We're Moving!

Image
Click for more info.

The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Create and participate in challenges related to the watch hobby.
User avatar
TheJohnP
Global Moderator
Posts: 11014
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:29 pm
Location: Atlanta
Has thanked: 46865 times
Been thanked: 35260 times

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by TheJohnP »

pdsf wrote: Wed Mar 11, 2020 1:34 pm Hey, @TheJohnP that is indeed an interesting watch! Glad to hear it sync'ed!!!! Did you put it on a window sill?

10 down, 3 more to go!!!!!
I've had it near a window for awhile.
But I flipped the expansion bracelet inside out, so the caseback was resting on the surface instead of the crystal.
Guess that was all that was needed.
Click Icon To Contact Me



Far and wide I will find 'em and I ride 'em
Bricks and mortar get my licks just for kicks
AD or authorized I don't analyze
Retail, wholesale never fail
Online or offline, I find I don't redefine
Too big to fail or yard sale they all hale
Run or hide just for fun deals I find
PetWatch
MoT Member
Posts: 1297
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2018 5:29 pm
Has thanked: 3778 times
Been thanked: 3676 times

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by PetWatch »

TheJohnP wrote:Finally ready to share my entry!
However, I still need to take a pic of the movement. So note that I'll be updating this post.


Webster's Dictionary defines "quirky" as...
Just kidding, I'm not going there.

But I spent a good bit of time contemplating what would make a watch "special, weird, quirky or interesting."
I decided that looks, being subjective, was not where I wanted to focus my search. Rather what it does and how it does it would be where I felt there to be room to play.

After a good bit of time spent on Amazon, Etsy, AliExpress, and of course Ebay, I found what I was looking for...
The On-Time Talking Atomic Watch.

Image

Watch Make/Model//Reference: On-Time Talking Atomic Watch
Cost: $23.79 + $3.99 shipping
Purchase Listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/On-Time-Men-At ... 3482916511

What makes this watch special or unique:
- The Talking Atomic watch, well talks.
- It speaks both the time (hour & minute) and date (month, date, and year).
- You can also set a daily alarm or have it chime on the hour.
- Being Atomic, the watch receives radio signals from NIST in Ft. Collins, CO, so that will mean this could very well be my most accurate watch.
- There is no crown. All functions are accessed and set by four pushers at the 2, 4, 8, and 10 position. So there's also that unique aspect.

Image
Image
Image
Image


Specifications:
- The watch is an average 40mm in diameter.
- But is a bit of a chonk at 17mm thick.
- Lug width is 20mm and comes on a metal expansion bracelet.
- Lug to lug is 46mm

Image
Image


Movement:
The movement is listed as RATK2035-M1, with a symbol for B.A.T.

Only information I was able to uncover was from this Hungarian site - Makszy's View on Horology:
Main listing - http://www.mechanikus.hu/w_LATW.htm
Caliber page - http://www.mechanikus.hu/c_RATK2035M1.htm

Image


All in all:

Much like the watch that [mention]Sporkboy[/mention] found, this is mostly geared to those who are visually impaired.
Although if you do have a visual impairment, this will be a difficult watch to set yourself if you can't receive the radio signal from the atomic clock.
And honestly, I have yet to get it to receive one since it arrived. Finally got it to receive a signal last night!

This is also not a watch to discreetly check time during a work meeting as it is fairly loud, even on a wrist.
However, if you find you need to keep your eyes affixed to something, say driving, and need to know the time, this will fit the bill.

It does look like a regular, cheap quartz watch. And that's kind of the point.
Looked for watch that wouldn't necessarily stand out if wearing it, but would provide the unusual when necessary.

Image


And without further ado, here's the On-Time Atomic Watch in action:

I will add a few additonal comments about this watch. I bought one a couple years ago, with a strap, for my wife who is visually impaired. It's a great no frills functional watch for the visually impaired. It syncs as good as my G-Shocks, and its hardy. Replaced battery once when it became hard to press buttons to activate the voice. I thought that might be end of it but a new batt was all it needed.

One interesting feature is that you have to set the hands separately from the voice. In other words, the hands currently display the time incorrectly, I only set the voice but thankfully the GPS sync updates the voice, so voice time is accurate.

