Citizen Pain - The Way Of The Exploding Battery - Can I Restore This Chronic Hisonic Watch?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- In this video Mike attempts to fix what many would walk away from a very damaged Citizen Hisonic tuning fork watch. As you can see the battery has practically exploded and caused some rather colourful damage. The Citizen Hisonic is actually a Bulova Accutron 218 movement sold under licence to Citizen back in the 70s ( I think) Watch and see if Mike is successful on restoring this watch back to its former glory. Please remember to like, subscribe and comment if you enjoed this episode.
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About me:
My name is Mike and I am a hobbyist watchmaker. I am completely self-taught in watch repair and restoration. My channel is all about my journey of hobbyist of watchmaking. I have watch repair tutorials, watch restorations and watch repair videos. Some of my content you can easily follow along to if you are working on the same watch movement. My main focus is to document my journey and inspire more people into this wonderful hobby and demonstrate that this hobby can be very rewarding. I do not profess to be a professional watchmaker and in my videos, I show all my mistakes, mishaps, highs and lows and keep everything as honest as possible. It is easy to edit all the mistakes out and make my videos look perfect but I believe that keeping it real reflects the true reality of this hobby. So what are you waiting for? please check out my watch repair and restoration videos, get inspired and start your own watchmaking journey.
#watchrepair #watchrestoration #watchmaking
I hope you enjoyed this video guys and look forward to reading your comments. Please remember to hit the like button as it helps immensely to push the video out to a wider audience and we need to entice more people into this very fore filling hobby of ours!
My old grandad used take off his hearing aid and put it next to his Accutron watch to wind my Nan up as it made an aweful noise, she hated and would chase him round the kitchen table with a broom, I’m nearly 60 now and wish I could go back for just a day to relive those memories, watches are full of memories in many funny ways, well done Mike another super video. 👍😉
@@nickjohnson217 that’s a great memory. You can relive it by owning an Accutron !
I really appreciate that you are fixing quartz watches. All the other you tubers I know off focus mostly on mechanical Swiss watches. Your videos are a priceless source of information. Thanks again.
Sorry, this is not a quartz watch.
@@alaththar819 google it
@@alaththar819 I stand corrected Mr smarty pants. Although I was referring to the other videos he’s made. Also there are tunning fork watches that use quartz to regulate the vibrations.
@@alaththar819this is not a mechanical watch either.
Well, it’s mainly mechanical as all the motion is done by wheels.
I'm a Citroen mechanic by trade. Watching experts accomplish intricate work on YT always reminds me of rebuilding a VW engine over the Christmas holiday:
Working with my late father in law, who was alive at the time...
Boxing day, not really cold, but very, very damp. And dark.
10:30 am we are trying to install the penultimate exhaust valve. 3:30 pm, it finally goes to plan.
The reason?
There Was Already Two Collets in There! No room for another!!
40+ years of experience foiled by our poor eyesight and freezing hands.
It was mid-January when I finally told him just what the issue was...
Great Video btw! I own one and I love it!
58:10 You gotta love Lidl, you go in for bread and come out with a watch case polisher.😃
@@simong6855 haha indeed. I bought it probably 6 years ago for about £20 . Never seen it in there again.
That dial is exquisite. Well done Mike, you’ve done a sterling job getting that working again, congratulations!
Many thanks pleased you like it. I could not be happier with the result.
A capacitor, transistor and resistor. Right coil for timing, left coil for reverse current to stop movement after a physical shock sends the sweep second hand forward ~ 10 seconds. Quite ingenious.
The capacitor holds a charge, the resistor regulates the charge and the transistor switches the current; causing a simple current oscillation that alternates between current and no current to the coil. This causes the coil to alternate between magnetic and non-magnetic which in turn attracts the tuning fork magnet in the coil cup and let the magnet release. The vibration causes the tuning fork to vibrate at 360 Hz on the Bulova/Citizen and 300 Hz on the Omega et al.
Well done resurrection!!
That’s a much better explanation than I could ever give. Was not aware of the differences between the coils. What frustrates me is the right coil is the one prone to failure. I have 4 dead right coils here and no working ones left for any projects !
@@MyRetroWatches that’s because the right coil is running all the time. The left coil only when the watch suffers a shock. With a physical shock the tuning fork becomes over excited. This causes the left coil to generate a current of the opposite polarity to the battery. This, in turn, causes the watch to stop for precisely the same amount of time that the seconds hand sprung forward!
