"Spongy" hack

[jmsrolls]

I've noticed that it is difficult to set the minute hand exactly on the markers of my GMTIIc. The hand seems to "wander" around.

I did not experience this with the 3186 movement of my Explorer II.

Is this normal?

Fr. John†

[DRAWTOOL]

I'm gonna bump this because I dunno and I wanna know.

[JeffW]

I think what you are describing is normal. I assume you want the minute hand to be perfectly align with a minute marker when the second hand is at 12 o'clock? The way I do this is to stop the watch with the second hand at xx:xx:50. Then set the minute hand to perfectly align. Then start the watch when your external time reference (time.gov) shows xx:xx:50). The ten seconds of run time before the top of the minute takes up the slack in the mechanism and the minute hand aligns nicely.

[Watch Professor]

Mine doesn't wander but I set the minute hand to the right- most section of the marker and find that the minute hand lines up perfectly after that.

[mike]

It's slack in the movement. Interestingly I don't notice it with 15xx movments.

[TattooedGQ]

you can also eliminate slack in the movement by setting forward to the minute, not down. For example. If you want to set to 12:25 I'll bring the watch to 12:20, then move the hand to :25.

[Denver Dick]

Fr. John:

By "wander around" do you mean that once you set the minute hand and second hand the minute hand's alignment is off a little the same at each minute marker? Or, are you saying it might be a hair behind of some minute markers and hair ahead on others?

[jmsrolls]

Originally Posted by Denver Dick

Fr. John:

By "wander around" do you mean that once you set the minute hand and second hand the minute hand's alignment is off a little the same at each minute marker? Or, are you saying it might be a hair behind of some minute markers and hair ahead on others?

No, that's not it. I can set the minute hand on the minute index mark but when I push the crown in, the minute hand moves off the mark and not in sync with the second hand.

Fr. John†

[level]

Try getting the slack out like TattooedGQ described. Then when the crown is pushed in, the minute hand shouldn't move.

[tomallen]

Originally Posted by Denver Dick

Fr. John:

By "wander around" do you mean that once you set the minute hand and second hand the minute hand's alignment is off a little the same at each minute marker? Or, are you saying it might be a hair behind of some minute markers and hair ahead on others?

I have noticed on my TTSub if I set it on the 12:00 to 6:00 side the minute hand aligns with the minute marks and is a half a mark off on the 6:00 to 12:00 side and visa versa

[Andad]

Hi Fr John,

I have noticed this with both my GMT IIcTT and my Pepsi (both 3186).

I have found them to be less twitchy if I give them a full wind before setting. Seems to tighten things up a bit IMO.

[Colnago]

My GMTIIc is exactly the same, out of all my watches it is the most difficult to set, or at least to get the minute hand to hit the mark each time the second hand reaches 12 o'clock.......there seems to be about 45 seconds spring in the minute hand....if I want to set to 14:45 for example, I move the minute hand to say 15:00 then back it up to 14:44 and approximately 15 seconds....when I push in the crown (or sometimes when I release the back pressure on the crown) the minute hand jumps to 14:45...but it's hit and miss to be honest

[Denver Dick]

Originally Posted by tomallen

I have noticed on my TTSub if I set it on the 12:00 to 6:00 side the minute hand aligns with the minute marks and is a half a mark off on the 6:00 to 12:00 side and visa versa

My Omega Railmaster is a little quirky this way, but only by a hair not half a mark off. I found the sweet spot on my Railmaster to be between the 30 and 45 minute markers. If I set the time between within that range the minute hand alignment is perfect except between the 18 and 23 minute markers when it's half-a-hair ahead. 99% of the folks out there would probably never notice even most WIS guys, but I'm a bit goofy about minute and hour hand alignment.

Still, "half a mark off" as you describe seems like a lot. One thing I checked first was to be sure the dial appeared well centered. Mine appears perfectly centered so I moved on.

I tend to believe every one of these hand assembled watches is a little quirky in some way. The only reason I think I even noticed, besides the fact I'm a bit goofy, is that the 39mm Railmaster has a relatively large dial and an arrowhead minute hand that comes so a needle point so one can notice even half-a-hair . . . if one gets his nose right up to the cyrstal and stares.

By the way, on the other issue about setting, I have found that if I stop my second hand at the 56 second mark, align the minute hand and push in the crown (push it in straight, that is) at xx:xx:56 (time.gov), the alginment is perfect . . . well you know, except at the 18 to 23 minute mark.

[htc8p]

i dont have problems with the setting to the exact marker of the minute hand. and i do give it a full wind charge.

my problem is the pulling of the crown to position 2

[jmsrolls]

RSC-Dallas called today to say that rather than turning the minute hand backward to the mark (as I was taught as a child and have done ever since), one should move the minute hand on the GMT IIc forward to the mark.

Apparently this method is peculiar to the GMT IIc because of "the difference in a pinion design". I know this was not the case with my 3186 Explorer II.

Oh, well . . .

Fr. John†

[Cabaiguan]

Originally Posted by tomallen

I have noticed on my TTSub if I set it on the 12:00 to 6:00 side the minute hand aligns with the minute marks and is a half a mark off on the 6:00 to 12:00 side and visa versa

I'd like to bump this thread up because I've noticed this issue on my new Sub-C. Is this something that can be fixed by RSC. It's kind of annoying...

[GradyPhilpott]

My Explorer is like that. It's kind of irritating, because I have a Citizen that the hands are motorized and will jump from minute to minute or turn rapidly depending on how fast you turn the crown.

This watch is actually pretty miraculous, even if it has a very busy dial.