Got my CompuChron today!

[TheFordGuy]

I don't have any ability yet to post my own pics, but it's identical to this one featured on the site:
http://www.ledwatches.net/photo-pages/compuchron16.htm

I really like it. It's not too big and bulky, and looks very stylish. Setting it was simpler than I anticipated...It just took me a while to remember how to do it.

This one will be my "daily driver" so to speak...I'll be hopefully getting a Pulsar P2 when funds allow. I could run up a balance on my credit card, but I'd rather have the money before I bought something. I'm not a fan of debt.

Out of curiosity, how long do batteries typically last in these?

[Fitron]

Ah yes I had one of these until recently when I went on a cull. Nice discreet watch and reliable module. Battery life? 9 months plus easy - unlike my damn wittnauers

Sound practice on the debt front - if a hobby gets you using your credit card you need help.

[digibloke]

Battery life? 9 months plus easy - unlike my damn wittnauers

Don't they use the same hughes module? (the one where the Quartz crystal is attached by two copper hairs). Must be because you're pressing the buttons too much Fitron .

[TheFordGuy]

I guess I'm really starting to get into the whole vintage electronics thing...Today I retired my cheapie solar LCD desk calculator that I think I paid $3.00 for at Wal-Mart for a 1976 vintage Texas Instruments TI-1250 red LED calculator that I used to use when I was a kid. Put a new battery in it and it works fine yet.

The old saying "they sure don't make 'em like they used to" really seems to ring true with electronics...The stuff from the '70s was much better quality, even if it was clunky and crude by today's standards. Things seemed to be built to last, not fail requiring a replacement not a repair.

[Fitron]

[quote]Must be because you're pressing the buttons too much Fitron ./quote]

25 times a day they reckoned! Hah they didn't count on me, 50 times a day easy. I lovethose little red (and blue Jeff - didn't forget you) guys. Yep same module so plenty spares agoing.

Good point on reliability Ford, back then build to last was a selling point - then they realised there's more money in built in lifespans.

[TheFordGuy]

Here's a question for those "in the know" on these watches...

If I press the time command button once, it obviously displays the time, but if I press it again, it shows the day of week and date, press a third time, and it flashes "running" seconds till the button is pressed one more time.

I didn't see anything in the instruction sheet I downloaded off this site that referred to this function, only that the right button displayed the time, and if held down, displayed the seconds till it was released. It does do this. The only indication in the instructions about the date feature was to press the left button to display the day of week and date, and hold it to display the month-date. It also says to display "running" seconds, both buttons have to be pressed simultaneously. It does this too.

Is this a different module than what I read the instructions on, or is this a normal feature that's just not discussed in the instructions?

It's not a bad thing, just one of those little oddities I discovered.

[retroleds]

Hughes made some variations on that module 25mm module - USA date format, European date format, Alpha dates in various languages(hold second push and it goes to day-of week) and your running seconds module. They also made several that on the third push made a statement. I have ones that say,"USA, 200, YEARS,1976" and "HAVE, A HAPPY DAY". There must be others...that would be fun to put pictures up of.

[TheFordGuy]

I'm assuming the time format is just 12 hour, right? I didn't know if there's some way of converting it to a 24 hour format or not. It's not a big deal if it doesn't have that capability...I just was curious if there was some way of changing it that I didn't know.

Now that I think about it...The Pulsar P2 that just displayed the time only, with no date must have been a basic 12-hour clock, right? No AM or PM indicator?

[Fitron]

yep!

[bruce wegmann]

Even the P1 was limited to displaying simple 12-hour time. The first month-and-date Pulsars did not appear for more than a year after the P1 was introduced, Day-Of-Week displays followed a year after that...

[TheFordGuy]

Even the P1 was limited to displaying simple 12-hour time. The first month-and-date Pulsars did not appear for more than a year after the P1 was introduced, Day-Of-Week displays followed a year after that...

Kinda figured that...If the P2 didn't have the capability, most likely the P1 wouldn't have either.
I still think the most fascinating aspect of the old Pulsars was the magnet setting method. What was the reasoning behind this anyways? One would think a seperate recessed set button would have been simpler and more cost effective to produce, along with probably being more reliable than magnetic reed switches.
It is really cool though!

[Majestyk]

The best Hughes module was the programmable one. Not to be confused with the preprogrammed ones. You could program a four (or five) word message. Of course I'm talking about the 29mm modules.

Jeff

[retroleds]

I still think the most fascinating aspect of the old Pulsars was the magnet setting method. What was the reasoning behind this anyways? One would think a seperate recessed set button would have been simpler and more cost effective to produce, along with probably being more reliable than magnetic reed switches.
It is really cool though!

Actually, the reed switches are very reliable and crucial to the integrity of a Pulsar's case seal. The buttons on a Pulsar are dropped in from the inside, and then sealed shut with a soldered on cap - no water leakage there! The reeds have a fairly low failure rate compared to button contacts that are getting pushed by a button that pierces the case. I'm thinking that more reed swtches get broken thru clumsy module handling than thru regular usage. The magnets themselves DO loose strength, and most magnets you find laying around the house have too wide a magnetic field to not set off more than one reed at a time.

[TheFordGuy]

A magnetic pick up tool like found at auto parts stores might work perfectly.

[TheFordGuy]

I had another question regarding my Compu Chron:

Is this one a dot-matrix or segment display? It looks as if the "segments" are made up of tiny microscopic "dots". Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or is this just how tiny a dot-matrix LED watch's dots were? On a P1 or P2, you can easily see that it's a dot-matrix display. On this one, if it is a dot-matrix, the dots are very tiny, and there's probably at least 8-10 of them per segment. I've seen the exact same digits on my old TI calculator. Is this a true dot-matrix, or just the way the segments looked? I'm a bit confuzzled.