Lovely 1970's TRAFALGAR LED Watch with NO POWER | Can I FIX It?

This watch was very kindly sent over to me by Ashley. It's a retro 1970's LED watch and it appears to be completely dead.
Let's try and get it working again!
Hope you enjoy!
Steve
PS. I'm not an expert in repairs at all. I do this for fun, and it may not be the best or safest way to go about repairing broken stuff. I'm pretty good at melting plastic though. Please don't copy me - I'm an idiot.
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[@oldcodgerplaysgames9610]

Omg its my watch! Well done, so chuffed to see it running again. Sorry it was a bit anticlimactic though, i was hoping youd have to try and source some 1970s bits. But well done sir, enjoy it.

[@StezStixFix]

Thank you so much for sending it over. I can't tell you how much I love this watch! Although, it still has a fault, which I don't think anyone has noticed yet! 🤔

[@chucku00]

@@Cyphus101 Not on this generation of watches, it hasn't any buzzer or alarm setting. There are so date settings too, only hours, minutes and seconds on a 12h base (no AM/PM). Alarm quartz watches came a bit later, in the late 70's with LCD watches.

[@mattjohnson6276]

@@StezStixFix I saw it, if anyone else didn't they better watch it again. :p

[@jasonfuss8044]

@@mattjohnson6276 You talking about the broken rubber ring

[@mwk1]

*GET IN!*

[@StezStixFix]

Something a bit different today. Or something.

[@willkra]

Another good one Steve! In five years you can plot in "make me an upload fixing the main unit of a space shuttle" while you are drinking a beer🙂 AI is scary stuff!

[@thinkingaloud2]

Why did they ever go out of fashion?

[@Ewock1973]

Really cool video. Nice job Steve!

[@RyanBlaha]

Amazing work

[@ianfindlay3450]

Pre or post the famous Hamilton one I wonder?

[@MyRetroWatches]

I’ve loads of led watches from the 70s including this very model in stainless. They are when working very collectible, that model is £100-300 all day long. Push the button for time and the date button gives you running second and the date only as in 15th Is a rarer Trafalgar two button module. All I do with them is submerge in a small jar of alcohol and cycle in my ultrasonic cleaner for 30 minutes as it’s clears all the electrolytes out the way. Good thing with this one is all the tiny wire bonds that go to the leds are sealed in that hard resin. The earlier ones the bonds are exposed and generally fail. It’s early tech and predates LCD digital watches that came within a few years of these and of course took the market as battery life was superior. Even Omega made led watches and the most famous was Pulsar who made the first. Even Roger Moore wore one as Bond! Nice to see a watch on your channel Steve. Pleased you could save this one.

[@martinda7446]

Yep, Bond wore a Pulsar (Time Computer) in the opening scenes of Live And Let Die, funnily enough M arrives and gives him his Rolex which he swaps over, and the Rolex supposedly has a magnetic field generator (impossible - As he makes M's coffee spoon twang off and stick to the watch, ''it can even deviate the path of a bullet'' Says Bond - ''I'd like to test that theory now' says M) and it also had a rotating saw blade bezel. Also just about impossible, though they must have made a working model as you saw it spin (and almost stop as he tried to cut a rope). LCDs were developed in the 60s but were not commercially viable until the early 70s when Seiko introduced their beautiful chronograph in 1973! (everyone else had to wait a few years) Live and Let Die came out in 73, so really the LCD was only a couple of years behind LED. LEDs ruled until about 1977 when LCD took over completely. The market was flooded with cheap Seiko chronograph rip offs in about 1978. Cheap LED watches were available in plastic resin cases by 1976 for a tenner and again the cheap LCDs came a couple years later. The Swiss were having a massive panic and continued having one for twenty years.

[@iaincowell9747]

@@martinda7446 Bond wears 3 watches in Live And Let Die Hamilton Pulsar P2 2900 LED digital watch Rolex Submariner 5513 Tissot Visodate Automatic PR-516 The Hamilton Pulsar P2 was a technically advanced watch for the time, but function wise it was quite basic in it's features. It only had the capability to show the time (hours, minutes, and seconds) no date, stopwatch, alarm, or other functions. But the P2 was the world's first successful, mass-produced digital watch. LED (Light Emitting Diode) watches were only popular during the 1970s and were quickly replaced by LCD watches. The time is set by using a magnet, which is stored in the clasp. Holding the magnet against the Hour or Minute position in the back of the case enables you to adjust the time. Hamilton created an homage to the Pulsar P2, the Hamilton PSR H52414130 in 2020, a watch of which the design is almost identical to that of the Pulsar P2. The watch doesn't have a LED screen, but an LCD screen and is powered by an automatic movement. It's available in steel and a limited edition steel gold-pvd version. It also says Hamilton on the bottom right unlike the P2's Pulsar branding.

