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Studer Solar LC watch project

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digibloke

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Studer Solar LC watch project

Post03 Nov 2014, 14:35

A few weeks back I was the lucky recipient of one of these courtesy of Simone (Thanks very much again for that :-D ). There are great pics of the watch on SImones original thread just down from this one. As he described it - it was in none working condition but cosmetically good. Only problem I could see on the outside was a missing caseback screw - so no biggies there. It's a rebranded Sicura VIP 2000 and it's a great looking watch.

Opening it up I found this...

Image

Nasty battery damage. The "-" contact for the battery is in a bad way. It's not connected to the chip any more (right hand circle) and there's a wire to the left coming from the solar cell which has come away from the board (the black blob at the end is floating just about a circuit track but I'm guessing this is where it should be reconnected.

Image

First I clean up the battery gunk then I re-attach the wire to to the track on the circuit and fix the broken connections using conductive carbon glue. The original battery "-" pad is too far gone so I make a alu-foil one to go over the top (probably not the best material but it's what I had...).

Image

It's alive. Not all is well though. It's running, keeping good time and I can set it just fine - but -The front buttons don't do anything when it's in running mode and there's no light (bulb is fine - I checked it). Also when I push the light button the display goes blank for a few seconds. Same story both in and out of the case.

I have a feeling it's got something to do with the wire from the solar cell as that's also part of the light circuit and I'm thinking it would make more sense for it to be connected directly to the "-" battery contact.

Is there any chance that someone who has one of these could take a look and see where the wire should go? I need help...

More to follow. DB :-D
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Old Tom

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post03 Nov 2014, 16:03

What's causing the problem is the tiny solder stud where the solar cell attaches to the negative pad intermittently touching the cell positive/negative (this happens when you press the front buttons and the module moves very slightly in the case- as you have the wire connected the battery is being shorted to the negative pole when the module moves) and confusing the watch- the cell the watch was designed for (XR11630W) had a button top, not a flat top, which allowed the stud to clear the cell. I had exactly the same problem on my Sikato branded version of this watch and cutting a small plastic insulator to cover the stud cured the problem completely.

The wire connects to the negative pad directly- there was a small extension to the pad to allow this but this has corroded away. As it stands you have the solar cell shorted out (won't do any harm and may actually be better if using a non rechargeable cell in the watch)- they will run and display off just the solar cell with no battery fitted if it is connected properly.
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digibloke

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post03 Nov 2014, 16:21

Hi old Tom and thanks very much for that.

I agree that it's probably good that I've shorted out the solar cell given that it's got a none rechargable battery in it right now - but I think I'm also shorting out the light :-(

I'll have another go at it and post the results.
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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post03 Nov 2014, 17:32

Picture of the inside of my Sikato VIP 2000 (to give it it's full name);-

Image

Notice the two tiny blobs of Silver trace paint necessary to repair the dreaded black wire corrosion.

And here's the outside of the watch;-

Image

The small patch of decay bottom left has now disappeared from the display (that photo is about 6 years old) and the entire display is crisp & clear.
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digibloke

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post04 Nov 2014, 01:09

Fantastic. Thanks for taking the time to put those up - just what I needed. A picture paints a thousand words :-)

Beautiful Sikato - I read the other day that these were developed with the solar panel on the side so that they could charge while the owner was wearing long shirt sleeves.

Of course i live in Copenhagen so even that won't help charge anything solar powered at this time of the year.
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charger105

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post04 Nov 2014, 07:57

Awesome watches gentlemen :mega:
These movements look like standard Hitachi LCD movements found in several other watches (such as Accurist), with a solar panel stuck on the side, and buttons wired out to the front:
http://www.andydunn.name/WatchDetail.ph ... chtype=lcd

Is that the case ?
Rgds.
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Adam

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post04 Nov 2014, 09:57

I think so Charger. I had an Oris here with the same module(not the one with all the springs though) I was going to try and use if I couldnt get my watch working, fortunately it was just a case of rebuilding the battery contact a little.

regards

Adam
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Kasper

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post04 Nov 2014, 22:18

wow, i love these tech savvy posts...great inside of these models.

Love them...superb Sikato watch Old Tom. I want one 2 :-D still in my wanted list.

Wear with proud gentlemen :mega:
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mattwool83

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post19 Nov 2014, 00:13

I've managed to bag a stainless Sicura VIP 2000 but unfortunately it's not working. I've tried a new battery but no luck. Module looks clean enough with no signs of damage.

Can anyone suggest someone who can potentially repair it?

