Marc's blog corner

Scuba diving instructor

2011-03-04T15:33:00.003+01:00

On Feb. 18 and 19, I passed my final examination to be granted as PADI scuba diving instructor. The Professional Association of Diving Instructor (PADI) is the largest scuba diving organization in the world, represented in 180 countries with more than 130 000 professional members.

I was an extraordinary adventures and a nice friendship experience with other candidates in France (Toulouse) and in Spain Costa Brava (Aiguablava). Nothing difficult but i just required a great attention particularly during the final couple of days.

It is the start of a new period for me now even if nothing really change right now. It's just a bit more satisfactory than before!

If you're French speaking have a lot to my French web pages here, and if you have any question about scuba diving, how to discover it, how to practice it locally or off shore, equipement, training, etc, please feel free to ask me by email or by leaving a message here.

Cheers,

Marc's World New Pages !

2007-12-26T01:40:00.001+01:00

As for the year 2005 and 2006, I publish a new catalog of about 800 new pictures done along the year 2007. In addition, I constructed a new bunch of mini web sites related to my interests: watches, SCUBA diving, photography and computing.

Unfortunately at now, only the tribute to the year 2007 is bilingual. Soon English version of the rest will appear.

Happy end for 2007 !

The sad beauty of fall

2007-11-19T20:15:00.000+01:00

Yesterday on Sunday, I went to visit "my" lake where I enjoyed so much last summer its blue-green waters, that helped me a lot to become familiar with my UW camera and to keep myself trained in snorkelling. The fall has no pity on time. The lake becomes slowly to freeze...The sad beauty of fall...

Doxa meets Seiko's in Hong Kong

2007-11-08T17:13:00.000+01:00

A mission to South-East China, maked my Doxa watch meeting to new passengers from Seiko company in Hong Kong!...

A Love Story

2007-10-07T22:11:00.000+02:00

The sea, diving, a watch, a dive watch! She is on my wrist tonight. We went altogether in the sea by 38m depth, more that it would have been maybe still reasonable, but perfectly safe. My Doxa and I, are in love...

Diving session in Marseille, France

2007-09-26T21:04:00.000+02:00

Marseille, Fance, september 22-23 - 3 dives (22m 38min, 38m 26min, 26m 52min), an absolute dream under ideal diving conditions. Water temperature 22°C at 40m, currentless spots, an incredible visibility. My physical and underwater photography training during august were real benefits. I never hesitated in the camera commands and manipulation.

I am in love, of the sea, of the life, of Earth...I have never see something more beautiful, powerfully emotional. A though beauty that makes you crying...

Black and White....

2007-08-29T17:15:00.000+02:00

During summer vacations I rediscovered the beauty of argentic B&W photography and those times where I learned how to process an manufacture a picture using a film camera.

Finally, is the principle so different compared to the digital electronic coding? The image is stored in a chemical memory deposited on the film and has to be revealed later on. While the digits are stored in a memory card in the digital camera.

The image is captured using basically identical lenses and all the rules of light managmement are valid.

processing differs completely of course, but once scanned, an argentic picture can be printed of modified as a digital one!! The shot is also different. The 36 exposures and the impossibility to check the result immediately make the picturing rather different. It recquires clearly more careness and the effect of slight changes in the light can't be seen directly.

Visual effects of black-and-white pictures are very specific and evocative in certain circumstances. It's even very pleasent to play with B&W processing of digital pictures.

Here is one digital pictures recently taken using my Nikon Coolpix L11 in its dive housing.

It was taken a cloudy day. I colorized the image using very desaturated monochrome blue and added a filter to mimick the grain of high-sensitivity film:

The large undetailed areas can be used to had a text for an advertising-like picture :

Or here in French with a reference to our dive-watch forum:

The magic of the digital processing to get multiple possibilities of tones otherwise very difficult, or impossible to get chemically of course.

Here is a copper-like version :

But I'm still waiting for finishing my roll and process the real film! Finding consumable for argentic photos is nowaday not so easy. A camera shop in Lyon, France still sells everything necessary (Leica Central Photo Centre conseil 22 rue Algérie 69001 Lyon). I was suprized of the numerous caution notes on the packages. Hydroquinone and hyposulfites are indicated very toxic for the environment...something that was not at all indicated in the 70's.

My Diving Watches

2007-08-28T11:48:00.000+02:00

My present diving watches in action while training in the Lyon-Miribel's lake, France!

Incredible Strela's

2007-08-10T21:34:00.000+02:00

Almost two years of love with those watches and their incredible story

The Amphibia Free Dive

2007-08-07T20:35:00.000+02:00

No heavy SCUBA, just a mask, a snorkel, fins and the Amphibia!

My silent (micro) world

2007-08-06T20:56:00.000+02:00

In just 70cm, sometime 1m, of soft water on this sunday august 5. Ground air temp. 35°C, surface water 23°C. Equipped with fins, mask and snorkel, and my new submersible camera. I spend more than 1 hour there taking pictures, observing this incredible micro-world, a few minutes away from human civilization, but already in another world...

Neptun

2007-07-30T18:55:00.000+02:00

Neptun is, in the Roman mythology, the god of the seas, oceans and the aquatic kingdom. He is equivalent to Poseidon in the Greek mythology. Son of Saturn and Rhea, he was brother of Jupiter and Pluton...His attributes are the trident, the seahorse, the dolphin, and the shark... Incidentally Neptun also a specific series of nicely colored Russian Vostok watch of the same technical characteristics as Amphibia....

The magic of water

2007-07-26T17:45:00.000+02:00

Something incredible, unexplainable, unbelievable...why the magic is always reproduced as soon as we are underwater? Under 150 Ft or while snorkeling into single, that's the same. The magic of the sun diffracting into a myriad of dancing rays...

Yesterday I returned snorkeling in Miribel near Lyon city just for training physically. I snorkelled during 1h30. I just saw a couple of cat fishes and a few others indigen species in thoses blue-green and no-so clear waters. And it was indeed as magical as in a marvelous corail garden..

A joke to the reality...

Sunday test mission

2007-07-23T21:36:00.000+02:00

Both the Vostosk watch "Ministry" and second test session for the Nikon/Fantasea FL-11 camera.

We Discovered a New World...

2007-07-21T11:04:00.000+02:00

A world of shinning jewels in a liquid crystal...

Horology and diving : two things lovely complementary but with specific cautions!

To celebrate that double fascination, we launched with my buddy Jean-Michel a new French-speaking forum that I am proud to announce here :

And the Dream Came to Reality...

2007-05-22T09:50:00.000+02:00

Five months ago, I decided suddently to learn diving. In the middle of a dark and cold december, I passed my first qualification in a confortable pool heated at 28°C. I trained then methodically and physically in a diving association, still in closed waters. In juanuary, I imagined my first open water experience somewhere in May or June, during the fair days. I dreamed of my first open water dives that should logically somewhere on the nearest mediteranean French shores. On Thursday, May 17 at 3 pm the dream came to reality here :

In front of the Golden Island and Dramont beach (where the allied forces debarked on august 15, 1944 during the "Anvil Dragoon" operation) at the feet of Esterel massif, Var, France.

Quite shaked first by a strong wind in the little pneumatic boat for 20 divers, headed to the dive spot, I'm in complete confidence near my dive supervisor and my named guide for today.

It's now. Go Marc, go!

Picture credit : Plongée Plaisir 1 & 2, A. Foret, P. Torres, Editions GAP, 2005

God! What a shock! It's blue, it's green, it's salty and we are shaked by the waves. My experienced dive guide is Rosie, 32 and I dive with Aurélie, 23, first dive in open water too. We flush the air in the buoyancy jacket. Due to the stress, immersion is a bit tedious, but finally 2m, forward rotation, we go straight using our fins, 6m, 10 m. I compensate the pressure in the hears. Now we fall without the use of our fins. 15m, 20m, we now stabilize by reinflating gently the jacket to get a neutral buoyancy. Temperature 19°C. we are stable and everything is OK. I feel just perfect. I see now the landscape, the rocks, the green posidonea (the common mediteranean algae) meadows . The "saupes" fishes seem to laugh : "Hey did you see that guy with his new brand hardware??"

Photo © Claude Ruff

An enormous emotion that my guide clearly percepted through the mask. She was so happy to see us charmed...we are now explorating the site. We ascend effortless the rocks, explore extraordinary walls full of life, jump over the peak to fall with fluidity again on the other side. We are flying! It's magical. It's marvellous!

On the left wrist is my Suunto Vyper computer recording every dive parameters each 20s storing them in a database for offline analysis. On the right wrist is my fetish watch just repaired but Peter Maier the Vostok Europe N1 . My watch is shinning in the diffuse blue light of the deep water.

40 minutes after, we climb in a controled manner, slowly, and very slowly in the last 3m, controling any possible danger or obstacle that couls arise and we surface to the fresh air.

