Ronin

Hey gang, anyone have experience fitting the VR, etc.. 31xx Clone movements in 5-Digit "Genuine" cases? I am old school and my experience is with the older 15xx movements in 4-digit cases. Do 31xx movements install the same way as 15xx movements? By that, I mean-- Drop in the grooves and Turn the movement and LOOSEN (raise) the case screw to lock it into the case? or are 31xx case clamps? That said, knowing the 31xx clones are based on the ETA platform did they clone the proper mounting mechanism for use in gen cases? And I am guessing the movements don't come with mounting hardware so I would need the proper screws (part number?) Thanks!!!

Cool. Was it a Gen 3135 or a Clone 3135?

Ha. I can see the video on my phone. That looks dope! Unless the dial feet are creating a stand-off and are bottoming in the movement I doubt that will help. Again at the expense of calendar interference. See if you can find a caseback from a 5-digit 16013 or equivalent. I believe when Rolex went to the 3k they gave the caseback some additional clearance. This was the case with the 16750 GMTs anyways.

I could not see the video??? No cutting the dial legs wont help, in fact, that will stop the date wheel from working/flipping over. (Again Pie Pan dial, who knows though) Honestly, if all else fits, take the autowinding mechanism off and just make it a manual wind. 😉

Thanks for keeping the lights on! Out of curiosity is there a timeframe you have in mind? A week, a month, 6 months? -if no one comes forward, before lights out? Also, is there a physical server involved or is this running in the cloud (AWS?). Edit to add: if it looks like lights out, I am curious if there is a way to archive/memorialize some of the key pinned content? Plan B: RWG Archive project anyone???

If you want to use a 3xxx series movement you need to build in a 5-digit sapphire crystal case. 1601 = 4 digit. 15200 = 5 digit. Poke around eBay to understand the models. I would probably still avoid a 16xxx DateJust. Not sure what became of pie pan dials after the 1601.

It won't work. It's not the total thickness, but where the stem to case line up. Starting with the 3xxx series, the rotor/auto winding module protrudes more out the back. IIRC the lower profile caseback on the 1601 will hit the rotor keeping the case from closing without crushing the autowinding. You can take the autowinding system OFF converting to manual wind and with the right dial spacer it might fit. The other issue with the 1601/3 is they use pie pan dials. This won't seat against a 'flat' date retaining ring. This is even a problem within the 15xx movement line as the 1601's used a different beveled calendar retaining ring. If you do a 1601 to 1016 conversion with GEN parts you need to swap the calendar ring or use a 15xx movement from a 100x, 15xx, 55xx, 1680, etc... All that said. Even if you removed the autowinding mechanism, you probably still can't use a genuine 1601 dial. Your best bet, if your committed is to get a flat dial Explorer 1016, eliminate the calendar all together, get a JMB bezel, get a non-cyclops crystal and see if it comes together without the autowind...

What "Factory" is that from?

Thanks for the update. I will be attempting this with my 3G in the near future...

So to clarify you have a 16610 SEL (No Lug Hole case?) I think this takes a 93250. Yuki cases, from my experience, take "Genuine" bracelet parts. Have you tried WholesaleOutlet, they are usually made to fit the real deal, and Yuki case kits came close real deal measurements. Try this, and find a gen/clasp, or a gen bracelet.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/162084808733?hash=item25bd01e81d:g:YvgAAOSw-UxhRkOl Alternatively, reach out to BKLM1234, for an ARF bracelet and see if that fits. Or simply resell the Yuki and get an ARF 16610...

Bob turned me on to Doxa almost 15 years ago. He was fantastic. He will be missed. I will never forget him.

Not much to it. Intuitive once you pop the bezel off. The tension spring jut rides in a channel. You can bend and shape as needed to stiffen or lighten. I’ve even used a guitar string to replace one in the past. Shape and clip in/on. I assume you know how to pop the bezel off? Butter knife, case knife, or just pull straight up if your strong enough.

