So, the next chapter in the saga unfolds. I have now had in my hands for the better part of a week the "latest" edition of the Mega 1000 directly from Junghans and indeed I have learned some things about these watches.
First of all, this is the original watch that I purchased in October 2006 in Germany:
http://picasaweb.google.com/paul.kierku ... 7820971026
This one carries the model number 026/4512.44 but on the watch back itself, it?s labeled 026/4512 604. According to Junghans in Germany, this means production on April 2006. This watch was purchased as the latest model ? ?received just yesterday? ? 21.October.2006 in a shop in Mannheim, Germany. It came in a round box but I don?t have a photo of it. The owner?s manual also has W 604.62 printed on the cover.
There are differences between the firmware in this watch (VER 02 JH) and the new one. For example, when attempting a manual synchronization, the 604 watch displays the identity of the currently received signal (here WWVB) and how many seconds it has been attempting to synchronize (at that point 00).
This watch has failed to synchronize here in North Carolina, USA in the last three weeks ? not even once.
This is the replacement, delivered directly from Junghans in Germany. It came in a square box.
http://picasaweb.google.com/paul.kierku ... 3878405138
http://picasaweb.google.com/paul.kierku ... 2093103122
I think what all of us really want to know is how to quickly distinguish the plainly defective older models from the new ones. The label is clear, there needs to be an M in front of the model number. This is just what Junghans Germany told me and there it is.
http://picasaweb.google.com/paul.kierku ... 1896574994
This is plain to see on the label M026/4512.44. The number on the back of the watch matches this convention also M026/4512 610, in this case indicating October 2006 production. At this point I was still unsure whether it would synchronize because it had not done so during the seven days of transit. Clearly some of that transit time had been in the US.
http://picasaweb.google.com/paul.kierku ... 1772901394
That?s what the display means in this case, DCF 77 was the last signal received 7 days before.
The obvious difference in the firmware, there are others that I noticed too, is that when one attempts a manual synchronization, the display shuts off, unlike in the 604 model. I recall reading somewhere that the display driver actually interfered with the reception of the LW signal. Perhaps there is more than a grain of truth in that.
http://picasaweb.google.com/paul.kierku ... 5765900306
The end result? Although the watch will not synchronize just any time anywhere in my area of the US, it has synchronized at least three times since I have had it here. This was successful only at night and happened automatically. That?s the meaning behind the display ? WWVB was the last signal received, 0 days ago.
http://picasaweb.google.com/paul.kierku ... 0054656018
So far so good! Now I need to resize the bracelet to my wrist, that the shop did for me in Mannheim when I bought the first one but now I?m on my own. Overall, I?m a bit optimistic that the watch will actually work in the US. It took Junghans long enough!!
That?s it, if you are interested to get one of these watches with the anticipation that it will actually do everything that the maker claims ? at least in the US, make sure that it has the ?M? prefix, a date code in October 2006 or later (it could actually be earlier but definitely after April 2006) and test that the display goes blank when you press and hold T1.
Best luck,
Paul