On Thu, 7 Jul 2011 04:38:05 -0700, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:
"D" wrote in message
web.com...
I have a "disposable" plastic POS I wear while biking, etc. It has its
place, and I'm glad to have it. But judging a 50 year old wris****ch
which was at the cutting edge of its discipline when it was made by the
TECHNICAL standards of today is pretty myopic, and misses the point
entirely.
The Accutron site referenced states that the stepper wheel was made using a
proprietary process that other companies were unable to duplicate. In fact,
the machine used to make it was deliberately destroyed by the company that
bought out Bulova.
That's because the index wheel was made from beryllium copper. It
could be duplicated, but my guess(tm) is that none of the workers
wanted to be near it. Beryllium dust is extrememly toxic and
hazardous. Beryllium copper is only about 2% beryllium, but still
required exotic dust control in the machining process. Bulova went
through several hands before Citizen bought what was left. The
machine was possibly destroyed because of the hazardous material
problem:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryllium_poisoning
I'm surprised no one has revived the Accutron. I have my father's, and when
my budget allows, I'll have a CLA performed.
They've been cloned. I have two that I bought for peanuts. No
batteries, so I don't know if they work. One is an Elton clone:
http://accutron.org/214/clones.htm
The other is an unknown.
Fun exercise: Guess how much a current reproduction of the Accutron
would sell for today? My offhand guess is about $3,000. That might
explain why they're not being reproduced.
Finding usable batteries is a problem. Mercury batteries are no
longer made, and the higher voltage silver-oxide substitutes work
arounds are somewhat of a challenge:
http://www.accutron214.com/AccutronBattery.htm
http://www.boomertime.com/3%20Accutron/A1688/A1688.htm
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558