ETA AutoQuartz cap/battery dying?
y_p_w
those five years. Sometimes I didn't wear it for four weeks, and it
still functioned great when I got back.
Recently I haven't gotten very good life, although I'm not sure how
much it's been charged up. If I wear it every day, it won't stop.
When I put it aside for another watch, it either goes to low battery
mode (sweeps every 4 seconds) or stops altogether after maybe 2 days.
I've tried reading the mechanism model # from the case back window. I
think it says 205.111 (capacitor?), although I read that it was
supposed to be the later 205.911 with a lithium button cell battery.
It originally came with a tag on the band indicating a 100-day power
reserve.
Any suggestions? Is the watch worth saving? Perhaps just needs a new
cap or battery? Personally one of the reasons I got it was because I
was hoping that I would never have to replace the power cell (whatever
it is).
dAz
one of the reasons I don't like Seiko Kinetics is the cap/battery
failure after 5-6 years, I think they are waste of space.
Seiko did use a capacitor that lasted 5 years or so, now they use a
rechargeable battery in place which does last a bit longer, time will tell.
I would say your Tissot needs a new cap or battery, what would it cost
to replace the cell and pressure test compared to a new watch is what to
need to weigh up.
Jack Denver
non-rechargeable lithiums last 10 years. It's not clear to me that the avg.
lifespan of an autoquartz rechargeable is that long, so what is the point?
"dAz" <dazb@zipDOTcomDOTau> wrote in message
news:4862c495$0$30464$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
y_p_w
> The whole "autoquartz" thing is a gimmick given that some watches with
> non-rechargeable lithiums last 10 years. It's not clear to me that the avg.
> lifespan of an autoquartz rechargeable is that long, so what is the point?
I was hoping it was something like a more reliable polyester or
ceramic cap, although I realize that wouldn't have decent capacity.
More likely an electrolytic cap in a button cell form, and those
things leak/dry up. I once had a PC completely die on me. After
opening the top, the thing that stuck out for me was that one
electrolytic cap blew off, and I finally found the tube at the other
end of the motherboard.
I've got a few "10 year" lithium batteries - mostly Casios. My 20
year old original G-Shock (if I could just find it now) came with a
CR2320 cell and actually lasted around 10 year and worked fine with a
replacement cell.
Frankly I liked the look of the watch. My younger relatives get a
kick out of watching the rotor move, and it has the accuracy of a good
quartz watch. I like a solid link band after I had a bunch of Casios
break on me.
dAz
> The whole "autoquartz" thing is a gimmick given that some watches with
> non-rechargeable lithiums last 10 years. It's not clear to me that the
> avg. lifespan of an autoquartz rechargeable is that long, so what is the
> point?
exactly, if the capacitor had a 30year lifespan then the idea would be
great, but as it turned out 5-6years was the norm, not sure how long the
replacement rechargeable lithium cells last, but even if it lasts
10years it still won't be as economical as a stock lithium battery
running a standard movement.
the Seiko spring drive makes much more sense in this respect.
Revision
"dAz"
>
> the Seiko spring drive makes much more sense
Things that make sense ... the Citizen Eco-Drive with .... a photoelectric
cell.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
Revision
"dAz"
> the Seiko spring drive makes much more sense in this respect.
Come to think of it, if they made an LCD watch with a mainspring, I'd be
just nutty enough to buy one.
Frank Adam
<ttsR...@NOJUNKcharter.net> wrote:
>
>"dAz"
>>
>> the Seiko spring drive makes much more sense
>
>Things that make sense ... the Citizen Eco-Drive with .... a photoelectric
>cell.
>
The Eco is just as bad as the others. 5-6 years, battery dies. To the
customer it's a nice hit at the retail level. Wholesaele cost to me is
about 14 bucks. A 6L Miyota(on which the Ecos are based, will happily
run for 3+ years with a 621SW, costing me 45 cents or so. Hm...
decisions.
All this nice, feel good "eco-" thing has been nicely exploited by
just about every tom and dick out there, at the customer's expense.
--
Regards, Frank
Jack Denver
warming thing - next big thing "green" watches,whatever that is.
