Reply With QuoteCool bit of kit, sounds like a fun way to pass a few hours!
I'd probably wouldn't have been able to resist putting them into a performance ranking list
Decided to buy a Weishi 1000 Timegrapher (£120 from a Chinese supplier in Dunstable via eBay, delivered in 3 days) and, for fun, to put some of my watches on it, each one in the classic 6 positions - CH (dial up), CB (dial down), 9H, 6H, 3H & 12H.
Although done for fun - please notice the repetition - I tried to do some basic 'housekeeping'. So, each watch was fully hand wound and then allowed to run dial up overnight before measurement. It was then 'rested' for 30 seconds in each position before measurement for 20 seconds.
This basic Weishi gives (1) Rate in +/- seconds/day, (2) Amplitude in degrees, (3) Beat Error in milliseconds and (4) various traces across the screen. I understand (1), think I understand (2) & (3), but can't interpret (4).
In no particular order, the watches tested are Habring2 Felix Red 12, Breguet Type XX 3800 T Swiss T, Glashuette Original Senator Karree Panoramadatum (a catchy name), Zenith Moonphase Chronomaster, Rolex Yachtmaster I, Omega Jumping Hour, IWC calibre 83, Omega Chronostop, Smiths De Luxe and Avalon, Seiko Bellmatic, 1960s LeCoultre and Longines, various vintage Elgin and Gruen, a mid-60s gold-dialled Omega Pie Pan, Christiaan van der Klaauw 'Ceres', Zenith (Excelsior Park movement) 'pre-star' chronograph ... and so on.
In no particular order, the interesting outcomes for me are:
1 The 'big names' do well.
2 Old 'big names' do well, too. A LeCoultre and Longines, both 50-years-old+, are wonderful.
3 New watches, like the Habring2, do extremely well.
So far, no surprises, of course. However, ...
4 Recentness of servicing seems irrelevant to some watches, insofar as one or two that I know haven't been done for 7 or 8 years, one of which sometimes gets worn for a month or more, still perform very well.
5 That said, the serviced Smiths clearly runs better than the un-serviced one.
6 The high-beat/36000 Zenith Chronomaster shows such good figures that I've tested it time and time again and then again to be sure.
7 A 'big name' watch serviced last year by a 'big name' watchmaker is all over the place. Nightmare results. It was running fast when it came back from him and I should have pursued the matter then, but was very busy at work ... and didn't have a Timegrapher. Now, he wants £300 up front to look at it.
8 The watch I wear most, the Rolex Yachtmaster 1 that I bought new in February 2014, shows remarkable consistency in all positions. However, its amplitude may be declining, so I'll keep an eye on it ... which I can do now.
9 The 'for love & never worn' watches - my 21st WoS, a tiny IWC I gave my wife a long time ago, et cetera - score poorly, of course, but they're kept in a warm, dry place, where their dials show no signs of patination.
10 The Breguet figures are close to the ones Breguet sent me when they tested the watch in 2018.
11 I don't expect 'modern' performance from my 'vintage' watches, of course, but don't really know enough to understand what constitutes acceptable performance in a 70-year-old+ watch, so I just look for consistency across the positions.
12 The Omega Jumping Hour with its ubiquitous ETA 2892 is very good.
13 The Seiko Bellmatic can't be hand-wound and I haven't worn it long enough yet to test it. Worse still, when I put it on yesterday, one of the spring bars broke - when was the last time that happened? - and I don't think I've got a spare.
14 The Pie Pan, the Glashuette and others frustrate me, because they're in too good condition to wear often and knowing now that their performance is also good just confirms it.
15 All in all, the Timegrapher's paid for itself already with the fun it's provided and I look forward to learning to use it better in future.
The next most important step is on the 2nd of December. Onto a shooting ground with my trusty Beretta SO5.
Last edited by Tinker; 29th November 2020 at 14:19.
Cool bit of kit, sounds like a fun way to pass a few hours!
I'd probably wouldn't have been able to resist putting them into a performance ranking list
I have one of those too. Great piece of kit. It can drive you a bit nuts though. Do you have a chart with the results?
Great read, really enjoyed it, I have said timegrapher as well, must play with it more,
Scottie
Ps
Looking at your location, I am going to a shooting ground the following Saturday, suspect its the same one beginning with K :-)
Before I ran the tests, having never done it before, I decided to use it only for general information and to look for major problems.Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK)
I did keep the results of the problematic chronograph, though:
Here are its rate, amplitude & beat error in the classic positions -CH (crown up), CB (crown down), 9 up, 6 up, 3 up and 12 up:
CH +57 202 1.7
CB -02 273 1.0
9H +51 199 1.6
6H +95 195 1.5
3H +97 201 1.6
12H +15 207 1.8
Last edited by Tinker; 28th November 2020 at 12:33.
Yes, you'll enjoy the Timegrapher.
And K......h, too, especially now there's some tarmac down.
I did see that, no more bouncing over the potholes :-)
Scottie
I’m too obsessive to risk a device like that. I’d be measuring every day, maybe several times a day. So, best avoided. In fact I no longer time watches. Just reset every few weeks. More relaxing.
I'm the same. I've stopped wearing a Fitbit 24/7 - a human timegrapher - for the same reason ...
If it was serviced last year by the watchmaker it should still be under warranty?
No reason he should be asking for money upfront to have a look at it
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Can you adjust the lift angle on the 1000 ?
Last edited by joe narvey; 29th November 2020 at 00:30.
Its default is 52, but yes, it can be set between 30 and 70.
I have had a Timegrapher for years and it can be both a god send and a nightmare :)
I have just had a couple of Seiko 6139 chronographs serviced and one of them showed superb figures on the Timegrapher before I sent it off to be serviced, when fully stripped for servicing the movement showed lots of problems that needed sorting.
Timegrapher readings are interesting but they are not always the full story.
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