Lovely 1970's TRAFALGAR LED Watch with NO POWER

Lovely 1970's TRAFALGAR LED Watch with NO POWER | Can I FIX It?

Рет қаралды 276,647

10 ай бұрын

This watch was very kindly sent over to me by Ashley. It's a retro 1970's LED watch and it appears to be completely dead.
Let's try and get it working again!
Hope you enjoy!
Steve
PS. I'm not an expert in repairs at all. I do this for fun, and it may not be the best or safest way to go about repairing broken stuff. I'm pretty good at melting plastic though. Please don't copy me - I'm an idiot.
SUPPORT ME on Patreon: bit.ly/ssf-patreon
MERCH: stezstixfix.com
AMAZON WISH LIST: bit.ly/ssf-wish
SUBSCRIBE HERE: bit.ly/ssf-sub
FOLLOW ME on Facebook: bit.ly/ssf-fbook
If you want to make a device donation to the channel, please use the following PO Box. PLEASE NOTE that this is not a repair service, and all items are non-returnable.
PO BOX ADDRESS: StezStix Fix?, PO Box 415, BOLTON, BL4 4AZ
Please only use this service if you are a UK resident and using Royal Mail.
Some of the magic things I use to break stuff;
My soldering iron: UK amzn.to/2Isf360 US amzn.to/3dfq8Xe
My hot air station: UK amzn.to/3kPxaBQ US amzn.to/3xo0SoM
My microscope: UK amzn.to/2VP3msU US amzn.to/3DmDgED
My desoldering gun that goes "moo": UK amzn.to/3HHt73P US amzn.to/3QHJOkb
My multimeter: UK amzn.to/2LjBgnN US amzn.to/3qEiSHy
My blue mat: UK amzn.to/3nDVs3A US amzn.to/3LcZUkI
Filming equipment;
My camera: UK amzn.to/38IdR7s US amzn.to/3BiwyNg
My 2nd camera: UK amzn.to/3Rfjn6U US amzn.to/3BGOB1i
My microphone: UK amzn.to/3rCriPc US amzn.to/3QJwWtS
VOS's mic: UK amzn.to/3pz2c1L US amzn.to/3Lc7aO1
Links are affiliated where possible to help support the channel. Nice.

Пікірлер: 566

@oldcodgerplaysgames9610 10 ай бұрын

Omg its my watch! Well done, so chuffed to see it running again. Sorry it was a bit anticlimactic though, i was hoping youd have to try and source some 1970s bits. But well done sir, enjoy it.

@StezStixFix 10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for sending it over. I can't tell you how much I love this watch! Although, it still has a fault, which I don't think anyone has noticed yet! 🤔

@chucku00 10 ай бұрын

@@Cyphus101 Not on this generation of watches, it hasn't any buzzer or alarm setting. There are so date settings too, only hours, minutes and seconds on a 12h base (no AM/PM). Alarm quartz watches came a bit later, in the late 70's with LCD watches.

@mattjohnson6276 10 ай бұрын

@@StezStixFix I saw it, if anyone else didn't they better watch it again. :p

@jasonfuss8044 10 ай бұрын

@@mattjohnson6276 You talking about the broken rubber ring

@mwk1 10 ай бұрын

*GET IN!*

@MyRetroWatches 10 ай бұрын

I’ve loads of led watches from the 70s including this very model in stainless. They are when working very collectible, that model is £100-300 all day long. Push the button for time and the date button gives you running second and the date only as in 15th Is a rarer Trafalgar two button module. All I do with them is submerge in a small jar of alcohol and cycle in my ultrasonic cleaner for 30 minutes as it’s clears all the electrolytes out the way. Good thing with this one is all the tiny wire bonds that go to the leds are sealed in that hard resin. The earlier ones the bonds are exposed and generally fail. It’s early tech and predates LCD digital watches that came within a few years of these and of course took the market as battery life was superior. Even Omega made led watches and the most famous was Pulsar who made the first. Even Roger Moore wore one as Bond! Nice to see a watch on your channel Steve. Pleased you could save this one.