Actually I think automatic mechanicals are pretty "green" already - a lot of
the "green" crap like switching to compact fluorescents I did years ago
because I'm a cheap bastard. Turns out being really cheap IS green - I was
an environmentalist all along -yeah, that's the ticket. My parents were even
more "green" when I was growing up. Every night at bedtime they turned off
the furnace, completely, even in the dead of winter.. We had big feather
quilts. They were green before green was in.
The "playback" on the autoquartz is like the "payback" on a lot of the green
"investments" such as putting your whole house on rooftop solar cells - the
upfront capital cost is so high that you'll never live long enough to make
your money back on the back end savings, and in real life the stuff wears
out long before that time anyway.
"Frank Adam" <fa...@notthis.optushome.com.au> wrote in message
news:0at564te2ld1a6udv...@4ax.com...
y_p_w
> On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:23:23 -0500, "Revision"
>
>
> >"dAz"
>
> >> the Seiko spring drive makes much more sense
>
> >Things that make sense ... the Citizen Eco-Drive with .... a photoelectric
> >cell.
>
> The Eco is just as bad as the others. 5-6 years, battery dies. To the
> customer it's a nice hit at the retail level. Wholesaele cost to me is
> about 14 bucks. A 6L Miyota(on which the Ecos are based, will happily
> run for 3+ years with a 621SW, costing me 45 cents or so. Hm...
> decisions.
In high school, I had a 200M Casio digital diver's watch with a mini
solar panel and a rechargeable (likely NiCad) battery. They were
upfront (in the manual) that the likely lifespan of the battery was
about 7 years.
dAz
no, the thing that makes sense is not to use a battery at all, so either
a automatic or a spring drive, cannot afford a spring drive so the auto
does me fine :)
dAz
I was watching the first episode of season 11 of Top Gear last night,
they drove a Prius at speed around their test track followed by an Audi
R8, 1.5litre engine in the Prius compared to the big v8 in the Audi, all
the audi had to do is keep up and match the speed of the Prius, after
the test the mileage was 17.something mile per gallon for the Prius,
19.? mpg for the audi.
and the batteries last how long in the Prius? 6-7 years?
dAz
you know those torches that you pump to generate a charge, use one of
those to run your watch :)
end up with a forearm like popeye.
MP
years, probably more. I don't have the receipt any more, but I know it was
bought during the 1990s because of where I was living when I got it. I
usually keep it where it can get a fair amount of light during the day.
I don't know what to expect from my Casio solar G-Shocks, but I think I'd be
satisfied with 10 years, and then I'll see if the battery can be replaced.
MP
On 6/26/08 1:38 AM, in article
7c2fb0d6-4fc7-44cd...@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com, "y_p_w"
Jack Denver
Actually it was a BMW M3. Video here:
http://www.autospies.com/news/BMW-M3-Vs-Toyota-Prius-Who-Really-Is-the-Fuel-Economy-Champ-31575/
I have a friend who just traded his SUV for a Prius. Really dumb decision -
he drove the SUV very little and it will take him forever to make his money
back. The basic financial concept of payback seems lost on many people.
But, I've driven it and it's cool in a geeky way - very nice video display
that shows the direction of the power flows -sometimes the car is drawing
from the battery and the engine is off, sometimes vice versa, all managed
very seamlessly by the computer. Because it's done by the Japanese it's all
done in a very scary-efficient robot kind of way - there's no bucking or
rumbling when the engine stops and starts - without the display you have to
listen closely to even tell if the you are on battery or engine on the road
and it works without fault. The effort involved to make this all seem so
effortless must have been considerable. I can only imagine what a hybrid
drive by Lucas back in the day would have been like.
The advantage of the Prius is in city traffic, not highway driving and
certainly not at top speed (where outside a track do you get to drive any
car at top speed?). At highway speed the hybrid system is basically dead
weight and the car runs entirely on its gasoline engine, especially after
you have used up the very limited battery capacity. But in city traffic, it
is terrific. As soon as you come to a stop, it kills the engine. Press the
gas and the car takes off (first on battery power and then at some point the
engine kicks in - if you are crawling along, then just on battery). It has
a regenerative braking mode where when you coast to a stop (e.g. red light
ahead) the electric motor acts as a generator, both slowing the car down
without putting wear on the brakes and feeding power back into the battery.
