scubarob99
Moderator
Just bought a 6309-7049...this is the last one, I promise.
Posts: 3,708 
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Post by scubarob99 on Jan 9, 2015 6:24:25 GMT -8
Ok, I've read somewhere a while back that the display on an LCD watch wasn't expected to last very long, I have a few watches from the 70s and a couple from the 80s and I'm wondering, should I store them without batteries ? ( I never leave them with a dead battery, but they hardly get any wrist time, except for the pulsemeter and the Pan Am, but even those are worn maybe once a month for half a day)
So, rest the circuit and display or worry about it when it dies?
Rob
This is a bit like winning the division and resting your players or riding the wildcard high all the way to the superbowl.
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Adrian-VTA
Global Moderator
Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 5,327
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Post by Adrian-VTA on Jan 9, 2015 7:28:56 GMT -8
My vote is for storing them with no battery to preserve the display. I've replaced some very old NOS displays (originally packed and sitting on a shelf since 1981), in these things before and they are perfectly fine and have been for a while. I think the exposure to UV degrades the fluid and channels, causing screen bleed. Daily wear ones in the Australian sun will screen bleed after 30 years or so.
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Post by Groundhog66 on Jan 9, 2015 7:54:29 GMT -8
Great question...Thanks for the response, Adrian...sounds right to me.
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scubarob99
Moderator
Just bought a 6309-7049...this is the last one, I promise.
Posts: 3,708
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Post by scubarob99 on Jan 9, 2015 8:06:00 GMT -8
Thank you Guys, I've been meaning to find out about this for a while, but always kept forgetting.
Rob
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2015 8:38:28 GMT -8
Been wearing this nearly every day since 1991. Winter, summer, scuba, mechanics, motorcycle. It's been lost outdoors (buried) for over a year and it's been run over by tractors, diggers & various other mishaps. To show folk how tough it is I often chuck it at a wall or the floor or in a bucket of water and even the occasional fish pond. Thus far the LCD still looks like it did 20 years ago. That was my only daily watch for 20+ years but now thanks to Chris's advice (come back chris!) I now store my LCD watches with new high quality branded batteries fitted and my quartz I pull out the stems to disengage the battery during storage. I'll likely check them every 2 or so years just to make sure nothing funky is going on inside.  Nothing wrong with that 24 year old display  Should add original 1987 battery replaced Jan 2013. Been all over the world in all types of heats from bloody cold to nice and toasty. |
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Post by seikoholic on Jan 9, 2015 14:56:13 GMT -8
This is a good question, and I wish I had the answer. Lots to learn about LCDs. I wonder about the degradation of the polarizing filter, as I've seen posts about putting new filters on old dim LCDs with good results.
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Post by seikola on Jan 9, 2015 17:35:56 GMT -8
I'd be more worried about the circuit than the lcd, I have digital watches dating back 40 years that still have lovely crisp digits, in my experience only damage or knackered polarizing filters will make a lcd fail , it seems like age is not a concern if looked after, but ask me again in another 30-40years and I'll be more certain 
seikola |
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Post by seikoholic on Jan 9, 2015 17:41:12 GMT -8
I'd be more worried about the circuit than the lcd, I have digital watches dating back 40 years that still have lovely crisp digits, in my experience only damage or knackered polarizing filters will make a lcd fail , it seems like age is not a concern if looked after, but ask me again in another 30-40years and I'll be more certain
seikola So, what's up with the polarizing filters? How / why do they go bad? What's involved in replacement? Where do you get new film? Also, on a totally different subject, do you know about the 7C movement family? Any commonality with any other movement families? |
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Post by seikola on Jan 9, 2015 20:34:06 GMT -8
I'd be more worried about the circuit than the lcd, I have digital watches dating back 40 years that still have lovely crisp digits, in my experience only damage or knackered polarizing filters will make a lcd fail , it seems like age is not a concern if looked after, but ask me again in another 30-40years and I'll be more certain
seikola So, what's up with the polarizing filters? How / why do they go bad? What's involved in replacement? Where do you get new film? Also, on a totally different subject, do you know about the 7C movement family? Any commonality with any other movement families? Hi I think the polarizers just get bleached out from UV exposure , Some are really easy to do as the polarizer is separate from the lcd but others are bonded to the glass so they need to be removed with a scalpel blade, You would then need to remove the adhesive residue before putting a new filter on, polarizing film is available on ebay in both self-adhesive and plain and works out pretty cheap when you consider how many watches you could sort with a piece of film the size of a postcard. I'm certainly no expert but I believe the 7Cxx does not share much at all with other calibre groups. seikola
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Post by seikoholic on Jan 9, 2015 20:50:09 GMT -8
So, what's up with the polarizing filters? How / why do they go bad? What's involved in replacement? Where do you get new film? Also, on a totally different subject, do you know about the 7C movement family? Any commonality with any other movement families? Hi I think the polarizers just get bleached out from UV exposure , Some are really easy to do as the polarizer is separate from the lcd but others are bonded to the glass so they need to be removed with a scalpel blade, You would then need to remove the adhesive residue before putting a new filter on, polarizing film is available on ebay in both self-adhesive and plain and works out pretty cheap when you consider how many watches you could sort with a piece of film the size of a postcard. I'm certainly no expert but I believe the 7Cxx does not share much at all with other calibre groups. seikola
I've read posts talking about simply adding a second layer of polarizing film. I should get some, as I certainly have LCD's here that are faint and not hard to replace if it goes wrong. Yes, the 7C's don't seem to share anything with anything else. Annoying. |
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cobrajet25
Needs a Life!
"Underweared curmudgeon!"
Posts: 3,357
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Post by cobrajet25 on Jan 10, 2015 1:55:15 GMT -8
This is a tough one. If it is an LCD you don't plan to wear AT ALL, then I'd say store it without a battery. But otherwise, leave a battery in it. I have had vintage LCDs work perfectly fine until the battery was removed. Then, when the battery was put back in, the display started flashing as if the watch had a low battery. No matter what I did, the display would not stop flashing. These old Seiko LCDs are pretty tough. Most, when found, have a dead battery and have been sitting in a drawer for the last 30-40 years, and that is the main reason they fire up and work properly today. I'd say out of every ten I buy, eight or nine of them fire right off with a new battery. What I always look for when buying one of these is signs of "rainbowing" in the display, otherwise known as "Newton's Rings". Though the watch may function perfectly fine, it is a sure sign the display is on it's way out. Below is a particularly bad one. On displays this bad I almost always find evidence of water intrusion inside. Keep water out of them, make sure the batteries don't leak, and most 70s Seiko LCDs are quite durable.  |
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