5 extra other dives followed until sunday with optimal weather conditions (2 dives per day separated by 5-6 hours to desaturate nitrogen dissoved by our organisms). In the last dive (total 43 min) we went for 5 min at 26 meters, one extra meter than the largest limitation for my present diving certification, with aspecial agreement of our guide, just to say hello to a kind murena (Murena helena) common in the Mediterranean sea.

Credit to Pony 33406 . Licence

The VE N1 resisted perfectly and worked remarkbly. Returned home, I just left it overnight in soft water to extract any residues of salt.

Sorry, I could not take underwater pictures during that session. I had already a lot of parameters to manage. But promised I will return soon with an adapted camera !!!

Here the dive profile of my 6th dive extracted from my Suunto Vyper computer that recorded every parameters every 20s of each dives.

Just arrived at 24m, we add to practice how to empty a flooded mask. Our instructor asked to remove our mask, put it on back , and to empty it just by inflating the mask using the nose. It an easy exercise but it needs to control correctly the breathing. Aurélie dislikes that practise and she inflated to much her lungs causing an ascent of ca 10m. I had to respect the coherence of the group and to follow on the side. This the peak recorded on the left. After its only the normal exploration and the final ascending.

The D-Day is Approaching

2007-04-29T11:55:00.000+02:00

The last three months I pursued methodically my diving training sessions. Twice the week with instructors and one or two free one (snorkeling) just to acquire a good condition. I practice swimming on a regular basis for more that 20 years and it replaced easily that exercise.

I had a look to my watch yesterday while swimming with fins + mask + snorkel : 1 Km in about 22 min, just comfortably and quietly. I continued by extra 20 min with just with fins then 20 min on the back and finished with cool litlle apnea dives.

I feel now quite OK for my first diving trip to Saint Raphaël, on the mediteranean shore, on may 17-20. Four days and 6 dives are planned...the D-day!

Meanwhile, I completed my equipement progressively.

3mm thick neoprene gloves (Tribord, Decathlon)
5/7 mm Cressi black wetsuit in Ultraspan neoprene
neopren booties Beuchat

Open-heels Mares Superchannel fins, light grey ans black
A spare mask Beuchat Strato without correcting lenses as back up of my regular one with correcting lenses (Cressi Sub Matrix).

My Suunto Vyper diving computer
A ScubaPro K-4 stainless steel knife
A no-name 6-LED torch

A safety set comprizes

A rescue signaling mirror
a flashing lamp
An Aqualung parachute

More recently, I've found almost by accident a wishful configuration for the air cylinders. A new bi-bottles 2x7.5 l, service pressure 230 bars (3 m3). The weight 2x8 kg plus the valves, is less than a regular single 15 l cylinder.

It fits directly on the SeacSub Pro2000 BCD back pack without extra accessories. I tested it 2 days ago during the friday session for about 1h of exercises. Then someone else also used it for an extra session so I could see the system working properly.
Since I own my regulator system, I am still doubtful on the initial configuration. The spare second stage (yellow one) called "octopus" is an Aqua Lung "ABS" designed for a non-compensated medium pressure (I guess 9 bars or so). The Aqua Lung brochure just says that it is "non-recommended" to use that regulator with an "over-compensated" first stage as the Legend one (medium presurre compensated in depth to max. 15 bars). It may cause air escape through the regulator.

The vendor said that it is in fact not a problem, but another one claimed that is even "hazardous"...

Well, well. I could not leave the doubt installed.

I decided to have anyway the benefit of my second bottle valve by a modification of the system using a separated first stage regulator and that could be fully compatible with the Legend system.

Oh! what I said there : "No, Sir! Only legend octopus can fit Legend regulator", "That's impossible!", "Systems are accredited and can't be separated!"....I had to fight to obtain a clear answer only to known that Aqualung Legend and Titan series are fully compatible!!!!

Finally, I own now a Titan LX with DIN 300 bars connector. I connected the DS inflator, the HP manometer and the Octopus "LX". I can switch all to the Legend to dive with a mono HP valve or all to the Titan if necessary.

Someone else almost gave me also a Scubapro MK2, which is one of the most basic and reliable regulator that fits perfectly Aqua Lung ABS octopus.

I did not really appreciated those divergent opinions and vague information. There is something to do to improve the diving hardware business, indeed!

Anyway, here is the configuration with the separated regulators shown in a FlashPlayer animation

This configuration is closed to the SCUBA commonly used for cave diving. The two cylinders would be then separated to give a fully redundant system. Every 10 bars consumed the cylinders are best switched manually. This is a demanding additional manipulation to afford the necessary level of safety required (if something goes wrong, you can just surface...)

A musical diaporama in FP format (6min50).

Diving : Practice!

2007-01-14T18:25:00.000+01:00

What a pleasure to be a very "beginner" at the age of 48! Since I got my basic diving qualification on december 17, 2006, I am applying methodically my learning plans. First, I registred to a local diving center to practice with experienced divers. Twice the week (sometine 3 or 4 if I decide to add fins-snorkeling sessions), we train with fins and snorkel on tuesday night and with the SCUBA hardware on friday.

Last friday, during my fourth pool dive (!..), I finally used for the first time all that beautiful equipment shown before. The Seac-Sub BCD and the Aqua-Lung Legend regulators went to water for the first time.

I installed an air bottle (half inflated here) on the BCD. I did not hesitated in the strap passing order in the strengthening buckle. It's even written on it : 1-2-3-4 and the scratch finally. Then, I installed the regulators. The main respirator should on the right. The spare yellow one, the pressure manometer and the BCD inflator pipe, on the left. While maintaining the window of the manometer front to the soil for security, I opened the main valve fully then returned half a turn. Read the pressure. If I open the respirator valve, the pressure decrease. Finish by checking the whole system before wearing it.

This time I wore the SCUBA, sit on the pool seat and went to water using the "straight jump". With your BCD inflated, you stand fully equipped on the edge of the pool (that should allow enough stability!). Check if the area is free of any obstacles of other diver. Breathing already through the respirator, protect your mask and respirator with one hand, your instruments along the body with the other. Looking straight ahead, you make a big step ahead and that all. Once in the water, you check if you kept everything with you and you make the sign OK to your instructor.

We revisited the use of the respirator under water. It was really necessary because the last time, I completely forgot that one can empty the water from it just by pushing the exhaust valve!
I was pushing that water like in a snorkel. If you have enought in the lungs, it's OK but if you are already empty...
I almost drowned my buddy during a respiration exercise with as single respirator for two divers due to that stupidity!

Most of the work now will be to practice enough to control to the best the descending and ascending speeds. They vary a lot with the deep due to pressure difference. It must be control using the lungs as a ballast and, by small touches, the BCD.

Will need sometime for sure...

to whom is those strange things in the bathroom?..

2007-01-01T11:13:00.000+01:00

Happy New Year 2007!
Bonne Année 2007!

May this new year afford you happyness and prosperity!

This is a new year again and my wishes are not so superficial as they could appear. Yesterday night, the peacefull evening at home started very sadly.

Around 7h30 pm I was afraid a big scratch sound coming from the street.

I went to the window and I did not realized immediatly what happened exactly. There were no apparent accidents
just a car that looked strangely parked. It turns out that the drivers just had a heart attack and when unanimated, bumping four cars parked along the walk side. The rescue medical doctors did cardiac massages and artificial respiration for more than one hour but, very sadly, they failed to save the poor man from a certain death...

A sort of story that recall you that life is indeed a so fragile thing and we should spoil a single minit.

In 2007, I am very motivated to pursue my discovery of SCUBA diving as well as developping my hobbies related to watches and computers. Please note that I could combine them altogether easily. For diving I will need at least a watch and a deep meter that could be convieniently mixed into a diving computer!

Santa afforded me the principal hardware that I will complete progressively.

My basic set is at now :

Fins (Beuchat, Marseille, France)
2 masks : one Scubapro CrystalVu and a Cressi which is beeing adapted to my view.
a snorkel (Technisub, a group of Aqua Lung Company)
a 3,5 mm thick shorty wetsuit

My new BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) is a Pro2000 Seac Sub with a total buoyancy capacity (the L size) of 21.2 Kg/46.6 lbs.

My regulators are from AquaLung company (series Legend Supreme LX)

At now I use for fum my new Vostok Europe "Rocket N1" that gave complete satisfaction for my initial training.

I have posted either on my 2006 album or wus forum other pictures of my fetish watch of the moment (1, 2, 3, 4) that will accompany most of the coming diving trainings. The next diving club training is January 9 but I will go to the pool swimming before this week (fins/snorkeling).

The Year 2006

2006-12-28T09:12:00.000+01:00

Watches and Watchmaking

I did not maintain this blog since March 2006, so sorry! However, I posted most of my new watch projects on watchuseek fora and since October 2006, in French, on "forumamontre" a local French forum under the same pseudonym.

Through about 15 differents projects, I succeeded to service and restore simple vintage watches and my Russian Strela 3017 chronograph that suddently lost its balance amplitude.