So the city traffic mileage is HIGHER than the highway - the opposite to gas
powered cars. I'm guessing that you could achieve 1/2 the benefit at 1/10th
the cost just by implementing some kind of autostop/start feature in a
regular gas powered car. Basically all you'd need to do was beef up the
starter motor a bit, a little bigger battery, tie the gas pedal in with the
starter like a golf cart. I gather that car makers are working on this.
y_p_w
> I've got a Pulsar solar watch in which the battery has lasted at least 9
> years, probably more. I don't have the receipt any more, but I know it was
> bought during the 1990s because of where I was living when I got it. I
> usually keep it where it can get a fair amount of light during the day.
>
> I don't know what to expect from my Casio solar G-Shocks, but I think I'd be
> satisfied with 10 years, and then I'll see if the battery can be replaced.
The original G-Shock (I had a bright yellow one) came with a CR2320
lithium cell. Lasted about 7 years. Not sure about the new ones with
more bells and whistles. The old one had a weak LCD sidelight typical
of LCD watches of that era.
I've got a couple of Casios which come with CR2025 batteries and have
"10 year battery" right on the face. Of course the one that cost less
than $30 cracked its plastic face in less than a year. And most Casio
models are phased out every two to three years. They still have some
updated classics, like the small digital watches, and the original G-
Shock style is still being sold. I don't know if it's exactly the
same, but it sure looks like the original.
y_p_w
> "dAz" <dazb@zipDOTcomDOTau> wrote in message
>
> news:48633288$0$13947$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
>
>
>
> > Frank Adam wrote:
> >> On Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:23:23 -0500, "Revision"
> >> <ttsREM...@NOJUNKcharter.net> wrote:
>
> >>> "dAz"
> >>>> the Seiko spring drive makes much more sense
> >>> Things that make sense ... the Citizen Eco-Drive with .... a
> >>> photoelectric cell.
>
> >> The Eco is just as bad as the others. 5-6 years, battery dies. To the
> >> customer it's a nice hit at the retail level. Wholesaele cost to me is
> >> about 14 bucks. A 6L Miyota(on which the Ecos are based, will happily
> >> run for 3+ years with a 621SW, costing me 45 cents or so. Hm...
> >> decisions. All this nice, feel good "eco-" thing has been nicely
> >> exploited by
> >> just about every tom and dick out there, at the customer's expense.
>
> > I was watching the first episode of season 11 of Top Gear last night, they
> > drove a Prius at speed around their test track followed by an Audi R8,
> > 1.5litre engine in the Prius compared to the big v8 in the Audi, all the
> > audi had to do is keep up and match the speed of the Prius, after the test
> > the mileage was 17.something mile per gallon for the Prius, 19.? mpg for
> > the audi.
>
> > and the batteries last how long in the Prius? 6-7 years?
In California (and some other US states) the battery is considered an
emissions system component. As such, it would carry a 10 year or
150,000 mile warranty as would the catalytic converter. As long as
it's not used as a "plug in" and is kept in the "sweet spot" of 40-75%
charge, I would expect it to last. I've heard of some Prius taxis
that run just fine on the original battery after 400,000 miles. I've
heard of some people who trashed their batteries by driving too long
in battery only "limp mode" after running out of fuel.
> Actually it was a BMW M3. Video here:
>
> http://www.autospies.com/news/BMW-M3-Vs-Toyota-Prius-Who-Really-Is-th...
>
> I have a friend who just traded his SUV for a Prius. Really dumb decision -
> he drove the SUV very little and it will take him forever to make his money
> back. The basic financial concept of payback seems lost on many people.
My neighbor owns a Dodge Durango for boat towing and a first (US)
generation Prius.
