Trying to FIX: Faulty 1980s Digital Watch from eBay 

To set the alarn, try pressing set and mode at the same time for about 3 to 5 seconds. And to activate the alarm do the same but quickly press the alarm on button before releasing the other 2. Hope that helps ifnot try a combination of the same buttons.

Hi Vince. I was thinking that you have a large following now of probably very good and genuine people (as we can see you are and follow you for that reason) and I know that your are spending a lot of money on eBay sometimes buying from con artists so maybe you could set up a page on your website where we can send a quick message about anything faulty that we no longer want and are happy to give up and post to you or your local post office? for the videos ( no matter what the outcome ) that we think may be a good fix it video, you could then message if you want the items. Maybe on the basis that if we don't hear back in a certain time to assume it's not wanted for a video. It would be good for the videos as the number of genuine uninvestigated faults would be higher and you would also save. Just a thought. It's always a pleasure watching and learning from your videos. James

When I saw this was made in Hong Kong I knew it was vintage. Hong Kong was one of the biggest electronics and toys manufacturers in the world, if you're old enough many will remember the "Made in Hong Kong" on many products. They had their heyday in the 70s and early 80s, before China made anything. This watch is a classic piece of history from that era!

I’m all about not quitting when it comes to finding a solution and you’re the example Vince !!! Keep up the great content !!!

Interesting take here vince,back as a 10 year old kid I had a watch just like this but in chrome.for its alarm it played “oh suzannah”.shortly thereafter I took it off and lost it.or so I thought.for years afterwards I would hear “oh suzannah” playing at random.I tried finding it every time and couldn’t.eventually the battery must have died. So seeing this has made me smile and think of my old watch like yours I had all those years ago.another great video.

HI Vince, first off good attempt. What you have there is in my opinion definitely vintage because its on the very old ceramic boards. In fact it will be a really early digital as they soon stopped using that for the more conventional fibre type boards and even that thin green plastic type ones. These are also 10 a penny , 100s of brands using the same probably Hong Kong module, the ceramic boards are hard to fix so in my opinion despite your first attempt, because you know enough about boards and circuits you have done very well. I used that conductive paint to great effect fixing tracks and just used one ply of a tissue rolled into a point to be thin enough to apply (under a scope) sadly I dont have a heat gun tha the stuff takes days to try. These old digi's can fix themselves ,.... trust me! they have a habit of when warm to spring into life, ive had them on radiators in the house for a day and then the screen comes on! Id still think that your screen issues could be the zebra strips as it appears you did not remove and clean with alcohol on both sides, even the contact on the screen can be cleaned carefully (I do it with an ear bud) Alarm im lost with, should be there so could be the IC or a circuit. Does the board still have the spring that contacts the piezo? That would not solve your issue but at least it would sound. Either way, great as always. PS< hope that was not your new tweezers I saw bent at the ends!

This seems genuine 40 years old retro. I like the style as far as junky LCD watches go. You could probably find another movement module for a few $bucks and swap it. Great channel!

Looking at the traces, you can tell this board was laid out by hand. The smooth sweeping lines are indicative of being hand drawn, as opposed to being laid out on computer where you tend to get straight lines and sharp angles.

LC is likely Liquid Crystal (display) before LCD there were digital watches that used LED or other display tech that were very heavy on batter life and usually you had to press a button to turn on the display so it was a super "new" tech they wanted to highlight.

I had one of these back in the early 80's. They sold them exclusively on TV. I think they cost $19.99 at the time. The big selling point was the alarm could play 4 different tunes. I do remember it having a strange button combo to access the alarm section. You had to press mode until a certain icon lights up, then you have to press a 2 button combo to activate the alarm. Nice trip down memory lane.

This might be a Texas Instruments knockoff. I worked there in the 70-90 timeframe in the defense business and I somehow got a hold of a bunch of engineering samples of these movements from a friend in the consumer products group. The movements are marked "TELE ART" and the LCD day markers are below the digits instead of above as in the video. The case strongly resembles a case that TI used for their branded LCD watches that were of a different generation movement.

Subscribed, as an inveterate "fixer" I really enjoy your videos, keep em coming

It’s all falling into place today, Nostalgia Nerd, Atomic Shrimp and now My Mate Vince. The trinity is complete.

I worked for a company that imported those watches in about 1984, the cost price was about 60p per unit, one of my jobs was to test them, as about 1 in 20 where faulty. The weird thing is the alarm in most of them made a normal tune, but in every box of 100 one watch would play the star wars theme.

Cool! I love those lcd watches. Always looking for musical ones. I bought a bunch at a thrift store a few years back but some had severe battery leakage. I'll have to take another look at them again someday.

Just a note for Vince...We ENJOY long videos..an hour is great ...No problems on my end :P...Very entertaining bro...Thanks for all that you do ...

This guy is awesome. I wonder if he can fix 2020?

Hold the mode button in then press the alarm button thats how you turn my early 80s Seiko digital alarm on. Cheers vince.

