Wanted: Pulsar LED Magnet + Battery Spacers...

[mds]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone got a spare magnet for a Pulsar they would consider selling me? My P2 has an original magnet but alas it's demagnitised and not upto the job. I currently have to use the magnet in my P3, which is a pain and would like to have one for each watch.

There was a guy I think in Austrailia that was selling some magnets on eBay a few months back, I've been checking back can't seem to find anymore auctions for them. I forget the guys name too

I'm also after a set of battery spacers too (I can't seem to find a suitable match of tubing to DIY my own), so if anyone also has a set of spacers and a magnet lemme know please, I'm based in the UK.

Cheers,


Mike

[mds]

Anyone? :( :(

[Synchroserious]

Well if they are anything close to the Synchronar magnets then they can be completly restored or recharged.Just take and recharge the mag to a high strength bar type magnet and boom,you have a like new strength magnet.

[bruce wegmann]

I wasn't aware that Synchronars used magnets of any kind, but my guess would be that the Pulsar mags are quite different. In any event, you don't "recharge" a magnet [as you would recharge a battery]. The proper term here is "repolarization", and it can be done by exposing the magnet to a powerful external magnetic field, and this can be accomplished with a good rare-earth magnet. However, there is the additional complication that you have to get the polarity and field orientation right, or it will not operate the switches. It may take a bit of experimentation, but it can be done [I have run into this several times]. Pusher magnets can be similarly re-strengthened.

[Synchroserious]

HI Bruce,

Likewise I know as much about Pulsar magnets as I do polar bears. I was taught to charge magnets for the Synchronar using a large magnet with a North and south pole.The only polarity I know is Positive and negative charged Ions.Still to this day I use it. It takes a split second to restore/recharge/repolarize these magnets simply by putting one end in close proximity to the positive pole and the other to a negative pole.After so many years of dirt, little pieces of metal that become attached,and close proximity to the SS case they become lets say weakened.
Just trying to help,maybe someone could order up a few hundered to be made.This would make up for ones thrown out.

[Planet-LED]

What is to prevent the magnet from becoming too strong? And Howard, do you actually accomplish this in a matter of seconds and have a permanent outcome?

[Synchroserious]

Too strong is the same as 100% strength and as long as the reed switch sensitivity is adjusted properly at the factory,this would be the ideal strength.And when the magnet is weakened it takes less than 1/2 sec to re polarize to full capacity,which is not permanent

[Synchroserious]

Too strong is the same as 100% strength and as long as the reed switch sensitivity is adjusted properly at the factory,this would be the ideal strength.And when the magnet is weakened it takes less than 1/2 sec to re polarize to full capacity,which is not permanent

[Planet-LED]

Howard,

You say that repolorizing a magnet to 100% is not permantent. Are you meaning a relatively short period of time--i.e. months-- or the 30+ years it took for the magnet to loose its strength orignially?

[Synchroserious]

Yes due to elements like salt,other magnets,storing watch/magnet on a metal object to name a few. The magnet would need a re-polarisation that would last many years.Don't forget a close quick swipe of the wrist within 1-10 cm,s of a speaker magnet can present an imediate loss of polarization.Again I can only speak for what I know about the Synchronar magnets.The current ones are best, my dad went away with the smaller ones used in MK III,s and no longer needed the big one in the back of MK I and MK II.They seemed more prone to weakening but still a good 10 years or more.I used to what I call re-charge magnets in the repair department back in the 80,s .It and the slider assembly are the only serviceable part on the Synchronar without going inside.I hope the topic starter has found a magnet for his Pulsar.

[Synchroserious]

UPDATE, This hole magnet discussion has me drawn in.I am still trying to figure out how a person could re charge a Pulsar magnet.Bruce was right about the fact that each individual magnet requires it's own magnetization.
The idustry of magnet makers have their own in house fixtures designed for a specific magnet and otherwise it,s alot of hit and miss.All the Magnatizers I could find on the net are huge and costly.It seems my father must have designed this high power magnet for the small magnets on the watch.It seems all manufactures of Magnetizers as they are called were designed for much larger magnets requiering Electronic capacittance type charging.One company I found stated the machine was specificly designed to "charge" various types of magnets.The only magnetisers I could find on ebay were the magnetize/demagnetize your screwdriver type although some plug in type models were used in the mechanical watchmakers shop.