Again ingenious , just as your repair of what would have been considered a junker by the vast majority of professional watch makers. Since the left coil runs all the time, it suffers the most stress as the lubricants lose their carrier solvents and become hard. As the gears become harder to turn due to the drying lubricants, the current draw to the left coil increases. This in turn, heats the coil up to the point where the insulation on those fine wires deteriorates and causes shorts.
Thanks again for the video and your enthusiasm!
You killed me with the applause when the spring few off.😂😂😂
haha. bit of added comedy there!
My dad owns a Omega Constelation f300 with the same tuning fork technology. Today I learned something new about how it works. Cool stuff.
I have a similar Citizen, but I can't dare to try fixing it. You did a brilliant job, I am so proud of you after this many watches, you became a professional.
Nice accolade but I’m far from a pro! Just have enough skills to take these on. They are not all that difficult apart from regulating them which as I said in the video took 5 days to get it within specs .
There was a Bulova repairer in Burnley, Lancashire: Riemann's the jeweller. Close to Burnley wasa last remainingAgent in Nelson. Situated in a quiet posh house on Hibson road, I walked past it every day on my way to school. It was seeing the glass sign which stoked my interest in the Bulova brand...
I still can't find any references to the house?
The sixties and seventies were such an amazing and exciting time!
I'm not a watch person, but found this very exciting. Amazing how this was designed, and how ever all these parts were manufactured. Makes you really appreciate the intricacy of the analog world vs the smaller silicon electronics.
Pleased you enjoyed it from a non watch perspective. These are a true marvel at micro engineering. Accurate to 1 minute a month and that was in the 60s before quartz . Incredible
I never knew Bulova licensed the accutron movement to other brands! What a great recovery you accomplished on what looked like a lost cause. Thanks for sharing. - Chris
Really enjoying your videos. Love the mix of mechanical and digital. Thank you for the time you put into the videos, your enthusiasm is very evident
Glad you like them and great feedback for me. I try to show a good mix of things. Anything that interests me really. All has to be affordable as I do like to demonstrate the fun that can be had without a big price tag and affordable is just , if not more so, fascinating.
Thanks for taking us to this mysterious movement!
Mike you are a friendly man with great skills!
Thank you
Thank you for entertaining me away from my call of duty mobile for an hour, I didn’t get bored as I watched but was shocked to see all of the parts removed and carefully replaced, great job!❤
I love these hummers. Well done Mike, great video
Hello mate, pleased you’re watching this one! I do have a bit of a collection of these now. Find them totally fascinating. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Well for the life of me... I'm no watch buff so of course I'd never heard of the Accutron movement. What an amazing concept, and all the more amazing that Citizen were able to get it out of theory and into practice.
I love the 60's style, too. Just lovely!
Thanks also for not editing out the struggles you had with various of the little sprung bits and pieces. That sort of honesty encourages us all in our struggles to restore things, whether it be watches or (in my case) motorcycles.
Subscribed!
Great work Mike, loved seeing your face when it started humming.
Thanks. I was, shall we say, a little bit excited.
Top vid Mike! I was a bit frightened of doing one of these, now I might have a go.
Two things saved you here, The battery was upside down and the watch as you say was probably stored face up. I love this style of old Japanese watch and there is nothing not to like about these watches. Great skill, very professional video, thank you
Thank you. The batteries in Accutron go positive down so it was in the correct position as much as it looks odd.
Great job . First quartz renovation I have seen, fascinating!
@@rizlaroly it’s not a quartz it pre dated quartz technology.
I was absolutely stunned by the end result, with new crystal that dial really got me excited about it! Bracelet was same with my GS, full of rust, which probably means someone loved using it regularly. Keep up the good work!
I can only agree. Snowflake dials are great and this one came out as good as I hoped it would. .
I’ve just stumbled onto your site and as a retired mobile mechanic who enjoy playing with Electronics and mechanical things in general, you’ve got me hook Line and sinker so fascinated in how that watch works the detail and the precision of stripping down cleaning and putting back together the watch. I’ve definitely subscribed. Look forward to the next ones.
That's a true restoration video. Hell of a job.
Appreciated.
Amazing job! I put a battery in my father's 1967 218, gave it a gentle tap, and off she is running! We used this timepiece for celestial navigating around the world and the feelings I have are indescribable! I made a two watch display dock and put my Seiko 5 Sports along side Dad's 218 as an homage to an incredible time. Thank you so much for a look under the hood and of course your dedication to small things that make an immeasurable difference.
If still recommend at some point to get it serviced. When oil is dry parts end up wearing. Spares are hard to find.
Spectacular repair, fascinating movement!
Thank you.
What a monumental effort to resurrect this gem. 👍
Great job.
My Dad had an Accutron when I was young... Super cool....