My interest for watches and watchmaking was completed by several local tourist visits to our most important French/Swiss watchmaking places : the French Jura (Morteau, Villers), Franche Comté (Besançon), Savoie (Cluses), Swiss Jura (Joux, Le Locle, Geneva).

I completed my collection of different classical Russian watches and chronographs, including two new 3017 Strela, a Sturmanskie 3133 . I continued my discovery of French horology with several Yema watches (Flygraf 1976, Sous-Marines), the marvellous 70's Lip Electronic (Nautic-Ski and Super Nautic Ski in particular).

I also created my "watch station", a small place about 80 cm wide, reserved for watchmaking unfortunately not at the watchmaking size standard (beware to the back pain!) which is shown on an earlier post.

Diving!

I don't know if the idea came from the consideration of some diving watches (!), discussion with friends or just the need to see my world differently, but in december I decided to be trained to SCUBA diving!...

This activity is enough potentialy hazardous and technical to require a proper learning with trusty instructors. I successfully passed the basic level that provide the knowledge recquired for "accompanied diving with an instructor to 20 meter deep maximum". With 4 other trainees we learned in a securing indoor pool with water at 24°C while it was -2°C outdoor...

I was amused to learn this new dimension with a Vostok-Europe "N1" watch that is resistant enough (10 Atm) for this diving grade.

I am going now to train more every tuesday and friday nighday for several month before my first open-water diving (likely in the Mediteranean sea). Humm!

(the big pool at the Lyon's aquarium)

Nice year 2007 in sight!

Digital cameras

2006-03-08T15:16:00.000+01:00

In 2003, I decided to buy a digital camera of enough resolution and performance for real photography.

I still own a complete Minolta system that includes two 24x36 reflex cases (a Srt-100b circa 1975 and a X-500 with motor likely of late 80's or so) and a pretty nice set of lenses from 21 to 400 mm. When I was in Japan in the early 90's, I did not bring along from Europe this system that that too heavy for travelling. There, I bought instead two funny cameras: a waterproof 35 mm Fuji made of plastic and a Nikon "Nikonos V" for diving. The Fuji camera was my "notebook" and I was extremely statisfied of the pictures quality.

In the 70's, I did a lot of B&W pictures, developped and printed them by my own. It was so pleasent but required a photo lab that I could not maintained latter on. I did also color slides and finally color negative films.

Since I was very happy with the Minolta system, I was seduced by this Dimage 7i, fitted with a 5 MegaPixels Sony CCD. It's a so-called "bridge" camera, with a LCD collimator through the lens plus a screen.

I found this "machine" absolutely extraordinary. You can have all the light corrections you imagine, a B&W mode, solarization, a 28-200 mm zoom, macro, video mode, timer...For an amateur photographer, it was a paradise. The only problem is energy...with a set a 4 AA NiH battery, you operate no more than 2 hours....What is more it heats a lot on the right side . The embedded RISK processor (a digital camera is an efficent computer first) is quite active!!

Two weeks ago, on a sunday morming....Oops!? what that strange colors? white are violin, everything distorded!!!

On/of, reset, no way! I was quite disapointed!. I known that I use a lot this camera but it still has less than 3 years. The up-to-date action is nowadays to have a look to the internet to see if someone has the same problem somewhere. 10 min latter, I was aware that the Minolta series between 2002 and 2004 has a known quality problem with the mounted CCD. Minolta (or better Konica-Minolta and now Sony!) could replace it for free. I have even the address of the repair service for France and the phone number. On the next Wednesday, after a phone call, my beloved Dimage was shipped to Paris for repair. They acknowledged the receipt and it should, hopefuly, fixed by the end of March.

With this trouble, I did sooner than expected a new purchase of a new system, closer to a real camera : a digital reflex with interchangeables lens. With the undergoing evolution of Konica-Minolta sold to Sony, the vendor was happy to sell out his last model appeared by the end 2005 : the Dynax 5D.

I already thought to a specialized macro lens capable to give the 1:1 ratio without accessories. Sigma has a very nice model both as 50mm or 100mm. 50mm is equivalent in 24x36 to 75mm. It's perfect for my use. I've got also 2 regular zooms to for general purposes. I can even re-use some accessories like an expensive Minolta 90° angle viewer.

It's a 6 MP ccd with a length:height ratio different from the 24x36 or the Dimage 7i. It is bit bit wider. I should become more familiar with.

Here are some macrophotos tests:

The setting logics are very closed to the Dimage, so I had no difficulties to find the similar ones. No more video and sound recording (more for fun than else). No more estimate of the color correction before taking the picture. It's a real and regular optical viewer, not a through-lens LCD screen of course. I am bit disorientated at first, but soon I think I will like it very much!!!

Here the nice case back of a shripwrecked YEMA watch with a n automatic ETA 2472 Swiss movement, recently restored at an excercice (see this wus post)

Here with other YEMA specimen including the 2005 re-edition of their Rallygraf, issued in the 70's. Rallygraf and Yatchingraf contributed to the international reputation of French Yema watches and had some commercial sucessness in the USA.

Here with a SOG Twitch II pocket knife and mounted on a military "James Bond", NATO stripped band.

A "Watch Station"

2006-03-07T18:32:00.000+01:00

When I collected some vintage calculators past year 2005 (electronic and some slide rules), I had soon a problem to store them safely while could use them easily without unboxing a lots of storage boxes.

At that time I found a small window that is perfect for this use and I am still very happy with this system.

With my watches, I have a double problem : a place for watchmaking and something to store them in an handy way.

A watchmaker bench is something very beautiful an desirable. The working height is about 95 cm while a regular table is about 75 cm. Working higher avoid to arc the back uncomfortably. These benches are traditionnaly not very wide. Watchmaking wrist watches does not require more than 0.80 to 1 m. Finding a vintage one a reasonable price will require sometime for sure. They are very rare and expensive if any. I could find a manufacturer in Gerarmer, France. They sell by their own and directly beautiful models for about 700 Euros. Abit too much for me, and I would prefer something more "styled" or "vintage"...

I temporally adopted a small desk, unfortunately just a bit higher than usual (80 cm) with five drawers and an expendable top.

I installed it, on free wall pan of my living room, just where I had already the seat. I had in reserve a fluo lamp that gives a pretty nice light, a critical element in watchmaking. The storage of my watches is only partially solved with the two collectives boxes that found their place on the desk shelf. I used these two boxes for my vintage watches, but what is about the new one and their original nice boxes?

Two weeks ago, I spotted a very beautiful possible additional element at the flea market: A fantastic small cupboard with windowed doors and so nice "diamonded" wood motif on both sides. The same wood tones as the desk. The depth was also remarquable and there is an additional drawer at the bottom. At the flea-market, you should decide quickly. The time necesseray to have a look around and make up my mind, I returned to the very kind and friendly sellers. We discussed a bit and we agreed for 50% of the indicated price was indeed very high (330 Euros...) but the cupboard was already entirely restored. More more works to do on it then.

On a sunday afternoon, the beauty is fixed on the wall, 30 cm above the desk. Humm... I feel very inspired, dreaming about traditionnal home watchmaking, lost in the contry side of the "Haut-Doubs" somewhere above Pontarlier or the Valley of Joux in Switzerland!

My new "watch station". The green watchmaking mat is specially concieved for comfortable working without tiring the eyes. On it: my beloved Melissa chronograph fitted with a Swiss Valjoux 7734 movement, 17 jewels and date. Offered to me in the spring 1969 and recently fully restored by a local watchmaker after 25 year deeply asleep in the botton of a forgotten drawer. On the wall at the left, a shuttle used for silk braiding (my appartement is a former silk braiding workshop...), manufactured in Lyon in the century 19 to mid 20.

So nice! I can have everything under the hand, tools, my watches, parts. What a pleasure!

With that Lip old pocket watch (manufactured in Besançon, France) suspended in the middle of the desk, that all the French horology that comes to me!!

Watchmaking V : other training restorations

2006-03-07T17:57:00.000+01:00

After the happy USSR Raketa story, I did the same exercice on two other watches : a simple Swiss watch with central second hand (the hand set is a bit corroded) and fitted with a nice Alfred Schild (Grunchen, Switzerland) AS 1187/94. A good quality caliber mounted in generic watches widely diffused in the early 60's I guess. Here it is in its initial condition :

I did also a same type of genric watch of the French production found at the flea market : a Relliac is fitted with a French Cupillard (Villers-le-Lac, Haut-Doubt, France) 233 calibre and a Erosa with an "Horlogerie de Savoie" HS P62 caliber for which I have in my stock a box of parts!

Here they after the restoration :

The Relliac kept very good time (+4-5 s / day) for about 6 weeks, but stopped yesterday in certain positions. I should have a closer look to it...

