Take pity on what is more than likely a stupid question, but I'm trying to set my Frankenmonster. Any tips on setting it as I can't stop the 2nds hand ?
Cheers
Paul
Sort of depends what the movement is. With some movements (like the ubiquitous Seiko 7S26) you can wind the hands just past the current time, wait for the second hand to get to 12 and slowly wind the hands back. The backwards winding will stop the second hand, then set the correct time and release when it's time to start.Originally Posted by The Hat
This works best when the watch is not fully wound. If fully wound, you're out of luck.
When it has stopped completely there is probably still a tiny bit of juice left in the mainspring, so wait until the second hand on your reference - another watch, this site, etc, reaches the the same position as your non-hacker and give it a quick shake. That should be enough to get it going while you wind it and set the hour and minute hands.
Well that's what I do.
With my Seiko 5 7S36B movement if you pull the crown out and apply very slight anti clockwise rotation you can actually get the second hand to stop even though it is a non hacking movement. TBH I don't really bother about setting the second hand accurately.
Thanks chaps
How to set a non-hacking watch:
1) Pull the crown out.
2) Turn the crown until the hour and minute hands are pointed at the right numbers.
3) Push it the crown.
Don't worry about the second hand, in three or four hours it won't be pointing at the right second tick mark anyway.....
Could it damage the movement to do that? I always feel like this is forcing the movement to do something it's not supposed to do, I wonder if anyone has any views on that?With some movements (like the ubiquitous Seiko 7S26) you can wind the hands just past the current time, wait for the second hand to get to 12 and slowly wind the hands back. The backwards winding will stop the second hand, then set the correct time and release when it's time to start.
Cheers
I had the exact same thought myself and although I was aware of being able to stop the second hand by backwinding I never actually bother doing so. Have to say that I don't have the knowledge to answer your question but will be interested to see if others do.
I like the cut of Lysander's jib. It isn't going to stay right is it? Also it is only worth synchronising watches if there are a few of you navigating to a specific point and have to be there at specific times.
Both my non-hacking watches run slow so I set them about a minute fast. No point in trying to set them perfectly to the atomic clock.
i'm a subscriber to the,"wait till just before the appointed second and shake like buggery" school. forcibly stopping the second hand can't be good for the movement.
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
If you want or need that kind of accuracy, buy a kinetic or a quartz! :roll: I used to stress about it but the more WISdom I get, the less stressed I become. My old 7A38 and kinetics are pretty much spot on until the GMT/summertime thing!
KTM06???
Sorry about your name. Doing it your way (shaking like buggery) will actually put MORE stress on the movement. Halting the movement by a slight backwards twiddle of the crown and stem do no harm whatsoever, as long as it isn't for hours at a time.
If it runs slow, then set it ahead by whatever number of seconds it is out by. Then, when it's behind by that same number, set it ahead again. Vice versa if it runs fast. That's what I do anyway.
shaking like buggery was a turn of phrase chap, a gentle side to side to initiate the rotor is more accurate, but less colourfull!
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Thanks for tips. I am about to pick up a Seiko. :wink:
I have read that the backpressure technique can cause chipped palette stones. I don't know how much truth there is to that though. I would quite like to know the facts if anyone knows them, as I do use the technique sometimes. Although this has never caused me any problems, I would presume that chipping a palette stone either happens very rarely or only with certain movements.
Certainly, backwinding is something that people generally advise against (regardless of validity) because of the stress it puts on the movement. Clearly though, some movements are more sensitive than others. This is in fact the recommended way of setting the date on just about all Russian movements (as far as I know), and given how long people have been doing this to their Vostoks and Poljots, if there was a serious problem, it would be widely known. It is known to cause major problems with certain movements though, so if unsure of the movement it's probably not a good idea to try it.
Having said all this, as I now have a fairly large number of watches with non-hacking movements of varying accuracy, I rarely bother to hack the seconds exactly to source. What I do instead is round up or down to the nearest minute and then just make sure that the minute hand is properly aligned with the second hand (i.e., set it to the precise minute just as the second hand passes the 12 mark). This is a tricky technique to master and it can be frustrating at times, especially on certain movements that just refuse to co-operate with time-sensitive fine adjustments, but it has the advantage of putting no stress on the movement and helps avoid excessive worrying about the seconds (which is particularly helpful if you're setting against a TV or a Phone that doesn't show the seconds)
Normally the only time I try to get the seconds in exact sync with a source is if I'm testing the accuracy over 24 hours of normal use. And even then, I have some watches where backpressure has no effect on the movement anyway. In those cases the only way to gauge accuracy to the second is to write down the difference when you set it.
The Omega manual actually instructs you to turn the hands backwards to stop the second hand so I suspect this talk of it causing damage is nonsense.
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