@martinda7446 10 ай бұрын

Yep, Bond wore a Pulsar (Time Computer) in the opening scenes of Live And Let Die, funnily enough M arrives and gives him his Rolex which he swaps over, and the Rolex supposedly has a magnetic field generator (impossible - As he makes M's coffee spoon twang off and stick to the watch, ''it can even deviate the path of a bullet'' Says Bond - ''I'd like to test that theory now' says M) and it also had a rotating saw blade bezel. Also just about impossible, though they must have made a working model as you saw it spin (and almost stop as he tried to cut a rope). LCDs were developed in the 60s but were not commercially viable until the early 70s when Seiko introduced their beautiful chronograph in 1973! (everyone else had to wait a few years) Live and Let Die came out in 73, so really the LCD was only a couple of years behind LED. LEDs ruled until about 1977 when LCD took over completely. The market was flooded with cheap Seiko chronograph rip offs in about 1978. Cheap LED watches were available in plastic resin cases by 1976 for a tenner and again the cheap LCDs came a couple years later. The Swiss were having a massive panic and continued having one for twenty years.

@iaincowell9747 10 ай бұрын

@@martinda7446 Bond wears 3 watches in Live And Let Die Hamilton Pulsar P2 2900 LED digital watch Rolex Submariner 5513 Tissot Visodate Automatic PR-516 The Hamilton Pulsar P2 was a technically advanced watch for the time, but function wise it was quite basic in it's features. It only had the capability to show the time (hours, minutes, and seconds) no date, stopwatch, alarm, or other functions. But the P2 was the world's first successful, mass-produced digital watch. LED (Light Emitting Diode) watches were only popular during the 1970s and were quickly replaced by LCD watches. The time is set by using a magnet, which is stored in the clasp. Holding the magnet against the Hour or Minute position in the back of the case enables you to adjust the time. Hamilton created an homage to the Pulsar P2, the Hamilton PSR H52414130 in 2020, a watch of which the design is almost identical to that of the Pulsar P2. The watch doesn't have a LED screen, but an LCD screen and is powered by an automatic movement. It's available in steel and a limited edition steel gold-pvd version. It also says Hamilton on the bottom right unlike the P2's Pulsar branding.

@MyRetroWatches 10 ай бұрын

@@martinda7446 the first Seiko digital was the 61LC in 1973 but it was not a chronograph, that came in 75/6 with the 0634. There were 3 models with the 0634-5019 being the most desirable. I have all 3 that I have managed to save 6-7 years ago when they were still really cheap. Also have quite a few early Casiotron which were the first Casio watches proper well built and in their day were worth a fortune new. Funnily enough I have an advert for the Seiko 0634-5019 and it’s priced more expensive than a speedmaster on the same advertisement!

@martinda7446 10 ай бұрын

@@MyRetroWatches My memory is getting completely shot (or I didn't know in the first place - can't remember which😸). Thanks very much for that MyRetroWatches.. Whatever, I loved that Seiko chronograph (the 0634 thanks again) utterly timeless. (Well lets hope not completely timeless). Ha, ha, I have a Speedmaster Albino. Funny I think that it is the most perfect analogue watch, and its been in space and on the moon. I've had three of em. I used to have a collection of LED and LCD watches but stupidly sold them. I'm hoping you have a channel I can join..I'll look now Martin.

@EmeraldHill-vo1cs 10 ай бұрын

@@MyRetroWatches I have a casio lcd from70/ 80's? which says its solar powered, with a bar on the front. Im pretty sure thats straight up B.S. ( I contacted casio au and they have no records that far back here)

@StezStixFix 11 ай бұрын

Something a bit different today. Or something.

@willkra 10 ай бұрын

Another good one Steve! In five years you can plot in "make me an upload fixing the main unit of a space shuttle" while you are drinking a beer🙂 AI is scary stuff!

@thinkingaloud2 10 ай бұрын

Why did they ever go out of fashion?

@Ewock1973 10 ай бұрын

Really cool video. Nice job Steve!

@RyanBlaha 10 ай бұрын

Amazing work

@ianfindlay3450 10 ай бұрын

Pre or post the famous Hamilton one I wonder?