Cheers,

Matt
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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post19 Nov 2014, 00:18

mine was the same Matt. See where OldTom made the repair. Thats where the weak point is. Thats where it was on mine. Mine looked perfect too.

regards

Adam
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simone

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post19 Nov 2014, 09:56

Hi friends....
my Studer starts to show faint digits...it's the second time that happen :scratch:
The watch keeps good time and all functions works properly...the board seems to be clean enough but probably there's something wrong...but i don't know why... :x

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post19 Nov 2014, 17:43

Hi Simone - the first thing I'd check (like old Tom suggested to me) is that the battery isn't making contact with either the wire to the solar cell or with any of the conductive tracks around the "-" contact (this gave me no end of trouble with mine). Secondly if you look at the first picture of mine you'll see a little red piece of plastic between the solar cell and the white plastic on the module. At first I thought that it was there to hold the small wire from the solar cell in place - but now I think it's actually intended to stop the whole module (which is made of two sections of board - one inner and one outer for the contacts to the pushers) from being pushed to the right when the light button is pushed. This also gave me no end of problems as it caused a short by the light bulb.

What kind of battery do you have in there? I find that a 389 fits perfectly I think a 386 would put pressure on the board (I've disconnected the solar cell now as I won't be getting any sun until at least March...)
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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post19 Nov 2014, 22:12

Thanks DWL I'll give it a try.

Does anyone know where I would get hold of a rechargeable battery? Done the usual searches and not had any luck.
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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post20 Nov 2014, 10:57

digibloke wrote:Hi Simone - the first thing I'd check (like old Tom suggested to me) is that the battery isn't making contact with either the wire to the solar cell or with any of the conductive tracks around the "-" contact (this gave me no end of trouble with mine). Secondly if you look at the first picture of mine you'll see a little red piece of plastic between the solar cell and the white plastic on the module. At first I thought that it was there to hold the small wire from the solar cell in place - but now I think it's actually intended to stop the whole module (which is made of two sections of board - one inner and one outer for the contacts to the pushers) from being pushed to the right when the light button is pushed. This also gave me no end of problems as it caused a short by the light bulb.

What kind of battery do you have in there? I find that a 389 fits perfectly I think a 386 would put pressure on the board (I've disconnected the solar cell now as I won't be getting any sun until at least March...)


Thanks Lee for the tips...this evening i'll check the board....maybe a wire makes contact to the battery but i'm not sure... :scratch:
About the battery I use a 391...damn too small... ;-)
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Seiko watches are designed to withstand the ravages of both time and fashion
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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post21 Nov 2014, 11:21

i checked the watch...the battery is correct,a fresh 389....i cleaned again and i removed the solar wire contact from the board...as result the watch worked great with crisp digits....
Anyway this morning the digits were still faint :evil: :evil: :evil:
Some watches are made to last only as long as they are fashionable
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Seiko watches are designed to withstand the ravages of both time and fashion
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digibloke

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post21 Nov 2014, 12:32

Dammit.

When it goes faint does it stay faint all the time or does it sometimes become sharp again as a digit changes? Could be that the zebra strips need cleaning?

Otherwise I'd try giving the battery clip a gentle bend to make sure that it's putting enough pressure on the battery.

(After what mines been through the last couple of weeks I'm pretty sure these things are bullet proof so it must be something fixable)..
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simone

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post25 Nov 2014, 13:36

digibloke wrote:Dammit.

When it goes faint does it stay faint all the time or does it sometimes become sharp again as a digit changes? Could be that the zebra strips need cleaning?

Otherwise I'd try giving the battery clip a gentle bend to make sure that it's putting enough pressure on the battery.

(After what mines been through the last couple of weeks I'm pretty sure these things are bullet proof so it must be something fixable)..


Update...the digits are now crisp... :scratch:
Some watches are made to last only as long as they are fashionable
Some watches, simply are not made to last
Seiko watches are designed to withstand the ravages of both time and fashion
Someday perhaps, all watches will be made this way
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digibloke

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post25 Nov 2014, 16:49

Do they get crisper when you take your sunglasses off? (Italian LCD collector ;-) )

Just kidding - hope they stay crisp.

Mine is all working and assembled (including the light :-D). If I ever come across a 389 sized rechargable battery then I'll hook up the solar cell again.

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post25 Nov 2014, 16:59

damn these look good :O`~ :O`~ :O`~ :-D
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simone

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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post26 Nov 2014, 12:42

digibloke wrote:Do they get crisper when you take your sunglasses off? (Italian LCD collector ;-) )

Just kidding - hope they stay crisp.

Mine is all working and assembled (including the light :-D). If I ever come across a 389 sized rechargable battery then I'll hook up the solar cell again.

Image


There's no chance to wear sunglasses in these days eh eh eh ....

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Some watches are made to last only as long as they are fashionable
Some watches, simply are not made to last
Seiko watches are designed to withstand the ravages of both time and fashion
Someday perhaps, all watches will be made this way
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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post29 Nov 2014, 14:11

How do I disconnect the solar cell? Don't want to do it wrong and damage the watch.

Thanks,

Matt
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Re: Studer Solar LC watch project

Post01 Dec 2014, 00:52

If you look at the first few pics of my watch and Old Toms watch you'll see a wire coming out of the board just below the quartz crystal (on mine it has a "u" shaped end where it gets attached to the "+" battery contact). Just make sure this isn't connected to the battery and that'll do it.
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