Our discussion group has moved to Yahoo. Although you don’t have to do anything in order to continue participation in the learned discussions, you do need to get busy if you want to be able to avail yourself of our fantastic e-mail archives. Here is how to make the change:
(1) If you don’t have a Yahoo ID, you need to get one. This both free and quite easy:
· Point your browser to www.yahoo.com
· Click on MyYahoo
· Type in your user name and password. If you already have a Yahoo user name and password, you will be welcomed back as an old friend. If not, you will have the opportunity to select a user name and password.
(2) Point your web browser to www.egroups.com. You will find that you wind up at http://groups.yahoo.com/local/news.html.
(3) Click on “Link my eGroups account to a Yahoo! ID”. (Now you know why you needed a Yahoo ID.)
(4) At this point, you may not remember your eGroups password, so just put in your e-mail address and click Continue.
(5) You will receive a temporary password via e-mail. Click on the web address in the e-mail. Put in your new password.
(6) You’re converted!
Now, let’s see how the mail archive can solve a problem. As I was writing the MicroSet review below, I needed to find out what amplitude was acceptable. I knew that there were a series of messages on the subject, but didn’t quite know where they were. Here’s how to go about finding the messages.
(7) Point your browser to http://groups.yahoo.com Click on “My Groups”. Click on “Chronometer Club”.
(8) Type “amplitude” in the box, and then click on “Search Archive”.
(9) You should now see 30 e-mails from some of the finest watchmakers in the world. Clicking on e-mail number 922, I find out that the amplitude of 240 degrees is acceptable.
Wouldn’t it have been way cool if we could search e-mail archives from Breguet or Harrison. Our archives are the next best thing!
The MicroSet watch timer is a strange and wonderful device. I was attracted to it for three reasons:
(a) I am the poster child for Tool Acquisition Syndrome (TAS), and simply had to have it. (Note: My paycheck is direct deposited to eBay.)
(b) Although (like the rest of the Chronometer Club membership) I have several timing machines in my shop, I didn’t have a device to measure amplitude, which has been the subject of considerable discussion lately.
(c) I wanted a way of capturing timing information in my computer. About one year ago, I was working away at my own watch timing software. I terminated this effort when I saw Bryan Mumford’s table at the NAWCC national convention in Philadelphia last year.
Bryan has developed a considerable number of interesting products, as evidenced by his website at http://www.bmumford.com. He is truly a unique, gifted and creative inventor. Many of us have encountered his articles in various horological journals and may have seen advertisements for his products. You can read all about the MicroSet product at the web site. In this column, I’ll share my personal experiences.
If you haven’t looked at MicroSet in a while, you should know that the MicroSet 3 provides paper tape printing, paper tape simulation (on the computer screen), Accutron support, quartz analog support and the ability to listen to the amplified sound of a movement ticking. My order included a 6-position Clamping Watch Sensor and Windows Computer Interface, all for way under $1000. I bought my unit for list price at the web site, and it was shipped quickly except for a part which was not in stock and arrived a week later
When the box arrived, I connected the microphone to a 3135 and got a read out of the error in seconds/day on the built-in screen. In order to see an analogue of the paper tape from my B200 on my computer screen, I loaded the software into my computer from the CDROM, plugged the MicroSet in to my computer and started to play. Things didn’t immediately work, and I was forced to open up and actually read the instructions which came with the unit. Carefully. While watching Buffey on TV, I was able to get everything up, and was able to measure balance wheel amplitude. (Sad to say, my 3135 needed a bit more amplitude. Obviously, the watch was demonically possessed, so I arranged 3135 candles in the shape of a crown, drove a wooden stake (actually, peg wood) through the escape wheel jewels and carved a cross into the case back, but none of these solved my problems. Thank goodness I was able to search our archives on the subject and get a few ideas. Everything is OK now. J)
E-mail with Bryan solved most of my lingering problems. Overall, I had great fun with this product and am glad that I bought it. You may or may not like it. Here’s how to tell:
You will hate MicroSet if:
(a) Your lathe is powered with a handwheel.
(b) When someone says “carbide”, you think of a miner’s lamp.
(c) You were the last among your friends to get a computer, and only your children can get your e-mail working.
(d) You’re not quite sure how to program your VCR.
(e) You are in a trusting, long-term, stable relationship with your current timing machine.
You will love MicroSet if:
(a) You like to play with your computer, and you installed your own modem board and/or your own network card.
(b) You don’t mind non-optimally-user-friendly software, as long as there are a ton of cool features.
(c) You have room for a laptop near your workbench.
(d) You want to store computer records of your repairs, and/or you want to e-mail virtual paper tapes to your customers and colleagues.
(e) You are an intellectual horologist who enjoys having the ability to make measurements of extreme accuracy. Did I mention the atomic clock attachment which is available, or the laser beam interface which can “watch” an Atmos pendulum through the glass case? (No kidding!)
(f) You, like the author, suffer TAS.
There really is not enough space in this column to provide all of the screen shots, but you may find them at http://www.RaySoft.net/ChronometerClub
Happy Watchmaking and Happy Computing,
Ray.
Next Issue: Review of my new NC micro-milling machine. Push a button, make an escape wheel?