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padders
··Oooo subtitles!Agreed. They are wonderful but can be temperamental. And they chew through batteries. I’ve had quite a few hummers, both Omega and Accutron and the love affair only lasted so long.
Accutron 214 Astronaut
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pdxleaf
·Curious, were your watches using a modern 1.55v battery without adding a voltage regulator? Doing so is supposed to use up batteries.
"The preferred method of correction is to introduce a voltage regulator into the original Accutron circuit, which lowers the cell output to 1.35V. Some Accutron technicians can install a voltage regulator directly into the Accutron's on-board circuitry, but the prevailing option is to install a specially modified power cell with an integral voltage regulator."
From the Accutron Revolution Decadecounter.com
"The preferred method of correction is to introduce a voltage regulator into the original Accutron circuit, which lowers the cell output to 1.35V. Some Accutron technicians can install a voltage regulator directly into the Accutron's on-board circuitry, but the prevailing option is to install a specially modified power cell with an integral voltage regulator."
From the Accutron Revolution Decadecounter.com
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padders
··Oooo subtitles!Curious, were your watches using a modern 1.55v battery without adding a voltage regulator? Doing so is supposed to use up batteries.
"The preferred method of correction is to introduce a voltage regulator into the original Accutron circuit, which lowers the cell output to 1.35V. Some Accutron technicians can install a voltage regulator directly into the Accutron's on-board circuitry, but the prevailing option is to install a specially modified power cell with an integral voltage regulator."
From the Accutron Revolution Decadecounter.com
My Astro had been modded to accept a modern cell. All hummers chew through batteries. It’s only logical. Instead of bouncing electrons about like a quartz watch they provide an impulse to a vibrating tuning fork. You are moving from the quantum to macro scale. The energy requirement is orders of magnitude higher.
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TexOmega
·https://www.unwindintime.com/pages/restoration
Contact Jarett for servicing , he is the guy, if you are in the US.
He is out here on the Frontier, in my neck of the woods.
As one point of reference, I get 1-1.5 years on my run time.
Contact Jarett for servicing , he is the guy, if you are in the US.
He is out here on the Frontier, in my neck of the woods.
As one point of reference, I get 1-1.5 years on my run time.
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pdxleaf
·They use more power than a quartz but it's not exactly logical to say they chew through batteries.
The circuit is conducting through the transistor that switches on and off to send a small amount of current to the drive coil that sends the impulse and also the phase sensing coil that controls amplitude. The transistor is controlled by a resistor that is in parallel with a capacitor, which in combination stores and releases a small amount of energy to induce the circuit.
This is designed to use a small amount of energy. There's hardly any torque or resistance in the 95/1000 of an inch in diameter index wheel that sets the time. It can be so small because of the limited energy needed.
Old Accutrons can chew up batteries and can be temperamental and difficult to keep running, but it is not the same as saying this is a logical result of the design or that it is expected of all Accutrons, at least in my opinion.
The circuit is conducting through the transistor that switches on and off to send a small amount of current to the drive coil that sends the impulse and also the phase sensing coil that controls amplitude. The transistor is controlled by a resistor that is in parallel with a capacitor, which in combination stores and releases a small amount of energy to induce the circuit.
This is designed to use a small amount of energy. There's hardly any torque or resistance in the 95/1000 of an inch in diameter index wheel that sets the time. It can be so small because of the limited energy needed.
Old Accutrons can chew up batteries and can be temperamental and difficult to keep running, but it is not the same as saying this is a logical result of the design or that it is expected of all Accutrons, at least in my opinion.
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pdxleaf
·https://www.unwindintime.com/pages/restoration
Contact Jarett for servicing , he is the guy, if you are in the US.
He is out here on the Frontier, in my neck of the woods.
As one point of reference, I get 1-1.5 years on my run time.
Thanks. I use Martell Grover out of Idaho. He's also experienced and trained in all things Accutron.
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padders
··Oooo subtitles!They use more power than a quartz but it's not exactly logical to say they chew through batteries.
The circuit is conducting through the transistor that switches on and off to send a small amount of current to the drive coil that sends the impulse and also the phase sensing coil that controls amplitude. The transistor is controlled by a resistor that is in parallel with a capacitor, which in combination stores and releases a small amount of energy to induce the circuit.
This is designed to use a small amount of energy. There's hardly any torque or resistance in the 95/1000 of an inch in diameter index wheel that sets the time. It can be so small because of the limited energy needed.
Old Accutrons can chew up batteries and can be temperamental and difficult to keep running, but it is not the same as saying this is a logical result of the design or that it is expected of all Accutrons, at least in my opinion.
Hummers were a technological dead end and give you the unsettling impression of tinnitus. It can be charming but I defy you to sit one on your nightstand if you want to sleep soundly.
Edited:
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pdxleaf
·Hummers were a technological dead end and give you the unsettling impression of tinnitus. It can be charming but I defy you to sit one on your nightstand if you want to sleep soundly.
😁 i have tinnitus and could still hear my first hummer in my watch case in my closet. Kindof surprising at first how loud it was.
Supposedly this was a selling feature when introduced. People would show others their new watch by letting them hear the hum. In a culture obsessed with technology and science, sales took off in part due to the hum, as well as the accuracy.
Quartz did to the Accutron what it did to the mechanical watch, as you know. I suggest that the comparison of the Accutron to quartz is similar to comparing a self winding mechanical watch to quartz. 70 hours is not much compared to 5 -7 years or even the lowly 1 year of the tuning fork. Different creatures.
Battery life could be better, for sure. But (some of) the little buggers are still humming 50 years later. Not too shabby.
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bobbee
·Some adverts from 1962 for the earliest Accutron Astronauts, from various states across the US. Note the description 'luminous dial and hands'.
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spacemission
·Some adverts from 1962 for the earliest Accutron Astronauts, from various states across the US. Note the description 'luminous dial and hands'.
Thank you 👍
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spacemission
·Rolex Sub cost $150 in 1957. Accutron's weren't cheap.
In the past, some rolex ADs have also sold bulova at the same time. The rolex fans nowadays wouldn't believe me 😁
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SpeedyPhill
·It looks like a Red GMT hand was an option for the Accutron Astronaut ?
(Photo: Ebay)
.
(Photo: Ebay)
.
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bobbee
·
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spacemission
·
Like the allred in rolex?
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Waltesefalcon
·
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SpeedyPhill
·Summer 1962: the name "Astronaut" was added to the dial in appreciation of the NASA "Mercury 7" astronauts and the 12 X-15 test pilots !
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bobbee
·Not sure about that claim, as it was first seen on a non specialist forum as a simple question and since perpetuated by others.
I have yet to see anything factual to support it.
I have yet to see anything factual to support it.
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