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A comment on Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP8266-based Wi-Fi clock. Parent comment

Re:Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP82... by picture on Monday February 09, 2026 @02:47PM (#46950108)
The escapement is "synchronous" in that the motion is controlled by the number of pulses applied to the motor over time rather than the duration/width of each pulse. The pulsetime constant is only to accommodate mechanical/analog differences with the driving circuitry, from what I understand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavet-type_stepping_motor
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Re:Converting a $3.88 analog clock from Walmart into a ESP82... by lelandbatey on Monday February 09, 2026 @03:10PM (#46950460)
That's fascinating; the Lavet-type stepping motor acts as an escapement all on it's own by being a very simple stepper motor, so you don't end up needing a miniature version of a classic mechanical escapement, which is what I'd always imagined in my head when thinking about how cheap quartz wall clocks worked.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escapement

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