There are other models available, I bought one that has a digital display, sounds like a chipmunk and plays all sorts of children's tunes. Needless to say she refuses to wear that one, but I play the tunes once in a while. [emoji3]

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

User avatar
Boourns
MoT Member
Posts: 2806
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 2:36 pm
Location: Dallas
Has thanked: 4517 times
Been thanked: 10272 times

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by Boourns »

Cool watch [mention]TheJohnP[/mention]. I feel like the lack of a crown is also an underrated quirk.
I wish that watch were 38mm?
User avatar
Sporkboy
MoT Member
Posts: 1950
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 3:25 pm
Has thanked: 2570 times
Been thanked: 5989 times

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by Sporkboy »

Boourns wrote:Cool watch [mention]TheJohnP[/mention]. I feel like the lack of a crown is also an underrated quirk.
Agreed. No crown on an analog watch is a definite quirk.

I suppose that only syncing the voice is fine for the visually impaired, syncing both would be a bonus, but it would make for a more costly movement.

It does solve a problem that most of us don’t think about, which I really like. I was thinking that you could also communicate the time through a series of vibrations where there might be three groups of pulses separated by pauses with a group for hours, tens and single minutes. There is probably a better way to communicate it, but I think that would work.

It solves the same problem my challenge watch solved in a completely different way with completely different technologies and materials. This makes the engineer within me smile.
User avatar
TheJohnP
Global Moderator
Posts: 11014
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:29 pm
Location: Atlanta
Has thanked: 46865 times
Been thanked: 35260 times

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by TheJohnP »

TheJohnP wrote: Tue Mar 10, 2020 9:18 pm Finally ready to share my entry!
However, I still need to take a pic of the movement. So note that I'll be updating this post.


Webster's Dictionary defines "quirky" as...
Just kidding, I'm not going there.

But I spent a good bit of time contemplating what would make a watch "special, weird, quirky or interesting."
I decided that looks, being subjective, was not where I wanted to focus my search. Rather what it does and how it does it would be where I felt there to be room to play.

After a good bit of time spent on Amazon, Etsy, AliExpress, and of course Ebay, I found what I was looking for...
The On-Time Talking Atomic Watch.

Image

Watch Make/Model//Reference: On-Time Talking Atomic Watch
Cost: $23.79 + $3.99 shipping
Purchase Listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/On-Time-Men-At ... 3482916511

What makes this watch special or unique:
- The Talking Atomic watch, well talks.
- It speaks both the time (hour & minute) and date (month, date, and year).
- You can also set a daily alarm or have it chime on the hour.
- Being Atomic, the watch receives radio signals from NIST in Ft. Collins, CO, so that will mean this could very well be my most accurate watch.
- There is no crown. All functions are accessed and set by four pushers at the 2, 4, 8, and 10 position. So there's also that unique aspect.

Image
Image
Image
Image


Specifications:
- The watch is an average 40mm in diameter.
- But is a bit of a chonk at 17mm thick.
- Lug width is 20mm and comes on a metal expansion bracelet.
- Lug to lug is 46mm

Image
Image


Movement:
The movement is listed as RATK2035-M1, with a symbol for B.A.T.

Only information I was able to uncover was from this Hungarian site - Makszy's View on Horology:
Main listing - http://www.mechanikus.hu/w_LATW.htm
Caliber page - http://www.mechanikus.hu/c_RATK2035M1.htm

Image


All in all:

Much like the watch that @Sporkboy found, this is mostly geared to those who are visually impaired.
Although if you do have a visual impairment, this will be a difficult watch to set yourself if you can't receive the radio signal from the atomic clock.
And honestly, I have yet to get it to receive one since it arrived. Finally got it to receive a signal last night!

This is also not a watch to discreetly check time during a work meeting as it is fairly loud, even on a wrist.
However, if you find you need to keep your eyes affixed to something, say driving, and need to know the time, this will fit the bill.

It does look like a regular, cheap quartz watch. And that's kind of the point.
Looked for watch that wouldn't necessarily stand out if wearing it, but would provide the unusual when necessary.