I have still a 3 others French watches of the same period (50's early 60's) as projects. The other have broken balance wheel pivots and will more difficult to fix

My next step was however, to service an automatic watches with dato, thought a bit more difficult. The final stap will be to service a chronograph. My beloved Russian Strela needs new oils... I am not satisfied of the balance amplitude that is too narrow and the train wheel looks a bit sticky. It's strange because a "VI-05" in engraved in the interior of the case back that would indicate a possible service in June 2005. My mistake was likely to teach at my University with that watch on my wrist during my autumn courses (I still use the old-fashionned way with the dusty blackboard...). The historical cosmonaut chrono has no protection at all, I suspect some dust penetrated and mixed to the oil...

Wachtmaking training IV : reassembly

2006-03-07T08:37:00.000+01:00

Let's remount the watch...

The first step is to remount the complete stem mechanism on the dial side of the main plate

A detailed pictures of how is was originaly is very helpful. The best is to have the manufacturer technical sheets that could found on the net, not for free however.

After this, we can remount the central wheel that has a special bridge here.

Once done, it is better to mount now the cannon pinion on its axe on the dial side. The cannon pinion should be firmly pushed with a nylon tool until a "click" indicates the proper location. Here is a picture taken on another caliber :

Occasionnaly one can adjust the friction of this cannon pinion by a careful litlle more strangling on it. It will give have an effect on the apparent forced exerted to move the hands. With a proper setting, one can stop the watch but a small reverse turn on the stem.

Before remounting the trains of wheels, I should recase the mainspring. There special tools to roll themm at the proper diameter, but here I should do this directly in the barrel turns by turns. I first mounted it in the reverse way, but the second time it was OK.

In fact, I proceeded several times to the mount/unmount of the barrel+train to test it. During these manipulations, I clearly became much more familiar with the handling of parts, screws with the brucelle.

Lubrification

Except the pivot of the pallet, all fast motion pivot (balance wheel, escapement) should be oiled with special fine oil (Moebius 9100) dispensed with a proper oil pick (Bergeon red color). The friction (strem, barrel axes, etc.) should be greased (Mobius 8200) with the green oil pick which is larger. Slow motion wheel could used a higher viscosity oil (Moebius 9200 or D5).

The shock protection system stones (Incabloc brand or similar) of the balance wheel pivots were previously disassembled for cleaning. They are different one the dial side and the cock. I first did not noticed this difference. The springs are very light and have no system to stay mounted on the supporting seats. I lost one definitively. After more practice I known that it is better to maintain them on the ring with a flat bar of wood covered by a soft leather ("cabron de peau" indicated on the picture below)

"Moelle de sureau" and "cabron de peau" on the left. A shock protection system (here of another French caliber) with its brass spring (lyra shaped). Reinstall these sort of springs require some training.

Without its spring the shock protector does not function and the watch is only running well on one side only...

At the Lyon's flea market, I negociated for 20 Euros a lot of watch parts very diverses In this lot, I found a compatible Incabloc spring to fix the problem.

There are a lot of different shock protecting systems with diffrent types of spring. The most handy are those where the spring stays on the supporting ring once opened. No more risk tehn to see them flying!

Return to the dial, hand set and recasing

After the test of the caliber runnig in all positions for sometime, it is returned to the dial with the co-axiak hours wheel underneath plus the small brass spring ring pressssing to that wheel. The and are presented with the brucelle and pressed with the nylon stick special for this use. The hour hand, the the minute, then the central second. Theay shoul firmly anchrored, should touch the dial or themself and perfectly parallel. here an example taken on another watch :

In this case I also relumed the hour and minute hands using Bergeon green lume.

I finally recased the whole and found a leather strap that matches the watch (18 mm wide to the lugs) :

Further minor problem fixed

To insert the oil between the two stones of the Incabloc, it is necessary to deposit the drop at the pivot entrance and make it penetrating by capillarity with a small pick :

On the cock side, we should put the cock on its back, get away a bit the balance wheel (without distording the spiral), pass the pick oil through two turns of the hair spring to deposit a drop of oil too. The main risk it to touch accidentaly the spiral and oil it. It will the cause the hair spring to be sticky and a risk to reduced it amplitude. The symptom is a suddent time gain (i.e. 3-4 min/day). I was not aware of thisproblem and it arrive after a week of use. I fixed the problem, just by a careful wash with "essence f", drying, correct oiling.

The watch is functionning every day since 2 months, regulated after 3 weeks to about +20 sec/day.

It's for sure now one of my preferred due to that small adventure! It found its legitimate place among my small collection. Here with other green-dialed specimen :

Wachmaking training III : find a designed victim!

2006-03-06T17:58:00.000+01:00

A bizarre hunting party

Dismounting a watch for the first time, without an external help or a teacher, could be very risky for the watch. No way to train on a rare one, even if it was not expensive. I should find somewhere a sort of "designed victim", ugly enough to be sacrified!!

Funny hunting mission indeed to find a simple mechanical watch, as ugly as possible - but functional - without any complications even not a dato would be preferable.

Since the outcome of this story was very happy (I want reassure you), this watch legitimately included my little personnal collection and is likely even one of my preferred watch now!!!

In the "Quartier Auguste Comte" of Lyon (a place devoted to antics) by a cold saturday end of afternoon, I spotted a small shop specialized in vintage military medails, emblems, watches and knife (it closed a few weeks after). Let's have a look. Humm.. not so cheap My Dear. I inspected a series of vintage watches, not very well presented...60 Euros on average. My attention was retained by a really ugly Raketa, wearing a "25 Euros" label. It's a Russian (USSR) watch of the seventies, likely imported to France from USSR during the pre-quartz period.

"Well, I admitted that this watch is horrible, but I can garantee that it is functionnal", said the owner. I negociated the "thing" to 20 Euros. Still a lot...

On the way back, I got 3 other watches "to be restored" for 30 Euros : 2 Frenches and one Swiss, on another shop. There is also a fantastic specialist of antic clocks and watches located rue des remparts d'Ainay. I discussed later, on another occasion, with the owner. He sold to me two pocket watches for training too. He has incredible specimens, well restored (1 year garantee), Jaeger, Lip, Yema, Omega... The price are according their very nice condition.

Once returned home, I had a look to the interior of this Raketa victim.

The vendor was right, the Raketa 2309HA caliber is preserved and clean! What a contrast with the external condition full a painting, even trace of concrete! Its a rough finish but these movement are amazingly resistant. It has a shock protection of the balance pivots that are the firts to brake in case of shocks. This the most common problem on shipwrecked watches you could find at flea-markets.

The atch disassembly

OK. We known how to uncase the movement, but let's now go a bit further and remove the hands. This step required a specific tools to properly lift the hands. It sould be done for all hands and the same time not to damage the lower one. set the watch with the hands superimposed, protect teh dial with a paper or a palstic film before lifting t he hand set.

The dial can be now removed from the main plate by unscrewing 2 small radial screws.

Before proceeding further, the best is to take notes or picture of the assembled movement. This will helpfull for remounting the complicated parts, especially the stem mechanism.

Not difficulties here. I just followed what is indicated on the "horlogerie suisse" web site which is my reference.

May just the most important thing absolutely mandatory before any dismount :

DISCHARGE THE MAIN SPRING by rewind a bit the stem, block the click with a wood pick or so, accompagny the main back to zero force.

Once done this are more risks? We can remove the balance wheel+ cock + spiral at once.

Remove the palett bridge and the pallet (the "anchor"), the main bridge, the train wheel, etc...

Here is the naked main plate with the balance remounted temporally for the cleaning in benzine ("essence F" , may be the "C" would be better...).

And the fully set of parts in a tray :

ready for washing.

The main plate, wheel, the shock protecting stones, the bridges were washed in addition in a aqueous detergent overnight after the "essence F" degreasing. The mainspring, the palet lever, the balance wheel + cock + spiral hairspring were only cleaned with "essence F". They would not resist to the detergent. I choose "Oxydrine" detergent diluted to 1/8 in water. It's very efficient for preparing old paintings before the new one. Old solidified oils and sticky rest of grease are incredibly well dissolved. The parts were rinced with water 3 times, finishing by distillated water, before drying individually using a Bergeon baloon.

Independently the crystal is removed, the case and the case back were washed overnight with Oxydrine and rinced. Ultra-sonication could help for this aqueous treatment. The case was then polished using microfiber clothes. I bought a new acrylic cristal from my neighbor watchmaker (he just needs the eaxct diameter, precise to the 1/10 mm). The diaaaaashould never be touched at all, worse washed! They are cosidered as very fragile. We never known the resistance of the inprinted marks.

During that stage, I became more familiar with the part manipulation with the brucelle, anticipated the remount by taking pictures, inspected all parts after drying with the controlling loupe. I lost the pallet lever by accident (it just flied like a living insect at the tip of the brucelle!!!), and spent more than 1 hours to recover it on the floor... idem for two screws. Recovered too.

After this training, I known better how to take a screw, a small spring, with the brucelle and I have a complete clean dismounted movement.