I believe 'Mad Men' the TV drama, have a brief mention of the Bulova Accutron watch?
I have one, and the high-pitched buzz really is, well a Buzz to hear! Magnificent USA. Well, they did go to the moon...
And one of the two chaps' names?
BUZZ!!! :-)
What a turn around, the watch looks great. Worth all the effort. Thanks for a great upload.😊
Hi Darren, glad you enjoyed this one. It was all worth the effort in the end.
I very much enjoyed this. Your positivity and enthusiasm for a task that many would have shied away from is inspiring. Great job 👍
WOW! The watch looks amazing, and work it took....what a great video. And on another note....you are looking quite well. I know it has been a rough year or so for you, but you are looking happy and healthy again. Good to see!!
@@thomasgabriel2213 thank you on both counts. Missing my parents but just keeping busy and moving on. August will mark 2 years since prostate cancer too.
Hoping to have a clear run of good health and happiness going forward.
Absolutely gorgeous - thanks so much for letting us see your excellent work!
Thanks for watching .
That's marvelous! I had no idea there were Citizen versions of the Accutron. I'm starting to want one again. Must resist! 😉
I have Citizen eco drive watch I bought 17 years ago , used in a working environment it keeps on going and never misses a beat
I absolutely love accutrons, this one is beautiful! Thanks for bringing it back to life!
Glad you enjoy it!
What an amazing bit of engineering...just wow!
@@legacywatchguy8333 sure is!
very interesting and a very nice result ,, i love mechanical watches but at the moment i only have a tisell diver
A real beauty! Great work!
I love watching your channel. I love to tinker with old watches. So thanks, bunches, and I will continue to be entertained ..
Great watch. Lovely mixture of electronic and manual. Ingenious!
By far one of my favorite watches they are so darn cool. You did a pretty good job explaining the tuning fork and how it works and i loved the video your phone shot of them vibrating. Once again another great restoration. Im glad there are people talented enough to save these older watches from never seeing light again.
Thanks. Appreciate your comment. I will try to save anything if I like it it’s part of the fun. It helps that I like these tuning forks! I have my first 214 spaceview coming and it might make a first appearance on the channel .
well done mike , the " get in moment " was sheer joy
Haha, I did get a bit carried away there. I was so involved with this one and had done the case and many other jobs before seeing if it would run. It was elation and relief all at the same time.
Amazing job, well done. That seconds hand is just mesmerizing.
Great work! The before and after are night and day. Your joy when it kicked up was great.
Glad you enjoyed it! I did get a little excited 😛
I normally pass on 1-hour videos but here I sit, watched the whole thing, and enjoyed every minute of it.
Well thank you so much for your patience and I hope you enjoyed it and found these types of watches as fascinating as I do.
Thanks for the video, nice job.
I've worked on a few 214 and 219 watches, they are my favorite, I like the way they hum and how the sweep second hand moves so smoothly
I have my first 214 spaceview coming and I might film that one despite never working on one before.
@@MyRetroWatches There's quite a history on the spaceview, they are lovely watches, I hope you're able to film it too
That is a very pretty watch. Amazing restoration - never thought that would run again! Well done. Always love your videos. One comment from near the start, You might want to try getting some Oxalic Acid crystals and trying this stuff on some rust. Quite cheap. Used to be sold on ebay but now you need to Google it and buy from a chemical supplier. It is really for getting rid of brown stains in wood for the woodwork brigade, but if you put it on brown rust it turns it grey and inert. It will also turn bare steel the same grey and makes it pretty corrosion proof. I discovered it years ago and found it great for rusty tools and also bits of rust on radiators before then painting them. You just dissove as much crystals as you can in say a teeny jam jar and then use a small paintbrush to put the stuff on. It does it's work pretty quickly. I rinse things I have done and then dry them. Worth a try to see if you like the colour as may come in handy one day to resurrect some part you cannot buy. A small bag will likely last you a lifetime. I agree the phosphorous type rust converter that leaves things black and purple is not a nice end colour for anything. Hope this is of some use.
Thank you for this advise I will look into getting some.
This was a great video. I always wondered exactly how the tuning fork connected to the wheels and I have to admit it was not what I expected. You did an amazing job bringing this back to life.
Pleased you enjoyed it and learnt how they work. A marvellous bit of engineering.
Great job Mike and I have got to say I would have passed on it but you did wonderful and thanks for another great video.
Glad you enjoyed it
Superb job Mike & a lovely HiSonic to cherish.
Many thanks! yes this one is staying with me. Its one of my favorite ones now
Good title. Congrats to the winner.