> But, I've driven it and it's cool in a geeky way - very nice video display
> that shows the direction of the power flows -sometimes the car is drawing
> from the battery and the engine is off, sometimes vice versa, all managed
> very seamlessly by the computer. Because it's done by the Japanese it's all
> done in a very scary-efficient robot kind of way - there's no bucking or
> rumbling when the engine stops and starts - without the display you have to
> listen closely to even tell if the you are on battery or engine on the road
> and it works without fault. The effort involved to make this all seem so
> effortless must have been considerable. I can only imagine what a hybrid
> drive by Lucas back in the day would have been like.
Something would have caught on fire, or at the very least have been
coughing up smoke.
> The advantage of the Prius is in city traffic, not highway driving and
> certainly not at top speed (where outside a track do you get to drive any
> car at top speed?). At highway speed the hybrid system is basically dead
> weight and the car runs entirely on its gasoline engine, especially after
> you have used up the very limited battery capacity. But in city traffic, it
> is terrific. As soon as you come to a stop, it kills the engine. Press the
> gas and the car takes off (first on battery power and then at some point the
> engine kicks in - if you are crawling along, then just on battery). It has
> a regenerative braking mode where when you coast to a stop (e.g. red light
> ahead) the electric motor acts as a generator, both slowing the car down
> without putting wear on the brakes and feeding power back into the battery.
> So the city traffic mileage is HIGHER than the highway - the opposite to gas
> powered cars. I'm guessing that you could achieve 1/2 the benefit at 1/10th
> the cost just by implementing some kind of autostop/start feature in a
> regular gas powered car. Basically all you'd need to do was beef up the
> starter motor a bit, a little bigger battery, tie the gas pedal in with the
> starter like a golf cart. I gather that car makers are working on this.
I wouldn't say it means nothing. Part of the efficiency in hybrid
designs is that one can utilize a more efficient engine that would be
utterly gutless accelerating without help from the electric
powerplant. I remember internal combustion cars ( Early 80's VW
Rabbit Diesel for example) like that, and it was frustrating being
stuck behind one on a freeway on-ramp. The current Prius has a 76 HP
engine powering a 2900 lb car. If it were running solely on that
engine without the weight of the battery and electric motor, I think
you could probably get 50 MPG. It would probably also take forever to
get up to freeway speeds.
Part of the reason why there can be a fast auto start in the Prius is
that that the electric drive motor serves as the starter motor for the
internal combustion engine. And the electric motor gets the car
moving first so that it wouldn't be stalled at light waiting a few
seconds for the ICE to re-engage.
m...@privacy.net
Jack Denver wrote:
>I have a friend who just traded his SUV for a Prius. Really dumb decision -
>he drove the SUV very little and it will take him forever to make his money
>back. The basic financial concept of payback seems lost on many people.
His payback would have been even better if he bought a ten year old
honda civic rather than the SUV or the Prius.
And you are posting this in a newsgroup full of people who spend hundreds
of dollars on a watch that is less accurate than a Casio digital, and who
own a dozen watches when one will do...
Sometimes, the pleasure of looking at and using a posession is more
important that any cost/benefit analysis...
dAz
> "dAz" <dazb@zipDOTcomDOTau> wrote in message
> news:48633288$0$13947$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
>
>
> Actually it was a BMW M3. Video here:
>
> http://www.autospies.com/news/BMW-M3-Vs-Toyota-Prius-Who-Really-Is-the-Fuel-Economy-Champ-31575/
yes you are right, the R8 stuck in my mind because of the first segment
with the race between the supercars where they were fuelled up with only
a gallon of petrol.
>
>
> I have a friend who just traded his SUV for a Prius. Really dumb
> decision - he drove the SUV very little and it will take him forever to
> make his money back. The basic financial concept of payback seems lost
> on many people.