The next step is the complete reassembly and oiling...

Watchmaking training II : movement uncasing, small restorations

2006-03-06T16:56:00.000+01:00

A second steps to the initial watchmaking training, I suggest the uncasing of a simple watch (the caliber can remove from the back side) and a small restoration on a rotating inner bezel of a Russian chronograph (early 90's).

We are not still in the main core of the horology but we will need to feel more comfortable with uncasing of the caliber and the dial. For a simple watch, the first step is to remove the stem for the caliber. There a small screw just beside the stem or a pusher. Unscrew 1/4 of turn per 1/4 of turn or push the button until the stem comes freely. Remove the fixing system that could be a ring or screws to extract the caliber+dial+hand from the case.

We just have to be be careful with the hands.

Another way to access to the dials and hands is from the front side. The acrylic crystal is either adjusted to a "lunette" or less frequently directly to the case body like for this Russian chronograph :

There is a missing lumefor a triangular mark on the inner rotating bezel that I wanted to restore.

The crystal has a very angled edge and can be lifted using a special tool to take it firmly while exerting a radial compression.

Once done, I could access to the dial

I used a Bergeon aqueous green lume (non-radio active of course) and the thiner brush I could find. I painted the mark under the 3.5 loupe. Here is the result :

Very first steps in watchmaking

2006-03-06T16:55:00.000+01:00

As for learning any unfamiliar activities, the best is always to start very progressively, "as slow as possible" with lot of modesty. A mechanical watch is something that look very fragile and delicate, and it is real for some extends. Attempting to touch it internaly without previous knowledge or experience can lead to major damages if not properly done.

A reasonable advice embossed on the dust protection of this French LIP R25 (likely manufactured in Besançon, France, Circa 1956) !

Aware of that situation, my first motivation was to just to manage the bracelet and straps and to open a watch to enjoy the movement scenery, check the exact caliber origins if referenced, may be to regulate it.

Bracelet, leather bands, buckles, deployants, etc

Manipulations of the bracelet/band and springbars does not really require special tools, though it could be not so straightforward sometime especially in case of old or corroded spring bars that could be blocked. Special cares should be also considered to avoid the risk of scratches on the case or the lugs. The best is always to compress the spring bars on and off from the back side.

A mounted pin and little fork to compress the spring bars off the lugs. I prefer the smooth screw driver blade of my Victorinox Minichamp knife to compress them in the lugs (always from the back side)

Opening the watch case

The caseback of a watch can be just clapsed, screwed, or counter screwed with a ring on diving watches. Sometime it is also possible to access to the dial by removing the crystal (clapsed lunette, or left of the crystal with a special tool).

For the clasped back, it safer to have a convinient tools. A normal knife blade will be damaged and will damage the case too. I delayed to buy a watchmaker knife, believing that it was just an accessory. This is indeed the most efficient and safe. It works easily once you have identied the small chamfrein to make a lever.

A Russian Chronograph of the Strela series (movement derived from the Swiss Venus 150 by the First Moscow Watch Factory (1-MChZ) that will become later "Poljot") that equipped elite officers and cosmonauts in the 60's.

There are other system more or less efficient as this impressive tools functionning through a lateral shock ideally given by a firm wood harmer. Its works too but the shock it still impressing me.

For the screwed and counter screwed case back, a special tool is recquired as well as a resistant case holder.

This tool has interchangeable tips of different shape that fit to the most common caseback. It should severely scratch the watch and I preffer of protected it with piece of food transparent film before setting the tool to the proper size and unscrewing.

The diver watches are the most well closed of course. They even could require a special equipment to open them. Here is the opening of a Russian Vostok Amphibia (200 m) with renforced caseback, counter screwed for maximum pressure excerted on a large joint.

Once opened, it is recommended to protect the movement from the dust if the movement should be left opened for a long time. A glass or plastic bell is perfect for this. Dust, greases or finger prints can be gently removed using a piece of "Rodico", a sort of plastic blue-green paste that absorbs the durts like by miracle.

Observing the watch running

What a scenery to admire is the motion of the balance wheel and the escapment of a mechanical watch!

In watchmaking two loups are recommended: a general one (x3.5 to 4) luminous (large opening) with enough field to work comfortably. For some instances, you may need a controlling loup x12 for the observation a tiny details like the bottom of a hole, the condition of a jewel, a pivot, etc. This one is not adpated for working on the caliber with the brucelle of the screwdrivers.

The caliber of a 1-MChz Sportivnie with 17 jewels and hacking system. A similar caliber equipped the watch worn by Yuri Gagarin (a Sturmanskie) during his historical space flight on on April 12, 1961 (see another post of this blog below)

This are the very initial steps but once here, it's already too late. There is a irresistible passion developping to learn more...

The next seps will the uncasing of the caliber and its complete disassembly.

3 watches of the same circa 1956 : from left to right a lip R25, a Russian Podeba 2-MChz 15 jewels and the Sportivnie 1-MChZ "Spartakiad, Moscow 1956".

My start in watchmaking

2006-03-05T14:04:00.000+01:00

(picture composed from http://flagrantdisregard.com/flickr/motivator.php)

Starting in watchmaking is for me as motivating as to construct my own Linux computer. Once you succeeded to assemble and disassemble the system, it looks much more familiar ou attractive!

There are likely several ways to start, from having individual watchmaking courses to learn by your own with the help of notebooks and/or internet documentations. The most practical for me was the free lessons of the horlogerie-suisse web site. I found there the basic set of tools necessary to start properly. These tools are very simple and available for less than 150 Euros. I bought them from my local watch furniture stor e in Lyon which a very nice shop, principally for professional but providing a lot of amateurs too.

The most important element are likely the set of screw drivers. To be successfull, do not hesitate to spend 35-40 euros in good quality set. The best quality after the expensive Swiss brands are a French fabrication like the following :

A bit lazzy about my blog!

2006-03-05T12:34:00.000+01:00

Maintaining a blog is not so easy as matter of fact! I regularly get some comments about the fact that this site looks not so updated and this is legid!

So, why I looked so busy since January 2006? There are different reasons, but the main was that learned a bit of watchmaking and this consumed most of my free time.

Everything of course started from my interest to watches and photography. Photography because smal watch parts, movement are fascinating to observe, so tiny manufactured parts of steel, brass wheels, jewels...

Lyon, France has a very impressive regular flea-market place ("les Puces du Canal") where I found my first vintage boxes of parts. These parts came from retired watchmakers and usually concern mechanical popular watches before the "quartz" wave that replaced them in the mass production.

Not strangely, they are mostly French (!)...French watches industry is nowadays mostly eclipsed on the international level by the Swiss industry, but is still very active for services like the Breitling after-market service in Besançon), parts, distribution. The most famous French brand in the 50-60's are Lip and Yema, but there were a lot of manufacturers in France and so diverse watches were sold under very diverse brands, more or less obscure but most of the time of very high quality, sometime assembled by local watchmaker or jeweler.

After my discovery of the Russian preserved horology, I discovered some of those obscure French watches and even brought back to life some of them and I did the same with my first watch offered to me in 1969 was I was 11...

I was also lazzy about this blog, because I posted most of this adventure on the Watchussek fora, but the archives are lost at the present time due to the database crash!...

Happy New Year 2006

2005-12-26T00:17:00.000+01:00

Should Peace prevails on Earth and could this year affort joy and happyness to everybody!

What's a year? Did you notice that the more you are aged the less it is? Amazing...Though the amount of necessary frustrations, 2005 was a "very good year" (the Franck Sinatra song). The time for professionnal achievements, the pleasure to see younger collaborators succeeding in their tasks and their family life, the pleasure to see the decisions taken the year before, being fruitful, even more than expected sometime.

There is still a lot to do, at lot of projects, a lot a new hopes in which we believe, we should believe, again and again, as long as life will go on...

More funny, in 2005, I discovered as a new hobby, the fascination a some wonderful and popular watches. I don't know what I like the most at the moment, photography or these amazing micro-machines. Likely because I like them both equaly, I did not realize until now how many pictures I accumulated in my computer the past year... About 400 (oops!!) were mostly posted on watchuseek fora and galeries, or this blog. New friends there, seemed to enjoy them. So it's a pleasure to publish them at once on 82 pages here.

Cheers,

Marc

Marc

Season Greeting from France

2005-10-16T12:08:00.000+02:00

Fall in Western Europe

Fall is a special festive season in many places in world at that time. Still mild (17°C - 61°F ), the tree leaves render splendid tones that are only there for a short time before the dark winter days. This late explosion of colors, is always for me a period of calm and plenitude with something deaply optimistic. In Japan the local mapple trees are something so magnificent to see. I will never forget the several visits I paid to Kyoto, Tokyo and many other fascinating places of the Japanese archipelago.

I have a lot to report from these Japaneses expericiences on this blog or elsewhere, but today I just want to send my seasonal greetings to all.

