Projected life spans

[holly35]

I spoke with a very senior computer engineer at work recently and we got talking about vintage electronic watches.We got round to led and lcd watches.What he suggested was a eye opener,in his professional estimation,all of these will fail within the next 15/25 years.Due to continual degradation of internal parts,even those kept in unused condition will not escape.They are all of limited life span,unlike mechanical watches. As spare parts and the like dry up were on a slippery slope to oblivion.
Makes you think doesn't it?

[bucko170]

Nothing is forever!
But don't worry Hanno will keep us going for a little while longer

[Kasper]

i'm not that sure about that... the only part on a digital watch that could get broke are the plastic parts.
But i still have some spectacles from between 50 and 60 in my seller..no i'm not that old , but these are made in cellulose acetat..a kind of plastic.
After all those years they still in very good shape, the only difference is that they are getting harder, so the break more easely.
But the plastics in a watch don't have to be bendable, so let's hope they will stay a little longer then 15-25 years.

[retroleds]

I'm with you Kasper, I'm hoping your grandchildren can play with your watches. Some of the modules have a ceramic board and a fairly soft plastic battery holder(e.g. the Hughes) - I would certainly hope we have another 50+ years to be had from them. Just keep stripping working movements out of ugly round-faced watches guys.....there always seems to be another pretty case to put them into. We are a much smaller buying pool then during the initial introduction period.

Congrats on the coming child Kasper - do you know if boy/girl?
Maybe purchase a nice piece for whatever gender, and put it away for them.

[Kasper]

thx Ed, nice from you.

yes i know the gender but ssssssttt nobody else knows
so december will be a very busy month for me.

need idea..maybe a lego watch

[retroleds]

Maybe vintage Hot Wheels watch? I have one or two here.... red and blue.

Get this one!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-Wheels-Chil ... _500wt_950

[rewolf]

I'm with you Kasper, I'm hoping your grandchildren can play with your watches. Some of the modules have a ceramic board and a fairly soft plastic battery holder(e.g. the Hughes) - I would certainly hope we have another 50+ years to be had from them.

I wouldn't worry abot the board itself: it will last for centuries if kept dry.
The point is the IC inside. Internal diffusion/mirgration processes let the chips degrade slowly over the years. However, this has a noticable effect only at elevated temperatures.
So store it dry and cool to last forever.

[retroleds]

The point is the IC inside. Internal diffusion/mirgration processes let the chips degrade slowly over the years. However, this has a noticable effect only at elevated temperatures.
So store it dry and cool to last forever.

A few people have told me they are concerned about humidty that is too low, drying out capacitors and resistors which are not on the IC. I personally go with a constantly fresh container of "Damp Rid" crystals in the safe area, humidifier in the room where the safe is. And many of the ICs are sealed, so that is less of an effect. The stability of the original chemicals laid down on the chip? Someone will go find a good article on this, I have faith in you guys.

[rewolf]

...concerned about humidty that is too low, drying out capacitors and resistors which are not on the IC.

IMO that's ridiculous. Ther's nothing to dry out in ceramic capacitors or chip resistors. Electrolytic capacitors do dry out, but these aren't used in watches. Normal resistors are about the most stable electronic compononts you can get - apart from copper wire maybe. There are radios from the 1920s still working fine today.

Sealed chips can die anyway. It's a) the chemicals inside and b) things that can creep throuch imperfect sealing along the pins. It can take many years for alcohol or other chemicals used for cleaning to make their way into the chip case and degrade aluminium wirebonds INSIDE. Seen photos of such a process years ago.

[Caruso]

I think it will be a long time before they all stop working. Variances in the manufacturing process mean that some will fail sooner, a majority will fail at the expected time, and a few will go on for a very long time.

In the end though, a lot of us with collections will face the failure of many of our modules. But I have hope for the future that a generic replacement module will become available that fits many LED watches.

[holly35]

With all this in mind , we must all be a bit crazy spending anything over £20 on one. They are very addictive and once you start.......
Perhaps the best way to enjoy them is to buy one for the said £20 wear it to death then buy another for the same amount.
Offering continued enjoyment with little to no risk.
Still that desirable piece will always temp you .........

[retroleds]

With all this in mind , we must all be a bit crazy spending anything over £20 on one. They are very addictive and once you start.......
Perhaps the best way to enjoy them is to buy one for the said £20 wear it to death then buy another for the same amount.
Offering continued enjoyment with little to no risk.
Still that desirable piece will always temp you .........

...... coming from the guy who compulsively sold a big chunk of his collection a while back.

Stop please, I can't take no more.

[retroleds]

With all this in mind , we must all be a bit crazy spending anything over £20 on one. They are very addictive and once you start.......
Perhaps the best way to enjoy them is to buy one for the said £20 wear it to death then buy another for the same amount.
Offering continued enjoyment with little to no risk.
Still that desirable piece will always temp you .........

