With Paul (Electric-Watches) currently closed, who are the go-to's in the UK for an F300 (198.001 powered by an ESA 9182/Omega 1250). I've always quite wanted one of these and this one went through auction today for the cost of the case and bracelet... so, I felt I had to take a punt.

I know nothing about these movements: part of me wants to just stick a battery in it and see what happens; the sensible part of me says to just send it for service (or at least a quote); meanwhile, the Yorkshireman in me feels his wallet recoiling at the thought of simply posting it to STS.

So, what options are out there?

(Oh, and we all like pictures ...)


Thanks.

 

Keith Tilley can work on these. I think he is active on here but is certainly on tz-uk.

 

Is Paul closed for good, or is it just temp?

To be honest here, i would just polish the crystal and just stick a 344 batery in and see what happens over a week. The weak point of these f300s is the date wheel, so if the date moves every night, thats a win

Best of luck! Paul

 

His site says he hopes to reopen later in the year.

My understanding is the date wheels, then coils and transistor are the weak points, in that order. The date wheel clicks over at bang on 12pm with a satisfying click.

I'll dig out a 344 when I've finished going through all the silver I've just bought.

 

Try it with a new battery. Watch the second hand, it must not turn while setting the hands. And do not set the time backwards, this might damage the index wheel on a movement without recent service. There are new date discs available. At the moment there is one at ebay made from steel, to replace the old plastic ones.

 

Keith is around here somewhere. If you search for keitht and send him a personal message I'm sure he'll be able to help.
Remember also that as well as the electronics there are also mechanical parts which will at least need cleaning.
Good luck

 

Rob Berkavicius

http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplot/acc.htm

Works on all tuning forks. Highly recommended among Accutron collectors.

 

Yes he is. Even rewinding of coils is possible since last year.

 

Can also recommend Ludmil in Bulgaria very knowledgeable (has tons of parts too) and dependable with reasonable prices.

 

thank you all for the replies.

I got caught up with over things this evening and didn't even manage to see if I had the correct battery in the house. I'll get that done tomorrow and then start making contact with those recommended above if needed.

One good point, the date wheel clicks over perfectly for all the dates.

 

I had the Eterna version of this movement sent to me for attention. Someone had installed an SR1130 cell in it, and the watch would not run. The SR1130 cell is a bit smaller in diameter than the 344, and drops into the movement. But the negative terminal is too flat to contact the negative circuit contact. Dropped in a 344, and it runs fine.

 

Well,I've gone through my box of batteries and I have every 37x but not a single 344.... so we'll have to wait til tomorrow to see if she hums.