[@MyRetroWatches]

@@martinda7446 the first Seiko digital was the 61LC in 1973 but it was not a chronograph, that came in 75/6 with the 0634. There were 3 models with the 0634-5019 being the most desirable. I have all 3 that I have managed to save 6-7 years ago when they were still really cheap. Also have quite a few early Casiotron which were the first Casio watches proper well built and in their day were worth a fortune new. Funnily enough I have an advert for the Seiko 0634-5019 and it’s priced more expensive than a speedmaster on the same advertisement!

[@martinda7446]

@@MyRetroWatches My memory is getting completely shot (or I didn't know in the first place - can't remember which😸). Thanks very much for that MyRetroWatches.. Whatever, I loved that Seiko chronograph (the 0634 thanks again) utterly timeless. (Well lets hope not completely timeless). Ha, ha, I have a Speedmaster Albino. Funny I think that it is the most perfect analogue watch, and its been in space and on the moon. I've had three of em. I used to have a collection of LED and LCD watches but stupidly sold them. I'm hoping you have a channel I can join..I'll look now Martin.

[@EmeraldHill-vo1cs]

@@MyRetroWatches I have a casio lcd from70/ 80's? which says its solar powered, with a bar on the front. Im pretty sure thats straight up B.S. ( I contacted casio au and they have no records that far back here)

[@mercuryvapoury]

A great repair! Nice to see something from this era being brought back to life.

[@joncurtis199]

0:57 and there was much rejoicing (yay)

[@BrunakoPAO]

Great to have the rap at the end 😁👍

[@StezStixFix]

😁

[@ralphj4012]

Well done. The round component is a ceramic air trimmer capacitor (which regulates time in combination with the crystal), Removing the carbon resistive coating may cause timing variations. Johanson was the most prevalent manufacturer.

[@martinda7446]

Johanson was working on surface mount at that time, IN THE 70S! everyone should have a good look at the transistors and caps etc on this Hughes module (I'm pretty sure this is). Extraordinary advancement for 1973 when these became available, They are almost identical to modern surface mount devices. I was in the electronics industry and was in fact learning my trade as a youngster from about 1978. I simply didn't hear about surface mount until maybe sometime in the 90s, at which point I was collecting LED watches.. I was too stupid to see how really clever they were.

[@jonathanwright1507]

@@martinda7446 Yes but can you type 5318008 & then turn the watch upside down?

[@StezStixFix]

@@jonathanwright1507 😁 I used to do that on my calculator in school!

[@jonathanwright1507]

@@StezStixFix I think we all did & back in the 80's, also, we thought the kids who had a calculator watch, were the coolest kids in the school?!

[@JohnSmith-iu8cj]

Mid 90s i had the calculator and remote watch. It was cool to have 😂

[@JMUDoc]

As a child of the 80's, I love OG red LEDs😁

[@Factory051]

Hello Dave / Steve 🤣😂 20 seconds in and I'm in stitches.

[@RobSchofield]

@ 9:05 - this is a capacitor preset to tune the crystal frequency during manufacture (small square recess in centre for the adjustment tool). It's then soldered in place (the arc-shaped area on the left with the two contacts) to set it permanently. The flickering might mean that the push buttons have corrosion around the contact points (the upright contacts on the PCB) and the case, preventing completion of the circuit.

[@SlingshotGamer]

Great fix Dave, looks like you had a lot of time on your hands to fix the watch

[@BenRush]

bad joke man. take it back.

[@SlingshotGamer]

@@BenRush I can’t, as I don’t have the time

[@DForce26]

I second this...

[@fphenix]

Dave's sidekick, Steve, deserves a little bit of recognition as well.

[@ovalwingnut]

Oh SNAP! :O) That was way to punny.