[retroleds]

I'll weigh in with Howard that a magnet cannot be "overcharged" for practical purposes. Magnet stregth is a factor of:(a) partical density,i.e. what the magnet is made of, and(b) physical size & weight. "X" amount of any magnetic material can only have a magnetic flux(strength) up to a point - then no further strengthening can be accomplished for a particular magnets composition. [Magnet strength is measured in "teslas"] And yes, the magnetization is virtually instantaneous(the speed of electricity).

I'll have to disagree with Bruce that polarization matters to a Pulsar/Hamilton/ Synchronar reed switch assembly - reed switches do not contain a magnet, but rather, a stationary reed and a flexing reed OR two flexing reeds. The reeds are magnetically drawn toward together by the magnet, thus completing the electrical circuit. The really important factor with reed switches is that they are oriented so that the magnetism draws the reeds together,i.e. if a reed switch is turned 90 degrees from the magnet, the reeds are pulled, but not toward each other. Turned 180 degrees from proper will pull the flexing reed away from the contact reed[only in switches with a single flex reed, more common are the double reed type,i.e. most of our watch reeds] - possibly damaging it - fortunately, most reed switches are marked with a colored line which indicates the side the magnetic flux should come from. Close visual inspection sometimes reveals a mis-orientation of a reed switche. The Synchronar has sliding switches containing a magnet, and a reed switch near each end of the travel - it cares not one bit which way the magnet is oriented, just that it is of sufficient strength.

Getting reed switches responsive to the correct tesla is very important for all of these watches,particularly those for the buttons switches, as the magnets have a very limited amount of travel. Magnets that are too strong is not a common problem(unless replaced by something bigger,heavier or different composition) - improper/weakened/damaged reed switches are the more usual fault ; particularly, when buttons have become too sensitive. Switches that are non-responsive can be jumpered across to test for proper circuit function - if it ain't the switch, it's in the circuit. :(

[retroleds]

A note on recharging the pulsar magnets - obviously(maybe not) you want north or south to be on the side you place against the watch. Soooo, if you decide to recharge your Pulsar magnet, place the edge that goes down against a strong charging magnet's "attracting" side. Placing the side of your Pulsar magnet against a strong magnet could result in a setting magnet that has north at one end/side, south at the other, nullifying any good effect on the reed switch at issue. 8)

....within minutes I will certainly receive some derisive email from someone who thinks this minor information should not be shared. Get a life! There is no point in throwing away perfectly good magnets that have simply lost their "Attraction",IMO. :)

[bruce wegmann]

On the contrary, this is precisely the sort of information that should be shared. It is the reason this forum exists. It is certainly the reason I am here. There are those who derive a misplaced sense of personal satisfaction in the mindset of "I know something you don't know" [I daresay those individuals know who they are]. I find no rational purpose in this. Future collectors depend on us, and what we do now, to make sure there is something left to collect in the years to come, and they will judge us on our actions, or inactions. I intend to be among those they praise, rather than condemn, for having been here.
Back to the magnets... The originals were an alloy called AlNICo 5, an aluminum-nickel-iron-cobalt combination, presumibly the fifth in a series of similar alloys. These metals do not blend well by melting, so they are powdered, mixed, and placed under enormous pressure and heat [very high, but below the melting point of any of them], until they compress into a solid mass [this process is called "sintering"]. It can still leave occasional small voids in the metal [often visible on the "C"-shaped magnets as dark areas]. This was about the best permanent-magnet material available in the 70s. Modern rare-earth magnets [primarily neodymium-boron-iron], have five to eight times the field-density strength of AlNICo, and can easily be used to repolarize them. At the factory, the initial polarization was done in an electromagnet [called a "gap" magnet, because of its' nearly circular shape, with a small opening, or gap, at the top]. The blank magnet was placed in the gap, in the necessary orientation, power was applied, and the blank was appropriately magnetized. A similar effect can be achieved by pulling your magnet across the face of a rare-earth magnet in the proper direction. It will take a bit of trial-and-error to get the orientation correct, but once you find the right combination, you can do it routinely.

[retroleds]

I agree Bruce, with one caveat: sometimes discussing a repair makes it sound too easy. IF you are new to electronics repair - go forth timidly and realistically. If you come across something that is beyond you now(maybe forever), like fixing a wire-bond - set it aside or consider having someone else look at it - there is no shame in it. Otherwise you run the risk of ,"You would have fought bravely, and died quickly"(The Mask of Zorro).

