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On 6/5/2019 at 2:36 AM, balaton said:

I have two of these things. My blue-dialled one runs faultlessly (touch wood!) whilst this white-dialled one will run for months but does run fast. After re-setting the time, it can be a bit of a bear to get it re-started and I'd always wondered if it wasn't de-hacking properly.

Anyway, I hope your watchmaker can get yours running properly.

Regards.

Balaton...

I don’t know if you’re still having trouble restarting your Luch after setting it, but I may have something to offer. I’m now wearing another 3055 (the watchmaker was unable to diagnose the glitch with the previous one), and this one was also difficult to restart after setting it. I noticed that it would start if I pressed in firmly on the crown, thus applying pressure to the little switch that opens the battery circuit when you pull out the crown. I finally opened the watch, and found that by rotating the battery clip a bit, current would be restored and the watch would start. It’s running dependably now. Hope this helps!

Gryf

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Today its a Timex Big Q from around 1985. This was a non runner, and when I opened it, the lower battery contact had somehow snapped cleanly near the edge of the cell holder (or possibly more likely been etched cleanly in two by the leaking cell, which was still in the watch when it arrived).

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This necessitated a very delicate bit of soldering, and the addition of a small strip of Kapton tape to avoid any chance of the slightly raised solder bridge making contact with the cell when fitted.

The mechanism got a light cleaning with the tip of a cotton bud and some lighter fluid, to thin out any original oils, and a little light lubrication to help it on its way, hopefully for another 35 years. It polished up nicely, so I'm going to wear this latest member of the 404 club for a few days to ensure it has suffered no ill effects from the surgery.

Timex+Quartz+movement.png

Here is a shamelessly stolen annotate image of the mechanism, since I forgot to take any myself. Note the date advance switch next to the crown. My version appears to have two jewels, but is otherwise pretty close to identical

Edited by AndyHull
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This is an ugly one but it has potential thanks to an ETA 2840 and I've got it for just €36. Not only the case is plastic, also the integrated strap is terrible, making it basically unwearable. Mov't runs poorly around  150° amp. I'll start looking for a suitable case, dial and hands now.

i-img600x450-1581215327mammoc260139.jpg

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4 minutes ago, jdm said:

This is an ugly one but it has potential thanks to an ETA 2840 and I've got it for just €36. Not only the case is plastic, also the integrated strap is terrible, making it basically unwearable. Mov't runs poorly around  150° amp. I'll start looking for a suitable case, dial and hands now.

i-img600x450-1581215327mammoc260139.jpg

I have a similar swatch in my junk pile (in a much worse condition, no crown, damaged case, no strap).
Keep us posted if you manage to source a suitable case, dial and hands. 

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3 minutes ago, AndyHull said:

I have a similar swatch in my junk pile (in a much worse condition, no crown, damaged case, no strap).

Just PM your address and you will have the chance to restore to the highly sought "full original" state :biggrin:

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I was going to make a quip along the lines of "I didn't know that they made the Timex 100 in the 1890s", but I suspect from the look of the thing I'm pretty just as ancient, so I'll just keep quiet.

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Instead, I bring you the height of early quartz era sophistication, a "British Made" Trafalgar, which not only tells the time, but if it is feeling co-operative will even tell you the date, and possibly even work a bit like a stop watch, of sorts.

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What it lacks in mechanical elegance... OK I'm struggling here to see what it makes it up in... shiny-ness perhaps.

This two and a half button wonder was rescued from the pile of junk which had the Timex LED watch in it, and despite its relatively clean outward appearance, it needed a lot of work. I soldered in a new battery contact, stripped and cleaned the LCD, realigned everything so that the buttons are actually pressable, and the LCD is straight. 

It has no backlight, but it does contain a rather odd looking assembly behind the LCD which may be tritium tubes, (hence the "T British Made T" on the face) and which does kind of sort of glow briefly if you hit it with a black light. About as much use as the proverbial chocolate teapot, but at least they tried. I'll need to test it with a Geiger counter at some stage if I remember. 

I also fixed another Timex Big Q, but I wont spoil you by showing two on the same day, after all you have to have something to look forward to, otherwise cabin fever might engulf you. Tomorrow, I'll show you it tomorrow, I promise now don't get too excited. :P
 

Edited by AndyHull
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As promised, another fine looking Timex Big Q joins the club today.

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This one is similar to its sibling in the post above, but without the date. It too needed a good clean to free up the mechanism and a scrub and polish to bring back its youthful good looks.

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16 hours ago, AndyHull said:

I was going to make a quip along the lines of "I didn't know that they made the Timex 100 in the 1890s", but I suspect from the look of the thing I'm pretty just as ancient, so I'll just keep quiet.

old man jokes?  at 62 I'm just getting started!

