Fairchild Tritium LCD

[Caruso]

Was doing my usual browse of Ebay and came across this unremarkable looking Fairchild LCD.



It looked the same as a picture I have of a Tritium LCD, but there was no mention of the tritium illumination in the ad.

A bit of research indicated that if it has 3H engraved on the caseback, then it's one of the Tritium lumed versions...sure enough there it was!



So I clicked Buy it Now and am eagerly awaiting it's arrival!

No doubt the tritium will be very dull by now, but you can replace the 2 original flat tubes with a row of modern cylindrical tubes. So that's what I plan to do as someone else has done here:
http://timetrafficker.com/watc...d-tritium/index.html
Will probably stick to green though.

[Kasper]

Goodluck...search for tritium and Fairchild on the board ... i have a few fairchild and tritium project here.

[Caruso]

Thanks Kasper, I did do some research to identify the watch and see what size tubes it needs. Your search suggestion has lead me to some things to avoid doing when working on the watch to avoid disaster - i.e. don't peel off the 3H sticker and don't use 2mm tubes!

I have found 6mm x 1.5mm tubes for sale on Ebay. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121517253926

[Caruso]

Well it's arrived!

First impressions are that it looks a lot better on the wrist than I'd expected, and it has a nice thin case making it very comfortable to wear.
The Fairchild bracelet end links don't seem to join very well to the case - do other owners notice the same? Still the style and finish matches so it's not too noticable.

I've had the module apart and back together to try and fix the missing segment. I only succeeded in making more segments stop working! But after a bit of a cleanup of the contacts on the circuit board it's back to having just the 1 missing segment on the seconds.

There's no discernable glow from the old tubes at all, but I have a set of 12 green tubes on order.

Any hints on how to get the old tubes out without breaking them? I think they're glued in.

[Kasper]

I wonder what you could use to diffuse the light a bit between the LCD and the tubes.

[Caruso]

I wonder what you could use to diffuse the light a bit between the LCD and the tubes.

I've been thinking about this after seeing your pictures, and then it came to me:



Translucent rather than clear, and it will hold itself in place.

[bucko170]

Abem might be a good source of information for you.. ..

viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3927&hilit=Fairchild+Tritium+LCD&start=22

The photo's have been lost on that post but this post shows his multicoloured Tritium Fairchild

viewtopic.php?f=72&t=5175&p=33932&hilit=Fairchild+Tritium+LCD#p33932

* There are some excellent photo's on his website, which show the watch in different stages of construction ... http://www.timetrafficker.com/watches/l ... index.html

[Caruso]

The tubes arrived today and this is how it looks with them fitted and the diffuser removed.

The diffuser really cuts down the amount of light, but means you can't make out the tubes. So I've left it off for this video.

[Kasper]

nice, very well done. Yours is more visible then mine. I still have a small thin light diffuser on the back. I'm pretty sure you will enjoy this watch...it's like Abe (user Abem) said before. It's the smaller version of a Omega led watch.
Same style, super comfy around your wrist. I only have 8 tritium vials instead of your 12.
Thanks, i'm pretty sure you will wear this more then you think