offshore

I had 3 LE the same from GZ recently, Mine is running fine although it doesn't get much wrist time. Gave one to a mate, who had probs with time keeping and PR. When opened, it was filthy......after a clean and oil and and timing, it has run like the proverbial! The 3rd one is with another mate, and I haven't heard any adverse comments. Two out of 3 ain't bad! O/S

Way to go! Congrats R, that is a nice pre Xmas surprise. Now we want pics, and plenty of 'em. O/S

@Lani, FWIW, they will soon be available here as well, in the Watch Bitz shop. They are on their way now. Offshore.

OK, So its time to draw this one. I have kicked around all sorts of technically imperfect ideas, like last weeks Lotto numbers, my families birthdays etc, but finally resorted to writing the post numbers on scraps of paper, and pulling them from a hat, (or in this case an empty beer glass) So the winners are- Deltahoe. Jkay Toadtorrent. thogaa arniezac and ryanh. Now I'm not going to try and work out who gets what, so if each winner would shoot me a PM with their address detail, and tell me whether they would prefer drivers or sapphire paste, I will get them all into the mail. Congrats guys, and good to see the goodies going to a spread of both old timers, and newer members. And thanks for all the good wishes, the store is slowly coming together, and new items are being added on a daily basis. Offshore

As long as the tracking # doesn't start with C P. You may not know, but this is a world wide designation for '"carrier pigeon". Now there is nothing wrong with C P deliveries ( a bit slower), however the quality of bird, is in direct proportion, to the country of origin. And if your item is ex China, the C P service from there, is not the best, as they basically use young, immature, almost "slave labour" birds. (does help keep the post cost down though) In fact I think Dems and others may have some more insight into this phenomena, so I will leave this one to the experts. Offshore

Depends what you need done, there are quite a few repairers, not too many modders! O/S

May be a bit quicker, (dealer just covering a*se...) but 7-10 is a normal quote. O/S

@ Samurai. PM sent. To all the other posters...thanks for the good wishes, the store has started slowly, but is gaining momentum. I will draw this raffle tomorrow evening, about 24 hours from this current post. Can I ask if anyone experiences any issues with any part of the store, or its operation, just send me a PM or an email via the store, we can, and will, fix any glitches. We do think the postage module may be a bit problematic, and need some fine tuning, so if things don't look correct, you only need to be heard. Thanks all, Offshore

Should be showing in stock in the store now! Just went and counted, there is about 6 left, and more ordered. O/S

Andy, Its 18cm end to end. You can adjust the internal jaws to maximum 43mm although some will open out to 45-46mm. The good thing is that as well as a variety of tips, it also has a set with Rolex flutes, so it really covers just about all situations. Obviously these adjustable tools will never compete with fixed die sets, but they are just what they are, quick and easy for 95% of the time. Then the "big guns" have to come out. I actually find it quite amusing, that I have a large wheel style caseback tool, ( which opens ANYTHING,) which gets very little use, yet cost 100's. Yet my little "crab claw" opener, does maybe 80% of the jobs. When it finds its limitations, I then move to one of these, and then onwards thru various tools and dies till the wheel tool is rolled out. A bit like life...the cheaper/easier option will fix some or most issues, but it costs plenty to fix the really difficult ones! Offshore

If 43mm is enough for a 183, this- http://www.rwgforum.com/topic/105636-multi-point-case-back-tool/ will do the trick. We are having a specialised tool made for Panerai @43 and 48 mm, but it is in all reality a month or two away. Offshore

HB, I read your report @RWI. Glad to know you are all OK, and your No 1 son, is recovering from the kicking! The most amazing thing, is that the shock of the moment just removes normal logical everyday abilities... I know exactly what you mean about not being able to even dial the phone. So hopefully the household is back on an even keel, you have got over the compulsion to keep on checking those batteries for charge, and now have a battery replacement programme in place, regardless of condition. We can't afford to lose old stagers like you! Offshore

You do know it takes some time for the tech docs to load? If you select "All product ranges", you will see a list of calibres, than just select 7750 and wait for it to load. Then take the hand dimensions. Then look at 7753! I just did it, took me about 5 minutes, and confirmed what I thought! In fact the drawings of a 7753 are 7750 drawings. Seek and ye shall find. Offshore

I'm pretty sure, Yes!- but take a look! https://secure.eta.c...ndex=3&tabid=28 O/S