Alternate theory: buy all you can, store them carefully and never worry about buying another dud. Surely you can store them as well as that unknown stranger who would sell you the [next] watch in the future?

[LEDluvr]

I say:
1) buy what you can afford
2) wear them (yes - actually use the buggers!)
3) enjoy them as long as you can/as long as they last

and for those models you are really fond of:
4) buy and safely store a duplicate

[holly35]

With all this in mind , we must all be a bit crazy spending anything over £20 on one. They are very addictive and once you start.......
Perhaps the best way to enjoy them is to buy one for the said £20 wear it to death then buy another for the same amount.
Offering continued enjoyment with little to no risk.
Still that desirable piece will always temp you .........

...... coming from the guy who compulsively sold a big chunk of his collection a while back.

Stop please, I can't take no more.

Ah yes, but i personally now sleep at night much better knowing i don't have a large amount of money invested in what is at best ,a volatile item.A £20 watch your not afraid to wear gives just as much as a £1000 watch your afraid to strap to your wrist.
Stand up the first person brave enough to offer a six months warranty on a vintage one they sell ........apart from Hanno that is.

[retroleds]

Ah yes, but i now sleep at night much better knowing i don't have a large amount of money invested in at best ,a volatile item.A £20 watch your not afraid to wear gives just as much as a £1000 watch your afraid to strap to your wrist.

oh come'on, live dangerously, it's not all about the money....honestly, you can't take it with you. Using that logic we should go for ugly partners, since there is less liikelihood of someone trying to spirit them away. There was a song about that back in the day..

If you wanna be happy
For the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman your wife,
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you.

A pretty woman makes her husband look small
And very often causes his downfall.
As soon as he marries her
Then she starts to do
The things that will break his heart.
But if you make an ugly woman your wife,
You'll be happy for the rest of your life,
An ugly woman cooks her meals on time,
She'll always give you peace of mind.

Don't let your friends say
You have no taste,
Go ahead and marry anyway,
Though her face is ugly,
Her eyes don't match,
Take it from me she's a better catch....

[holly35]

Interesting take on it, as with all things "collectible",i know its not about the money,if it was and you were thinking clearly about what your investing in (40 year old electronics) no one would buy over £100 max. its about possessing some thing desirable,it is difficult to put a price on that.
Me? i am still not fully clear of the "virus" but i am much healthier than i was..............................

[retroleds]

Interesting take on it, as with all things "collectible",i know its not about the money,if it was and you were thinking clearly about what your investing in (40 year old electronics) no one would buy over £100 max. its about possessing some thing desirable,it is difficult to put a price on that.
Me? i am still not fully clear of the "virus" but i am much healthier than i was..............................

OMG - I remember your dear old Dad (The infamous pigeon) doing this same song and dance, "the sky is falling, the watches are dying -BTW, can I buy yours?". Then a few weeks later it would switch to ," they are built to last centuries, best investment one could ever make." Sort of like how you sniffed to me, "your goods at very average" after busting a vein because I wouldn't sell to you anymore. Sour grapes Mr. Fox!

Virus - are you speaking of the avian flu?

Shoo, shoo pigeon!

[bucko170]

I say:
1) buy what you can afford
2) wear them (yes - actually use the buggers!)
3) enjoy them as long as you can/as long as they last
and for those models you are really fond of:
4) buy and safely store a duplicate

I fully agree with LEDluvr's opinion on the matter, although it's not always easy to find\afford a duplicate to store.

But nothing compensates for having an ugly wife better than a nice looking vintage watch or so i'm told

[LEDluvr]

retroleds wrote:

If you wanna be happy
For the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman your wife,
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you.

A pretty woman makes her husband look small
And very often causes his downfall.
As soon as he marries her
Then she starts to do
The things that will break his heart.
But if you make an ugly woman your wife,
You'll be happy for the rest of your life,
An ugly woman cooks her meals on time,
She'll always give you peace of mind.

Don't let your friends say
You have no taste,
Go ahead and marry anyway,
Though her face is ugly,
Her eyes don't match,
Take it from me she's a better catch....

Don't forget the last part: "Man - your wife is uuuuggllyyy" and the response "Yeah -but she can cook!"

And just to clarify - I am not commenting on anyone's wife!
It's just the end of the song. (The cooking part is analagous to a watch that runs very good! )

[LEDluvr]

bucko170 wrote:

I ... although it's not always easy to find\afford a duplicate to store.

Aye, ain't that the truth! But if they were plentiful and easy to find that woud take much of the joy out of the whole experience. IMO.

[retroleds]

bucko170 wrote:

I ... although it's not always easy to find\afford a duplicate to store.

Aye, ain't that the truth! But if they were plentiful and easy to find that woud take much of the joy out of the whole experience. IMO.

I'm confused, are you guys talking women or watches? In either case, I'll take functionality over appearance - if you get both, so much the better.

Storing a woman in a cool, dry place ...illegal in most places.