closing tag is in template navbar
timefactors watches



TZ-UK Fundraiser
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 51 to 58 of 58

Thread: Smiths Navigator review

  1. #51
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Charlotte, United States
    Posts
    512
    Quote Originally Posted by grizzlymambo View Post
    As far as I know, Eddie's military watches all have antimagnetic cages. Only the watches that aren't reissues or homages to MoD spec'ed watches don't have antimagnetic cages.

    I personally have no interest in "field watches" that don't have antimagnetic cages, which is why I'm not lining up for the Everest. But a watch that is clearly taking design cues from a military watch, and labels itself as a "field watch" should absolutely have an antimagnetic cage IMO (as well as decent WR). Why? Because a field watch only has "one job". That is: tell the time reliably in the field. The 3 things that can affect a watch in the field are water, shock and magnets. Since a field watch doesn't have any other features like a chrono, timing bezel, GMT hand and date, then it absolutely must be water/shock/magnet resistant. Absolutely.

    One of the reasons why I feel that field watches should also be manual wind, is because the automatic winding system is counter to the water/shock/magnet core requirements; I don't want the watch to have a heavy rotor spinning around when I'm running, unnecessarily putting strain on the winding mechanism and creating metal dust in the watch; why on earth do I need to have the watch constantly winding itself? I just need to feed my dog once a day, I don't need to be stuffing him with food constantly throughout the day.

    That is my thinking anyway, but obviously many people disagree, which is why most field watches don't have antimagnetic shields (and most are automatic). You can buy em, I won't. How many antimagnetic hand-wound watches with sapphire crystal and below 40mm size can you think of?
    I totally agree. I like field/military watches and I definitely like the manual wind, in fact I don't even own an automatic. I have a Serica WWW which is a 37.7mm field watch with the ETA 2801-2 movement. It has 100m W/R but it does not have an antimagnetic cage which doesn't really bother me, but of course I wouldn't complain if it would have come with it. I am really looking forward to the Navigator.

  2. #52

    Smiths Navigator review

    The original Mk XI were not field watches. They were pilots watches.

    If you read the BiH article it included that fast jet pilots would likely have received the Smiths W10 (or equivalent) as their limited flight time and likely return to base didn’t merit the cost of providing, maintaining and servicing Mk XI accuracy.

    In contrast the Mk XI were issued for navigation on long distance flights, hence why they were also issued to BOAC crew.

    They had minimal water resistance because if you ditched you’d have other concerns! The anti magnetism wasn’t because they were “”field watches”” but to prevent the instrumentation in the cockpit from affecting the accuracy of what was primarily a navigation instrument.

    I do find the history of the Mk XI fascinating as I have an interest in vintage civil aviation, the VC10 and BOAC in particular.





    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Last edited by messym; 19th June 2020 at 11:33.

  3. #53
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Charlotte, United States
    Posts
    512
    Quote Originally Posted by messym View Post
    The original Mk XI were not field watches. They were pilots watches.

    If you read the BiH article it included that fast jet pilots would likely have received the Smiths W10 (or equivalent) as their limited flight time and likely return to base didn’t merit the cost of providing, maintaining and servicing Mk XI accuracy.

    In contrast the Mk XI were issued for navigation on long distance flights, hence why they were also issued to BOAC crew.

    They had minimal water resistance because if you ditched you’d have other concerns! The anti magnetism wasn’t because they were “”field watches”” but to prevent the instrumentation in the cockpit from affecting the accuracy of what was primarily a navigation instrument.

    I do find the history of the Mk XI fascinating as I have an interest in vintage civil aviation, the VC10 and BOAC in particular.

    I understand this and each was designed to serve a purpose, but when I talk about military watches I just kind of put them together as you had both military field watches and military aviation watches but I just like them all in general.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  4. #54
    Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    2,383
    Quote Originally Posted by KAS118 View Post
    Yeah, I want to learn how to do it now as well


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    It's a neat skill to have; and not all that easy to understand unless explained clearly. The best book I ever found on the topic was, "Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen", by Mary Blewett. Much clearer than any of the handouts or course notes the Royal Navy provided.

    You'll need a sextant, Air Tables (for 7 selected stars), a Nautical Almanac, a scientific calculator and a plotting sheet, if you actually want to do it for real. Pilots used bubble sextants for when the horizon wasn't visible, but even a cheap plastic sextant will do the trick, and if you aren't near the coast so you can see the horizon, then a bowl of water will provide you with an artificial horizon.

    I used to enjoy doing it, even in the days of GPS. The last time I used it for real was on the Fastnet Race in the early 90's, when GPS went tits-up and the Decca Navigator proved unreliable, and I once navigated from Manila to Hong Kong by sextant, when the electrics all failed. It's always good to have a fall back against the inevitable failure (in the marine environment) any anything that requires wiggly amps.

  5. #55
    Master
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Coulsdon
    Posts
    1,263
    Quote Originally Posted by HappyJack View Post
    It's a neat skill to have; and not all that easy to understand unless explained clearly. The best book I ever found on the topic was, "Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen", by Mary Blewett. Much clearer than any of the handouts or course notes the Royal Navy provided.

    You'll need a sextant, Air Tables (for 7 selected stars), a Nautical Almanac, a scientific calculator and a plotting sheet, if you actually want to do it for real. Pilots used bubble sextants for when the horizon wasn't visible, but even a cheap plastic sextant will do the trick, and if you aren't near the coast so you can see the horizon, then a bowl of water will provide you with an artificial horizon.

    I used to enjoy doing it, even in the days of GPS. The last time I used it for real was on the Fastnet Race in the early 90's, when GPS went tits-up and the Decca Navigator proved unreliable, and I once navigated from Manila to Hong Kong by sextant, when the electrics all failed. It's always good to have a fall back against the inevitable failure (in the marine environment) any anything that requires wiggly amps.
    Fantastic information - thanks; I see Mary Blewett's book is in its 13th Edition and I'll certainly be looking into it.

    I've also come across a book called "A Short Guide to Celestial Navigation' by Hemming Unland which is available to download for free here https://celnav.de I haven't had the chance to read it yet though.

  6. #56
    Grand Master abraxas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    London
    Posts
    33,742
    Wasn't there supposed to be a third video review of the Navigator? I thought Eddie sent the watches to 3 reviewers.
    "Owning one is almost as satisfying as making one." ~ Rolex 1973

  7. #57
    Administrator swanbourne's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Sheffield, England
    Posts
    47,490
    Quote Originally Posted by abraxas View Post
    Wasn't there supposed to be a third video review of the Navigator? I thought Eddie sent the watches to 3 reviewers.
    It's not a video, it's a Worn & Wound review that's almost finished.

    Eddie
    Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".

  8. #58
    Craftsman
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    Charlotte, United States
    Posts
    512
    Quote Originally Posted by swanbourne View Post
    It's not a video, it's a Worn & Wound review that's almost finished.

    Eddie
    Thanks Eddie for the info. Looking forward to that review but really the release of the Smith's Navigator.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Do Not Sell My Personal Information