>
> But, I've driven it and it's cool in a geeky way - very nice video
> display that shows the direction of the power flows -sometimes the car
> is drawing from the battery and the engine is off, sometimes vice versa,
> all managed very seamlessly by the computer. Because it's done by the
> Japanese it's all done in a very scary-efficient robot kind of way -
> there's no bucking or rumbling when the engine stops and starts -
> without the display you have to listen closely to even tell if the you
> are on battery or engine on the road and it works without fault. The
> effort involved to make this all seem so effortless must have been
> considerable. I can only imagine what a hybrid drive by Lucas back in
> the day would have been like.
burning electrical connection, if they in fact work. :)
>
> The advantage of the Prius is in city traffic, not highway driving and
> certainly not at top speed (where outside a track do you get to drive
> any car at top speed?). At highway speed the hybrid system is basically
> dead weight and the car runs entirely on its gasoline engine, especially
> after you have used up the very limited battery capacity. But in city
> traffic, it is terrific. As soon as you come to a stop, it kills the
> engine. Press the gas and the car takes off (first on battery power and
> then at some point the engine kicks in - if you are crawling along, then
> just on battery). It has a regenerative braking mode where when you
> coast to a stop (e.g. red light ahead) the electric motor acts as a
> generator, both slowing the car down without putting wear on the brakes
> and feeding power back into the battery. So the city traffic mileage is
> HIGHER than the highway - the opposite to gas powered cars. I'm guessing
> that you could achieve 1/2 the benefit at 1/10th the cost just by
> implementing some kind of autostop/start feature in a regular gas
> powered car. Basically all you'd need to do was beef up the starter
> motor a bit, a little bigger battery, tie the gas pedal in with the
> starter like a golf cart. I gather that car makers are working on this.
>
yes the Prius is made for city traffic, not for highway driving, I think
the weight and small engine would not be as good as a similar sized but
lighter car with a 2 litre engine sitting on the local 110km motorways.
I wouldn't buy a Prius simply because I don't need to drive in peak hour
traffic and work from home, my 18year old Daihatsu Mira 850cc car does
fine, only can take 20litres of fuel and I fill it generally once a month :)
Frank Adam
ROFL. Lucas, and that poor bastard who had to put up with them..
Wait a second that was me with my first car. :)
>The advantage of the Prius is in city traffic, not highway driving and
>certainly not at top speed (where outside a track do you get to drive any
>car at top speed?). At highway speed the hybrid system is basically dead
>weight and the car runs entirely on its gasoline engine, especially after
>you have used up the very limited battery capacity. But in city traffic, it
>is terrific. As soon as you come to a stop, it kills the engine. Press the
>gas and the car takes off (first on battery power and then at some point the
>engine kicks in - if you are crawling along, then just on battery). It has
>a regenerative braking mode where when you coast to a stop (e.g. red light
>ahead) the electric motor acts as a generator, both slowing the car down
>without putting wear on the brakes and feeding power back into the battery.
>So the city traffic mileage is HIGHER than the highway - the opposite to gas
>powered cars. I'm guessing that you could achieve 1/2 the benefit at 1/10th
>the cost just by implementing some kind of autostop/start feature in a
>regular gas powered car. Basically all you'd need to do was beef up the
>starter motor a bit, a little bigger battery, tie the gas pedal in with the
>starter like a golf cart. I gather that car makers are working on this.
>
Shutting engines off is one of the sillier things that ever surfaced
in the era of carbied engines. In essence, you would have to idle for
some 5 minutes to achieve an actual saving nack then. Nowdays it may
be a bit different, but i still reckon starting a car would equal a
minute or two worth of idle consumption.
We have cars now that will turn off 2 thirds of the engine. A much
better solution, as the computer does not have to enter into start
mode when refiring them, just recommence the spark and delivery to the
effected cylinders. Though i haven't really caught up with that
technology yet and left wondering whether a 6 would be able to idle on
only 2 cylinders. Doubt it, but who knows.. <shrug>
--
Regards, Frank
Moka Java
>>
> Shutting engines off is one of the sillier things that ever surfaced
> in the era of carbied engines. In essence, you would have to idle for
> some 5 minutes to achieve an actual saving nack then. Nowdays it may
> be a bit different, but i still reckon starting a car would equal a
> minute or two worth of idle consumption.
