Speeeeeeeeen

Continuing on with the saga of my Seiko watches, when we last left off I had replaced the batteries in both watches in the hope that this refresh would keep them from running down so frequently. The newer watch has, subsequently, returned to an acceptable level of functioning, but the old one still tends to run down to zero after a few months.

Of course this isn't entirely surprising, since I only wear the older one once a week, however I tried to address this, years ago, by storing it in an automatic watch winder when it isn't on my wrist.

Rather disappointingly, this did not solve the problem, and the reason why is pretty straightforward: the device is programmed to only rotate the watch for something like 15 seconds every hour. This rotational austerity is done in the name of not over-winding a mechanical automatic watch, since as we all know, overwinding a mechanical watch can cause the mainspring to be damaged or broken.

Except that watchmakers aren't idiots. A regular non-automatic wristwatch has a mainspring that's retained in the barrel by a hook and on the arbor by another hook, creating a positive connection to the spring at both ends, which is sufficiently strong that overpowering it will result in breaking the mainspring.

HOWEVER, automatic watches only have a hook on the arbor, and the barrel is instead smooth, with the mainspring gripping it via friction through a specially formulated sticky grease. If the watch is "overwound" then the winding action pulls the mainspring away from the inside of the barrel and this reduced pressure allows the spring to slip along, safely releasing the excess spring tension.

Never mind that my Seiko watches don't even have a mainspring. The automatic works runs a little generator that charges the battery.

But it's easier to sell people snake oil to alleviate their unfounded anxieties than it is to educate them and dispel their misunderstandings, so the result is we get an automatic watch winder that doesn't actually properly wind an automatic watch.

Now I've known this for a while and I've been mulling over ways to address it. I could replace the control board with one that's programmed more to my liking, or possibly just reprogram the control board that's already in there, but both of those options feel a bit tedious and excessive. Instead, I'm just going to install a switch to bypass the whole thing so that I can set the motor on to run constantly when I need to fully charge the watch.

And that starts with getting inside.

The winder can be optionally powered by a pair of batteries, but I run it off the wall-wart. Still, the battery compartment is one of the two main access routes to get inside the unit.

And the control board is just held in place by the nuts on the knobs and barrel jack.

The watch holder basket thing is held onto the gear motor shaft by a single screw, and another single screw holds the diagonal main plate in place. With those removed, everything comes apart.

There's not a ton of room in the bottom of the case, but I should be able to fit the switch here beside the basket where it'll be easily accessible from above.

Though the main plate is a little thick compared to the barrel size of this switch, so I'll need to carve out some space on the back side.

First up is drilling the hole.

Which worked pretty well, despite going through a layer of fabric on top.

And it's clear to see that we won't be able to get the retaining nut onto the switch without a bit more work on the backside.

But a little work with a 3/4 spade bit (which I had to run in my cordless drill because it's a cheap bit and not anywhere near straight) makes a nice little pocket for it to sit down inside.

And now we've got enough threads showing to secure the switch in place.

The nut and the anti-rotation washer go on just as planned.

And now it's time to solder. These two contacts on the programming header connect to the ground plane and the power input jack, so they make a convenient spot to tap into.

And then the switch gets soldered up to select between either the normal PCB connection or the direct power connection.

Then all that's left to do is pack everything back in the case like it was before.

So now whenever my watch is getting low on charge, I can just flip the switch to have the motor run constantly (and faster than normal too, since the new connection bypasses the 3.3v regulator) and leave it for an hour or two to make absolutely sure that the battery gets completely topped off.

Step 2: Install The Rest Of The Fucking Door

When we last left off, the door into my car hole was looking a little bit like this.

Functionally installed, but lacking a bit in terms of aesthetics and weathertightness.

As you might expect, this blog instalment is once again a bit on the lengthy side, so click through to read on.

Ekcs Dee

 So once again I found myself sifting through the underbelly of eBay looking for bargains that might pique my interest, and I came upon a Korg Minilogue XD synthesizer with my four favourite words "for parts or repair" attached. A few months ago I had actually found another one of them, also in inoperable condition, but ended up losing that auction. This one, though, had an issue that promised to be more easy to solve (some non-functional keys rather than the whole synth showing no signs of life) and was actually cheaper, so I went ahead and bought it.

The diagnosis of the issue was rather straightforward though it ended up requiring a slightly more involved fix than I had initially assumed. You can watch the adventure in this video here:

Anyway, the repair was a success, even with the unexpected twist that happened along the way, and the synth is now up and running and basically as good as new.

I decided to swap it in place of my Yamaha Reface CS. This isn't because the Minilogue XD is necessarily any better than the CS, but rather because the CS has built-in speakers and batteries, and thus it makes sense to use it as a portable couch-synth rather than just tying it down to one spot on my synth desk.

I Think I'm Turning Japanese

Or at least it would appear that way according to what I just ordered.

This is the Hakko FR-301, obviously, and there's really no reason I bought the Japanese version; they do make a basically identical American version with english packaging and documentation and a 3-prong plug. And it's also $100 more expensive for some reason.