A vintage "cosmos" watch

2005-10-09T09:21:00.000+02:00

The Russian cosmos missions

USSR developped its early astronautical projects with a very "controlled" public information, even for the civilian missions, unlike NASA who did them using the full media support. The advertising was however massive with successfull and popular missions capable to carry a very good image. Who forgot Yuri Gagarin, likely as famous as President Kennedy or USSR Premier Kroutchev. Gagarin stays in the 20th centry world popular memory, at a scale probably not gained by many other one? Just "google" his name to see...

"I see Earth. It's so beautifull" would have say Gagarin, first words from space of the first man who left Earth to the open cosmos on April 12, 1961. In the spaceship Vostok 1, Senior Lieutenant Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin orbited earth one time at an altitude of 162,5 nautical miles (302 kilometers) for 108 minutes at 18,000 miles an hour. He was the first man to see that the earth was indeed round, indeed mostly water, and indeed magnificent.

Earth during the Apollo 17 mission (December 07-19, 1972, Apollo 17 CSM America and LM Challenger, Eugene A. Cernan "The Last Man on the Moon", Ronald E. Evans, Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt)

Yes, so beautiful is the word. This sunlight diffusion phenomenon which gives the blue color of our living atmospher, the white clouds, something beautiful by instinct, a blue planet, "home, home" said E.T.

The culture of the secret in former USSR, the further way of History, does not render the merited reflect of the Russian space technology, that recently and strangely became the most reliable one for spaceships connexion to ISS.

The russian cosmos watches

Unlike NASA, many different types of watches were flown in the Russian missions (see for instance this link where cosmonauts sell their personnal objects). Even a French chrono YEMA did EVA's from the MIR space station ...:

(from this link)

Historicaly, in the 60's, the military flight pilot and cosmonauts used Russian watches manufactured in the OJSC "First Moscow Watch Factory", the factory's most known trademark "ПОЛЕТ" (POLJOT). Yuri Gagarin wore a "ШТУРМАНСКИЕ" (Sturmanskie, based on an French watch caliber, the Lip R26 see the very nice article by Strela, member of Watchuseek internet fora) during his initial flight to cosmos. This watch was not really a chronograph. Another wrist-watch chronograph used in the Russian Air Force was the Стрела (Strela) chrono, with a column-wheel caliber 3017 - 19 jewels, analogous to the Swiss Venus 150 movment. Such Strela is tought beeing on the wrist of Alexi Leonov during another historical event: the first "EVA" (Extra vehicular activity) in the open cosmos on March 18, 1965.

A 1.8 MB mpeg video of the historical Leonov EVA is available here , unfortunately it is impossible to see anything of his watch... .

Acquisition of the vintage Strela 3017

To complete my Russian watch family, I had in mind to acquire an exemplary of such vintage model. Brand-new and re-issued version of the Strela is also available from Poljot. These new models are also very nice. They are mounted with the Poljot 3133-23 jewels caliber used for the OKEAH chrono (see my post of August, 2005), that was the next generation of military chronos appeared in 1976.

Strela watches are not very common nowadays. They were produced between 1959 and 1979 with several hands and dial designs: white or black dial with or without tachymetre/telemeter scales, luminous-chromed or golden hands, under several brand name : Strela, Sekonda, Exacta Poljot, in Englisk or in Russian.Their case was very thin and made of 3 parts : the case chrome-plated, the case back in stainless steel and the crystal clipsed with a bezel. Strelas are neither shock nor water protected.

I've waiting for about one month before focusing on an eBay auction from German seller, on which I believed the watch affordable and the seller reliable. Unfortunately the history of Strela watch are more and more popular and I had to pay abit to much than I expected..Anyway the watch arrived safely a couple of day after.

The watch is a "Sekonda 19 Jewels" with the black dial. The caliber 3017 has the serial # 10900. The main chrono hand (chromed) with the red spot, and the other hands golden that looked quite new. The watch was monted on new black leather band that I substitute for a military black Nato strap 18 mm to fit the lug dimension.

Photographies use a Kane MK-6B dead reckoning navigation computer made of anodized aluminium (copyrighted by Kane Aero Co., St Paul, Minnesota, 1957).

This picture uses a leaflet map of Evansville airport, Indiana, (copyrighted by Airguide Publications Inc., Long Beach, California, 1986. Flight Guide, Airport Frequency Manual, Vol. II, Central & Eastern U.S.)

I also tried a "galuchat" (stingray skin) band which is thin enouch to match the case design:

The dial is not also in very good shape. There is a misscentering and it looks that the second and the minute register hands rubbed the dial (however the watch fully works correctly!)... The lume marks were green but are now more grey than green...Two strange holes were done at 12 and 6 then masked by a point of black painting...white marks are missing or partially missing at 1,2 and 4...

I find the texture of this stingray (the poor!) skin very strange :

The chromed brass of the case is not corroded. There are a lot of small scratches...the closer you look, the worse it is. Tough life of this watch!

The crown is original and the pusher are very characteristic of the 1950-1960 Swiss chromnographs.

Discussing on the watchuseek Russian watch forum, I learned not surprizingly that the hands, excepted the chrono long one, are not the original hands corresponding correctly to this series. I was happy anyway thinking that this sort of situation is part of long life of this watch.

Restauration of correct hands

This is themiracle of internet and internet fora. Spontaneously, I discover in my personnal message on the watchuseek forum a message of Frank (thanks Frank) , another member from Germany offering a set of correct hands for my watch, just for sympathy.

The chromed hands are of a very special design :

They are very fragile, but they arrived safely through the post office.

OK. I don't have - unfortunately - the skill and the knowledge to do the hand replacement by myself. I asked the jewelery where I bought my Omega Speedmaster Professional (see this link) where they have a complete workshop with experienced watchmaker. I don't know if they are trained for many conflicting customers, but the responsible guy refused flat, arguing that it was too risky for them and for the watch! I left the shop with a mixed feeling. These guys clearly don't want to get some troubles. Is this addrees really good for my Omega too? ("A l'Heure Franco Suisse", rue Ferrandière, Lyon, 69002, France). We will see that later.

Let's try my neighbor watchmaker (rue Belford, at la Croix-Rousse). His shop is so nice. He does not have many new watches and he essentially repairs mechanical clocks, and wristwatches. He has everything necessary, an amazing workbench, pressure test machine, frequency meter...He was very amused and did the work safely for almost nothing!

The "bijouterie" (jewelery in French) of the Belford street at "la Croix Rousse" Lyon, France, who did the hand change of the Strela.

The only problem afterward (that I just solved by myself) was the small hand of the second register that slightly touched underneath the hour hand at about 8 o'clock (when it was tangent to the minute register). The watch then stopped ( ) . I opened very carefully the bezel with a knife (my God this was the first I did that! Be carefull not to scratch the whole mechanism upon opening!!) and adjusted a bit the hours hand with a piece of tooth pick. I checked then if the large minute hand passed over the hour one with no problems and it was OK. My first "repair"...

My Strela is flown to space again! (would better say to kosmos)

A further small restauration

Following another advice, the idea is to correct the nude brass visible on the dial at the periphery of the smal registers holes. These hole are larger than they should be indicating that this dial may have mounted to another watch, may be with a "alien" movment (a "Franken" watch in other words!). In a reduced models shop, I found some satin black painting. I re-opened the crystal bezel and with the smallest and the most thin brush I could find in the shop, I carefully deposited a bit of painting...I tested the painting before on different matters to train myself. The paint is very tainted and one coat is enough...

I did not succeed near the temeleter scale because the space available is really to small. I was afraid to touch the scale with the brush ( ). Better is to leave it like this, than to damage the dial! It would require to deposit the hands again, but no way for now!! I prefer to enjoy the fantastic Strela at the moment. It just returned today to its Nato strap.

Other combos

I tried also another sort of military band with a leather pad to protect the skin from the watch.

(The watch lies on a sectional aeronautical chart, Montreal, published at Washington D.C., US Department of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Admisnistration, 1991, and a Swiss Victorinox knife type Minichamp II).

It is of course possible to have a mixed combo: the galuchat skin plus the pad.

The watch here on another military Nato strap (so-called "James Bond" type...)

(The background illustration comes from a book entitled ”Five evenings with programmable calculator”. Printed in Moscow,1988, 109 pages).

Further possible restauration expected

I saw on ebay some kit for preparing new green lume and some new advice to deposit it on the dial. I may try to restore the green lume at 9 and 3 and may the spots at the hours positions.

The pictures presented here are also on my WUS posts .

__________________

Dr. Strangelove

2005-08-22T21:01:00.000+02:00

The incredible thing of our time is the possibility to watch any of your preferred movies on your PC, at your leasure, from a DVD or any suitable compressed digitalized files! I have about 30 a these magical disks covering classical cinema of my preference.

On a Linux box, you may need a special "libdvdcss" library, usually not installed by default, to decode what you normaly and honestly paid for watching your movies.

