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Machine for openning Synchronar 2100

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Synchroserious

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Machine for openning Synchronar 2100

Post19 Jun 2006, 19:41

I have envisioned the perfect device for opening these otherwise permanently sealed and encapsulated time modules.I hoenestly do not have time to construct it presently.It would require $200.00 in parts and a few night,s tinkering. The machine does not use the other techniques like as follows:

1.A sharp pair of diagonal pliers used to chomp off each corner at just the right angle so as not to chomp off a reed swith or display corner.Eventualy one of the four corners will allow for additional peeling open so to speak.At this time switch to needle nose to grab a peel instead of cutting it with the diagonal pliers.It is important to note that there is a pluged area and in most cases you can grab the potting seal plug with mini pliers.You should pull this plug out first and foremost in this attempt,otherwise the plug is in the way of progress and grabs the circuit board(breaking things?)instead of allowing you to gently hinge the top off.BTW you can,t perform a complete 90 deg hinge from the backside as if openning a hinged jewelry box or this would be the equivalent of forceing the side mount display into a pancake with the C- board and it,s horizontaly mounted parts.


2. A hot knife or a messy melting with soldering Iron.


3.Mini saw blades, milling,routing devices and so on.


4.An Exacto or similar cutting tool run around the seal many times
( This works just fine on Mk 1 and Mk 2 ,S with transparent red backs) It,s hard to get anywhere doing this to a MK 3 or MK 4.



All the techniques above involve sacraficing the Lexan excluding #4 done to a MK I or MK II(Lexan is a trademark of G.E) leaving a need for a new top and bottom (or backs if you prefer to call it that) Note; Getting the module to a warm state like 6 inches from a 75 watt bulb for 15 mins also helps release the plastic from the-(semi bonded grip) of the Silicone like substance.{Any longer is no good at that distance without a fan or AC blowing on it for optimum charge and temp while chargeing.


The machine will damage the top and bottom minimaly and break no internal parts, while craeting a new flat surface with a bead channel for re-sealing purposes. Sorry to all my English teachers for using so many parenthesis.
For further advice and interest in helping to construct this machine I can be e-mailed at: riehl_synchronar_2100@yahoo.com


Thanks Dot for posting the scans,it is a big sigh of relief and made my day.
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your_man_in_Hamburg

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Re: Machine for openning Synchronar 2100

Post22 Aug 2006, 19:29

This message has very little to do with Howards R&D of a new case opener, but is still close enough to fit in the same thread.

I am slowely moving towards an actual attempt at repairing my Synchronar IV 1/2 now. My ambition is to describe the entire process with pictures and text at my home page, but right now there isn't much to show.

The latest step taken, which justifies this message being posted in this thread, is that I have invested in some milling equipment from the German manufacturer Proxxon, see www.proxxon.de. They seem to be no-nonsense German engineers making excellent machines for the (over-)ambitious amateur mechanical engineer. (Ok, I haven't seen my toys yet, but if they fail to impress me, I'll post a follow-up.)

With the equipment I have ordered, I think I will be able to enter the Lexan case from any angle, through a hole of any shape I desire, or strip the case completely, in total control and safety. I even think I will be able to produce spare shells, if need be. They would not look as good as moulded originals from CCC, but the squarish design of the Synchronar will enable me to come pretty close.

As far as I can tell, this solution of getting into a Synchronar is safe, flexible, and suits me.

Yours

Johannes

p.s. I get no kick-backs from Proxxon. It is just that all their talk about stability, precision, etc in their broschure has gone straight to my M.Sc. hart. PDF-copies of their broschure, in a selection of languages, can be downloaded from their home page.
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dot matrix

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Re: Machine for openning Synchronar 2100

Post22 Aug 2006, 21:17

I have managed to open a Mark I module just fine with no damage to the module. I used an x-acto knife around the seal at the bottom. Be careful not to pry too hard, the lexan can easily crack.
LED watches are quiet and polite. No ticking, no tocking, no beeping, no buzzing; they will only tell you the time when you ask to see it and they will do so instantly with no attention-seeking animations. A more civilized watch for a more civilized age.
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your_man_in_Hamburg

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new vs old Synchronars

Post23 Aug 2006, 20:53

As far as I have heard, the later models pose a greater challenge to those who try to get into. Instead of being filled with silicone rubber, they contain (poly?)urethane rubber. This stuff apparently hangs on to the lexan shell really well, so any attempt at prying away part of the lexan shell may put undue stress on whatever delicate parts that are embedded in the rubber.

I would not be surprised if the method I have chosen is unecessarily slow and cautious, but it is the only method I dare to use. (Ok, a powerful Nd:YAG laser would be even better, but my budget does not allow that.)

Yours

Johannes
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Re: new vs old Synchronars

Post24 Aug 2006, 15:02

[quote="your_man_in_Hamburg"]I would not be surprised if the method I have chosen is unecessarily slow and cautious, but it is the only method I dare to use. (Ok, a powerful Nd:YAG laser would be even better, but my budget does not allow that.)

