Wow! Excellently presented and thanks for sharing. I bought an Accutron in 1962 bust lost it in Vietnam and recently got a replacement on eBay to give my son and it is working properly.
I have two Accutron watches, one is of the Spaceview type, and the other a single tuning fork type. This is a very good explanation of the oscillator circuit. thanks.
Thanks! That's awesome! The Spaceviews are really amazing to look at! I hope you are enjoying yours as much as I enjoy mine. All the tuning fork technologies are superb!
Oh my god, as a Soviet watch nut (I own about 30) and a longtime fan of the original Accutrons (just bought my first one yesterday, an M7 in perfect working order) - a Slava Transistor is truly my long term dream watch!
I've been a fan of the bulova spaceview i have 3 218s and I have 2 214 one was my fathers he purchased it back in 1967 its a big cushin styled case and is has a a large chapter ring around the dial love those watches I am restoring it and cleaning it I plan I wear it bulova accutron has been an iconic watch since 1960 since Max Hetzel developed this horological master piece great video
Thanks for this great discussion of a super cool movement. They should have been on the Apollo astronauts, but Omega beat them to it. From what I understand, the clocks in the crew module were Bulova though.
Great video. Great explanation. I am just curious about one point. I guess the placement of the feedback coil in relation to the fork leg. The accuracy of the placement would dictate the accuracy of the watch as it has to be placed in such a position that it prevents current flow in f1 when it is at a peak. Just wish I had a picture of it.
Sure thing. Not my video but the excellent channel none the less. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JT3VVLz4z4E.htmlsi=NVX_VrH6JKFHztNi @ min 23:30 he goes over it. Haha I kind of wish I could post pictures in the comments that would be easier but hope this helps!
Thank you for the video. I've seen some slow motion of the Pawl Jewel and the index wheel on youtube. It is mind blowing how fast and how small it is!!! I have a Accutron my dad left me, paying too much to get it fixed. Found a SpaceView recently, went to adjust time and the seconds hand went all over the dial. I removed battery.(?) However, I am also fascinated by Accutrons!
@@christicks5843 Thanks for your interest. I sent my dads accutron without a second opinion to a place that will remain nameless, they are in UTAH! The case, Dial, and Hands were all in great shape. They gave me whole list of parts I needed!! ($2000+) It was a mistake but I committed to it. Found another guy who fixes only Accutrons, Mybob.net. He seems very knowledgeable and honest. I will send my SpaceView to him. They guy I bought the SpaceView from is avoiding me. As I understand, Spaceview Alpha, has a Precisionist Movement. I have a Precisionist found one NEW at really good price. Chris How do store your Accutrons? Do you remove the battery when not being worn? Thanks again-
@@marcuslieberman3577 damn that is a pricey repair! Good luck with the gent from Mybob.net. I do tend to remove the batteries when I am not wearing them. Haha otherwise I would go broke constantly replacing batteries.
They didn't seem super expensive. Looking at some ads they were between $120 to $200 in 1960s dollars so about $1200 now. About what you'd expect for mechanical swiss watch at the time I think!
im trying to understand, so when the tuning fork has kinetic energy, that vibration signals the transistor which powers the drive and then when the fork slows down, which vibrates at a lower frequency, that creates a magnetic field which also trips the transistor only in the other direction?? wouldnt you need a NPN transistor to move current the other way? what am i missing here
Somewhere between f and f sharp😂 they were the most successful mechanism before quarts, because it lacked a balance wheel and other mechanical parts driven by magnetic fields, strictly a magnetic field to vibrate a fork and a precise frequency to advance the escapement a tooth at a time, awesome.
I began restoring Cal 214 & 218's for my amusement 20 years ago. I still have many. (Just the common models, the Astronaut and Alpha models are too damn pricey!) There is no one alive that knows what machines were developed to make the microscopic index wheel and jewels. Bulova claims to have destroyed the manufacturing equipment. Thanks for the Vid!
Yep, I've seen this patent. But the machines that were used where destroyed. And no one is known to be alive who was there at mfg. I must state that Ctizen had recreated and released a version of the 'Alpha' model recently. For big bucks.$ $ Thanks for the reply.
I found a gold Bulova Accutron watch at a yard sale, but I'm having trouble identifying it. It says Bulova accutron on the dial face and the Bulova logo at the bottom about the 6 o'clock mark. The numbers are in Roman numerals on the face dial. The back says "10kt rolled gold plate back" "Bulova N3" which I believe is the manufacturer year of 1973? It's in beautiful condition and I would like to know more about it. I believe it was a limited edition bc of the Roman numerals, but not sure.