My Linux box Shinkaze, a pure Microsoft-free PC (see my initial post on this blog)

My interest in computer history, watches, and navigational devices maybe gave me a specific reason to be specialy interested in the unforgetable Stanley Kubrick's Chef d'Oeuvre Dr. Strangelove or : How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, and the astonishing Peter Sellers in his triple roles of the President Muffley, President of the United States of America, the smart British officer Group Captain Mandrake, and the mysterious nuclear expert Dr. Strangelove.

President Muffley trying to explain to the Soviet Premier "Dimitri" how a certain General Ripper "became a little funny in his head" and decided to launch a sneak nuclear attack on USSR!

In 1964, everything is already on the scene : as the concept of interconnected computers (the "Doom machine"...), the economy race in which USSR has some trouble to follow. The dialogs are a pure piece of art and perfection all along the film.

The enigmatic nuclear expert Dr. Strangelove explaining the principle a the "Doom machine"

Should we really stop worrying, even now?

Watch "experiments", August 2005

2005-08-20T18:56:00.000+02:00

Fascinating wrist watch "computers"

A watch is indeed a fascinating computer. By definition, a watch accumulates, in different registries, its time-based units : as seconds, minutes, hours, days, years...It could be done electronically quite precisely, but how we could not be fascinated by the way of how a mechanical watch, especialy a wrist chronograph is doing this?

Associated to the human individuals, it follows their life, works, travels, sports.It is really amazing to see this apparently delicate machineries operating for years in very difficults condition (temperature, shocks, vibration, humidity) for the most rugged one. Their precisions is sometime approaching the electronical watches, but it is so pleasent to see them functioning without a single electronic component and a tighten spring as sole energy source!

During this August month, I did new horological "experiences" with some of my watches, especially with my preferred Russian ones. Theses "experiences" are not at all technical nor scientific. It was just consisting to try different watch combos with bracelets or bands (nothing really mechanically adventurous!) but it maked also very good occasions to photograph them.

Extension of my Russian watches collection

What's more, I received two new beautiful Russian exemplaries : A Vostock "Blue Diver" and the famous Poljot chronograph Komansdirskie OKEAH (Ocean). This later is a re-issued version of the military chronograph released by Poljot as the new precision standard in 1976. This chrono is based on the same Poljot 3133 movement as initially. This watch (I mean this series) went to space as nicely described here by Strela a member of the Watchuseek forum.

My Russian watch team in August,2005

A watch combo and set

The sensation to wear a wrist watch is very depending of the complete set : the complete watch case and the bracelet, or the band, associated to it. With a bicycle, one says that you could change many things : the saddle, the handle bar, the brakes, the pedals, even the wheels, you would keep the same bicycle, but if you change the frame, you get a new bicycle!

It is likely the same with a wrist watch. The "frame" role is played by the watch case plus the dial. The rest could be changed without the feeling to change of watch. The other important element, in straight contact with the skin, is the bracelet, the band, the strap.

The Poljot Sturmanskie set: the original stainless steel bracelet, a blue skark skin band, and a 70's style "rally" black leather band

Steel bracelets or leather bands?

Functionnaly, there are no really choices. A good quality stainless-steel bracelet is almost mandatory if the watch have to be worn in a hot and humid climate and/or if you have physical acivities. The swear and the humidity would ruin in a few weeks the most of leather bands. A nylon and tissue strap can be washed and may be a bit more durable but not easy to keep clean, for sure. A stainless steel bracelet, is however necessarily more heavy and massive, in particular those of the high-end quality with their links machined in single pieces of steel.

The ensemble steel bracelet + the chrono case weights a lot on the arm. It is recommended to leave the space of a finger (the small one is enought) and not to adjust the bracelet too tight to compensate the wrist size change during the day. This makes the watch a bit floppy on the wrist but once trained, it is like a familiar presence.

One can wear a leather band in the same way. It is always more comfortable as long as the leather is not humid. The watch is not floppy even with the band not tightened. As far as I am concerned a steel bracelet is necessary during summertime and I am pleased to have alternative bands for the rest of the time.

The "experiences"

Vostock Blue Diver

Let's see now these beauties, first the Vostosk Blue Diver mounted on a "mesh" baracelet (the original one is a blach 18mm leather band) :

The OKEAH (OCEAN) Chronograph

The OKEAH chrono is a very special "pillow shaped" watch design, typical of the 70's. Pictures and discussion on Watchuseek forum, give some example of what kind of bands/bracelet can be used to match this design. I tried the mesh bracelet but it looked a bt too narrow (18 mm for the band) and thin for this watch.

A stainless steel bracelet mounted on the OKEAH chrono.

The original black leather band I got with the watch, is signed Poljot both on the band and the buckle.

I tried first a "Royal" blue shark skin band fitted with a butterfly deployant :

It inspired a "marine" series of pictures :

And another series with the help of a navigation rule (a French type called "Amiral Jean Cras")

The rule is officialy agreed by the French Air Ministry, not the watch...

Then, it tested a less flashy shark skin given as "blue" but likely grey-blue. The band is a bit more thcker padded than the previous one:

The "Breitling" Pilot-style bracelet is a chinese fabrication (have a look to an original one....it costs about 950 US $) :

Note the special lug design.

"Komandirskie * VMF *" (Vojenno Morskoj Flot)

Poljot watches, fully constructed in Moscow factory will be no longer issued under this brand name. Volmax brand is now issuing Aviator, Sturmanskie and Buran series on a new assembly managment...at more expensive rates.

As final choices the original band, the grey shark skin, and the Breitling Pilot-style bracelet are now parts of the OKEAH set :

The Sturmanskie "Sinn 6000 replica"

The final experience concerned the Poljot "Sinn 6000" replica (as not really masked by Poljot itself). The original steel bracelet is polished as the watch case. Some other version of this watch were also mat satin. A previous post on this blog gives already a complete set of this original combo. I tried the royal-blue shark skin first on this watch :

The second experience was with a "rally"-style black leather band that recalls the 60-70's :

The corresponding posts on Watchuseek fora can be found here.

Most of the pictures published here can be found at higher resolution from my preferred pictures galleries at topcities.com.

Russian watch fascination

The Poljot factory officially closed in Moscow at the end of the past year (see this WUS recent discussion). The new factory Maktime is producing now more high-end models as the Aviator /Sturmanskie/Buran series. The Russian production of mechanical watches still remains fascinating by its diversity, its traditional and historical links to the associated human enterprises. To have the best idea of this industry, one can recommend the Michele Cuoccio's web site and his impressive collection of Russian watches.

Metals, wood and leather

2005-06-01T13:36:00.000+02:00

Three materials from the Universe, Earth, and Life

When I ordered this member (a new chronograph Poljot Sturmanskie) of my small family of Russian watches, I asked to my retailer to mount the watch directly on a specific leather band and a "butterfly" deployant. When I prepared this series of photographs, with some accessories from my personal collection, I realized that, altogether, they strangely and wonderfuly associated the three types of materials: metals, wood and leather.

All finely fashioned by the human genus and its fascination for these materials of the Universe and Life on Earth...here there are the pictures:

With the gift candies from the retailer, the new Sturmanskie chrono NIB mounted with the Ostrich leather band

Standing on a vintage dead reckoning Kane MK-6B navigation computer (likely from the year 1958).

Fascinating navigation (the meaning of Sturmanskie) instruments

Standing closed to a vintage (year 1964) Sanderson flight plotter SP-1A

The "sparkling" dial of the Sturmanskie

The new Sturmanskie chrono in its fine wood box

The butterfly deployant

The crystal back originaly delivered with the watch and the 23-jewel P3133 movment.

The Sturmanskie posing with a French knife Laguiole made of genever wood.

I also posted the pictures on a Watchuseek gallery of the Russian watch forum here.Image are resized to 600 pixel widths but are available at 1024 resolutions just by cliking on them.

They went on the moon

2005-05-15T13:40:00.000+02:00

They went on the moon...

July 1969. I was 11. I remember those years before at the time where comments on the TV and radio explained the "Lunokhod", "Luna", or "Apollo" missions and the incredible race conducted by USA and USSR to be the First on the moon. The journalists explained the technical problems sometime with the helps of models that looked like interresting toys for me.

Undoubtly at that time anyone was convinced that nothing could really stop the man knowledge extend. Nowadays anyone believes more or less conscientiously that Man is responsible of Nature destruction and that Science is source of our world decline. Some even revise the history, denying the reality of some past century major events. I may comment more this collectif feeling in a next post...

During my search fo my modest vintage computers and calculators collection, I was first interrested by the inboard guidance computer of NASA Apollo mission. It is easy to find so many details about this machine, that was object of many attention during the missions.