That is good news. Most of my stuff I had re-ripped to ALAC so looks like it will hold up well. I’m guessing the the bus is in PIO mode which explains the throughout as well. The “internal transfer speed” listed by Toshiba is 341Mbits/sec (bits) which for the day is less than USB 2.0. So everything makes sense from your performance findings. My audio interfaces I use with my band are still USB 2.0 and are still easily good for live recording 4 channels at 24/192 so not a bottleneck.

Following your lead. 🙂

If that is MegaBYTES, that is probably as fast as the bus will go. Those old HDD's topped out at 10MB sec. If it is MegaBITS that is another story... I am curious where the 3G Battery maxes out at. I always thought if I could fly from NY to LA on a charge all is good. Then again if I repurpose mine, it will live on wall power most likely anyways...

That is strange. Most Swiss watches I have actually ordered from Switzerland have arrived in the US in under a week. Again shipped DHL. Sounds like companies are getting cheap in there shopping choices. I think my record time order, with Trusty, was ordered on a Sunday received on a Thursday. That was three years ago though. China to USA.

I wish TT and others would go back to direct shipping via DHL. Those were the good old days. I’d get my order in 7 days or less. Now everyone seems to be using some bulk/clearinghouse??? shipping that takes a month. 😞

3rd Gen is FireWire correct? At least that is what I have. The only area I think won’t matter is the MicroSd adapter with regard to more things in the signal path. The “drive” is pre dac and only serves to get the 1’s and 0’s to the dac. The magic happens downstream that IMHO the extra connections to the drive won’t matter. Heck. I would bet the magnet media HDD it came with would be more “noisy” anyways. Just a thought. Getting ALAC and AAC requires a custom firmware right?

Hmm. I’m not an expert on the ladies, but a few things give me pause. 1. The date font looks too bold and not the usual from the mens. 2. Crown on bracelet seems oversized like older reps. BUT it is crisp. The Tritium lume plots look right. Dial fonts look good, but I can’t see the A in superlative (sometimes a tell) Caseback sticker looks legit. (Worn) Hollow link bracelet looks ok. Only way to tell, ball up some duct tape or use a caseback ball opener, and unscrew/open it up and look at the movement.

Exactly, you would need BKLM’s hands/date wheel to go back to ETA

I don’t think it matters which dealer. They all pull directly from the factory. FYI, the factories just shut down again this week as part of a COVID lockdown in Guangjouh(sp). My VSF has their updated VS3275 movement with 72hr power reserve! It “feels” good and is serviceable. Keep in mind you could always swap a Gen movement in, or there are tons of clones of these movements on eBay that can be R&R’d. Worst case you can probably work with BK on an ETA swap, but probably not worth it. Buy it, burn it out, get a new one or new movement when it dies. 😃

Fantastic. Before the lockdowns a my buddy and I were DJing 1960’s Garage Rock and we began converting the Vinyl to a streaming friendly format. We are also vintage audiophile guys with FM Tuners on most of our 70’s Hi-Fi gear and we’re looking to; at a minimum, be able to stream to any room in the house to these vintage stereos. This looks like an ideal solution. Sure, we could use the AUX ports with Bluetooth transmitters but what fun is that if all you need to do is “tune-in”.

I have held a VSF Next to the genuine article. I can tell you the VSF is Good enough. It will take macro shots and a loupe to really notice anything significant. From 3 feet away on the wrist you probably don’t need anything else.

This is awesome. I have the same iPod and felt these early models had the best DACs. I’m tempted to follow your lead. 😄 What is the story with the FM transmitter? That looks intriguing. Keep us posted with your progress!

Sure. Looks like a promotion for your Scotch and Watch whatever. Not to mention you reposted the above a few minutes ago in another forum. Your Brand image dominates the post. This is not the way to get moderators attention in the positive IMHO. Thus, spammy. I won’t be clicking your links to find out. And why so cryptic? Contact YOU for help? What’s the problem?