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Elgin - solar powered watch?

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RaWatch

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Elgin - solar powered watch?

Post30 Mar 2009, 01:06

I came across a press release photo from 1955 showing a non-working prototype of an analog solar powered watch by Elgin. I knew that this large and famous Illinois watch company had done some of the earliest work in trying to develop a battery powered watch so I was not surprised to learn that they were thinking of solar electric power. This is the earliest reference I have found to someone trying to develop a solar powered wristwatch. The only thing I did not know was how far they had gotten in making a working model. Had they developed a solar watch more than a decade before the Synchronar?

I published a letter in the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Bulletin (Volume 51/1 No. 378, February 2009) with a photo of the watch and asking Elgin experts to tell me what they knew about this project. All the Elgin experts I have heard from suggest that the non-working prototype was as far as Elgin got. It is a good looking watch but the technology was just not developed until Roger Riehl worked on it. There is no evidence yet that anyone actully built a solar watch before he did. I will keep the DWF posted if I discover more about the Elgin watch.
(Sorry, I tried to post a copy of the letter, but I could not figure out the the Image Shack software)
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: Elgin - solar powered watch?

Post30 Mar 2009, 01:48

:-D
Last edited by J Thomas on 30 Mar 2011, 04:41, edited 1 time in total.
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retroleds

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Re: : Elgin - solar powered watch?

Post30 Mar 2009, 03:08

J Thomas wrote:With regard to imageshaft:
Ed, why the heck don't you provide enough server space to accommodate image attachments.
IMHO: It gives this forum a serious pedestrian appearance when images have to be hosted offsite by a crap commercial hosting service.
Regards, Jeff
Jeff, it has nothing to do with server space, has to do with the number of MODs that were made to this forum before I acquired it, and since. Very few people have complained about Image Shack - the are good directions for using it out n the main index under forum information.....some of our most computer-challenged members have learned to use it consistently.

[EDIT] Basically I am providing 50 GB of storage for the Gallery.[End of Edit]

But I'll tell you what, since I have just opened the last repair I plan on doing before September, I will back up the entire forum and give the attachment MOD a shot. I'm not sure how using Image Shack gives the forum a "pedestrian" appearance - 10s of thousands of forums use off site image hosting solutions.
Last edited by retroleds on 30 Mar 2009, 14:49, edited 1 time in total.
http://www.retroleds.com - Sales of vintage LED, LCD, analog watches, parts and gadgets - repair tutorials & tips
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charger105

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: Elgin - solar powered watch?

Post30 Mar 2009, 09:04

I've loaded images into the Gallery, and pasted the URL into my posts. This works fine, but I'm not sure if this is what's supposed to happen. I'm also not sure how to get the actual image (or a thumbnail) into the post.

I've noticed some of Eds posts use images in the Gallery, and the actual image appears in the post too.

Ed, would it be manageable for everyone to load images into the Gallery ?

Rgds,
Andrew.
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retroleds

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Re: : Elgin - solar powered watch?

Post30 Mar 2009, 14:47

charger105 wrote:I've loaded images into the Gallery, and pasted the URL into my posts. This works fine, but I'm not sure if this is what's supposed to happen. I'm also not sure how to get the actual image (or a thumbnail) into the post.

I've noticed some of Eds posts use images in the Gallery, and the actual image appears in the post too.

Ed, would it be manageable for everyone to load images into the Gallery ?

Rgds,
Andrew.
I DO occasionally FTP images to a folder on the site, which gives me a slightly better "presentation" here; unfortunately, I am not able to provide that user experience right now. I'm working on it thought. One of of the few feature requests that have been made.

Everybody can and should upload pictures to the Gallery and can make a link to them here. There are very complete directions with screen shots to assist, as the top section of the Home page or Main Index of this forum. Maybe what would be good is if I would make those a pop-up window available IN the Gallery. I didn't think much of their directions. That Gallery software is getting updated very soon(thought it would already be release), and there is TONS of server space. I really prefer getting people used to using the Gallery over using a file attachment system. With file attachment the pictures are buried in the threads, with the Gallery you have a centralized source for the pictures, much easier to view and re-use after the thread that initiated the photo. :-)
http://www.retroleds.com - Sales of vintage LED, LCD, analog watches, parts and gadgets - repair tutorials & tips
Nov. 2022 - back in business!! BItter divorce is in home stretch, come grabs some great deals, I had to open the safe . . . damn attorneys. piss.
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rewolf

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Re: : Elgin - solar powered watch?

Post30 Mar 2009, 19:27

J Thomas wrote:...IMHO: It gives this forum a serious pedestrian appearance when images have to be hosted offsite by a crap commercial hosting service.
What's wrong with pedestrians? They're enviromentally friendly etc.... ;-)

Seriously, I don't like Imageshack etc. because one always has to "cheat" to get nice thumbnails WITHOUT ads popping up etc. (edit the provided links). But the worst thing is that you never know for how long they will actually host the images. It's annoying to see them disappear in older postings and being forced to re-post them.
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J Thomas

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Re: : Elgin - solar powered watch?

Post30 Mar 2009, 20:55

:-D

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