The citizen pain and chronic Hisonic are from two people the bit in the middle I added😂
Congratulation! It was epic you bring back to life this beautiful watch. The joke with the flying spring and the applause was priceless. It is one of your best videos, I enjoyed every minutes.
Brilliant thank you. Was a great project this one with a really good transformation. Glad you liked the applause 👏
My favorite part of the videos are the cleaning section. Would love to see some time lapse video of before and after of the cleaning of the parts.
I will look into doing some of this. My videos tend to be quite long and in the past I have shown the cleaning machine working and pegging the holes, all kinds really but I dont always want to include all the same things in each video as I would think for a viewer it gets boring after a while. I thought in this one the transformation of the plates would satisfy you all but so far no one has commented on that.
Another success Mike. Thanks for posting. Cheers
Glad you enjoyed it
Absolutely amazing video. I've just started getting into fiddling with watches (mostly old digitals) and this is fantastic to watch!
I'm always amazed at how these tiny parts were manufactured.
I do too. Micro engineering.
Great video, great watch, great restoration. I never saw a smother seconds hand, much better than a Grand Seiko
Thanks. You can’t compare an Accutron second hand to anything mechanical. Nothing comes close. From memory a high beat does 8 beats per second, Hisonic 320!
Loved the reaction when the watch started humming, very ‘my mate Vince’ 😂. Nice work and as always, informative. Thanks Mike
Much appreciated! I can get a little over excited at times 😂
Hi Mike, I just wanted to let you now I got here after watch an old episode of WILTY. I was hoping that it was Lee's story and I am so happy it was. Cheers mate!
haha yes that was a highlight to 2023/24 actually and I do mention it at the end of my PanAm digital watch video. Lee is genuinely a big watch fan and was attempting to repair a watch to learn how they work. It was great to talk to him about all this, I gave him some advise and we had a 2 hour zoom call discussing it all. Pleased you found your way here because I could not get my name or channel mentioned on the BBC!
Outstanding restoration. 😊
Hi Sir You are a genius and finished the work very nicely
@@azsharptime549 thank you
Very nicely done! That dial is amazing and I'm glad the watch turned out nicely. Cheers!
Thank you. I am very pleased with the transformation on this watch. Dial is a real stunner .
Wonderful restoration, well done!
I bought a Bulova Accutron in 2005 for £26.33. It was all I had on me. I regulated the movement and it was down to just over +one second/day. I wore it for a week and just Had To Get it better...
Idiot. Being a very old watch, it didn't like the endless fiddling.
It now never betters 5 sec/day accuracy.
My mother in law bought us an 'Art Deco' clock for a Christmas present. To be fair, it does look rather nice.
It's Possessed!
I swear it averages out close to bang-on +/- 1 second whenever I check it with the radio-controlled kitchen clock. And it most definitely is a bog-standard Chinese 30-cent quartz movement. Unbelievable. It sits in a room with 60-85% humidity and 15-25°C temperature. But over the last eighteen years it is close to being 'bang-on' time whenever I check it!
I keep thinking I should record it on a 24hr/day video...
Maybe I am stupid and all cheapo quartz clocks are as accurate?
I realise all about rate, precision in timekeeping, but the ceramic green clock really is something else!
Btw, in 1999, a shop was selling a gold Space View Accutron. £300. I hate myself for not buying it.
The UK Accutron dealer lived about 1/2 miles away and I used to walk past it every day on my way to school.
The Space Age really was an incredibly interesting time to have lived through!
Nice work! That's interesting that you assemble the calendar works and under-dial parts before replacing the train. With your method, one doesn't have to fight the fork magnetism attracting the springs while you're setting them. And you're getting really good at handling that spring that tucks under the date-wheel retaining plate. I picked up some nice technique that you've worked out. Taking out the pawl bridge, with pawl finger, rather than turning it on its post the way the manual says. Thanks.
I just do what works for me. Sometimes I do movement side first but got fed up with everything flying to the coils if I went wrong.
Despite having the manual I don’t really read them. I find the movement not that difficult compared to some mechanical watches it just more about the handling of the pawl and index wheels, then of course regulation.
This was double indexing at first but I cleaned the wheel x3 in the cleaning machine in its own basket and then had to adjust the pawl angle to put more pressure on but after that it was fine.
Now dialled in to around 1 second a day -
Simply beautiful restoration Mike.
Many thanks. Not taken the watch off for a week
Fabulous watch and totally absorbing video..
Many thanks!
Great job Mike, well done 👍
Glad you enjoyed it Rupert. Great watches these.
