tomhorn

Who is your carrier? Most carriers will give you the unlock code for free (assuming you are a customer of course). Other than that, I would never pay. For most phones it's not that difficult to do yourself. Newer phones I just use XDA Developers. Older phones are more difficult, but still doable with the right software.

Looks like one of the ShopNBC boys (Croton or Invicta, I forgot which) decided to rip off an AP ...

Maybe not for the king of projects ...

Huuummmp Daaaay! http://youtu.be/kWBhP0EQ1lA Whoop(y) ... Whoop(y)! Unfortunately, now I have two projects instead of one ...

My first guess is the dial may have been for a rep DJ that had a DG movement instead of an ETA. Of course gen dials will fit ... you have a gen case. You will just have to clip the dial feet off of it because they don't line up with the ETA movement holes. Dials can be found here, on VRF, and eBay. Gen Tudor hands can be a bit tricky to find (mine came from eBay), but the Clarks and WSO hands are pretty good too. If the DWO is already aligned OK and is a BK overlay it will be fine. If not, you can either get one from him, or get the latest version from TC. PBdad built mine, but mymanmatt is supposed to do good work too (I've never used him personally, but his reviews are solid). Either could put together whatever parts you decide to replace.

The gen dials will require their feet to be cut, which is why the dial is loose in the case right now. If you like the current dial, use it, otherwise there are many different styles of dials which will work. Any quickset dial is fine. You can spend anywhere from $50 to $500 on the dial depending on condition, how well you shop, and what kind of dial you like. Cure your dial movement problem by attaching the dial to the movement ring. If you don't have a movement ring, then you can either use TC's, or get a #2 for 2824 from Raffles-time. You need the correct DJ hands, not these Mercedes hands. You will need to get hands made for a Tudor movement (which is also a 2824). Gen Tudor hands are best, but you can get Clarks or WSO. Get a gen gasket as well. It's easy enough to clean the bracelet. You'll have a nice watch once you get it done.

He's out of the 1680 case (see post 341 above), so you'll probably have to go to Yuki (good) or Phong (better).

How much you can get will depend on the condition of the parts. If they are in bad shape, you're not going to get much as anyone wanting to build a franken here will likely want them to be in above average shape.

For someone about to embark on a 5514 with HH's case and Whoopy's dial, is the 702 the actual 'proper' crown or am I OK with the 703?

Well, you've managed to find the Rolex area, so read away ...

If you want to swap movements, then v72. I believe Spin uses the DW case, so you might want to try to locate the thinner caseback as well. No need to find another a7750 unless the current movement can't be serviced. You haven't said what the issue is with your current movement, but IMO you'll end up with better long-term reliability by servicing the existing movement, and the cost will be about the same as finding a new a7750 (which will probably still need to be serviced anyway).

Well, Chief used to be the best, but he's not doing it anymore. I think in the US, Vac is the best choice now.

Stick to the trusted dealers. They are trusted for a reason.

