Early prototype digital watch

[fronzelneekburm]

Prototype digital watch by HMW with Electro-Data, Inc., 1972.

[embelton]

That?s one good looking watch!
Do you own it?

[fronzelneekburm]

No, but I?d love to...

[bruce wegmann]

This is the prototype that preceded the P1 by nearly two years [the press conference was in May of 1970, and the P1 went on sale in early April, 1972]. Only six were produced, and it was not a practical design. The circuitry used TTL [transistor-transistor logic], and required tens of milliamperes of current to operate, even when the display was not on [thus limiting battery life to an hour or so]. Time Computer had to wait until the development of CMOS [Complimentary-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor], with its' micoampere current requirements, to create a commercially viable design [if it hadn't taken RCA more than an extra additional year, we would have seen the P1 a lot sooner]. The watch pictured has a display such as was used on the original P1 modules; six digits, with the hours, minutes, and seconds [below] displayed simultaneously. Because of other circuit flaws, the first P1 modules were terribly unreliable, were recalled by Time Computer, and replaced with the four-digit module we are familiar with. No known P1 has the earlier circuit board, but a few loose [uncased, and non-working] examples exist. Another version of this prototype has the name "Hamilton" above the crystal, and uses a semi-dot-matrix six-digit display [each digit a 5x7 array, with a few spots vacant because they were not needed to form any numeral]. The location of these prototypes is currently unknown.

[ledwatch]

Hi all, a few suppositions and things not quite right coming in here which I can rectify. Fronz's picture shows a pre-hamilton prototype case with an early Pulsar P1 (25 chip) module inside it. That module was never (meant to be) in that case, someone must have put it in there sometime after the early 70's for the picture, it has the small digits of the later P1. The early models, without Hamilton logo, were designed at Garland in Texas. The display was a beautiful wire bonded display, made by non-other than Hewlett Packard. The six that went on public display had the HP module inside it, a 5volt rechargeable nicad battery pack, and the Hamilton logo, essentially these were the six famous prototypes, one of which can be seen on the Johnny Carson video.
I have a Garland Prototype, bought from Texas a few years ago. It has no Hamilton logo. The display is definately not a 5*7 dot matrix either, bizarrely it has a complete extra line of leds, just to show a number 4 properly! Checkout a micro closeup of the module.....with the hp logo.... an original Hamilton picture in the background. Unless someone else out there can toptrump me I believe that this is the only original in known existance. I'd love to hear from anyone else that has one...anyone??

[bruce wegmann]

We seem to have smoked out an item of exceptional interest. I gladly stand corrected; now, "Only one of the six prototypes is known to exist".

[Seer Taak]

Wow. I feel like an undergraduate who has accidentaly stumbled into the professors lounge of LED university. I have a heck of a lot to learn about digital watches, but i'm happy reading, if you folks are happy writing :)

[h00hbt]

Heavy stuff !!, fantastic info and super pic?s, Thanks
/H

[Diginut]

Impressive pic !

Thats like proving the Big Bang theory is true with a photo of it :)

[digibloke]

Wow! and to think I'm always nervous about taking the modules out of my bog-standard Pulsars.

Great pics (but what if you'd sneezed and dropped it :wink: )

So LEDwatch has a Garland prototype and Bruce has three P1's. Sounds like the makings of a serious game of LED poker :D

Cheers DB.

[ledwatch]

Haha!! Actually I really would hate to be competitive like that, but I do know someone else with three P1's and I have got two in my collection, as long as we all love our leds it doesnt really matter what you get off on. I know people who think that the Novus range are the most exciting, for me the early stuff is the most fantastic. The other day I won the first (and possibly the only) dynamic scattering lcd clock (on eBay) it was badly listed and went for no money whatsoever, when I got it I was as thrilled by it as anything I'd ever seen, its a work of art and so rare that I cannot find a single mention of it anywhere on the internet. That really excites me but I suppose some people wouldnt look at it a second time.......

[Diginut]

Ledwatch ? I know the feeling !

Can you upload some pics of your DSD clock ???


Last year I felt enormously proud to have bought a 1972 Lucien Piccard dynamic scattering watch, in very good condition and working fine.

But the icing on the cake was when I realised that the sellers email had the same surname as the patent holder/inventor of the very first DSD LCDs. I knew this cos I?ve been reading too many books J

I emailed the seller him asking if it was coincidence.

Back came the chilling reply (in true stars wars fashion ) ?loook, he is my father. ok?