I have a beautiful M9 up/down day/date Accutron that I would love to get running right. Runs fine until the hour/minute hands get to around the 6-12 o'clock area and stop. Hopefully I find somewhere to straighten it out some day.
Great job!
Amazing work, what technology!
I enjoy your videos. I have a lovely Accutron from the 70's. It is in wonderful working condition and I wear it quite often in my rotation.
I have a watch that was my grandfather's. I am close to 80 and my grandfather died in the second half of his 90s. He was born in 1890. I also have his father's Waltham which has always kept great time. It has a tri- colored gold case.
My grandfather did the heavy lifting raising me from grade school on. I also have a couple other of his watches.
The one I am writing to you about was my favorite. It's brand is Esta and it is German made. It had this fire engine red sweep second hand, which he and I especially loved.
A decade or so ago, it was doing too well, and I took it to a friend who was a watch repairman. He cleaned it and got it going and keeping good time, except the beautiful second hand was gone! He said that the second hand drive mechanism was broken and he didn't know where to get a replacement so he thought it would be quite good without a second hand. And it does quite well, but that red second hand was important to grandpa and I. I would like to here your thoughts. Have you worked on German watches? Have you heard of Esta 17 Jewel? Is there a way to replace that red sweep second hand?
That’s a beautiful looking watch. Well done restoring it to a working state. 👍
Thank you kindly
Great and interesting video Michael. One tip: after lifting the hands, just let gravity do the work to slight the hands in a cover box. Just by angleing the movement.
I really enjoyed watching that video, thanks very much.
A really great job for a wonderful watch 👏👏👏🙂
Thanks
Very nice work well done 👍
Great work lovely watch I’m on wait and see going to live with my prostrate cancer for now
I hope it goes well for you. It's a horrible disease. Peace.
I’m really glad you did this video, I’ve got a corroded movement that I’ve been needing to get cleaned up, I’ve just been procrastinating.
Good luck with it. Always remember you can’t break a broken watch so you have nothing to loose really.
Incredible 🙏 you are a master-blaster
Thanks Mike that was a brilliant video 👍
Thanks
Very nicely done, I still have that same accutron meter that I bought new in the 80s. They are great to work on.
I’ve done a few of these now 218s. Probably. 10-12. Have some more coming but also my first 214 spaceview which I want to bring to the channel
Always like your videos, your English humor is always enjoyable. Thanks for your work.
I didn’t know I was being funny (British irony) pleased you enjoyed this one .
Fantastic! Well done! And now who needs a Grand Seiko spring drive when we have MiKe that shows us the way to a very special alternative? Greetings from Italy and keep on the good work.. cheers
Thank you! These are truly special watches. Happy you enjoyed this episode. (I really must go to Italy , nearly 52 year now on the planet and not been!)
Perfect work Bravo!
Стварно пријатан за гледање видео. Веома занимљив сат, али још боља рестаурација.
Great video Mike, really enjoyed it. 👍😀
Thanks 👍
Just happen to find your channel. Great video. Lots of work, I too, would be nervous on all of this. Thanks for posting.
That was a great save Mike...really impressed! ❤
Thank you Clive. Appreciated
@27:02 The coils are almost always covered in shellac/lacquer, including each individual strand of copper wire on the coils. It is standard practice in the electronics community to use shellac/lacquer on coils, transformers, motors, etc. at least for small/medium parts.
amazing video, thank you for sharing
Interesting video, I didn't know anything about them tuning fork movements, brilliant result! 😀
They were only around for a short while and the tooling clearly destroyed so they can never be replicated.
If you like watches it’s one to own and experience the hum , smoothest tick and the accuracy .
@@MyRetroWatches Yes, definitely something to think about.
As ever, a great, and enjoyable video, and a superb restoration.
Many thanks!
A superb restoration Michael! It looks amazing. In Fraser's Scottish accent "I never doubted you Captain".
Thanks mate. Fun watch to work on this.
Magnífico trabalho, parabéns e obrigado por compartilhar seu conhecimento.
Oh, WOW! Damn fine job, Michael. Nicely done!!!!!!
Thank you very much .
About 10 years ago I bought an Accutron 26B19 chronograph. It keeps great time and its slim case is very classy.
I think they are quite a rare watch from memory. Well done
I like your videos sir no bullshitting.
Best Regards from The Philippines.
I appreciate that
That was fun. Thank you for the share.
That's a Labour of love, doing that sort of work, very relaxing to sit back & view. You tend to forget how small the parts are in real life, when you see them fill the whole screen!
Battery leakage is the curse of many electronic products, weather it's a watch or something much bigger such as an old radio or test meter, or even a TV remote control!