Lucien Piccard DSM Display Issues

[coconutman351]

I recently acquired a very nice Lucien Piccard and today the screen went dead. I changed the battery and the display came back on. Now if I try to set the hours the DSM display goes blank. If I move the crown it comes back on as if something is loose or broken. This only occurs when I try to set the hours, the minute mode works fine. I'm hesitant to open up the module but I may have to do that if a solder joint is cracked. Anyone know how to open this case? I don't see any wrench slots so I'm assuming it's a snap on case but I wanted to as before attempting it.

[midomiko]

I had a similar problem with my Jules Jurgensen Optcom 1. When I opened the case, I noticed the screw on the opposite side of the module from the "winder" was missing. By pushing the crown in, the module lifted up along the far edge and made contact with the case, which blanked the display.

If and when you open the case, check the display is sitting tightly in the plastic frame, and also try to insulate the inside of the case with a square of tape.

[coconutman351]

Thanks for the suggestion, I managed to open the case and everything seemed in order, all the screws were in place. It may actually be a logic problem. When I install the battery the display lights up at 10:15 or so and when I try to turn the crown to set the hours I tried turning and holding there and it went through a strange sequence. The hour sequenced at 4 o clock then 6 then blank then, 10 and 11 hr. then it goes blank, then cycles back to 4 o clock. One other observation, when the time is at 11:59 when it transitions to 12:00 the display goes blank, and stays blank. Let me know if any of you have experienced this problem if if there are any suggestions to get this movement operational again.

thank you!

[midomiko]

I had tremendous problems with my watch after I changed the battery the first time. I battled with all sorts of glitches and missing segments. I narrowed it down to 3 potential issues:

Firstly, the case insulation wasn't great, leading to extremely quick battery drain. This was the fault of a missing screw, which I mentioned earlier.

Secondly, the Jules Jurgensen model I have has the Epsa snapfit case with a push-in battery hatch. There was a rubber gasket around the hatch which had disintegrated over time. Even though the fit was still tight, the watch flickered and performed poorly. It is essential, any of the rubber o-rings are present and in good condition.

Lastly... And this might be the cause of YOUR issues. My DSM is a fussy bastard with batteries. I tried so many brands and none of them worked well. Super expensive Seiko, Varta, Duracell, Maxell, Kjell... All useless. The only battery which works is the Renata 357. I wasted so much time and effort on the others. I've had the same battery in for about 9 months and it is keeping incredible time. Love those Optel monsters!

Test everything! Piotr knows much more than me about them. I guess you checked the Crazywatches.pl site for useful hints. I'm confident it will be up and running with a little luck!

[coconutman351]

Wow, that's some great piece of information. So far all my DSM watches have been working great with and LR44 or 357 battery. I do know these DSM watches consume a lot a power to enable the display to work, I think upwards of 20volts. That was the challenge of the display technology as well as the contrast and view angle, however I'm still very intrigued with it being THE first LCD display outside of the LED technology. Nothing compares to that paper white digits on these DSM displays.

Regarding the battery type / brand, you may have something on this so I'll put an order for the recommended battery, hopefully that will do the trick. I know the Lucian Piccard and BWC modules originally used the larger Renata batteries like the Pulsars so these modules require a spacer to utilize the 357 form factor batteries.

Oh yes, I do visit crazywatches.pl, that is a wonderful website, I utilized that site to change my HP-01 watch module as it was extremely complex! Using his images helped me navigate through the module change out.

thanks Midomiko for the tips!! I'll let you know how it goes!

[coconutman351]

Unfortunately it was not a battery issue. However on a good note the seller is replacing the module for me. I will post my collection after the new module is installed.

[coconutman351]

Update on the Lucien Piccard.

First off the good news is I acquired this timepiece from Greg Zanoni and he's been wonderful in helping me get this rare timepiece working again. To confirm the watch issue I sent it back to him and he did confirm that it was an IC logic issue and managed to find a replacement working module and transferred the DSM display to the working module. Kudos to Greg with his excellent communications and willingness to help. I highly respect him as he sees us keeping the DSM technology alive as it was the first step in the LCD technology that today is practically in every device we hold. Even my 10 and 6 year old knows what DSM means and how it works. I hope to keep these watches alive for as long as I can and pass them on to my kids one day same goes for my Pulsar collection as well!

[Kasper]

Good to see that Greg is still as passionate as we all are about digital watches.

Enjoy your collection.

[coconutman351]

Good to see that Greg is still as passionate as we all are about digital watches.

Enjoy your collection.

Thanks Kasper, yes he seem to know the true collectors that have a very strong interest in DSM display LCD timepieces and he always tells me we have to keep the technology alive. The work that his father did revolutionized how we live today. I'm just honored to have acquired it from him. I'll post more photos of my collection when my Lucian Piccard arrives.

[coconutman351]

Update: I just received my Lucian Piccard from Greg and everything is working perfect. Now it's back in place with the other DSM timepieces. As I mentioned earlier, the problem was due to an IC logic issue that wasn't reparable so the display was transferred to a working module and now all is well! I'm uploaded a picture of all my DSM watches right below the LED collections.