> We have cars now that will turn off 2 thirds of the engine. A much
> better solution, as the computer does not have to enter into start
> mode when refiring them, just recommence the spark and delivery to the
> effected cylinders. Though i haven't really caught up with that
> technology yet and left wondering whether a 6 would be able to idle on
> only 2 cylinders. Doubt it, but who knows.. <shrug>
>
In 1981 Cadillac tried a v4-6-8. It didn't work particularly well.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658533_1658524,00.html
Jack Denver
pre-chip age is doable easily now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Fuel_Management
The gas cost of shutting off the engine is virtually nothing in the age of
injection -
http://www.slate.com/id/2192187/
The Prius merrily shuts off the engine and turns it on all the time and
there is nothing special about the engine side .
The next big thing they are working on is doing away with the spark plug and
having a gas engine self-ignite like a diesel .
"Moka Java" <rtwa...@fishyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:6ck1i5F...@mid.individual.net...
y_p_w
> The key to all this stuff is electronics - stuff that wasn't doable in the
> pre-chip age is doable easily now.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Fuel_Management
The Cadillac system from the 80's was electronic. It just wasn't
where the electronics were at a point where they were any good at it
or reliable enough.
> The gas cost of shutting off the engine is virtually nothing in the age of
> injection -
>
> http://www.slate.com/id/2192187/
>
> The Prius merrily shuts off the engine and turns it on all the time and
> there is nothing special about the engine side .
Again - the connection to a powerful electric motor does have it's
advantages compared to a traditional starter. The electric motor can
provide the bulk of the power until the system reaches the point where
the gas motor will be more efficient. It can get moving on electic
power only compared to the several seconds it might take to start with
a traditional starter. The electric motor is also very good at
cranking the engine. I understand that the Prius doesn't even have a
traditional starter. If the electric motor dies, the car won't be
able to start at all.
Apparently the electric motor is also a generator, and there's no
traditional alternator either.
Jack Denver
"y_p_w" <y_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3e805476-0652-436f...@q24g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
On Jun 27, 4:48 am, "Jack Denver" <nunuv...@netscape.net> wrote:
> The key to all this stuff is electronics - stuff that wasn't doable in the
> pre-chip age is doable easily now.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Fuel_Management
The Cadillac system from the 80's was electronic. It just wasn't
where the electronics were at a point where they were any good at it
or reliable enough.
Agreed, but they are there now so the nightmare stories of the variable
displacement Cadillac are no long relevant.
> The gas cost of shutting off the engine is virtually nothing in the age of
> injection -
>
> http://www.slate.com/id/2192187/
>
> The Prius merrily shuts off the engine and turns it on all the time and
> there is nothing special about the engine side .
Again - the connection to a powerful electric motor does have it's
advantages compared to a traditional starter. The electric motor can
provide the bulk of the power until the system reaches the point where
the gas motor will be more efficient. It can get moving on electic
power only compared to the several seconds it might take to start with
a traditional starter. The electric motor is also very good at
cranking the engine. I understand that the Prius doesn't even have a
traditional starter. If the electric motor dies, the car won't be
able to start at all.
Apparently the electric motor is also a generator, and there's no
traditional alternator either.
Yes, the Prius motor/generator takes the place of both the starter and the
alternator. All a starter is is an electric motor connected to the gas
engine, or you can think of a hybrid as a regular car with an oversized
starter motor, so this explanis why the idea of a hybird with a separate
starter makes no sense - the electric motor IS the starter and vice versa.
But this has nothing to do with the fact that in a modern EFI engine, there
is virutally no fuel cost associated with starting (vs. a carburetor which
wasted a considerable amount of fuel starting).
y_p_w
Well - yeah. Starting a modern warmed engine with a traditional
starter uses minimal energy. It still takes a substantial amount of
energy to start a cold engine. Idling also consumes fuel.
However - my understanding about the hybrid drive is that it tends to
shut off the gas engine at typically inefficient times unless the
battery capacity drops into the edge of the "sweet spot" for ultimate
battery life.
You mentioned something about the possibility of an auto start and
stop mechanism. With a traditional engine, that's going to take a few
seconds, while the hybrid can accelerate off the electric while it
fires up the gas engine. What I was hinting at is that the electric
motor is considerably faster and more powerful at starting a gas
engine. In some areas, taking seconds to get moving from a light
leads to road rage incidents.
