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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/24/19 in Posts

  1. Hi All ... I just wanted to let you know that I've just released Watch-O-Scope 1.3, with the following improvements and new features: Built-in volume boost, adjustable via scope and manual adjustment modes, requiring less external amplification. Long term test improvements: Ignore extreme outliers (±4σ) for better immunity to non-timekeeping noises (e.g. the date wheel clicking over at midnight, doors slamming, cars crashing outside). Clip graphs to three standard deviations (±3σ). Highlight one standard deviation (±σ). Support for manually selected beat rates all the way down to 300 bph. Report weights for standard positions are remembered and become the defaults for subsequent reports.
    2 points
  2. ETA 955 Service Walkthrough "The Workhorse of Highend Quartz" The ETA 955 and 956 Quartz Movements are the most commonly found movement in high-end quartz watches with three hands and a date feature. You will find them in Omega, Tag, and many other brands on the market. For this walkthrough I will be using an 955.412 Movement as my example; but the 956 is so similar to the 955, that this walkthrough will suffice for both. Please note that the numbers after the decimal place only relates to the factory in which the movement was made, so yours could read 955.112, or another factory number ... regardless, the parts are identical and interchangeable. As with all movements, quartz or mechanical, they have a service interval that should be adhered to for longevity of the movement. With quartz movements when the lubrication becomes dried out, or the movement becomes dirty, they will draw more and more current from the battery in order to maintain accurate time keeping. The ETA 955/6, when in optimum condition should draw around 800nA ~ 1.5uA, if the movement is drawing more power than this, a service is required. If a service is not performed, the battery life with decrease markedly, and can go as far as drawing more power from the battery than it was designed for, and damage the battery and cause it to leak and corrode your valuable time piece. Service Manual for the 955/6 Movement CT_956412_FDE_493024_06.pdf.PDF Disassembly Remove the two Date Wheel Keepers. I always start with the one holding the Date Jumper Spring in place. Sometimes the Date Jumper Spring can ping out of place, so be careful when removing the keeper plate above it. Here is a reference photo in case it moves before you see how it's properly seated. Next remove the Keepers and Date Wheel. Then remove the Date Jumper Spring, Motion and Calendar Work. This will leave only the Keyless Work; remove the Yoke and the Sliding Pinion only. We need to flip the movement over, and disassemble the IC Board before we can remove the rest of the Keyless Work. With the movement flipped over, remove the 3 screws holding the Coil Protector. Note for re-assembly the Gold Screw in the centre. Now that the Coil Protector is removed, GREAT care must be taken not to damage the exposed fine windings of the Coil. Then to remove the IC Board, simply remove the 2 remaining screws that hold it. Do this slowly and carefully, as you do not want to slip off the screw and damage this delicate circuit. The same level of care needs to be taken when removing the IC Board from the Main Plate. Take your time and carefully lift it off and store it immediately out of harms way. Next remove the black Insulator Block, and Battery Insulator. This will expose the Setting Lever Spring Clip, which will enable you to remove the rest of the Keyless Work. To remove the Setting Lever Spring Clip, place both points of your tweezers on the locations where I've placed the stars and gently push down on the spring. Then with a piece of Pegwood, push the spring in the direction of the arrow until it moves to the larger opening slot. This will now allow the Setting Lever to be removed, along with the rest of the Keyless Work. Next remove the Stop Lever and Switch, and remove the one screw holding the Train Bridge in place. Then carefully remove the Gear Train and the Rotor. The movement is now completely stripped and ready for inspection and cleaning. There are some parts that you do not place in the parts cleaner, they are as follows: Date Ring Rotor IC Board The rest should be demagnetized prior to cleaning to avoid any metal particles in your cleaning solution from sticking to your parts. When cleaning I also including the Insulator Block, and Battery Insulator in the basket, normal watch cleaning solutions do not harm these items and it is essential they are completely clean to provide the best insulation possible. The Rotor should be cleaned by use of Rodico. As you can see from the picture below, it's surprising the dirt and old oil this will remove ... and it is sufficient cleaning for the Rotor. I hope this has been a help to you, and I will post the assembly procedure later today, if time permits.
    1 point
  3. Yes I know how Rolex in the 1920s used another manufacturer to make the Unicorn movements, so they are not real Rolex's, just kinda Rolex's by association in that Rolex had these made for them to be sold as cheaper watches. Below are photos of my Unicorn watch which I can date pretty well due to it being engraved 12/8/1927. Going by this website the movements were made by BTC ' Beguelin & Cie SA, Manufacture de Montres Damas et Tramelan Watch Co ' http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/movements.php#BTCo If anyone can provide more information on these movements that would be great as I am looking for a new hairspring, although I'm guessing to fix this watch I will need to learn a new skill of fitting a new hairspring and regulating it to the watch. The watch also needs a new balance staff but I plan to attempt to make this.
    1 point
  4. How do you know that what appears to be a poise error is from the hairspring? High grade watches used to have poised hairspring collets, and generally overcoil hairsprings. Modern watches almost universally have even better collets, with attachment of the spring inducing no stress at either collet or stud, and often some supplemental heat treatment of the terminal curve, which altogether gives performance like an old overcoiled piece. The hairspring alloy makes a difference (big) in performance as well, a Nivarox 3 will never perform like a 1, and even the 1 grade has better and worse springs. But a clear poise error is a clear poise error. Often I've spent time on the poising tool to just undo half of it on dynamic. Smaller calibers are always worse than larger, a LeCoultre 101 can be a real bear (factors of scale, hairspring collet is always proportionally bigger on smaller pieces). But all experience and such goes out the window sometimes; had a 104 (about 1mm bigger than 101) that had a vertical delta of 80+ seconds, an hour of nerve crushing work on the poising tool and it was under 30- which is almost unheard of on these. I only believe it because I saw it.
    1 point
  5. I think the flip would also occur as it is a result of the behavior of the complete system, not of the balance wheel only. Do you know this blog, very helpful: https://adjustingvintagewatches.com/category/dynamic-posiing/
    1 point
  6. Why Tapatalk? The software that powers the forum has excellent support for mobile browsers. Just try, I think you'll like it.
    1 point
  7. I don't have a "true" GMT watch, but my understanding is that you set the GMT hand by pulling the winder to the setting position for the GMT hand, and that hand will then complete one rotation for every two of the hour hand, giving you a 24hr time by reading from the 24hr chapter ring, and if this hand is set to track GMT, then you can work out the time in other cities/zones by looking at the relevant city name on the outer bezel. Some dual time zone watches simply have two hands which can be positioned relative to each other, but driven by the same hour wheel, and are not strictly GMT watches. Even simpler dual time zone watches have two (usually quartz) movements, which can be set independently. I have a couple of examples of these.
    1 point
  8. GMT hand...at midnight all hands should point at 12 ...
    1 point
  9. I like the numeral script ....
    1 point
  10. For Easter Sunday - 1961 \ 1962 "21 Jewels" - The 21 series was the follow up to the 400 series that had either a Hatori or Laco movement inside. You will find many transition piece such as this one that have 400 as the case back. There are even 400 series with 21 jewel movements.
    1 point
  11. My recent restore of a 1984 Timex Diver style. Problem was that moisture had gotten in because someone had glued in the wrong size crystal. After several attempt to revive the movement I moved on to a swap which was also in bad shape but did comeback quite well. I added the band was to give it a full Timex look.
    1 point
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