So I managed to get a signed picture of the now aged inventor of the DSD display holding the very watch I new proudly posses. And like your DSD clock, this particular derivative is so rare I have never seen another one ever, nor anywhere in the bowels of the internet. Although the style was at least shared with BWC a the time.

Luckily it didn?t cost P1 money, even though to me this watch is only 2 or 3 months younger and DSD deserve more attention.

(and with 8 P1s between you/BW/A.N.other, I think you should spread the joy and sell me one !)

[Seer Taak]

Great watch Diginut. I personally think, in terms of striking looking watches, the early DSD LCD's are the equal of the the Pulsar LED's. They really stand out. Even though I also like the later field effects models, I'd certainly say the early ones are the best. So do you wear that watch, or is it strictly for the collection?

[LiquidLed]

Great thread everyone, nice one

(and with 8 P1s between you/BW/A.N.other, I think you should spread the joy and sell me one !)

No Don't he would only use them as target pactice! But me on the other hand would love & cherish a P1 :wink:

[ledwatch]

Ledwatch ? I know the feeling !

[quote=''Dginut'']Can you upload some pics of your DSD clock ???

Hi Digi, yes I can! Im sure a lot of people will have seen it on ebay and not realised its significance, its a really nice peice and a very interesting item, its uses a special battery pack (shown) which delivers 13volts using ten cells, I made one up and the clock runs nicely, although the display has got some crystal bleeding on it, inevitable for such a large DSM display I suppose, but for me its a great item because it comes from that 'golden era' pre-1973 , any solidstate timepeice whatsoever from that era (working or not) excites me greatly, and Ive just got to have it!!

WOW All these rare items coming out all of a sudden. Here is two question for all on this forum -

1.what is the rarest item in led world?
2. what is the most sought after item in led world?

[Diginut]

1. Probably one of the 6 prototype Electro/Data prototype LED modules using 44 IC's assembled in about March/April 1970

2. Probably one of the above, followed closely by a mint working Pulsar P1. In stainless steel :)

Perhaps Ledwatch can suggest some alternatives as I think he owns 1 and 2, and if his hunting instincts for the ultimate object of desire are still strong, then I would like to know what other Holy Grails he might still be chasing after finding 1 & 2 ... Although telling us all will give the game away !!

[fronzelneekburm]

Oh, ledwatch - you always surprise me. How many banks did you need to rob to afford that prototype Hamilton?

Now thats a really impressive collectors piece. I would love to see more pics of it.


Okay, the rarest item in LED world? Probably ledwatchs Hamilton prototype. There is some other prototypes that are not confirmed to exist, like the solar Orient, the Bulova on the left side of this pic:

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... %3AIT&rd=1

and then there is also the vertical display Omega (unfortunately they took the pics off the Omega website).

There is for sure more unique LED watches, hard to tell which one is the rarest, as there are a few LED watches where only one example is known to exist.

The most sought-after item? Also hard to tell. If you take the mainstream, then interest is especially large when it comes to Pulsar LED watches in general and also the HP-01 as it attracts LED collectors and HP calculator collectors as well.

Best answer to that question would probably : P-1 (at least regarding the prices). The prototype is a very interesting item, but too few people know it to be the most sought after item.

[ledwatch]

Hey fellas, dont hold me up as the Led King, theres lots of fantastic collections out there, I just go for the really early stuff, theres some stunning items that I dont own......yet!!

Theres one holy grail for me and thats the one Fronz mentioned, the Omega prototype - which never made it into production, I believe there are three out there, somewhere....so:

1. Omega prototype vertical, see picture
2. Pulsar P1

[fronzelneekburm]

Whats the Pulsar P-1 seeking on your list? I thought you have like 5 of them?

That vertical Omega... I wonder if any of them is in collectors hands? Even the Omega Museum only had a b&w pic, so I assume even they dont have one?

But I also find that Bulova from that ad very interesting, I wonder if there was a working prototype? It seems to have been a "normal" analog watch with a small LED watch in the "clasp" of that strange bracelet.


Ha, I just remember I have a Ring from the 70s with built-in LED watch. Do you already have one of these? But as its rather a ring and not a wristwatch I am unsure if you collect such stuff, too.

[ledwatch]

Whats the Pulsar P-1 seeking on your list? I thought you have like 5 of them?

I was answering digitizers questions.

[Mr Frequency 32768hz]

I thought the rarest LED must be the Syncronar, as it says the Synchronar is the worlds first LED on this site ?? I've never seen or heard of one, so this Hamilton is the first !!