@mercuryvapoury 10 ай бұрын

A great repair! Nice to see something from this era being brought back to life.

@joncurtis199 10 ай бұрын

0:57 and there was much rejoicing (yay)

@RobSchofield 10 ай бұрын

@ 9:05 - this is a capacitor preset to tune the crystal frequency during manufacture (small square recess in centre for the adjustment tool). It's then soldered in place (the arc-shaped area on the left with the two contacts) to set it permanently. The flickering might mean that the push buttons have corrosion around the contact points (the upright contacts on the PCB) and the case, preventing completion of the circuit.

@SlingshotGamer 10 ай бұрын

Great fix Dave, looks like you had a lot of time on your hands to fix the watch

@BenRush 10 ай бұрын

bad joke man. take it back.

@SlingshotGamer 10 ай бұрын

@@BenRush I can’t, as I don’t have the time

@DForce26 10 ай бұрын

I second this...

@fphenix 10 ай бұрын

Dave's sidekick, Steve, deserves a little bit of recognition as well.

@ovalwingnut 10 ай бұрын

Oh SNAP! :O) That was way to punny.

@RemMonster 10 ай бұрын

Honestly a top 10 ep. Well Done DAVE/STEVE

@CalculatorObsessed 10 ай бұрын

Brilliant fix. It was great watching you go through exactly the same process that I went through to fix mine. I absolutely love old displays like this.

@atourbillon 10 ай бұрын

Vinegar is great for cleaning battery corrosion! Glad you were able to fix that beautiful watch!

@chrisgoater5616 10 ай бұрын

You help give me the confidence to mess around with broken electronics, and learn from my mistakes. Cheers! (Keep your process in the videos! )

@Crackshotlol 10 ай бұрын

Interesting fix, Steve! Keep up the great work!

@ralphj4012 10 ай бұрын

Well done. The round component is a ceramic air trimmer capacitor (which regulates time in combination with the crystal), Removing the carbon resistive coating may cause timing variations. Johanson was the most prevalent manufacturer.

@martinda7446 10 ай бұрын

Johanson was working on surface mount at that time, IN THE 70S! everyone should have a good look at the transistors and caps etc on this Hughes module (I'm pretty sure this is). Extraordinary advancement for 1973 when these became available, They are almost identical to modern surface mount devices. I was in the electronics industry and was in fact learning my trade as a youngster from about 1978. I simply didn't hear about surface mount until maybe sometime in the 90s, at which point I was collecting LED watches.. I was too stupid to see how really clever they were.

@jonathanwright1507 10 ай бұрын

@@martinda7446 Yes but can you type 5318008 & then turn the watch upside down?

@StezStixFix 10 ай бұрын

@@jonathanwright1507 😁 I used to do that on my calculator in school!

@jonathanwright1507 10 ай бұрын

@@StezStixFix I think we all did & back in the 80's, also, we thought the kids who had a calculator watch, were the coolest kids in the school?!

@JohnSmith-iu8cj 10 ай бұрын

Mid 90s i had the calculator and remote watch. It was cool to have 😂

@BsWFloppo 10 ай бұрын

Nice fix, that watch looks amazing!

@watchingdanny 10 ай бұрын

Outstanding Steve ! Your skills are always evolving. Love your channel. It's always a good time.

@brunosmith6925 10 ай бұрын

"I have no idea what I'm doing" - then proceeds to fix it. Love this approach - someone taking their body of knowledge to an unknown entity, applying first principles, and getting a positive result. This is a valuable lesson for all of us.

@JMUDoc 10 ай бұрын

As a child of the 80's, I love OG red LEDs😁

@john4013 10 ай бұрын

What a great watch, well done sorting it out

@daved3494 10 ай бұрын

That was fascinating to watch. Thank you. I had a similar LED watch in '76 or so. The problem was, if you were carrying a package or a briefcase or something you had to stop and put it down to read the time. Getting the time was a two handed job!

@Chrish1981 10 ай бұрын

Cool watch! I'm an 80s kid and remember those everywhere, great vid!

