Caveman's Watch Forum

In fact, 'tis a double for me today! >>

Posted By: Ricky Lee McBroom
Date: Saturday, 28 May 2005, at 11:34 a.m.

My first power reserve:

 Power Reserve GMT

I'll have to lose the green strap, o' course.. I'm thinkin' 22mm Bond?

Here's the skinny, accordin' to the seller:

*NICE A+++*HUGE ALPHA POWER RESERVE BLACK DIAL WATCH
Movement : POWER RESERVE & GMT FUNCTION Automatic DAY movement
Case : STAINLESS STEEL SEE-THRU BACK & SCREW CASE
(STAINLESS STEEL FOR CASE & BACK)
Dial : BLACK COLOUR DIAL
Strap : 22MM GREEN COLOUR GENUINE LEATHER BAND
Size : 51mm excluding the crown, lugs to lugs 55mm (VERY BIG)
Condition : BRAND NEW

-Ricky

Messages In This Thread

 In fact, 'tis a double for me today! >> (views: 43)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Saturday, 28 May 2005, at 11:34 a.m.

  And I agree about the strap. What was he thinking? (views: 1)
Larry -- Saturday, 28 May 2005, at 12:47 p.m.

 cool (views: 3)
Fernando Campos -- Saturday, 28 May 2005, at 12:16 p.m.

 Neat! (views: 3)
Jeff Hargrave -- Saturday, 28 May 2005, at 12:14 p.m.

My other - a slight concern here.. >>

Posted By: Ricky Lee McBroom
Date: Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 4:49 p.m.

Also still ing with this one. Hmmmm. Does that make me a bigamist?

Power Reserve GMT

The timekeeping accuracy of this one seems downright extraordinary. Granted I've only tracked it over a 3-day period, but after 3 days it checks a mere +4 seconds against the atomic clock. I've got quartz watches that ain't that good!

The concern is with the efficiency of the autowind mechanism. Kinda hard to put into words.. It seems like the autowind will maintain a given power reserve level, but won't increase it. Whether it's on the winder, or being worn, the power reserve level pretty much stays constant. Now, this would be a big concern if the watch didn't hand wind. But it does, so maybe I'm nitpicking.

What do y'all think? Shouldn't you be able to let the movement run down, put the watch on, and expect the autowind to provide a full winding over some reasonable period of time?

Again, probably nitpicking. I mean, if it didn't have the power reserve indicator, I wouldn't even notice. But it seems a bit odd to me...

Other'n that peccadillo, I'm most pleased with this one. Love the looks (it's gotten a couple of favorable comments), the fit and finish are super (wouldn't be out of place on a watch of 10 times the price!), and so far, at least, the accuracy is amazing. Another for !

-Ricky

Messages In This Thread

My other - a slight concern here.. >> (views: 104)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 4:49 p.m.

Well yeah the lack of movement of the PR indicator is a little odd but on the other hand (views: 12)
Kent Betts -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 6:36 p.m.
it may be good fortune as a watch with a constant mainspring tension has a better chance of being accurate. The change in rate of a watch due to variation in mainspring tension is a major design problem. I think it is called isochronism. 

Good way to look at it! You're obviously an optimist, Kent. >> (views: 3)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 8:49 p.m.
And the watch is extraordinarily accurate. So far. {knocks on wood} The PR level has been between 15 and 25 hours for the last 3 days, during which time it gained a mere 4 seconds. Perhaps that's partly because the autowinder is maintaining the level 'in the middle' vs. winding 'er all the way up.

You know, something occurred to me just after I hit the 'Post Message' button on the reply to Paulo. Perhaps it's not the autowind that's responsible for this situation. Perhaps it's the winder clutch. If I understand how they work, it shouldn't kick in until the watch has a full wind (to prevent the autowind from over-winding). But perhaps it's 'stuck', and operates all the time, whatever the PR level.