[@brunosmith6925]

"I have no idea what I'm doing" - then proceeds to fix it. Love this approach - someone taking their body of knowledge to an unknown entity, applying first principles, and getting a positive result. This is a valuable lesson for all of us.

[@mehere8299]

Man, Dave did a great job this week! (You did okay too, Steve.)

[@StezStixFix]

Dave is the MVP! 😁

[@richardgrahame5408]

Back in the 70's, there was a program on every Thursday i think called Tomorrows World. It was a science program of all the latest inventions of the time. A watch just like the one you were showing, was shown complete with a box and stuff. The presenter made a really big show of it, how great it was and high tech it was. A price tag of £300 or so for it so only the well-off at the time could afford it. Well, it flopped and in the end, you could go down to your local petrol station and buy a digital watch for a quid and that was the 70's for you.

[@daved3494]

I remember Tomorrow's World also. I believe James Burke - who went on to do a show called 'Connections' was on that show too.

[@jimosullivan1389]

Tomorrows world were wrong in just about everything........"in the year 2000..all the work will be done by robots".

[@RemMonster]

Honestly a top 10 ep. Well Done DAVE/STEVE

[@gothicck]

That's what I need, "a scrape and a clean" lol. Cheers Steve

[@jannenreuben7398]

Nice repair. The 7542 on the chip is probably a date code - in this case it would be week 42 of 1975 which fits in with the age of the watch.

[@lukepearson4899]

Proper 70's Retro 😊

[@pengwin_]

you didnt say it steve, but when you fixed it, I said it..."Get IN!"

[@karlzips1]

I remember my uncle having a similar one and you are right he hated pressing the button because the battery drained so fast 😂

[@solidamber]

I bought one of those, a couple of years after leaving school, it cost more than a weeks wages for me.

[@Crackshotlol]

Interesting fix, Steve! Keep up the great work!

[@chanyphilly8266]

Nice one! My stepdad used to have one of those watches, and I remember thinking, "a lot of watch and very little screen" lol.

[@watchingdanny]

Outstanding Steve ! Your skills are always evolving. Love your channel. It's always a good time.

[@bzakie2]

Yes I do remember when digi watches came out you had to press a button to see the time. We thought it was space age stuff! Nice job, great video.

[@NiallMacpherson]

Excellent as usual. I await anxiously each of your videos!

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Niall! 👍

[@markfx12]

Someone once said, 'rust never sleeps'.

[@atourbillon]

Vinegar is great for cleaning battery corrosion! Glad you were able to fix that beautiful watch!

[@johnallen8680]

I had one of these ! Identical. Never thought I'd see one again.. What a blast from the past !

[@garymucher4082]

WOW, I do remember those digital type watches when they hit the market. Funny how technology has changed and cost reduced... Thumbs Up!

[@Fifury161]

Yeah - they sell similar LED style displays (just larger digits) in pound shops now! They even have a "funky" animation when you press the button (the individual LEDs light up in sequence and then turn off one at a time, rather than show the full display at once)

[@chrisgoater5616]

You help give me the confidence to mess around with broken electronics, and learn from my mistakes. Cheers! (Keep your process in the videos! )

[@mK_Dx]

Appreciation for a device that is 50 years old and all it needs is some cleaning to work again.

[@RichDick777]

Sweet upload! Just a nice polish and you got yourself a neat, brand new watch.

[@StezStixFix]

Definitely! Gonna get me some polish and buff this up, I love it!

[@schrodingerscat8621]

I’m not sure how I came across this, but it was much more interesting than I thought it would be.

[@CallousCoder]

70s Disco kitsch, all you need now is a white bell bottom leisure suit and a gold chain to match, and had that illuminated checkered dance floor! ❤

[@marcus0018]

Watching your video and what you didn't notice was the back cover has to go on in the proper orientation so the battery clip touches both battery's it looks like it has an arrow that points up and if you watch the video when you got the watch it was in the wrong possession

[@doogsmoog]

Superb, love these videos Steve 👍🏻 such a cool watch as well!

