Braun DW30

[charger105]

I've alway wanted an original Braun DW30, and recently I was lucky enough to score one on Ebay
No-one else bid on it, which was very un-expected , but a nice surprise. Ebay is weird sometimes !!

It was non-working, and here is the Ebay image:

DW30_1.jpg

It arrived last week, and it's in quite nice condition. The band is in really nice condition for 35+ year old leather.
There are one or 2 scratches, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Unfortunately one of the caseback screws is non-original, so I'm on the hunt for one.
Here's what greeted me when I opened the case up:

dw30_2.jpg

dw30_3.jpg

Heaps of corrosion after obvious battery leaks. My main worry was the really bad corrosion of the power lines into the IC. After several acid baths and board scrubs, all the visible residue had vanished, but alas the module refused to work.
If the corrosion had got into the IC, the module was knackered ! I removed all of the surface mount components, and cleaned underneath them. Still no joy.

[charger105]

Eventually I decided the oscillator bias resistor had gone bad.
I call this shot, 'finding the sweet spot':

braun_4.jpg

I'm really happy............it's now running like a steam train !
Once a surface mount replacement arrives, I'll post up some images of the watch fully assembled.
For anyone interested in reading about early Braun LCDs, see here:
http://www.braunlcdwatches.com/index.html

Rgds,
Andrew.

[charger105]

The SMT resistor arrived, and Jack from http://www.braunlcdwatches.com very kindly sent me the missing caseback screw. They're quite unique, with what appears to be a hand-filed cross in the top.........they also hold the leather strap in place.
Here's the finished product:

braun4.jpg

A few dings here and there, but complete, working perfectly and totally original (apart from the resistor ).

Here's the back. Note the unique screws:

braun2.jpg

Here's the movement with the new resistor circled in red:

braun1.jpg

These are a very rare bird, with only a few thousand ever produced. I feel very fortunate to have jagged this one.
Many thanks to Jack for helping me out with the screw !
Rgds,
Andrew.

[Kasper]

Very nice catch...so old and it looks so new and pure. a keeper.

[bucko170]

Very nice catch...so old and it looks so new and pure. a keeper.

It does have a very modern look which I guess was very futuristic for it's time, what years where they produced?

[charger105]

Yes, it has a modern, minimal look to it. They were designed by Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs.
I believe they were produced between 1978 and 1981.

Braun has re-issued the DW30, and it is very similar indeed. There are quite a few subtle differences, but to the casual observer they look identical. See here for a comparison:
http://synchronar.blogspot.com.au/2012/ ... -dw30.html
The one on the left is the original, and the one on the right is the re-issue.
Rgds.

[wzy-hman]

Would anyone by any chance know if the LCD panel of the new Braun re-issue can be used to revive an old original (otherwise OK) DW-30? Thanks!

[charger105]

Unfortunately I don't think it'll work. The new LCD has an AM/PM indication, the old one is in 24-hour time.
Of course it might work, but they are certainly different in this regard.

Jack from the website could probably tell you for sure.
Rgds.

[wzy-hman]

Thanks. I will post on here if I find out anything

[wzy-hman]

Jack confirmed that the new LCD panel and old module arent compatible. In case anyone is unfortunate to have their original module die on them, Jack did say that he had successfully retrofitted a new module into the original watch case but that it takes considerable effort to trim the new module down to the correct size.