The perfect workbench

[CompuChron2]

Hi all,
I've been collecting led watches for some years now, I' m very good at changing batteries and that's about all what I'm able to do.(changing a reed switch on my P2 is my chef d'oeuvre)
I've read every single message of this forum , the theory is understood but I want to get to my exercises now.
Here is my question , what will I need to be able to solder quartz crystal , test watches...
brand and type of iron , what kind of wire?
Any otherusefull tool?
Every tip is welcome , and maybe could be helpfull for others.
Here is the first one to test your quartz , take a working cheap lcd watch , take out the crystal , now when you want to test your new LED watch bought on ebay , bypass the QC to the LCD watch and check if it works ok.
Thanks to T-bird for the tip that I haven't experience myself yet.

[richard_uk]

To make that a little easier solder 2 wires to where you removed the QC from and put croc clips on the ends, then just clip them onto the QC you want to test.

[T-bird]

Ah, yes.

Definitely easier - thanks Richard.
I've soldered the wires but not the clips. I'll do it... :roll:

[azimuth_pl]

or (Al and Richie 8) ) instead of "killing" a cheap watch, get a brand new quartz for 10cents and without cutting, removing or soldering anything, simply apply the new quartz to the nonworking module. I find it the quickest way

[bruce wegmann]

For soldering, get yourself a HAKKO 937 or 926 soldering station. Digital readout of tip temperature; programmable, so you can specify, to the degree, the tip temp. Also compensates for heat loss during soldering, so you get good solder flow. They show up on eBay rather frequently, and at reasonable prices [that's where I got mine]. Testing modules for functionality has been addressed elsewhere on this forum, but if you're talking about TIMING quartz watches, you need a timing monitor. Ule has a nice Zantech one on eBay right now, but the reserve seems a bit high. Just keep watching; one will show up within your price range [I have a Pulsar Analyzer as well, which works perfectly, but it is more of a Pulsar collectible than an analytical tool]. For internal repairs, a good binocular microscope is a must. Bausch & Lomb makes a great model called the StereoZoom. Mine has .7-3x variable zoom, 15x widefield eyepieces, and I finally just found the add-on 2x magnifier. This gives you a total range of magnification of 10-90x, suitable for anything you may need to do, all the way down to wire-bond repairs. Depending how lucky your bidding is, you might put this all together for US$300-500. Fix a few modules and you're even; after that, it's all gravy... My investment paid for itself a long time ago.