These instructions are for retrofitting an existing movement with the "retrofit" variant of the Crazy Clock controller board. If you don't have a movement already, then the recommendation is to simply buy a complete movement from the Crazy Clock store. These movements have had their original PCB replaced with a dedicated Crazy Clock controller board, so the result will be more reliable in the long run.

If you have a clock that already has its own movement, and you don't want to replace it, then you'll need to retrofit that movement with these instructions.

Either obtain a pre-built Crazy Clock board from my Tindie store or assemble your own. There's no particular instructions for building the board itself beyond just the generic steps for surface mount assembly.

If you wish, you can test the board by powering it with a AA battery or other 1.5 volt power source, and connecting a bi-color LED (that is, a red and green LED in a single package connected anode-to-cathode to two common leads) to the CLOCK terminals. If you use a 5 mm through-hole LED, the leads will be spaced properly for the terminal. Don't solder the LED, just insert the leads and bend them apart to make a temporary connection. The LED should blink alternately red and green in the expected pattern for the firmware in the controller.

Obtain a clock movement or remove the one from the clock you intend to modify. The recommended clock movement if you wish to start with a fresh one is the Quartex Q-80, available from Klockit. It's also the movement being used (at least at present) by Zazzle.

Carefully pry the latches apart holding the lid of the movement in place. Very carefully remove the lid of the movement. If you do not perform this step slowly, the lid may spring away resulting in an explosion of plastic gears.

Carefully take stock of the interior of the movement. Some movements have most of the gears sitting on a tray that you can lift out away from the PCB and coil. The Quartex movement has everything encased in a plastic sub-chassis that can be removed as a unit. In that case, there is no need to remove the board from the sub-assembly, as it can be modified in place.

Remove the PCB and coil assembly. Examine the bottom of the board. You should find two contact patches that mate with the battery contacts in the movement case. Carefully figure out which contact patch is positive and which is negative. Use a Dremel or an Xacto knife and cut the traces on the board. Similarly, locate the points on the board where the coil wires are soldered. Do not disturb these solder connections. The coil wire is fine and brittle, and if broken it will be difficult to repair and resolder. Instead, cut the traces on the board.

Cut four short (2" or so) pieces of 30 gauge wire and solder one end of each one on the four traces - two to the coil, and two to the battery. Solder the coil wires on the "clock" terminals on the crazy clock board. The coil is unpolarized, so it doesn't matter which wire is which. Solder the two battery terminal wires onto the "batt" terminals, taking careful note of the positive and negative terminals. Carefully check when finished to insure that the battery connections are not backwards or shorted.

Carefully place the board back in place, routing the wires as best as you can so that they do not get in the way of either the board's mounting hardware or any moving gears. If your movement has a separate gear tray, then put it back in place, along with anything else (besides the lid) that was removed during disassembly.

Locate a spare out-of-the-way spot inside the movement that can accommodate the board. For the Quartex Q-80 movement, the best place is between the latch and the sub-assembly on the side opposite where the coil and battery terminals are.

If the board won't fit inside your movement, you may have no choice but to cut a small channel in the case of the movement, route the wires outside and secure the board to the outside of the case with foam tape.