Image


And without further ado, here's the On-Time Atomic Watch in action:


And unexpected lume!

Image
Click Icon To Contact Me



Far and wide I will find 'em and I ride 'em
Bricks and mortar get my licks just for kicks
AD or authorized I don't analyze
Retail, wholesale never fail
Online or offline, I find I don't redefine
Too big to fail or yard sale they all hale
Run or hide just for fun deals I find
User avatar
Rabirnie
MoT Member
Posts: 1447
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:53 pm
Location: Columbia, SC
Has thanked: 24647 times
Been thanked: 7484 times
Contact:

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by Rabirnie »

Hey guys, I will have my entry up later today. In the process of typing it up! Tons of great entries and stories so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
User avatar
Sporkboy
MoT Member
Posts: 1950
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 3:25 pm
Has thanked: 2570 times
Been thanked: 5989 times

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by Sporkboy »

TheJohnP wrote:
TheJohnP wrote: Tue Mar 10, 2020 9:18 pm Finally ready to share my entry!
However, I still need to take a pic of the movement. So note that I'll be updating this post.


Webster's Dictionary defines "quirky" as...
Just kidding, I'm not going there.

But I spent a good bit of time contemplating what would make a watch "special, weird, quirky or interesting."
I decided that looks, being subjective, was not where I wanted to focus my search. Rather what it does and how it does it would be where I felt there to be room to play.

After a good bit of time spent on Amazon, Etsy, AliExpress, and of course Ebay, I found what I was looking for...
The On-Time Talking Atomic Watch.

Image

Watch Make/Model//Reference: On-Time Talking Atomic Watch
Cost: $23.79 + $3.99 shipping
Purchase Listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/On-Time-Men-At ... 3482916511

What makes this watch special or unique:
- The Talking Atomic watch, well talks.
- It speaks both the time (hour & minute) and date (month, date, and year).
- You can also set a daily alarm or have it chime on the hour.
- Being Atomic, the watch receives radio signals from NIST in Ft. Collins, CO, so that will mean this could very well be my most accurate watch.
- There is no crown. All functions are accessed and set by four pushers at the 2, 4, 8, and 10 position. So there's also that unique aspect.

Image
Image
Image
Image


Specifications:
- The watch is an average 40mm in diameter.
- But is a bit of a chonk at 17mm thick.
- Lug width is 20mm and comes on a metal expansion bracelet.
- Lug to lug is 46mm

Image
Image


Movement:
The movement is listed as RATK2035-M1, with a symbol for B.A.T.

Only information I was able to uncover was from this Hungarian site - Makszy's View on Horology:
Main listing - http://www.mechanikus.hu/w_LATW.htm
Caliber page - http://www.mechanikus.hu/c_RATK2035M1.htm

Image


All in all:

Much like the watch that @Sporkboy found, this is mostly geared to those who are visually impaired.
Although if you do have a visual impairment, this will be a difficult watch to set yourself if you can't receive the radio signal from the atomic clock.
And honestly, I have yet to get it to receive one since it arrived. Finally got it to receive a signal last night!

This is also not a watch to discreetly check time during a work meeting as it is fairly loud, even on a wrist.
However, if you find you need to keep your eyes affixed to something, say driving, and need to know the time, this will fit the bill.

It does look like a regular, cheap quartz watch. And that's kind of the point.
Looked for watch that wouldn't necessarily stand out if wearing it, but would provide the unusual when necessary.

Image


And without further ado, here's the On-Time Atomic Watch in action:


And unexpected lume!

Image
On a watch for those with poor vision, lume that strong is definitely a quirk. Probably just got off the shelf hands that happened to be lumed, but it is still funny.