I had that watch in blue when I was a nipper. I loved the alarm sound, as it wasn't just beeps like every other digital watch. Shame we never got to hear it in your repair, but cool all the same!

I bought a similar shivas melody watch as part a job lot. It had a screw missing for the battery and the piezo sounder had fallen off the back. Pinched a screw from another location, new battery and careful reposition of the piezo sounder and job done.

Great job with that Seiko LCD copy👍🙂

ooh, this might be off-topic, but I really like the look of the watch band on this! Cool video in general too :)

Why are these trying to fix videos so entertaining

18:16 :) this dramatic music stop :) greetings from Poland :)

Itsa bitsa! I used to take all my old digital watches apart and swap parts over to try and make a better hybrid… didn’t work, sweat of fingers would deteriorate all the fragile coatings/connections, and LC always stood for liquid Crystal, which was a major advance over the previous LED Kojak watches

It is very happy to see Hong Kong product in your video👍🏼

Would it help to do "bigclive style" and take photos of both side of the board then flip other one and print them out so you could see both sides at the same time?

Interesting vid. I think the missing digits might be an issue with dirt on the zebra connector or similar on the connector strip. If pressure on the front of the module brings them up then it almost confirms it. Re-soldering those gold connectors might be the issue if they are slightly proud of the others, giving a hump back bridge type of effect. A bit of experimentation might fix it.

you can use tweezers to check trace rivet location on the other side of board

Great Video Vince. Your dexterity is superb considering you have mentioned about your shaking hands.

Bloody hell RU-vid. Ten ads in this video?? FFS. Gave up after the first four. Unbearable.

My guess is the battery leak corrodedvthe original battery terminal and the replacement was reversed?

‘I’m not a lover of gold watches’, I’ll have it. I don’t mind a gold digital watch. Go well with my 80’s Timex. 👍👍😘😘😉😉

fantastic video and great work in repairing the watch

I really enjoy your trying to fix videos I'm not brave enough to try theses repairs thanks

I remember buying my 1st digital watch. It was a Koyo bought in Bow, London.

I had a Casio in the 80s, exactly the same design in stainless steel.

Well done for getting that old LCD watch going again.

This is a Seiko knockoff. I have an original Seiko just about identical to this. Where this says Advance, mine has Seiko. The buttons and labelling are the same. Bought mine in Hong Kong in 1978 and still works

The display is still missing that one trace and in the time that existed bad corrosion ate the negative terminal. it also looks to have some sort of waterproofing on it what i would do is try to find alternative guts to put in it. Like a super cheap casio or some lot of watches with broken straps.

well vince, didn’t think i would enjoy a watch repair video, but ya got me again, another excellent video. 🙂

Hey Vince, Love your videos. Just a thought, it would be great (unless you have done one already and I have not seen it) why don't you do a video on the equipment you use, how you film your videos, what solder equipment etc etc etc. I think it would be a great insight into amateur electronic repair behind the scenes and maybe some bloopers..!!

It looks even older that 40 years, the corrosion could be from age and humidity, not necessary any battery leaks.

I do enjoy your watch content Vince but then I am a watch guy

The inside of the little push buttons are usualy dirty, so you can't fully press them in. It's a bit finnicky taking them out but worth cleaning them. It's worth it to clean the zebra strips on both sides too. Avoid touching the + and - of the button cells as much as possible. You'll reduce the lifespan that way and your fingers leave (acidic) oils behind that can corrode the contacts of the battery and watch. It certainly looks like a cheap watch on the inside, but has a classy look on the outside. The "speaker grille" is mostly aesthetic (looks a bit like the Seiko A159-4000 which had a speaker behind it). I don't think it's a modern watch. I've recently restored my Seiko digital watch from 1979 (it was given to me in 1981). It had 40 years of dirt in the push buttons and the zebra strips needed to be cleaned. After polishing and brushing the housing i installed new old stock crystal and it's working like new again.

I love your channel and yours videos. Greetings from a new subscriber from Argentina!

Hi Vince, did you know that RU-vid changed their default settings and now we're getting crazy amounts of ads all the way through your videos? Please sort it out by turning off the mid stream ads before you lose thousands of subscribers. I dont mind watching one or two but there was 7 or 8 ad breaks in this video alone

Good man vince

attach some pins to you multimetre leads, makes it easier to put onto small areas

It's vintage. Looks like a Citizen I had. Loved those board fixes which I learn a lot from.

The solder joineds on the Cristal look younger, maybe the guy who did that ripped the negative pad of

Have you tried a "fiberglass pen" to remove the corrosion? It seems like a very targeted "abrasive" for electronics. I've seen other restorers use them but I've never tried one myself. It seems like magic for resurrecting pads.

Wait a minute!!! Your wife does the hoovering??? Mine says that's a man's job. I need to read my marriage contract again.

