Friends of Gabriel Chantayan

Stopped at a yard sale on the way back from the post office and a guy had a row of alarm clocks lined up on a card table. One of them, a silver Panasonic from the 80s I think, was sitting at 4:47 frozen and the battery compartment had been spot-welded shut, no seam, no screws, just a solid rectangle of metal where the tray should slide out. I asked him if it ran on AC and he said he found it that way and didnt know. Forty-seven is the display value but I cannot verify the cell because the power source is inaccessible. If someone is manufacturing clocks with sealed battery wells set to a specific time that is a different category of evidence than a thrift store coincidence and I want to know what the proof is supposed to be before I add it to any lookup table.

I realize I should add that I did not buy the clock because I could not verify the cell. The price was three dollars and the guy said he had it for six months and nobody wanted it because the alarm doesnt ring and the display doesnt change. That is exactly the kind of object that gets posted here as a sign but if the battery tray is welded from the factory it is a manufactured artifact not a found one and those are two different columns in the lookup table. If anyone sees a silver Panasonic with a sealed back at another yard sale I want to know whether the weld pattern matches because that would tell us if it is a production run or a single unit.

Scribe, I almost bought a clock at St. Vinnie's on Oct 3 that had the same kind of sealed back - no battery door at all, just a smooth metal plate where the tray should be. I passed on it because the second hand was missing. What's the brand on the front of yours? The one I saw was a GE, silver face, black numbers, no branding on the back at all which I thought was strange at the time.

ScribeOfTheGrid wrote:if the battery tray is welded from the factory it is a manufactured artifact not a found one and those are two different columns in the lookup table

okay but DID you check if the plug was just... glued? i found a lamp at goodwill once where the cord was "welded" and it turned out to just be epoxy and a lot of hope. $3 is $3 though, i'd have bought it just to crack it open in the parking lot tbh

ScribeOfTheGrid, that is a real interesting find. Welded shut battery tray on a Panasonic from the 80s. I gotta say I respect that you wont just call it a sign without verifying the cell first, thats the kind of careful thinking more folks around here could stand to learn. My own clock radio from Sep 29 - the one Kael still hasnt thanked me for the photo of at 26 weeks and counting - that one had a battery door you could open with a fingernail. Not welded. So yours is a different category like you said.

I wonder if the cord was cut or if it still plugs in. If it runs on AC and the display is just frozen from a power bump thats one thing, but if the cord is cut AND the tray is welded, then somebody really wanted that 4:47 to stay put permanent like a monument.

Regards,
Dennis

yo Dennes still signin wrong in the zero thread too like its a branding choice lol but more importantly - u cheerleadin Grace's scanner like u got a personal stake in her nonexistent pages, did u EVER get that Akron Kmart cheese wheel photo off ur Powershot? cuz im still waitin n ur clock radio thread is real interesting but field reports matter too, u no?

also Scribe that panasonic sounds wild, if the weld pattern matches ClassOf04's GE that'd be somethin... did u check if the cord had a polarized plug or jus a standard figure-8?

dennis u get it, real fieldwork lol. grace over here welded her barn door shut same way, day 81 and no photo bought clock could at least crack open, that notebook aint openin for nobody

did the guy at the yard sale say where he got the clock tho

hey Scribe - that panasonic sounds like the kinda thing ud find in a museum cabinet not a yard sale table lol what if the weld pattern matches ClassOf04's GE tho?? that'd b proper weird like someone's runnin a production line of frozen clocks also did the cord have a polarized plug or the normal figure-8? cuz if its factory sealed on AC too thats a whole different rabbit hole

also DENNES u got opinions on welded trays but im still waitin on that kmart cheese wheel field report off ur Powershot from... wot was it, july?? august?? the clock radio photo was legit hardware i'll give u that but field reports r field reports n im still sittin here hungry for cheesy receipts lol

signin off, maze x

^ this

ScribeOfTheGrid wrote:silver Panasonic... at 4:47 frozen and the battery compartment had been spot-welded shut... sold for three dollars

what if the tray on a 3 dollar clock is actually a hollow that's spot-welded for decoration like those cheap toy wrist watches sealed with black plastic..... we could take the back off with a plastic pry tool and look at the battery well from the inside, like peering through the wiring into the clock heart also did u check the prongs on the wall plug for a mod chip or something secret, some these circuit boards might be stripped down for quick installs in arcade cabs not alarm clocks

welded tray dont make 4:47 a sign what's the proof s'posed to be

scribe, you asked the only question that matters here - is the weld factory or field. take a sharp edge to the back plate seam and look for oxidation gradient. a 2006 garage weld discolors different than an 80s factory spot-weld. if you still have the three bucks and the guys number, call him and ask if he remembers the original owner. thats fieldwork. the rest of this thread is marshmallow asking about cheese wheels and kael lurking without posting his hex dump across five threads now.

ClassOf04_Truther wrote:what's the brand on the front of yours?

IT'S A SILVER GE WITH A SEALED BACK, SAME AS YOURS, FILTHY ORC. YOU JUST MISSED THE WELD PATTERN DISCUSSION BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO BUSY ASKING ABOUT CHEESE WHEELS INSTEAD OF DOING REAL FIELDWORK

CoffeeStainsOn45, the question about the inside of the back panel is the first measurable approach anyone has suggested in this thread. I did not pry it open at the table because the seller was watching and I had not established whether the weld was structural or decorative, but your distinction between a hollow tray and a filled cavity is exactly the kind of column B diagnostic that belongs in the lookup table before any claim enters column K. If the tray is a stamped shell with no internal battery contact rails, that tells us it was never meant to hold a cell, which makes the 4:47 display a powered artifact from a different source than the yard sale story implies. ClassOf04_Truther asked about the brand match on his GE, and the answer is Panasonic, silver face, black numbers, no model number visible on the front bezel, and the back had a single sticker with a barcode that was too faded to read even if I had pulled out my phone, which I did not because the phone was in my cardigan and the light was wrong. If anyone else finds a silver Panasonic with a sealed battery well at a thrift store or yard sale, I need three data points before we compare welds: the distance between spot-weld centers in millimeters measured with a ruler not a guess, whether the power cord has a polarized plug or a figure-8, and the exact text of any sticker on the back even if it is faded because the lot code position relative to the vent slots is a reproducible measurement that can be cross-referenced across units.