The guidance computer is indicated in blue. (The best technical info are given directly by NASA Lunar Surface Journals : http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html)

Starting from there, I kept in mind this "moon missions". I found 3 types of personnel objects "that went on the moon" that are still available either as new or a "new old stock". The first one is the most famous : the fantastic Omega watch Speedmaster. Its history can be found from many amateur sites (I appreciated for instance the Chuck Maddox web pages). I bought a new one on Friday from a local retailer, that was a bit surprized of my awareness.

The Omega watch Speedmaster Professional taken on a background picture of the command module Apollo 15 orbiting the moon (NASA picture as15-88-11972HR.jpg : Apollo 15 SIM Bay viewed from the LM during Rev 49, after rendezvous, http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15.html )

On the moon (using the most famous picture of Buzz Aldrin taken by Neil Amstrong during the initial moon walk of Apollo 11, picture as11-40-5903HR.jpg from NASA web pages http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html)

Orbiting the Earth (using a background picture taken during the Apollo 17 mission ("The Last Men on the Moon"), http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.html)

Back from space to Earth...The "Hesalite" plexiglass is a typical feature of these watches.

The "sea monster" symbol of the Omega Speedmaster series and the "dream formula" adopted by Omega after Apollo 11 for their regular production of this type of watch. Many special series and aniversary models were sold as well.

The last model of bracelet Omega reference 849. During the space mission a military velcro strap was used.

If you get interested in Speedmaster watches, you will find the so-called "reduced" version introduced in 1998. Its case is a 38 mm diameter instead of 40. The caliber is an automatic mechanical movement 47 jewels Omega 3220 (ETA 2890A2) with a chrono Dubois-Depraz module, instead of the manually-wound Omega 1861 (Lemania 1873) with 18 jewels. The bracelet is 18 mm wide instead of 20. The aesthetic is quite related but technically it's a different watch. The machined parts, steels, caliber are of the same top class quality. The vendors seems to explained rarely the fine differences and do not always have both watches to let you compare. The "reduced" version is called Speedmaster Automatic.

"Reduced" Speedmaster Automatic (ref. Omega 3510.50.00) on the left vs the regular Speedmaster Professional (here the ref. Omega 3570.50.00 ) model on the right.

The regular Speedmaster Professional (ref. Omega 3570.50.00 ) model on the left vs the "reduced" Speedmaster Automatic (ref. Omega 3510.50.00). The casebacks are screwed (Speedmaster Pro) or clipsed (Automatic). The deployant of the Automatic is inspired from a former model of the Speedmaster Professional. The automatic movement - though very reliable - is likely not as rugged as the amazing Lemania 1873 due to its necessarily more complex technology.

The other two objects I could find out was a Fisher Space pen (from any regular vendor) with their pressurized ink cartridge and a Pickett (Santa Barbara, Calif.) 600 ES pocket slide rule from a new old stock on eBay (a seller in Newport, Oreg.).

They went on the moon...Well, at least their ancestors or similar one...

Who remembers these amazing slide rules that disapeared in the 70's with the electronic handheld calculators? This one is a pocket size with 13 rules of the "log-log" principle which is quite rare for a pocket slide rule. Its yellow color was claimed to be the best for eyes. It came in its origininal new box a wonderfull leather poutch and all the garantee certificates and user manual, never opened...

From a old stock: a forgotten brand of slide rules that went on the moon...

Most of the pictures display in this post and the following one can be found at 800x600 resolution at this link.

A Machine to Slice the Time...

2005-05-08T17:15:00.000+02:00

A watch is a small device to compute time based on a counting system. A watch is one the most typical "personal" object. The market associates a majority of individuals throughout the world. A watch was likely always a jewel too before the 70's. The quartz oscillator technology and electronic integration made watches so cheap and so common that a watch is not necessarily a jewel nowaday.

The industry of complicated mechanical watch movements survived easily as a watch is certainly much more attractive as mechanical jewel than a simple electronic device. The mechanical watch industry survived in Europe and the Swiss Jura valleys of course, but also in Japan, USA, China and Russia. They are mostly associated to luxury and everlasting objects.

Russia is a special case. I discovered two months ago that the traditional watch Russian industry is remarquably dynamical there, on a basis of a know-how developped and strongly maintained in the 70's. Russian watches are well known from watch lovers who likes their diversity from very simple to top productions. Their amazing number of different versions, deco, series are really fascinating.

A wrist watch is defined by a caliber, a case, a dial, occasionaly a bezel, a back, and a strap or a bracelet. Altogether it will give a final design and will inspire a global feeling. The variations are infinite : steel-on-steel, gold-on-leather, polished or satin, dark or clear dial, chronograph, date, moon phase, complications...

Here is some selected pictures I took yesterday night of my last acquisition. There are several vendors in Germany on the net. They are really efficient and trustly. None can be found in French department stores or jewellers. I think you already known that soviet story of something reporting to the police in Moscow his watch stolen ?:

"- Two Swiss soldiers attacked me and robbed my beautifull Russian watch!"
"- I think you wanna say that two Russian soldiers attacked you and robbed your Swiss watch?"
....

The quality is really not related to the relatively cheap prices ans I experienced amazingly nice and precise Russian watches.

Recommended!

The Poljot Sturmanskie new in the box

The dial design is similar to the Sinn Civil chronograph. This inspired the seller in Germany calling this watch the Sturmanskie (navigation) "Zivil"

On display over a brochure "Midair Collision Potentials", edited by the Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New-York,1987....The cold war back to the future...

Sturmanskie (navigation)

Details of the deployant clasp

The watche case back with the crystal showing the P3133 movement, a Russian derivative of a Swiss Valjoux 7734

"Russkie Chronograph"

The dial appears radially brushed under this light

A fully stainless steel polished for this Sturmanskie

The case back

The bracelet clasp

On a enroute navigational charts with a Fisher Space pen Astronaut model

Flight plans

A next post will show another Sturmanskie watch of the same type but in a completely different style. A gallery is already open at ImageShack here.

Starting post: Starting Ideas under LINUX

2005-05-08T15:23:00.000+02:00

This my initial post on this new blog that I start a bit to see how it works. Really don't known if I will pursue for a long time. A bit more than two years ago, I became interested in the managment of personnal computers under LINUX. I sucessfully constructed from scratch (components!) a new desktop PC in Feb 2004 with the idea to use it fully "Microsoftless". I tested several distributions of LINUX and I finally stayed with a version 10.0 of MandrakeLinux/kernel 2.6.3-7/KDE 3.2.

PC case CoolerMaster WaveMaster silver, crystal blue left pannel, 2 Cold Cathode 30 cm et 10 cm, 2 white LEDs Sunbeam Lazer, rheobus Enermax Fanbus A8FATR4, CPU Pentium 4C 3.0 GHz (Northwood) FSB800 Hyper Threading, MB Asus P4C800 DeLuxe, 1GB Dual DDR Corsair TwinX 3200C2Pro, GPU Radeon 9600 XT/TV/128DDR, 2 disks AsusMaxtor 120GB plus 1 Samsung 40GB in a removable rack Enermax plugged as P-ATA100,1 system WD 36,7 GB en S-ATA, multi-format DVD LG, cartes CF/SD/MS/SM, 6 USB2, floppy Sony, power sup. Antec TruePower 380W, Ethernet GB on ADSL US Robotics 9105 gateway, Mandrakelinux 10 PowerPack, kernel 2.6.3-7mdkenterprise smp patched ATI, video LCD SONY HX73 17' , HPDeskjet 920c, Zip100, Agfascan 1212u, Minolta Dimage 7i.

I turned around for the internal deco before finally adopting this one :

Shinkaze LINUX deco in November 2004

I named this desktop PC "shinkaze" in reference to the Japanese God of the Wind (kami kaze) since I previously named my laptop "kaze". I mainly the system for storage and processing of my photographs that I usually take as 1600x1200 resolution and jpeg compression. I found no limitations in the use of this computer and I use it in the config indicated with no changes or update for more that 6 months. There is not a single partition for any Microsoft OS.

My preferred KDE desktop at the moment

To keep tracks of this experience, I maintained a detailed notebook under my preferred word processor LyX-TeX . Today this notebook is more tha 210 pages and 250 figures...

Scheme of the complete system including the incredible Linux PDA Zaurus Sharp SL-C760 connecting by WiFi

While exploring the amazing possibilities of computers, a rainy sunday, I became interrested in their history. When surfing on museum sites related to computers, I felt on a description of the flight computer embarqued in the Apollo missions, both in the command spacecraft and the LM in 70's. It recalled me this time where the daily calculations where essentially based on slide rules and logarithmic tables...

It was the starting point a new interest, a hoby, for small vintage device for computing, early electronic hand held calculators, even mechanical watches. One of the fascinating feature, common by all these objects is they are "personal". There owners paid likely some attention to them, carefully or cautionless maintained them. They were sometime forgotten on the shelf. If any, their NiCd batteries died slowly (sometine corroded the circuities around). 30 years later, they can found on the world fly market, not always for nothing!

I will post later specific descriptions of some interesting objects of that kind.

Marc