Re: ..popping open the back of that watch . . . with knife and calipers in hand. (Views: 30)
Ricky Lee -- January 10, 2010 05:22PM
And I was working without a net, ye'll note! 
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John Lind
Great job Ricky!
Thanks Professor! 
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John Lind
(maybe someone will have to look up "chutzpah" too).
-Ricky
Re: ..And I was working without a net, ye'll note! 
(Views: 17)
John Lind -- January 11, 2010 05:12AM
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Ricky Lee
And I was working without a net, ye'll note!
-Ricky
Maybe YOU were
working without a net, but . . . WalMart store security DOES work with
a net, and . . . they were undoubtedly getting ready to use it on you
Re: Could also be markings to line up the hatch if it's "keyed" in some manner. (Views: 23)
Ricky Lee -- January 10, 2010 02:58PM
No, it's not keyed, and will snap in at
any angular position. 'Battery change tracker' makes perfect sense to
me, so I'm thinkin' that has to be it. 
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John Lind
From the pix, it appears the hatch may not be completely seated?
No,
it's fully seated, it just has a rather thick flange.. I make it .95mm.
In fact, I initially wondered if the thickness of that battery hatch
might not cause a comfort / wearability issue, as the edges are square
and quite sharp. But as it turns out, it's not a problem. 
BTW, by happy coincidence the battery hatch lines up almost perfectly with the battery of the li'l PC21 module. So one could
conceivably change the battery by popping off the small battery hatch
cover. However, since the main caseback is a snapin, I'll probably just
remove the whole shebang for battery changes. Just as easy, and you get
a lot more working room that way.
-Ricky
That was my thought too Chris (Views: 266)
Chris L -- January 10, 2010 03:17AM
I know a typical 214 Accutron movement goes a year plus on a battery
change, so that battery cover would be a good reminder on how close you
are to a battery change.
I'm sold! Battery Life Tracker 'tis. But answer me this (and I'm a bit surprised no one commented on this).. (Views: 36)
Ricky Lee -- January 10, 2010 02:41PM
..see how the minute hash marks are in
1-minute increments from 0 to 30? Then, from 30 to 60 they change over
to 1/3rd-minute (!) increments.
WTH is up with that, you reckon? 
I mean, it's a subtle enough design cue not to bother me. Indeed, I think it looks kinda cool. But I can't see any logical reason behind it... 
-Ricky
Perhaps the $6 version is all 1-minute marks, and the $10 version is all 1/3 minute marks. 
(Views: 22)
Chris L -- January 10, 2010 02:51PM
I'm going to guess there were less people wearing ties involved in the
design inspection and approval process for this maker of watches than
there is for most brands. Possibly went straight from somebody's
computer after he spent a whopping 45 minutes whipping it up into the
dial printing shop for a production run that afternoon.
Hey, that might well be! Oddly enough.. (Views: 21)
Ricky Lee -- January 10, 2010 03:08PM
..the thing does sport at least one
design feature that's generally considered to be the hallmark of a
'high end' watch in that not only does the bracelet have solid links,
but solid endlinks. 
Didn't
notice the SELs at first, until I went to remove them and discovered
they're held in place not by springbars, but with split pins. Kind of a
bummer, actually, since it means I'll not be likely to find any further
use for the bracelet.
-Ricky
Nice try.. but Murphy beat ye by 18 minutes. (Views: 22)
Ricky Lee -- January 09, 2010 10:21PM
FWIW, I'm thinking you're exactly right, though!
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itschris
Nice job RL!
Chris!
-Ricky
Re: ..magic sponge or scratch brush to touch up those brushed finishes. 
(Views: 35)
Ricky Lee -- January 09, 2010 10:12PM
I really should. I'll add it to me Uncle Otto list right now!
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Dave Murphy
Or maybe a scotchbrite pad.
I'm
well-stocked with Scotchbrites, and have used them to touch up matte
finishes. Never thought of trying the same with a brushed finish. Does
it match pretty well?
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Dave Murphy
But don't you just love when you find an all-steel case, so you need not worry about the plating?
Oh, aye! 
Any full-SS case that crosses my path is almost certain to receive further attention.
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Dave Murphy
So, do you suppose that the battery cover is marked so that it provides
a record of when last the battery was changed? If it is as old as you
think, I bet battery life was not much more than 1 year.
Doh! 
Sure,
makes sense. Just pop the cover back in so the month of replacement is
aligned with the arrow. You could probably even narrow it down to the
week, if you were really anal-retentive.
Thanks Dave! 
-Ricky
P.s. - look what my modest Googling skills turned up:
Never mind the Avia brand name, this watch appears to use the identical same case. However, the size
is listed as "40mm lug-to-lug x 40mm width incl. crown", and that's definitely
not a match.
DoM is given as slightly later than I estimated, 1975.
A new Tom Swift Quartz Conversion at Ricky Lee's Home For Wayward Wristwatches 
but, before they could call Security, I concluded that it was a Go, and bought the watch. 
While I've fabricated such spacers in the past, it's quite a chore, and
requires removal of the crystal to do it right. Didn't feel like going
there, so I decided to try an advanced (and, up until now, theoretical 
The hands and chapter markers are mirror-finished silver (chrome?) and hard as hell to capture accurately.
manufacture. Why the snapin battery cover has 1-12 'dial markings' is a mystery to me. 