To turn alarm on, press both right buttons simultaneously

Hello Vince. I’m curious what make and model of camera that you use. Quite a good picture with excellent detail

You could use defogger repair kit .. much easier

No apparent anti-static precautions! Chancing to luck. Silver conductive paint! You are not the first one to investigate it, hence reversal of bridge battery contact. Via damage, track damage! No-one else but thee & me would bother......... !! Good luck!

really nice

I know this is a little bit off topic Vince, but can you please tell me what the song is that plays at 29:45? I have heard it in another video of yours before and I can't seem to find the song anywhere. It is a very beautiful song and I just want to know who sings it.

Love the bit with the triangle in the corner, hold on a minute and the music stops instantly! haha. 18:14

You might be able to replace that bulb with an SMD LED - may need a resistor in series. You would just need to work out which side is +ve and which is -ve.

Technical youtuber support and respect my mate vince and gadget madlad😁😁

Great video Vince and I also think that digital watches are pretty cool. Maybe you can buy a new one that you don't have to fix, with all the extra add money 🤑😂

no problem i love vacuum cleaner noise its relaxing

Hi, Vince I bought a Microma Digital Blade Runner Watch from eBay the total cost of the watch was around $40 US I had it taken to a jeweler to have the battery replaced The Jeweler said the minutes on the watch cannot be set and the watch is too old to be fixed The watch is from the 1970s I am currently in a nursing home but I hope to have the watch repaired someday in the future Do you have any idea who might be able to repair this watch? Also how much would it cost to fix? If you want to have a go at it? I can have it sent to you How much for your service ? I have watched your channel for a while you have fixed many things that I thought were unfixable I have great confidence in your ability I love the watch if it can be repaired could you send it back to me? Kindness Regards!.... Sincerely, Neil E Barron 😁

Love it! Haven't watched it yet but love it 😂

Very good

I had this same watch back in the 80’s.

These watches were cheaper alternatives to the likes of Casio digital watches and were sold from the 80s in catalogues, places like Argos and local markets. I'm pretty sure you can probably still buy them too.

When tracing the location of via,s from one side of the board to the other, instead of measuring with a piece wire try using the tips of your pointed tweezers.

I am probably stupid but I think that watch look awsome!

27:10, Mrs Vince getting on with stuff? Hence the edit? 😂👍🏻 Edit: 28:35 .... vindicated 🤣🤣 Stay safe and well fella and keep up the good work.

I had one just like that in about 1981-83.

Nice watch .

Reloj nostalgico. Buen trabajo amigo.

if you want to get rid of ads on youtube use brave browser, it was designed by the guy who wrote java script works brilliantly

Google the setup instructions for this make and model of watch-!!! Its an ADVANCE brand watch

Hello, do you have any idea if the inside of this watch is the same as the seiko A359-5040, got one and it’s not working and as i have understood it is a quite rare seiko watch that you won’t find much information on. And since it was from my great grandfather I would have loved to get it up and running

28 mins "Classic Vince Move" 😂

Hi Vince I recon you will be doing a trying to fix a Hoover video soon. Mick 🤣 👍🍻

A copy of a sheap CASIO and that one looks horrible :p Still got mine A168 still in working order now after 40 years.

You can get conductive paint

Can you perhaps get an LED to replace the light?

that's good! do you repair watches for others?

oh best friend my mare vince

18:15 Vince: Hold up a minute Music: *abruptly stops*

@37:23 try: keep top button pressed, then short press cycle on bottom button for modes

It looks weird, but it works.

I think it’s fun to actually look inside a digital watch to see how it works and what makes it “tick” B’dum-tiss.

You can clearly see the shadow of the old negative pad on the face of the board. The trace that Leads to the light

Quartz is the crystal that is used to keep time as it will vibrate at a constant frequency when voltage is passed through it. LC is Liquid Crystal as in the display. Today we call them LCD''s.

Back in the 80s the watch makers aded a lot of cosmetic things to make the watch look more expensive than it was. I remember when I was at school everyone had one of these and they all had cosmetic looks that did nothing only the really expensive ones actually had working cosmetic things.

Hi Vince, I have a extremely rare zeon Star Wars watch which is repairable I think with your skills?. If you would like to feature it for one of your videos that would be amazing. If you need monies for parts etc or time that is fine. I just thought it may be a good video for you to do as I can not find another?. Kind regards Chris

Frickin adverts.. too many Ublock time with a sprinkling of noscript

Hi

hi i had this lcd is linked to a ic it goe's some time i had a tascam 38 the counter was doing the same as your watch lucky i had a spare ic the counter on a tascam cost more than your watch 2nd hand

As much as I like watching you try to fix game consoles, I think I enjoy it more when it's something random like a vintage watch or discman.

I know its a ridiculous thought, but these repairs would be *so* much easier if shrink-ray machines were a thing.

I have an old criterion early 1980s watch that I cannot find anywhere else. But it doesn't work. Would you be interested in trying to bring it from the dead? I love the watch.

Great video 👍 think the ground pad is missing for the battery , You try to remove the Elastomeric connector ( zebra strips) from the glass and clean it