@kristins8438 10 ай бұрын

this is an incredible fix given this is something you don't even normally do, great job!

@comicmania2008 10 ай бұрын

Well done, nice to see it working! Looks like the watch my mate had when I was at school around 1974/75. Remember him saying you had to push the switches to keep the display running, it was designed to have a 1 year batt life, based on e.g. about 20 pushes a day average! I was quite jealous of his watch at the time, I just had a Sekonda clockwork analogue watch that my Dad bought me for Xmas. I'm completely useless at fixing watches, even at changing batteries in them! One thing I picked up when you were cleaning those little spring switches, you could use one of those small right-angled tooth brushes. But anyway, good job getting it running again!

@MrCameronMoore 10 ай бұрын

Awesome work! You’ve saved a piece of history

@Factory051 10 ай бұрын

Hello Dave / Steve 🤣😂 20 seconds in and I'm in stitches.

@BrunakoPAO 10 ай бұрын

Great to have the rap at the end 😁👍

@StezStixFix 10 ай бұрын

😁

@johnallen8680 10 ай бұрын

I had one of these ! Identical. Never thought I'd see one again.. What a blast from the past !

@karlzips1 10 ай бұрын

I remember my uncle having a similar one and you are right he hated pressing the button because the battery drained so fast 😂

@RichDick777 11 ай бұрын

Sweet upload! Just a nice polish and you got yourself a neat, brand new watch.

@StezStixFix 10 ай бұрын

Definitely! Gonna get me some polish and buff this up, I love it!

@bzakie2 10 ай бұрын

Yes I do remember when digi watches came out you had to press a button to see the time. We thought it was space age stuff! Nice job, great video.

@zootmarketing4633 10 ай бұрын

Brings back great memories. Had one in college. Was a great look. Great watch. 😊

@NiallMacpherson 10 ай бұрын

Excellent as usual. I await anxiously each of your videos!

@StezStixFix 10 ай бұрын

Thanks Niall! 👍

@peachjackson3856 10 ай бұрын

This so reminds me of a watch worn in a Mel Brooks movie called High Anxiety. Now I’m obsessed with finding out if it’s the same watch! Cool stuff as always! 😁

@raspberrypines 10 ай бұрын

i'm glad to see you come so far, i love your videos and i'm glad you surpassed 100k!

@obsidianpanther 10 ай бұрын

What an awesome retro watch! I appreciated you pairing it with the 70s style music :)

@redmax341 10 ай бұрын

its so great to see a watch from the 70s work again

@mtshark7 10 ай бұрын

Nicely done Steve!

@Nimmbin 10 ай бұрын

Very awesome and interesting repair. That watch is uber cool. Great video thanks for sharing 🙂

@richardgrahame5408 10 ай бұрын

Back in the 70's, there was a program on every Thursday i think called Tomorrows World. It was a science program of all the latest inventions of the time. A watch just like the one you were showing, was shown complete with a box and stuff. The presenter made a really big show of it, how great it was and high tech it was. A price tag of £300 or so for it so only the well-off at the time could afford it. Well, it flopped and in the end, you could go down to your local petrol station and buy a digital watch for a quid and that was the 70's for you.

@daved3494 10 ай бұрын

I remember Tomorrow's World also. I believe James Burke - who went on to do a show called 'Connections' was on that show too.

@jimosullivan1389 9 ай бұрын

Tomorrows world were wrong in just about everything........"in the year 2000..all the work will be done by robots".

@UKNOWHO425 10 ай бұрын

Love your work Steve, keep up the good work and content! Look forward to every episode no matter the fix!💖 much love from - Taylor in Seattle! 🌃

@thazsar 10 ай бұрын

That watch is cooler than most watches out today. Good repair!

@simonlunt353 10 ай бұрын

Well done Steve love the watch l remember these watches coming out as a kid great watch 😊👍👏👏

@jNCosta 10 ай бұрын

Very interesting Steve, thanks for the video!

@Boogie_the_cat 10 ай бұрын

1:03 I saw my little buddy and he made a funny noise! My weekend is complete. I heard somewhere that these watches use one battery per minute. 😂 You might wanna convert it to AC and just sit at home by an outlet all day. That's what I'd do if I didn't have a cat.