I finally stumbled upon one of the watches that first came to mind for this challenge. Too late to figure it out now, but I have found several other watches that would have done well in this challenge.
User avatar
pdsf
MoT Member
Posts: 1379
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 3:34 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA, US
Has thanked: 4335 times
Been thanked: 3785 times
Contact:

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by pdsf »

Rabirnie wrote:Hey guys, I will have my entry up later today. In the process of typing it up! Tons of great entries and stories so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Image

;-)

J/K Do what you need to do. I am sure this is not a top priority given the current challenges and changes in daily living. I just found an excuse to post a funny gif.
User avatar
Rabirnie
MoT Member
Posts: 1447
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:53 pm
Location: Columbia, SC
Has thanked: 24647 times
Been thanked: 7484 times
Contact:

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by Rabirnie »

Entry #1: Orient Divers KY EM2Z-E1 CA
Cost: $26.01
Case Dimensions and Features
Diameter: 42mm
Including Crown: 48mm
Lug to Lug: 48mm
Thickness: 14.2mm
Lug Width: 20mm
Crystal: Flat mineral
Bezel: 60 click uni-directional with no back play
Lume: Hands only and don’t expect it to last more than 3 seconds
Movement: Non-hacking, has a lovely sound as you shake it to try and get it running
Day/Date Feature- quickset date, not so much with day, though I could just be inept
Water Resistance: 200m
This is the watch Omega would have made if they had $26 laying around and a reject wave dial to really set it off. The rustic bezel and dodgy movement make for such a great combo. Every time I move my wrist I can feel the dial and movement shake, rattle, and roll around in the case, which shows just how tough this watch is. I mean come on, its basically just floating around in there taking lumps and literally just keeps on ticking. Setting the date on this puppy is slightly easier than my other entry, but God forbid the day of the week sets as expected. I’ve dated the watch to the 1970’s based on other auctions, but not a ton of info on this model exists. My original goal with it was to repaint the bezel either in a Pepsi style or at least restore the all blue paint job that originally adorned the bezel. However, time has been dedicated to other things and this kind of fell to the back burner. This sentiment actually applies to how I ended up “choosing” this watch in the first place. I looked through hundreds, if not thousands of listings and wanted a quirky, vintage watch to fill in. I primarily looked at electric Timex’s because I love the case shapes and electric seems kind of cool. I also looked at plenty of Vostok and former eastern bloc choices, but seemingly lost out because they just went past the threshold for the competition. I even looked at a voice activated digital watch that seemed fun and gimmicky, but I doubt I would have worn it. So I set up my bids on Gixen and the only auction I won is this Orient. It ended up being the safe option, so it kind of dampened my enthusiasm upon arrival, but I think this will end up being a fun watch to tinker with and possibly even give to one of my brothers to use. I’m actively trying to recruit my family to like watches and will go to great lengths to convert them.
s-l1600.jpg
unnamed copy.jpg
Orient 1.jpg
Orient 2 Wrist.jpg
IMG_2667.jpg
Orient 3 Perlon.jpg
Orient 4 Side Profile.jpg
Orient 5 Heads Up.jpg

Entry #2: Goer Tank (Literally)
Cost: $0.00 (Priceless)
Case Dimensions and Features
Diameter: 40.5mm
Lug to Lug: 53mm
Thickness: 15.3mm
Lug Width: 24mm
Crystal: Curved Rectangle(?)
Case Material: Allegedly Stainless Steel
Movement: No freaking clue. Has a regular seconds hand and a sub dial seconds hand that work in tandem (such a cool feature, felt like I should have paid all the $$$$ for it)
Date: Quickset if it feels so compelled
Band: High Quality Genuine Leather Band givets you a new classic definition. (Straight from an eBay seller so you know its true)
I picked this watch up through a random post on WUS. I happened to be on my phone right after another member mentioned that they would send a watch to the first person who responded, as a way to celebrate their 4000th post. I had no idea what a Goer was, but was intrigued by it when it arrived. I’ve wanted to try out a “tank” style watch for a while and boy is this watch a freaking tank. This thing is an absolute unit, a brick on the wrist, and would probably make for a sneaky good weapon in an end-of-the-world-zombie-covid-looter-toilet-paper-shortage-donnybrook-brouhaha-ruckus-steel-cage-death-match.
I don’t know what else to say about this one, except that it will probably live in a drawer until I find a way to get the stripped screws out of the case back and mess with the movement. This is a low-risk way to start messing with movements and step one is to actually identify which cheap, Chinese movement this thing is rocking. I know you are all waiting with bated breath to learn which movement this bad boy is rocking. Don’t worry, I’ll let the good people of MoT in on the reveal!
unnamed.jpg
Goer Tank.jpg
Goer Side Profile.jpg
Goer Exhibition.jpg
Overall, this was an awesome challenge and I’m glad I jumped in. This definitely increased my ebay skills and the addition of Gixen makes for a dangerous combo. I assume the quarantine will cause me to hone my skills further and I look forward to competing in future competitions on the site.
User avatar
Rabirnie
MoT Member
Posts: 1447
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:53 pm
Location: Columbia, SC
Has thanked: 24647 times
Been thanked: 7484 times
Contact:

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by Rabirnie »

pdsf wrote:
Rabirnie wrote:Hey guys, I will have my entry up later today. In the process of typing it up! Tons of great entries and stories so far.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Image

;-)

J/K Do what you need to do. I am sure this is not a top priority given the current challenges and changes in daily living. I just found an excuse to post a funny gif.
Hahaha I was waiting for someone to call me out for not posting my entry yet! I’m going to use that same gif when my coworkers are online and available but not responding to my emails/Teams chats.

Thanks for the push I needed to get this posted, [mention]pdsf [/mention]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
User avatar
Rabirnie
MoT Member
Posts: 1447
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:53 pm
Location: Columbia, SC
Has thanked: 24647 times
Been thanked: 7484 times
Contact:

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by Rabirnie »

Also, my write-ups for the entries were stream of consciousness and may make no sense at all except to me after my 2nd cup of coffee this morning!
Image


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
User avatar
pdsf
MoT Member
Posts: 1379
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 3:34 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA, US
Has thanked: 4335 times
Been thanked: 3785 times
Contact:

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by pdsf »

Rabirnie wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:34 pm Also, my write-ups for the entries were stream of consciousness and may make no sense at all except to me after my 2nd cup of coffee this morning!
Image


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Makes perfect sense to me! Great entries. I love the shake-and-rattle-ness of the first one (and all the best things were born in the 70s, right?! Ahemmm) and who doesn't want a tank and 2 seconds hands!! The last one alone makes it super cool.
User avatar
pdsf
MoT Member
Posts: 1379
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 3:34 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA, US
Has thanked: 4335 times
Been thanked: 3785 times
Contact:

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by pdsf »

Rabirnie wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:30 pm ....
Hahaha I was waiting for someone to call me out for not posting my entry yet! I’m going to use that same gif when my coworkers are online and available but not responding to my emails/Teams chats.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Haha, we use Teams as well. There is no escapin'. As everyone at my company needs to work from home now, we have been told to use video calls (vs audio only). I work remotely anyway, so I am used to audio calls with team members, but now I have to shave and fix my hair daily. Argh. :)
User avatar
watchpalooza
Global Moderator
Posts: 4310
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2018 12:43 pm
Location: Munich & SF Bay Area
Has thanked: 21586 times
Been thanked: 12443 times

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by watchpalooza »

pdsf wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:48 pm
Rabirnie wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:30 pm ....
Hahaha I was waiting for someone to call me out for not posting my entry yet! I’m going to use that same gif when my coworkers are online and available but not responding to my emails/Teams chats.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Haha, we use Teams as well. There is no escapin'. As everyone at my company needs to work from home now, we have been told to use video calls (vs audio only). I work remotely anyway, so I am used to audio calls with team members, but now I have to shave and fix my hair daily. Argh. :)
Teams is a mess b/c Microsoft offers no way to throttle the bandwidth...eats up e network. We have had to go back to Skype to balance all the extra traffic.
Click Icon To Contact Me


’There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.’ - Leonard Cohen, Anthem
’One man's faith is another man's delusion.’ - Anthony Storr
User avatar
Sporkboy
MoT Member
Posts: 1950
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 3:25 pm
Has thanked: 2570 times
Been thanked: 5989 times

Re: The Leap Year Watch Challenge

Post by Sporkboy »

Hey there everybody. By my count we are missing 2 entries: Spirit of the Watch and
Shorefire77.

I thought I would see if they would respond here before DMing. Anybody know what is up with these two? A lot is going on in the world, so that could be in play here.
Post Reply