Pulsar repair?

[767Geoff]

Hi there,

My pulsar II astronaut version in stainless just died. It has been running perfectly in it's restored case for the last 2 months. Checked each morning and today it failed to turn on. No display, or 0's, just nothing.

Now to get to the point, I am not an electronics expert on P II's other than case restoration or quartz crystal removal and replacement.

I am looking for someone who may be able to repair this module, which is it happens is stamped Omega! I try the oldpulsars.com link and it shuts my internet down

Help?

Geoff :(

[767Geoff]

as of today I get random 0's and colon generated so the display generator seems functional. Still can't access the web site for repair.

Would a Seiko quartz crystal work; i.e. if it has the same frequency 32khz as in the pulsar, as this may be the problem with the watch from what I have read.



Any thoughts?

Cheers Geoff

[CompuChron]

Contact ED (retroleds.com)directly, you'll save time and money.

[leddwatch]

Hi Geoff you just need a custom oscillator fitted, hey Canadian guys, can someone help your fellow countryman? Geoff, try putting you watch on a heat source such as a radiator for half an hour and see if it restarts. See other threads for the explanation.

[767Geoff]

Thanks for the suggestions. The heater trick guarantees that I get the random zero display but does not solve the problem

retroled.com bounces me out of the site. I type in the url and the website flashes up then all my internet displays turn off and I am back to my desktop. Doesn't do this on any other website I try, just retro led.com

Any body got the email address for retroled and I can contact him via email and not the internet.


Cheers and thanks again, Geoff

[CompuChron]

retroleds@aol.com

[767Geoff]

:D

[bruce wegmann]

A replacement crystal from an original module should be the first thing to try. If that fails to get things going, chances are that the oscillator circuit is gone. An oscillator refit is then the only option.

[Fitron]

You can also try Led-land at pulsarleds.com, he does pulsar repairs and I think he's based in Canada like yourself. I've never used him but others here have mentioned he's honest.

Ed - not trying to do you out of business but reminding people that there are alternatives - you have some hobbies with dangerous kit - guns, knives, saws, women etc and if you lose a finger or two the led world would be significantly screwed......

Perhaps you should insure your fingers

[charger105]

I'd try replacing the quartz crystal. I'm pretty sure the Seiko QC is 32kHz.....apparently they all are except for the ones used in Hughes modules.

Does anyone know if you can clip a new QC in parallel with a faulty one, as a test ? This would save de-soldering what may be an original, untouched module.

Rgds,
Andrew.

[retroleds]

Crash problem:You have Java shut off, is my quess on the crash. Try ledwatches.net - if that also crashes, Java is even more likely. Most browsers have supported Java for last 4 years...time to upgrade

I try not to use this site to solicit work...I want my Friendly competitors to thrive....not trying to Microsoft the market, yet trying to stay in the game. In the bible it says," as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another". 8) I wish all dealers or others with sites would put their URL in their signature lines.....much more effective than burying it in your profile. :(

Crystal in parallel - that will work if the crystal is open(open connection), very unlikely to work if shorted/closed, and very hard to test while still part of the circuit.

[leddwatch]

You know this site is a funny thing, theres all these people bragging that they can do monster repairs including wire bond repairs, but when someone actually wants a repairman the silence is deafening. As far as I am aware Ed is the only person taking work in the US and Canada now. There is someone else who advertises that fact that he does repairs but I have given people his email address and he never replies to them. Perhaps we can start a new forum topic on the first page for people who do repairs and actually want the work? Is that a good idea Ed?

[767Geoff]

I need the new one for a work related computer program update, but if I remember correctly it was working before the updated java went in.

I am talking to Ed via email and will be sending it to him after I try the the warmth experiment one more time. What exactly is the heat experiment doing, are we expanding the wire bonds back into a connector or are we physcially changing the shape of the quartz crystal, essentially kick starting it?

I would try the quartz crystal replacement but I am going to defer to Ed on this Omega module, which was powering this PII case. I don't feel like experimenting today!

Cheers, and thanks for all you suggestions

[retroleds]

You know this site is a funny thing, theres all these people bragging that they can do monster repairs including wire bond repairs, but when someone actually wants a repairman the silence is deafening. As far as I am aware Ed is the only person taking work in the US and Canada now. There is someone else who advertises that fact that he does repairs but I have given people his email address and he never replies to them. Perhaps we can start a new forum topic on the first page for people who do repairs and actually want the work? Is that a good idea Ed?

Like with any other item, some collectors love fixing their own and have gotten very good at it, other collectors want them to work and understand that they are not that interested in doing their own repairs. Many of our members understandably don't want to be bothered with dealing with the public - they have good jobs! I've referred work and sales to other guys here but the public really can wear on anyones' interest in making a livelihood of it. E.G. people who send you questions, you ask for some additional information and then they essentially call you a dumb-ass and a fraud for not knowing exactly what they are looking for! Or they try to play you against another dealer(Pete, I told that guy to buy your S.S. P2 yesterday...he was wearing me out!!)

I wish there were a few more people doing repair as a regular thing, as I believe it is the only way to keep and maintain a user group. Hopefully a few more hands-on folks will arise out of the new body of collectors that is emerging. It's not that the skills are incredibly rare, but to do it consistently you have to be willing to commit yourself to organizing your parts, and possibly holding some for a very long time before they are used - if ever. And there is a great financial cost involved in getting set up properly for "business"..

Few bit at my idea of putting their website address in their signature area - it would show up in every post you have ever made!!! Maybe a sellers and repairs area is called for. :? If people can't get what they want consistently, they will collect something else.

[azimuth_pl]

a strange thread I must admit as there have always been several old (sometimes sticky) topics about what and how to repair in LEDs and Pulsar especially.

repairing watches for the public is a long journey as Ed mentioned above.
it's very difficult to "waste" your private time for this purpose even if you charge a reasonable fee. it works differently when you are working on your own watches and thus your motivation is also bigger helping you to work overnight and get the job done.

there are many of us that repair LED watches but it's not that easy to advertise this service therefore a thread called "Service people" would be a good idea. Perhaps a "LED Guild" with a set of rules and price limits could be introduced? 8)

I myself can repair most mechanical watches and thanks to Phil (leddwatch) and other collectors I have possesed the skills to work on LED watches as well.
However - despite the fact that some people emailed me for details, they never returned after quoting them a reasonable fee for a repair. Fortunately they didn't call me a robber but I guess Ed must have had such experiences. People probably think it must be as easy as swapping a battery :(