Wait until you have one that has gone bad on TWO bonds, preferably something that is of marginal value($ or collectible) and then try on that one. Or better yet, use a module that has gone completely goofy in the brain but lighting up(unfixable beyond divine intervention) and hone your chops on that - maybe even break one of it's bonds so you can try to fix it back. And check out old electronics books,especially on soldering and DEsoldering techniques. If you were born after 1960, you might have never been faced with individually solderable components(as oppossed to ICs) - this was driven home to me recently when I was discussing soldering in quartz crystals with someone, and they told me they had never used a "heat sink" while soldering. A "heat sink" is a clip you put on the component's lead(wire) so that heat from the soldering is hopefully drawn off before it can ruin or alter the component. It could "UP" your success 10 fold.
These "devices"/WATCHES are essentially very stable and sturdy: beyond battery acid destruction, static electricity(rare) and quartz crystals going bad(generally replaceable except those with odd frequencies) I truely believe many of them could be running a few hundred years from now. It's not even close to #1 on my list of important things in life, but it IS a cool legacy to be part of. 8)

[Greg Ratcliff]

It sounds to me like some people like to hear themselves talk alot. I have magnets and spacers for the original Pulsar watches. Contact me at gsratman1@netzero.net. Thanks, Greg Ratcliff

[retroleds]

Greg:
Just what on earth is that supposed to mean? You come on and, as usual, you are ONLY try to sell, and you think you are going to confront some people(myself,bruce and howard) for explaining to the average digital watch collector why they don't need your products? I'm thinking you are having a problem with us sharing small bits of information with fellow collectors - which you obviously are NOT!! IF people have LOST their magnet, sure, they can go and buy one from you(but considering your predatory(IMO) attitude, I would suggest they look elsewhere) - if not, unless you have some, "talking" that would convincingly induce people NOT to use this free advice, given as a service to fellow watch collectors and the people who utilize the services of ethical repairpersons such as myself - kiss off!!

?When will those who strictly want to squeeze a buck out of us, quit visiting this zone?? We'll "google" for you when we need YOU.

Battery spacers? Are you kidding? - almost everyone here knows how to make their own!! Don't you? I give them to all of my Pulsar clients for FREE!!!!! They have a reasonable value of "maybe" $.10 + shipping. Tell you what, I've got about 5' feet of hose I keep cutting them spacers off of - which end do you want to work on?

[embelton]

God damn I like little1up :D ...its all in the attitude!

[retroleds]

It's always regretable: a simple "hot damn you guys can go on for awhile" would have elicited a chuckle and nothing more. The man has one thing right: sometimes, some of us DO go on. I wish more people would join in(not in getting bent with each other)and have a little fun with their watch collecting. And more new folks should just dive in and ask questions...I think the general ethos here is to go very easy on the newbies, under the premise that no question is a dumb one. An opinion, now that might be dumb.

I personally liked Bruce's "dissertation" on magnet materials and composition....it was like Wikepedia without all the commercials and junk around the edges.

If a post is too verbose for one's taste or intellect, they could use the "back" button - "It's the one on the left".

[Greg Ratcliff]

Wow!! I didn't know I was going to ruffle so many feathers. Sorry guys. I just thought some of the info was a little long winded. All the guy wanted was some magnets. I joined this forum to see if anyone was interested in the NOS Pulsars that have been sitting around in my house for the last 22 years. I think the price is very reasonable for the watches. I have worked on Pulsar watches, cases and modules for many years if I can help someone with a problem , send me an email at gsratman1@netzero.net

[Fitron]

Don't ever be afraid to ruffle some feathers Greg if you believe in something say so and be prepared for a gentle verbal rumble. It's one aspect that makes the forum interesting/entertaining and informative - as well as the info gleaned from our more knowledgable members (which I'm not) and it's why I keep coming back. At least our arguements are intelligent unlike many other forums. I reckon Led lovers are just plain smarter than anyone else. :wink:

Oh yes arguements allow your personality to come through the text which is alway a plus.

[retroleds]

Greg: Your response shows you can at least "take it". My apologies for being such a hot-head . And long winded.

You are right - the man needed another magnet and some spacers...hopefully we didn't scare him off.

Peace,
Ed/little1up ed@retroleds.com