But, if that were the case, I'd expect the autowind to be effectively non-functional. IOW, the PR level would slowly drop as the day wore on. That doesn't happen, though. It pretty much stays at the level you start the day at, all day, whatever that level might be. I am soooo confused..  -Ricky

But the indicator of spring tension is a dynamograph, PR shows the winding time, two different concepts >>> (views: 13)
Paulo -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 8:04 p.m.
Dynamograph – A complication used to measure the instantaneous torque of the mainspring barrel. This is accomplished by the use of springs and levers which determine the tension in the mainspring and then convert it to motion of a pointer on a scale.
Power reserve indicator – A complication which displays the state of wind of the main barrel. Usually accomplished by a mechanical counter for the number of revolutions that the barrel has undergone in one direction or another. A differential is used to account for both winding and unwinding of the barrel. Alternatively, a conical screw may be used which rises and falls as the barrel is wound and unwound. An arm then reads off the slope of the cone and then displays the power reserve by means of a pointer on a dial.

Cool! A subtle distinction, and.. >> (views: 5)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 9:13 p.m.
..one that I was totally unaware of. Thanks for your help, Paulo. That's just one reason why I love this forum!

Question, though: I know my Alpha's PR indicator it is not a dynamograph, and so is not giving me real-world info on the mainspring tension.

But since it's showing a static level, wouldn't it in effect amount to the same thing? Seems so to me. If so, then Kent's point is vaild, too. I just have to figure out what PR indicator level corresponds to optimum mainspring tension, hand wind 'er to that level, and away I go. 20 hours, maybe? That's right in the middle... -Ricky

 Check the link in my post above, there's a very thorough explanation!
Paulo -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 10:22 p.m.

Look at the PR at bed and wake up time, if it hasn't moved it's not working (or you haven't slept long enough) ! (views: 5)
Paulo -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 6:07 p.m.

No, you guys ain't gettin' it. My apologies for not explaining clearly.. >> (views: 8)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 8:28 p.m.
..see my reply to sushirob, below. The PR indicator works just fine!

OK.. Say I wind the watch so that the PR indicator shows 30 hours. I put it on the nightstand and hit the hay. After 10 hours of sleep (yeah, right ) I get up, check the watch, and the PR will show 20 hours. Just as it should.

But when I put the watch on for the day, the PR level will stay at 20 hours all day. No matter how active I am, no matter how long the day, it will stay very very close to the PR level it had when I started out.

What I expected to see, of course, is that the PR level would slowly rise, as the autowind does it's thing, until at some point it reaches a full wind (40 hours) and then maintain that level as the clutch takes over.

It's like the autowind does work, but only enough to maintain a given PR level, not increase it. Again, it does hand-wind, so it's not really a big deal... -Ricky

Oh I see! Might be the case that the auto winding isn't very efficient and then you'll get that >>> (views: 10)
Paulo -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 8:35 p.m.
Try to move the watch a lot (gently, of course) and check if the PR builds up, if it builds then my suspiction may be right. Cheers, Paulo

Now you got it! I'll definitely try your suggestion.. >> (views: 5)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 8:57 p.m.
..to "move the watch a lot". And, never fear, I'll be gentle. 

What I'll do is put in on the winder, after setting the winder to 'continuous' mode. (It's been maintaining a constant PR level on the winder, too. But that was with my winder set to 'intermittent' mode.)

Thanks, Paulo! Indeed, thanks to all for your feedback! -Ricky

According to your pic, it may be fully wound.>>>>>>> (views: 24)
sushirob -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 5:06 p.m.
The power reserve dial is only approximate. Leave your watch on the desk to check how long it runs till it stops to see if it meets the expected PR.

In that pic, it was... >> (views: 8)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 8:16 p.m.
..and, yes, I've left it on the nightstand overnight with a full wind. When I get up in the morning, the PR indicator does indeed show a lower vaule. It's fairly accurate, too. +/- 1 hour, say, which seems fine to me. So the PR indicator is working fine.

But when I don the watch for the day, the PR will stay where it was when I put it on, all day. So it's the autowind that doesn't seem to be working properly... -Ricky

 Maybe the clutch is kicking in too soon? (views: 2)
Malc S -- Saturday, 11 June 2005, at 11:13 p.m.
If you handwind it to the *max* PR, and then wear all day, does it maintain the same PR or run down some? If the clutch on the autowind kicks in too soon, maybe the watch cannot be autowound above a certain PR?  (but what do I know...?) 

New strap on an old favorite.. >>

Posted By: Ricky Lee McBroom
Date: Monday, 27 March 2006, at 5:48 p.m.