@summerlaverdure 10 ай бұрын

Excellent fix, solid rap. Keep it coming!

@kiwicory100 10 ай бұрын

love your videos, they give me inspiration to try various things in my own world.

@astra6712 10 ай бұрын

Great video Dave.

@jannenreuben7398 10 ай бұрын

Nice repair. The 7542 on the chip is probably a date code - in this case it would be week 42 of 1975 which fits in with the age of the watch.

@Mymatevince 10 ай бұрын

Great video!

@StezStixFix 10 ай бұрын

Thanks Vince, I think I may have the watch bug now. Really enjoyed working on this!

@doogsmoog 10 ай бұрын

Superb, love these videos Steve 👍🏻 such a cool watch as well!

@wallyf7020 10 ай бұрын

Nice fix, and what a retro watch you have...great job.

@Njazmo 10 ай бұрын

It's not retro, it's vintage. Retro is something new, but having old style.

@wallyf7020 10 ай бұрын

@@Njazmo no comment...

@mehere8299 10 ай бұрын

Man, Dave did a great job this week! (You did okay too, Steve.)

@StezStixFix 10 ай бұрын

Dave is the MVP! 😁

@DSRee16.50 10 ай бұрын

Well done steve excellent fix

@garymucher4082 10 ай бұрын

WOW, I do remember those digital type watches when they hit the market. Funny how technology has changed and cost reduced... Thumbs Up!

@Fifury161 10 ай бұрын

Yeah - they sell similar LED style displays (just larger digits) in pound shops now! They even have a "funky" animation when you press the button (the individual LEDs light up in sequence and then turn off one at a time, rather than show the full display at once)

@hc3d 10 ай бұрын

Great job, nice music selection as always and cool watch.

@aihal4 10 ай бұрын

Thats so cool! Awesome repair :D

@MrFish1968 10 ай бұрын

That is beautiful watch, I remember them well

@Insectoid_ 10 ай бұрын

You’ve got such a soothing voice. Quite relaxing to watch :)

@MauR1CEnl 10 ай бұрын

Cool watch! 😍😍

@sumoldgit 2 ай бұрын

I remember having a silver one of these. Nice you got it working again 😊

@RetroTechCorner 10 ай бұрын

Lovely watch... Great to see it working!

@nytedanny1289 10 ай бұрын

Love this! Such a beautiful watch. 👍

@kingdicer8677 10 ай бұрын

you are a genius! my dad had a friend at work back in the 70's that had the same watch. it was considered sate of the art at the time (no pun intended!) but we always thought it was funny that you had to hold the button in to tell the time.

@expendable7281 10 ай бұрын

Very cool Steve 😁👍

@rrobroy 8 ай бұрын

That's a nice watch. Good job. Cheers!

@NowInAus 10 ай бұрын

Buys a watch tool kit just in case. Freakin legend! Great fix. Childhood memories of flashy buggers in the school playground. Top job Dave / Steve

@GermanWatchmakingChannel 10 ай бұрын

Interesting timepiece for sure. Well done!

@raziel3726 10 ай бұрын

Amazing Restoration 👍🏻👍🏽👍

@davidca96 10 ай бұрын

That watch is glorious, I love 70's style.

@peter6782 10 ай бұрын

love the 80/90S retro music, first time i have watched and i really enjoyed it

@alannicholls1064 10 ай бұрын

Well done Steve.😀

@darryljansen7364 10 ай бұрын

Calm presentation love the rap dude you multifaceted and a joy to listen to.

@BertAndSmokey 10 ай бұрын

Legend love the uploads 👍

@mandymoo7406 10 ай бұрын

i sold these back in 75 and they werent cheap,i was on £16 a week and they were well out of my league,the district manager turned up one monday morning and price crashed them but i decided i didnt want one as they drained batteries pretty fast,we also sold clive sinclairs watches and they were dire then we started selling pulsar watches that gained an hour in an hour,we had lots of returns but many people were just happy to show their mates down the pub that they had a watch from the future,forgot to add i liked the way you fixed it,well done

@electroddxful 10 ай бұрын

Nice repair. I had one of those back in the days 👍🙏👍🙏

@ShadowcasterZero 10 ай бұрын

There's a lot of old wind up watch repair on YT. Not a lot of digital watch repair. Well done 👍

@GeorgeJansen 10 ай бұрын

I was born in 1969. I think I may have seen a watch like that before... It was lovely watching you repair that watch.