Lest we Forget. Offshore

Absolutely no doubt who the post whore is around here. Congrats on another milestone KB....we'll try to come up with a new award for your 20K post! Offshore

Can you help us here with some dimensions, or an Omega Part# no.? I probably have an aftermarket here that would do the job...if you want a gen, you will need to hunt one up, probably from ebay. I do however have access to some Omega parts, but they don't come cheap! Part number would be great! (Watchadoo in Oz, on ebay, has had a large range of crystals recently) Offshore

Ken, If Alan Fels was still in charge, Swatch would already be dangling from the gallows! ( For non Oz, Alan Fels is the recently retired head of our Trade Practices Dept, who loved the limelight, AND taking multi nationals to task) Offshore

It would appear that Swatch Group have a problem brewing here in Australia. Or read it here- http://www.theage.com.au/national/swatch-is-ripping-you-off-exboss-20091107-i2w0.html A quick precise of this article, is that they sacked their GM here last year for not following company guidelines, and forcing dealers to stick to RR. ( Which is illegal in Oz) He is now suing for loss and damages, related to his dismissal. So all the sordid details will be revealed next month....whats the betting that an out of court settlement is not arrived at? But I'll bet the Trade Practices people here have their ears pricked up. And the ex GM will continue with these selective "releases", to keep everyone on their toes until he sees some $! Offshore

Bravo indeed! Great job again Zig, never known anything else! And R, your Franken projects continue to have such a worldwide base, parts from all corners of the globe. Congrats mate, another masterpiece, from the master- for the master. Offshore PS -Zig, tool shipped, (will advise tracking)

Try heating it! Set yourself up 1st. Know what you will pick it up with, Know that the vice will already have protectors in place; have a seperate set of pliers to grip the pin/driver tip. Or another punch of the correct size, if you are going to try to punch something out. Just get your plan into place, so you are still operating on hot metal...and don't burn yourself!! Think this one through, it's great training and forward planning. Think what will go wrong next, and plan against that. Brains can beat unforgiving metal (on most occasions) Offshore

I am just sitting here reminiscing over many deep dives done. You know, the early bezels were still bloody good indicators, during a time when we were all still coming to grips with decompression, and its limits. I still now clearly remember we had arrived at the conclusion that if we maxed out @ 200', we DEFINETLY needed a stop if we had been more than 5 minutes! It always cost doing a 5mins @ 10' stop! Similarly, 10 mins @140' was another benchmark. (Bob, have you spotted the anomaly between your bezel, and R's? Look at the position of the 10 minute marker, relative to the depth. R's is more conservative! Yours shows 10 mins @150', R's shows 10 mins @ 135".) Doesn't surprise, even US Divers were a fledgling company at that time, still coming to grips with a developing sport. And they were commissioning all these from Doxa, who themselves would have been torn between EU and US standards! The funniest thing was I dived for about 4 years using the US Navy tables, (on which all these were based), and then someone pointed out that these tables were designed for fit US Navy divers, and as they pushed the limits, could only be used, when a decom chamber was available on the surface. (As they had a 10% failure factor built in!!) We then had a look at the British tables, but these were so conservative, that we got so little bottom time. so we went back to the US Navy tables, with the rider, that it didn't hurt to "blow a few bubbles at 10' on the way out". In 20 years of diving, I only ever suffered 1 "bend"(thankfully- most extreme pain), and that came from too many repetitions in shallow (relatively) water. Hmm, all memories now. Offshore

R, If, finally, you are forced down the "glue" route, give thought to fixing it with silicone, as against an epoxy. I've never tried it, but I reckon if you had a reasonable contact of silicone over the complete 360 deg, you may find a good enough to excellent grip. And at least it would be relatively easy to remove, (aside from the cleaning up) Worth a thought. BTW Looking good mate...I still reckon that thing should reside a bit further west and south O/S

Andy, As stated, they are special build. There are some being run in the system at the moment, and I will have access to a few in under a month, both long pinion 4813's and 2813's, both High Beat. I know of at least one other dealer who has them, and anyone in the scene can commission a run relatively easily; it just takes patience and $$! Offshore

Well you would hope that just about covered it! Great post BTW TB, thanks for the time and input. (it would have been nice if you could had rustled up a complete set of engineering drawings as well! ...kidding!!) Thanks. Offshore