I suppose I should explain what this is: it's a desoldering gun. To desolder a component, you generally need to heat up the solder past its melting point, then somehow physically remove the liquid solder from the joint. You can wick it away with solder wick, or suck it away with a separate solder sucker, but this tool combines both the solder sucking and the heating in one single tool.

It's also, somewhat inconveniently, designed to run on 100VAC, since it's the Japanese version. So we're going to need to do a little bit of tweaking.

The back cover and solder jar come off quite easily without tools, and then there's 4 screws on the case and 2 on the nozzle that need to come out.

Is it scandalous to see it this naked? Anyway, 2 screws on the PCB and 2 more on the power cord strain relief need to be removed to free up the main PCB.

What we're looking for is the 10Ω resistor that runs in line with the vacuum pump motor, which needs to be swapped out with a pair of 300Ω resistors to get it running the correct speed at 120v.

And yes, I now have 48 spare 300Ω 1W resistors that I'm sure I will find a use for... eventually.

Anyway, to remove the 10Ω resistor we can just use the desoldering gun to... oh, wait.

Right, we gotta do this old school.

This is, quite frankly, a giant pain in the ass thanks to the use of lead-free solder. But I managed.

Thankfully soldering in the two new resistors is pretty easy. Remember to space them off the board so that they don't cook the PCB when they warm up.

And don't forget to clean off the flux when you're done.

Curiously the trimmed leads from these new resistors are magnetic, apparently having been made from tinned iron wire, rather than something like, I dunno, copper?

Given that these resistors are THAT cheap, it's probably not a bad idea to check to see if they're even in spec.

Ok, that's actually not too bad. And since I have a 4-wire meter, I can also check to see how much resistance is coming from the iron component leads themselves.

You really need a 4-wire setup for this as otherwise the resistance from the test leads and the contact resistance from where you connect to the component you're testing will overwhelm the low resistance you're trying to measure.

2mΩ ain't half bad, I guess the iron wire does the job if it's thick enough.

Anyway, assembly is the reverse of disassembly.

And we're ready to suck some solder!

This Pillow Is Too Spicy

As discussed on a previous blog entry, the magical pixies that power my Garmin 1030 are starting to escape their enchanted prison.

Ok, maybe it's a little more than just starting to. Anyway, it's time to deal with it and conveniently the expanding battery has given us an easy entry point. As per usual, a careful application of heat and guitar picks is the musical spell to gain access into this electrical dungeon.

Once inside we can get a good look at the pixie containment unit, which is dangerously close to being breached.

And by peeling back a bit of tape, we can lift the flex cable connector and disconnect the screen unit to get it out of the way.

One of the screws we need to remove is hiding under the copper tape, and the one in the bottom-right has a washer on it, but they all come out with the assistance of a T-6 and T-5 torx driver.

And the connector at the bottom pops off with just a little gentle prying, the battery cable lifts off, and we can set this board aside.

The pixie prison is, per usual, restrained in place by an adhesive force the likes of which mankind can scarcely imagine. Still though, persistent prying from the underside will be able to overcome its tenacious grip.

As we can clearly see, the pixies in the new spectral chalice are still quite compliant and well secured, and show no signs of rioting or plots of escape.

And a little square of carpet tape binds their souls to the interior of the infernal dungeon.

Assembly is the reverse of disassembly, and we can even check to see that everything is working before setting the screen fully back in place.

And once the screen is snuggled down into its bed of adhesive, with just enough holes and tears now to ensure it is no longer even remotely waterproof, you might never suspect that anything ever happened.

However it looks like only 55% of the pixies are dancing, so a little bit of electro-shock therapy should rouse the rest of them from their slumber.

I'll be sure to post an update later if this new battery burns my house down. In the meantime, I'll call this a job well done.

Expanding Possibilities

So when I installed the conduit along the west side of my house, I just glued the whole length together with all the appropriate fittings and let it be. As it turns out, PVC conduit has quite a notoriously large coefficient of thermal expansion, and so when the sun started beating down on the wall (as it is wont to do), the conduit expanded and bent into a wiggly noodle.

This is not ideal.

So, the solution is to install some sliding expansion couplers.

These ones will expand by up to 4 inches in length, which is, honestly, quite a lot. Way more than I'll need for this length of conduit, but that's the size they come in.

As we can see below, it was slightly warmer outside when I initially installed this conduit, judging from the gap that was left after I sliced through it.

But I think we'll have enough range to accommodate it with the coupling set to about half its stroke.

And if we don't, well... I'll be concerned.

Since I have a box that somewhat anchors the middle of the conduit, I installed one expansion joint on either side.

I actually bought a third joint too, to install along the front of the house, but that run is always in the shade and close down to the soil, so I don't think it'll expand and contract as much. Also it has a bend on one end that can take up a bit of the motion.

But mostly I haven't installed it because it's much more of a pain to physically reach it.

If it proves to be an issue, I have it if I need it.