 

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As mentioned above, I recently added another Luch 3055 to the fleet... and surprisingly, I didn’t have to do very much to it when it arrived from Ukraine. The date was changing over at around 8:30, so it was off with the hands for a reset. While I was at it, the second hand, which had faded from its original red to a dirty gold, received a lick of paint. And now, after a bit of futzing with the battery clip, it’s running dependably and has become my daily. I was lucky to find one with the original strap, carrying a little “spark” logo on the clasp. With the repainted second hand, it looks quite pristine and wears very nicely.

Gryf

 

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AB5D408E-CFFD-4E4C-9A84-08CFD48AB8E9.jpeg

Edited by Gryf
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41 minutes ago, Gryf said:

As mentioned above, I recently added another Luch 3055 to the fleet... and surprisingly, I didn’t have to do very much to it when it arrived from Ukraine. The date was changing over at around 8:30, so it was off with the hands for a reset. While I was at it, the second hand, which had faded from its original red to a dirty gold, received a lick of paint. And now, after a bit of futzing with the battery clip, it’s running dependably and has become my daily. I was lucky to find one with the original strap, carrying a little “spark” logo on the clasp. With the repainted second hand, it looks quite pristine and wears very nicely.

Gryf

I've had my eye on a blue dial example. Any quirks I should know about before I commit to one?

Edited by FLwatchguy73
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FLwatchguy73 -

By no means am I an authority on the Luch Electromechanical, but if you check out this thread on the WatchUSeek forum, there’s some useful info:

https://forums.watchuseek.com/f10/luch-3055-opinions-discussions-2700305.html

it’s definitely a fascinating model, and I really like the styling. But they can also be stubborn and quirky. If you get a good one, great! Otherwise you’re looking at a project and a learning experience. Fortunately I like learning, and I can be stubborn too. When I was an IT support guy for our local school district, my motto was “Numquam apparatus esse victor...” essentially, “Never let the machine win.” That applies equally to PCs and weird old watches. ;-)

Gryf

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A Citizen 0200 21 Jewel manual wind from October 1974 joins the 404 club today.

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The hammer fell on this one, rather surprisingly at 0.99p +P+P

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The mechanism is virtually indistinguishable from the Citizen 0201 and the HMT 020 These are very easy to work on, and I have a bunch of HMT spares, which would probably drop right in, although this old chap didn't need anything other than a good clean and lube.

It arrived with what appears to be a brand new 20mm leather strap, which looks a little odd as the lugs are only 18mm.

It does need a crystal, and I have nothing suitable in my spares, so it got a good polish, which removed the majority of the major dings and tramlines.

AsPurchased2.jpg.f93474022f401e58030a9d1ff51d156e.jpg

Here is the "before" shot from the ebay auction. Maybe the price wasn't so surprising when you look at that mess.

I would persist with the polishing, but there is a hairline crack in the crystal, so I just went for "good enough to wear" rather than perfect.

Edited by AndyHull
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Another day, another basket case. :rolleyes: I'm not even sure what the movement is. The nearest I can find is a Bleno Sonceboz ES 55

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It was completely jammed up solid when it arrived, but after a hydrocarbon bath and a little TLC, it looks somewhat better.

The silver seconds hand that it came with didn't actually fit, so a little artistic license was applied. Also the crystal that it came with was the wrong size, and glued in place, so that needed to be sorted too. 

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The case needs re-finishing, but given the value of the watch I doubt if it is worth the effort. It is now running nicely though, so perhaps if i tun out of other tasks in the next few weeks, I may have a crack at nickel plating it.

It wont win any beauty contests at the moment, but it does have character, and of course.. a blue dial!

 

 

Edited by AndyHull
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Its a 1970s gold plated Caravelle "Set-O-Matic" automatic with quick change day today.

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It arrived without a crystal, and therefore the hands and dial are not perfect, but they responded well to a little TLC.

I'm slowly working my way through the prospective 404 club candidates I picked up a few months back. This one came in at exactly the magic 404.

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1 hour ago, JohnD said:

Early 1970's Talis electronic (ESA9158 cal.) for me today........

 

Talis electronic wrist 3.jpg

Had to change to this one........

e2ivUfo.jpg

as I've been playing with this.......

E8zHbVr.jpg

The Talis stopped dead:( but seems to have recovered now it is away from the 'sculpture' B)

 

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Here's today's watch. I just reassembled it after checking the movement and cleaning some parts. I have a corrosion issue on the dial I will probably create a post in the relevant section to get advice about.

(Omega Seamaster, 1960's, calibre 562)

IMG_20200402_125754.jpg

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9 minutes ago, HardTop said:

I have a corrosion issue on the dial I will probably create a post in the relevant section to get advice about.

You can search "dial reprint" here or on the Internet, since that's what we're talking about. Personally I would leave as it is because is very uniform and not ugly to look at, at least from the picture.

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