@timehunter9467 10 ай бұрын

Bloody good job on this one, I’d never have seen the corrosion hidden in there. I was expecting some kind of intermittent problem with the display but it wasn’t as bad as that.

@DForce26 10 ай бұрын

Awesome fix Dave... And Steve... :p

@Woodus5000 10 ай бұрын

Nice Fix there steve ... Consistancy is Key .. and that watch is WELL cool looking .. Defantly not Stupid i agree

@wisher21uk 10 ай бұрын

I love the old retro watches I have a collection and don’t have anything like that, I love the odd unusual styles too favourite being Storm watches they’re funky 😊

@geoffcrabbe4323 10 ай бұрын

Super work buddy, Back in the day(1977 ) i recall a very cool tech/maths teacher at my school having one of of these..It looked And sill dose for me off the planet...A keeper...class..

@KrispyBizcut 10 ай бұрын

Im not a watch person at all but i really do love that one!! Its awesome af looking!!!

@willembuiting 10 ай бұрын

Great video! Used to have one of those. In fakt it whas my first watch. Nice!

@XCodeHelpHub 10 ай бұрын

Nicely Done!

@CallousCoder 10 ай бұрын

70s Disco kitsch, all you need now is a white bell bottom leisure suit and a gold chain to match, and had that illuminated checkered dance floor! ❤

@chrisdunn4385 10 ай бұрын

good work Dave

@StezStixFix 10 ай бұрын

I think Dave needs a promotion! 😁

@andrasszabo7386 10 ай бұрын

Nice watch, Steve. I have been looking for one like that for ages now.On those contacts I would use white vinegar to get rid of that green stuff. And it does matter how you put that back plate on.

@schrodingerscat8621 10 ай бұрын

I’m not sure how I came across this, but it was much more interesting than I thought it would be.

@chanyphilly8266 10 ай бұрын

Nice one! My stepdad used to have one of those watches, and I remember thinking, "a lot of watch and very little screen" lol.

@lukepearson4899 10 ай бұрын

Proper 70's Retro 😊

@thomo5 9 ай бұрын

J'adore vos vidéos, un grand bravo à vous!

@moseshancock3336 10 ай бұрын

Great 👍 I enjoy the video I remember these watches ⌚️ 😀

@chrisstokoe3169 10 ай бұрын

Dude that is retro af love it

@jayson8372 10 ай бұрын

Thank you! Bringing back memories of the past! Another show from the past "The Secret Life of Machines" featured that watch (a UK show from the 90s).

@medes5597 10 ай бұрын

The guy who made that, made a sequel show on KZfaq called The Secret Life of Components a few years ago. Worth a watch it you're a fan of the original.

@foundatlantis 10 ай бұрын

i like the direction where this channel is going. random fixes of unusual cool stuff. maybe try fix some vintage audio gear and things with nixie tubes and stuff. cool.

@prairiedawg792 10 ай бұрын

That trimmer - I once made a tool using a single square pin pulled from a ribbon cable header (I think) and superglued into the end of one of those disposable propelling pencils. Worked a treat.

@deltonviera2051 10 ай бұрын

Love your videos 😉😉

@AntBangBang 10 ай бұрын

Very cool!

@Dennistube001 10 ай бұрын

i used to have star wars digital watch when i was i kid. Best Christmas present ever

@robertjordan7323 10 ай бұрын

Nice watch, nice fix.

@andyb3481 10 ай бұрын

Nice fix! I read a 1970s digital watch repair manual that talks about conductive epoxy instead of solder, so I guess that's what the grey gunk is? It might be worth treating it to some Renata 357 batteries - they are a lot less likely to leak than alkalines.