They don't get any more basic than this '69 Zenith clock radio

[radiotvnut]

I decided to dive into the clock. Once I removed the entire movement from the case, I released the two spring clips that hold the motor assembly in place. Once I removed the motor and applied power, I could tell that the trouble was in the motor assembly, since nothing turned. The capsule (gear box and armature assembly) simply unclips and slides out of the motor winding assembly. Once I got the capsule out, I gently pried up on the lip around the outer diameter on top of the capsule, in order to remove the capsule housing and expose the gears. Once I got everything exposed, I discovered that the motor armature was stuck. I cleaned and relubricated the inside of the capsule as best I could and the armature now turns freely. When I reassembled the capsule and motor, I gave it a test before putting it back on the clock movement. It runs; but, is fairly noisy. I went ahead and put everything back together and the clock keeps time; but, it's still a little noisy. I can hold the radio in a certain position and the noise goes away. I don't know if I didn't lubricate things good enough or if the clock is simply worn out. I think the movement was made by Westclock and I wonder if a replacement capsule is available.

I have a nicer '67 Zenith solid state AM/FM with a handwired chassis that uses basically the same clock. I decided to play around with this cheap radio as a learning experience before I tear into the other one.