On Sun, 08 May 2011 23:32:09 -0700, Erik wrote:

In article ,
Gunner Asch wrote:

On Sun, 08 May 2011 13:04:32 -0700, Rich Grise
wrote:

Gunner Asch wrote:

If one wants a watch that will indeed outlast you..Id suggest a Seiko
"kinetic" powered watch..digital/analog watch with a "kinetic power
generator" built into the watch. This is basically a weight driven
generator that keeps a battery charged.

Half a century ago, they called them "self-winding." :-)

Cheers!
Rich

Actually..no. "self winding" is normally a weight driven mechanism that
winds up a spring

The Seiko (and a few other brands) that use "kenetic" technology
actually drive a tiny generator that charges up the battery.
No springs involved.

The first generation Seikos had big problems with their batteries
failing in a year or less. The latest versions seem to be holding up
quite nicely, the batteries are lasting for at minimum..10 or more years
before needing replacement..and they dont split open and bleed all over
everthing inside the case..as the first ones did.

Gunner

Do these actually use batteries? A neighbor of mine [1] was recently
boasting about how they use capacitors.

Erik

[1] However, this neighbor is one of those loud blow hard know it all
types who generally makes his facts up on the spot.

IIt actually IS/was a capacitor...but..one that has a significant
storage capacity...much closer to a battery than a true cap. They failed
badly.....

http://www.pmwf.com/Watches/Seiko/Fa...Capacitors.htm

http://www.ofrei.com/page953.html

http://quartzimodo.com/the-seiko-kinetic-boon-or-bane/

Was the capacitor trouble widespread or was it just limited to certain
Seiko Kinetic models or calibers? I later learned that the problem
largely affected the early Kinetic calibers, particularly the 5M4x and
5M2x series. These were mostly movements that were made prior to the
year 2000.

At the same time, Seiko had quietly rectified the capacitor leakage
problem when they introduced the new 5M6x caliber, which is still in
existence at the time of writing. In place of the capacitor, Seiko
decided to use a rechargeable titanium lithium ion cell (LiOn) as
replacement.

Gunner

--
"If I say two plus two is four and a Democrat says two plus two is eight,
it's not a partial victory for me when we agree that two plus two is
six. " Jonah Goldberg (modified)