Mysterious P3 3050 module...how many are out there?

[bruce wegmann]

In over twenty years, I have seen perhaps half a dozen of these...a subtle variation of the standard 3013 module used in the vast majority of P3s. It's a bit like the 903 Calculator module...all functions the same, except for one detail. I think it adds a significant premium to the value of the watch.
Who out there has one?

[Mr Frequency 32768hz]

Bruce are you referring to the auto set bar segment Date command 3013 or 3035 as you say ? I vaguely remember a 903 Calculator module conversation. But I can't remember the extra function.

[bruce wegmann]

Lloyd, I am astonished, you do not know the answer to this.
The Auto-Set, line-segment P3s, were done with frankenmodules, constructed with a P3 plastic carrier, with a P4 circuit board grafted onto it (I have also seen a variation that used a Dress board, since the displays are similar in height; obviously, the Dress version does not have provision for the Auto-Command function). There is no such thing as a 3035 module; I assume you meant 3050.
In the Calculators, the difference between the 902 and 903 modules is that, using the Auto-Command, if you flick your wrist a SECOND time, WHILE THE TIME IS DISPLAYED, it switches to a DATE display. I estimate that about one in 12-15 902s are actually 903s, but have gone unnoticed. Everyone should try their 902s, and let's see how many 903s pop up...(I may have to revise my estimate...lol).
So...back to the 3050 mystery...
On a standard 301(3) module, the DATE display stays on as long as the button is pushed (a fraction of a second, or an hour...makes no difference). On a 305, even if the button remains pressed, the display extinguishes after 1.25 seconds (in other words, the Date is displayed the same way the Time is). What is most important here, is that this is exactly how the Time and Date are displayed on a P4 model...which means, we essentially have a P4 chip on a factory-made P3 circuit board. Some modules actually have a sticker tag that says "Module 3050" attached; most do not. The first time I ran into one of these, I thought at first it might be some sort of odd malfunction. But, when a second one showed up, and had the "Module 3050" tag, I realized we had a zebra of a totally new color.
To me, all this suggests an experimental, transitional step between the P3 and P4 models. I am open to other interpretations, but this makes the most sense to me. Whether or not the 3050 module has the Auto-Command function is unknown, since there is no external provision made for its connection.
Again, everybody with a P3 (or even P2/Date...the 3230) should check for this variation...it might turn out to be much more common, or maybe rarer, than I thought.
Does it add to the value of the watch? A fair bit, I would think, but fundamentally, a P3 is still just a P3. Let's see how the numbers shake out... If they turn out to be REALLY rare, the question of added value becomes far less theoretical.

[Mr Frequency 32768hz]

I do know the answer to it. I just forgot. Now I remember after all these years I've had both. I've had a calculator with the double flick date display.

Bruce I thought you where referring to the Pulsar factory re fit module that came in the auto set date commands with the bar diodes.

[bruce wegmann]

Time Computer never did the Auto-Set P3s with the Auto-Command function. They were almost certainly built in the late 70s or early 80s, by either a single private individual (judging by the consistency of the re-wiring), or small group under the supervision of one person, in response to the drying-up of P3 spare parts. I asked Eddie Ratcliff about them, and he told me he had no knowledge of who was producing them, and had never built one, himself. I have no reason to doubt his word. These frankenmoduled P3s still show up periodically on eBay (in fact , there is a 3130...14K solid gold P3)...listed for a paltry $10K, with one of these reworked (I'll stop short of calling it "bodged") modules. The seller is convinced it's original. Most of these modules don't have the inertial switch for the Auto-Command installed, but, for fun, I put them in a couple I had lying around, and they worked. It's almost a believable transition between the P3 and P4 generations, but, it's only a fantasy piece, and has no special collectible value...but, it's still better than a non-working watch.

So...back to the question at hand...has anyone found a 3050 yet? I can't believe I'm the only person to have found one.

[Mr Frequency 32768hz]

I've never known a P3 auto set with a auto command.

All I know is that I've had a few Date commands with the Auto set rewired module with bar display. With this booklet in the box. Maybe the person in the 80's making them had this red Pulsar Auto- set booklet made up as well ?