Having a hard time understanding how this thread got to where it has. I don't know MD personally, but I do have a project with him. He is waiting on me to send him some additional parts for a build. While I am ready with the parts, I saw his posts about what was going on in his life, and decided not to send them yet because I knew he needed to get caught up and get himself back into the swing of things. Anyone who was currently doing business with him, or was thinking about it, should have seen the same thing. I understand people have watches and money tied up, but MD did do what we would have wished several others would have done. He posted what was going on and why there would be a hold up on the work he had with him. He also let us know when he was back. I run a few small businesses myself and I know from experience when something happens that causes the business to get out of its normal routine, the first thing that happens is I get tons of emails, messages, phone calls from customers wondering what's up ... either in general, or with their specific business. I always post a generic message to my customers (either blast email, or on my websites) but normally am not able to contact individuals when the outage affects everyone. The sheer volume of those responses would prevent me from overcoming whatever is actually gumming up the works. In my case, they are e-commerce businesses, and quite frankly I would rather get the site back up and running, and then worry about contacting individuals. Once things are back to working properly, I post an 'all clear' the same way I sent out the 'there's a problem' message. Only then do I start responding to the individual communications. Sometimes it can take days, if not weeks, to get back to everyone. It happens because I can't stop everything else and just do that, so I take whatever time opens up and get it done a bit at a time. In one of his previous posts, MD said he had 200 PMs to deal with. Regardless of whether or not they require a response, he still has to go through all of them. Not to mention, he still needs to work on the projects he has. And since failing to respond to threads like this one will allow everyone to speculate that the sky is falling and they're about to get screwed, he has to monitor the board as well. Even if it took just 5 minutes per PM to read, research and respond, that's 16 hours of work alone. It's easy for anyone on the outside to say "well you should have done this" but until you are in the battle, you simply don't know ... especially if you've never been a sole proprietor that doesn't have a staff to fall back on. If MD was a scammer, he'd have just disappeared without posting anything. The fact that he told everyone what was up, and let everyone know when he was back speaks volumes. If you have work with him, some patience is going to be in order (rule #1 of the rep hobby). I personally believe everything will get sorted, but please give the guy a chance to breathe. MD ... if you haven't already you should take the time to contact only those people with projects you currently have and let them know where their project stands so they worry less. Everything else can wait. Once the dust settles, I hope you will have time to figure out some ways to minimize the grief that comes along with doing work for all of us. Whether its going The Zigmeister's route and being very selective about customers, taking fewer projects, or getting someone to help with communications is ultimately up to you. I do know the hobby would hate to lose someone with talent who is willing to work on our projects. Sorry for your loss. Losing a family member is tough enough ... dealing with the estate only makes it worse.

The 162xx DJ uses the C, not the C2. Crystal is the same. The difference is related to gasket size. C2 goes in the Sub. C1 is the YM, IIR.

Yes ... my Ebel 1911 Discovery Chrono was perfect OTB when it arrived. I did get it serviced, but no mods are necessary. I know many have updated to gen dials for a BCE, but I've never seen the need to mod my v3.

I personally would not go gen on the movement. The cost of all the gen parts (unless you were very lucky on cost) would put this past a reasonable ratio to buying a gen. You're going to be lucky to pick up a 3135 for much less than $2,000, so I'm guessing you will be in the $3,000 to $3,500 range by the time you are done ... and it will still be a rep. You can buy a gen for <$5,000. If you want to use the gen dial and are concerned about cutting the feet off the dial, then I would go with the 3135 clone.

While you could try to do the work with the DW still installed on the movement, I wouldn't. Even if you are careful with the epoxy, it would be too easy to have it bleed over and damage the movement. You may need to do something regarding a dial spacer, depending on how TC's movement ring is fabricated (I haven't seen one). I'm not sure if you can sand the DW down enough to make up for the overlay.

The TC DWO has registration marks, but you may still have to fiddle with it a bit to get it 'perfect. The easiest way to get the alignment done since you went with a 2824 would be to use the TC dial (since it has dial feet for the 2824) to help you check the position while you work with it.

Boston was probably the best 'show' I ever went to. I did like their music too, but the show during their 'Don't Look Back' tour was amazing.

I was fortunate to have a family friend who managed the big concert hall in the town I grew up in. Saw most of the greats during their primes. Only two bands I wanted to see that I never got the chance. Led Zepplin and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Was very dissapointed that Zep didn't go on tour immediately after the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute show in 2007. Can't believe Robert Plant thought it would be better to tour with Alison Krauss ... What would have been a nice recent highlight of my concert going career was seeing The Who and The Rolling Stones back to back days in Las Vegas in 2006. The Who was phenominal .... but The Stones stunk up the joint the night I saw them. I remember thinking they were done when leaving the show. Heard later that Mick's father had passed and he was jet-lagged from flying back from the UK for the show. Whatever it was, they were horrible that night.

Go with a trusted dealer. They can all get the same watch. Having said that, there is nothing special about this watch as far as fixing the seconds at 6 issue. It will still eventually have the same problem.

The TC DWO moves clockwise (next date comes from the top of the window). If you need a DWO that goes the other way (next date comes from the bottom of the window), then you need an overlay designed for the 3035 movement. WSO on the Bay sells plenty of date wheels for various movements that will work. You might have to sand one down to use as an overlay.

Forum member JMB produces a DJ case designed for a 2824 movement. He also is the go-to guy for custom bezels.