The Yosemite Valley shuttle system was one of the first to try out GM/
Gillig's hybrid diesel-electric buses. They have the advantage of
almost instant power (I hate using "torque" because most people don't
quite understand what it means") from a dead stop while being really
quiet until the diesel engine restarts. It's really nice in a place
where you'd hope certain sounds could be reduced. Then someone rides
by in a Harley. :-(
Oh - I decided to wear the Tissot on a regular basis now. Doesn't
seem to have a problem provided I wear it every day or every other
day. Of course I'll probably find that the button cell (still not
sure if it's a cap or battery) ruptured and I'll be back to wearing a
Casio.
Jack Denver
sources that might still have one - google the archives. I think that if
you could locate the cell it would be no more difficult that an ordinary
battery change.
y_p_w
> IIRC someone asked before about the 205.911 and I came up with a couple of
> sources that might still have one - google the archives. I think that if
> you could locate the cell it would be no more difficult that an ordinary
> battery change.
It's probably not as easy as a regular battery change. My Powermatic
has a glass display back and I can see the rotor and some of the
gears. I can see the button cell, and it's shoehorned in underneath
the rotor and several plates. Maybe 1/6 of the bottom of the cell is
visible through a crescent-shaped cutout in the mechanism. It looks
like it was designed for show, and they didn't anticipate that it
would need to be replaced very often.
I figure I could probably remove the back myself, but then I don't
have any idea how to extract the cell.
In any case, if I wear it like a mechanical automatic, it doesn't seem
to stop. My main problem was that it would stop after a week and a
few hours wearing it didn't seem to charge up the cell long enough for
that. It may not even be terribly degraded, but I can only guess.
Frank Adam
wrote:
>On Jul 2, 5:34 pm, "Jack Denver" <nunuv...@netscape.net> wrote:
>> IIRC someone asked before about the 205.911 and I came up with a couple of
>> sources that might still have one - google the archives. I think that if
>> you could locate the cell it would be no more difficult that an ordinary
>> battery change.
>
>It's probably not as easy as a regular battery change. My Powermatic
>has a glass display back and I can see the rotor and some of the
>gears. I can see the button cell, and it's shoehorned in underneath
>the rotor and several plates. Maybe 1/6 of the bottom of the cell is
>visible through a crescent-shaped cutout in the mechanism. It looks
>like it was designed for show, and they didn't anticipate that it
>would need to be replaced very often.
>I figure I could probably remove the back myself, but then I don't
>have any idea how to extract the cell.
>
>
Yep, you do have to remove the rotor plate. From memory it was just a
couple of screws, but i'm not sure if the winding gear just meshed up
with the rotor, or had to be relocated into it's jewel when you put it
back on.
>In any case, if I wear it like a mechanical automatic, it doesn't seem
>to stop. My main problem was that it would stop after a week and a
>few hours wearing it didn't seem to charge up the cell long enough for
>that. It may not even be terribly degraded, but I can only guess.
>
The biggest issue is, that once the cell starts is not storing enough
charge, it will keep breaking down further. As all that goes on, the
thing can bloat up and leak acid into the watch.. Corrosive as hell.
Then again, since the cells are getting very hard to get, when it
dies, it may be time for a nice ceremonial burial from a peer near
you. :-)
--
Regards, Frank
Jack Denver
I know that in the Seikos there is a moderate level of disassembly that is
required to get to the capacitor. Nothing that would challenge a watchmaker
but if you are not used to working with tweezers and watch screws under
magnification it could be beyond your skills.
Here is the seiko procedure:
http://www.alexanderscott.com/seiko%20repair/seiko.html
I have no idea what the procedure in the ETA autoquartz is.
Frank Adam
https://secure.eta.ch/CSP/DesktopModules/ViewDoc.aspx?DocId=9&DocType=DT
Page 4.
So make that 3 screws and at least one wheel seems to become loose,
which could cause a problem for an amateur, although with due care it
should not be a big drama, just a bit fiddly.
--
Regards, Frank
dAz
>
> Apparently the electric motor is also a generator, and there's no
> traditional alternator either.
interesting and not a new idea either, the 1912 Cadillac was the first
to use a starter motor which also is the generator.