As St. Patrick's Day is well behind us, I decided to retire the green strap 'til next year. And since I've got the bracelet back on the Omegomage, the Navy blue NATO it had been wearing was unoccupied. A natural!

Power Reserve GMT

I used to wear this one on a 22mm black/grey Bond NATO, which I liked fine, so I expected this combo to work OK. Somewhat to my surprise, I really love it! Seems to totally change the character of the watch. Perhaps if I'd gone directly from the Bond to the Navy NATO it wouldn't seem like such a big change.. but this makes it seem like a new timepiece.

Yippeee!

Thanks for lookin', y'all.

-Ricky

Messages In This Thread

 New strap on an old favorite.. >> (views: 146)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Monday, 27 March 2006, at 5:48 p.m.

Lookin' good. Why the NATO upside-down? Curious minds want to know. (views: 9)
Bob Collins -- Monday, 27 March 2006, at 7:51 p.m.

I rig 'most all my straps 'backwards'. >> (views: 8)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Monday, 27 March 2006, at 9:53 p.m.

It just feels 'right' to me. {shrugs} I dunno. Just call me 'Wrong Way Ricky'..

The one exception to the rule, at the moment, is my Zodiac.

Why not that one? Well, if I did, the Zodiac logo on the buckle would be upside down from my POV..

-Ricky

NICE combo Ricky! (views: 7)
Chris Moy -- Monday, 27 March 2006, at 5:50 p.m.

How does compare in quality with ?

Posted By: Allan Zirlin
Date: Tuesday, 15 July 2008, at 6:59 p.m.

Messages In This Thread

OK, I had to hold off on this one. But to no avail, I've still gotta be The Dissenter. > (views: 90)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Tuesday, 15 July 2008, at 11:35 p.m.

In Response To: How does compare in quality with ? (Allan Zirlin)

Look, I ain't gonna say that an can equal (much less surpass) an on an average basis. But are they in the same league? Hell yeah! Shoot, they're in the same game, one inning and a mere 2 runs apart!

Seriously, I read Allan's post at work. Almost replied, then looked at the Daytona on me wrist, and I'm like "No. I'll go home and handle them again, and try my best to judge objectively."

And I did.

I've got one lone , 'k? So this is on me left wrist..

Nice watch. Stunning, even! Read my review and you'll see that I have a very high opinion of it.

But I've got this on me right wrist..

..and I've gotta tell ya, Boys, the /Date blows the in the weeds!

JHMO, and Your Mileage May Vary and a' that rot. Thing is, I also looked at me other s. The Explorer , the Triple-Date , and the 17-Jewel , and they're all in the running.

Yeah, yeah, I know that folks get s which run fast or slow, have fingerprints inside the crystal (and all over the , in my experience ) , etc. Up to an including the logo falling off and revealing an logo underneath! NONE of that ever happens with an . Still, I can only go on personal experience, and every one of my s has been tip top. Since I've got more Alphas than Orients, {Spock voice on} What other logical conclusion could I draw? {Spock voice off}

Bottom Line, the order of importance to ME in these two is not open to conjecture. And it's not even in the ballpark. Way under and the is yours. But I'd have trouble parting with this particular even for over the Limit! Believe It Or Not...

-Ricky

p.s. - Yeah, Allan. I know me photos look W A Y better'n me /Date photos, 'k?

And further, I nominate this for Best Techical Post Under The Old School 'Ware ... >> (views: 25)
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Wednesday, 16 July 2008, at 12:31 a.m.

..note my subtle use of s , integrated ooooh so smoothly into the flow of the text. PO them folks that never liked s t' begin wi', I betcha.. Only... LOOK! I cleverly included the plain-TXT spelling of both the subject watches.

Yeah, ol' SHANE! DELAURIAN! 's (wha'? No for a True Legend like Shane? ) might embed sound, video, and Bouncing Text into his posts, but I've yet to see ANY o' you peckerwoods could top that 'un!.. {Evil Galactic Overlord Laugh on} Ha ha! HAH! And I never pissed nobody off, either! HAAA! HA! HA! {Evil Galactic Overlord Laugh off}

Or not many..

And, yeah, yeah, we'll be a goin' to the new 'ware soon. Hope Bill Gates Didn't Write It.