.com
It's a small telephone amplifier
Not sure that this would work for the OP. This is designed to take the signal directly from an RJ11 jack (ie across the phone line itself).

The OP needs a tiny microphone followed by an amplifier. The amplifier is no problem; almost any low-voltage CMOS OpAmp would do. The mic is a little trickier; only because of the tiny size requirement.

I have seem some very small electret amplified mics at the surplus electronics dealers selling for $cheap.
 
How about using the microphone of a headset for cell phones or the microphone of a web cam?

Both are very small.

Boncuk
 
[ Not sure that this would work for the OP. This is designed to take the signal directly from an RJ11 jack (ie across the phone line itself).
]
I don't know how I overlooked that!! My mistake.
 
Cell phone eletret mics are incredibly tiny. I just picked one at random that was 6mm's by 1.5mm's I had one a bit smaller than that but I set it on my desk one day and I think one of the cats ate it =O
 
Any phono cartridge will pick up this ticking. Put the watch on the unmoving turntable. Make your own extended needle from a paper clip.
 
take a small piezo transducer and connect it to a simple amplifier circuit. press the piezo against the watch body and use a pair of ear phones with the amp. that should work fine.
 
I'll rent my ears out for a nominal price =) I can hear analog clocks that tick from across a room if one of my ears are aimed at them. Even one's where the tick isn't very pronounced.
 
I thank you all for your valuable ideas. I have gone for the The Clockmakers' Stethoscope. I am determined to make my own unit, I like the Cell phone mic and the piezo transducer connected to a simple amplifier circuit, can you recommend an amplifier circuit for the Cell phone mic and the piezo transducer with volume control powered by small batteries. Thank you all Roger
 
Do you just need an accurate 1Hz timebase or are does it neet to be in sync with the watch?

If it's jut an accurate 1Hz signal then you could use a 32768Hz crystal and a divider to get a 1Hz signal which could be fed into a small speaker or headphones.
 
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