Yeah, i would go for the YAG anyday ;-)

/H
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Proxxon tools tested.

Post07 Jan 2007, 00:16

Before milling the actual watch to pieces, I have spent some time learning to use my tools. Apart from trying to get a grasp of the limits of the equipment, I have milled myself a new top shell. Due to some tragic moments of lacking concentration, it is not quite perfect.

Since this shell only was planned to be an excercise, rather than to become a replacement part, it is milled out of Plexiglas instead of Lexan.

Still, this "proof of concept" allows me the luxury of believing that I can make replacement shells, if that would prove to be necessary.
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Re: Machine for openning Synchronar 2100

Post07 Jan 2007, 03:37

Why not use the brand spanken new top I sent with your watch?
On this thread I look back and see where I said the opening process would create the need for a new top.I think you took this too literaly to mean that there were none available.There is a big shortage on some parts,but lack of tops is not one of them.In the last 8 months about 2 dozen tops have gone to the collector field either by me or one of my brothers auctions.He has prodominatly the SW-(no groove) type.Injection molded backs are in need as well as redesigning the mold to house the new batteries.Since 2003 the bottoms have had to be milled to accomodate the new slightly larger NMH batteries.Just another time consuming thing with some hand filing as well to still make these hand made watches.

To make a complete shell as you call it, you still will need a bottom.
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your_man_in_Hamburg

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replacement shells

Post06 Feb 2007, 21:08

Well, for a start, I never said I would not use the top shell you sent me. One shell is only one shell, and I think I can mill replacement shells faster and with less agony than it would take to make you deliver another one.

As for a bottom shell, I haven't tried to replicate it yet for a very simple reason. If I manage to mill a top shell, the bottom lid will be a piece of cake.

Finally, your assumption that I went ahead and spent money and time attaining the ability to mill lexan shells, based on anything you said in this thread, is utterly wrong.
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Post06 Feb 2007, 21:57

Your assumption that I made an assumption is not accurate.I have been told not to waste my time responding to this non sense bickering attitude you continue to display and attemp to sway others opinions.If I had a grudge gripe against the inventor and his son like you do.I wouldn,t even want to look at a Synchronar or threaten to write a grudge review filled with errors in an emotionaly biased review like you did.Seems allmost all of your posts
are Synchronar related and you can,t complete a small paragraph without something negative to say.
Your welcome for the free TOP
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re: Machine for openning Synchronar 2100

Post08 Apr 2007, 17:01

I have a Synchronar I bought new from an add I saw in some magazine back in '74 or '75. Can really remember now. But anyhow I have it in a box with every other watch I bought and wore out. The Synchronar only worked for a couple of years and then it wouldn't recharge anymore. I also got tired of holding my arm out the window of my truck to face it into the sun to recharge it. I used to work a lot on night shift in those days so I was forever sticking my arm out the window on the way home in the early morning sun. That's when I bought a Doxa that I still have that still works with no servicing and having been thrown on the road by a crazy woman I used to know.
Anyhow enough of the history.
I have looked at the Synchronar with a magnifying glass and it appears to have some hairling cracks in the case as well as having some gook of somekind on it. Is it worth trying to have it repaired and what does it cost?

JB :) :) :)
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re: Machine for openning Synchronar 2100

Post09 Apr 2007, 00:48

Go to www.thedigitalwatch.com/VOM.htm I have an article on the new Synchronars that Howard is putting out.

They rock when they are working! :mrgreen:
http://www.retroleds.com - Sales of vintage LED, LCD, analog watches, parts and gadgets - repair tutorials & tips
Nov. 2022 - back in business!! BItter divorce is in home stretch, come grabs some great deals, I had to open the safe . . . damn attorneys. piss.
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assumptions about assumptions?

Post19 Apr 2007, 11:21

Synchroserious wrote:Your assumption that I made an assumption is not accurate.


Well, you wrote "Why not use the brand spanken new top I sent with your watch?
On this thread I look back and see where I said the opening process would create the need for a new top.I think you took this too literaly to mean that there were none available." and I apparently made the mistake of reading it.

My posts often deal with the Synchronar, since that is one of the two digital wrist watches I have. The other one, a Ventura, has worked almost perfectly for something like 4 years now, has near immaculate finish, and is thus not much to talk about.
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re: Machine for openning Synchronar 2100

Post19 Apr 2007, 17:34

So where is your review for the Ventura? Surly they would not drag you into court for making defamatory comments if you are so happy with it.


I pitty folks who think there is something the Synchronar has to prove.All such things were proven long before you decided to come along and speculate with your tainted review.No one else put their watch through abusive testing like you did in order to draw false conclusions.


This is the end of Machine for openning Synchronar 2100 thread
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