[@UKNOWHO425]

Love your work Steve, keep up the good work and content! Look forward to every episode no matter the fix!💖 much love from - Taylor in Seattle! 🌃

[@sumoldgit]

I remember having a silver one of these. Nice you got it working again 😊

[@NowInAus]

Buys a watch tool kit just in case. Freakin legend! Great fix. Childhood memories of flashy buggers in the school playground. Top job Dave / Steve

[@germancast]

What you expect to be a potentiometer is a variable capacitor ;-)

[@StezStixFix]

Thank you! I knew somebody would know what it was! 👍

[@GeorgeJansen]

I was born in 1969. I think I may have seen a watch like that before... It was lovely watching you repair that watch.

[@thazsar]

That watch is cooler than most watches out today. Good repair!

[@IronHeel]

You may want to get a new gasket and rub a little marine grease on it to restore the waterproof seal, if there was one.

[@ovalwingnut]

Agree Iron(man). Also, a Technocolor coat & Walking stick might go well? Ok. I'm just envious! I'll let myself out.

[@UKNOWHO425]

@@ovalwingnutlol

[@djlancematthew]

Nice work! Also, would you please put the rap at the end of every video! I love it so much that I don’t have to skip through that every time I watch!

[@daved3494]

That was fascinating to watch. Thank you. I had a similar LED watch in '76 or so. The problem was, if you were carrying a package or a briefcase or something you had to stop and put it down to read the time. Getting the time was a two handed job!

[@nytedanny1289]

Love this! Such a beautiful watch. 👍

[@SgtSlime365]

Thank you for putting the rap in the credits

[@MrJruta]

My gawd! I’m 56. My very first digital was an LED and black plastic. I miss it so much

[@BulletmanDoom]

That brings back memories. I had a similar Timex watch in the late 70's that worked the same way.

[@BsWFloppo]

Nice fix, that watch looks amazing!

[@aihal4]

Thats so cool! Awesome repair :D

[@ShadowcasterZero]

There's a lot of old wind up watch repair on YT. Not a lot of digital watch repair. Well done 👍

[@LatinLoverClio]

Definitely is waaay better the rap at the end, you also included many other “hidden” patreons. Great idea.

[@lordWaber]

Nice Fix as always, Love the Monkey Island phone Background too.

[@Chrish1981]

Cool watch! I'm an 80s kid and remember those everywhere, great vid!

[@wallyf7020]

Nice fix, and what a retro watch you have...great job.

[@Njazmo]

It's not retro, it's vintage. Retro is something new, but having old style.

[@wallyf7020]

@@Njazmo no comment...

[@raspberrypines]

i'm glad to see you come so far, i love your videos and i'm glad you surpassed 100k!

[@user-rw4ig7cy1q]

Красивые и стильные часики из прошлого ! Очень приятно что они вновь заработали . Лайк ! 👍🙂

[@summerlaverdure]

Excellent fix, solid rap. Keep it coming!

[@redmax341]

its so great to see a watch from the 70s work again

[@jNCosta]

Very interesting Steve, thanks for the video!

[@MauR1CEnl]

Cool watch! 😍😍

[@obsidianpanther]

What an awesome retro watch! I appreciated you pairing it with the 70s style music :)

[@CalculatorObsessed]

Brilliant fix. It was great watching you go through exactly the same process that I went through to fix mine. I absolutely love old displays like this.

[@Nimmbin]

Very awesome and interesting repair. That watch is uber cool. Great video thanks for sharing 🙂

[@peachjackson3856]

This so reminds me of a watch worn in a Mel Brooks movie called High Anxiety. Now I’m obsessed with finding out if it’s the same watch! Cool stuff as always! 😁

[@mtshark7]

Nicely done Steve!

[@prairiedawg792]

That trimmer - I once made a tool using a single square pin pulled from a ribbon cable header (I think) and superglued into the end of one of those disposable propelling pencils. Worked a treat.

[@BertAndSmokey]

Legend love the uploads 👍

[@lolbeacham]

I had one of these back in the 1970’s , about 1976 I think got it for Xmas , it was my first digital watch .

[@comicmania2008]

Well done, nice to see it working! Looks like the watch my mate had when I was at school around 1974/75. Remember him saying you had to push the switches to keep the display running, it was designed to have a 1 year batt life, based on e.g. about 20 pushes a day average! I was quite jealous of his watch at the time, I just had a Sekonda clockwork analogue watch that my Dad bought me for Xmas. I'm completely useless at fixing watches, even at changing batteries in them! One thing I picked up when you were cleaning those little spring switches, you could use one of those small right-angled tooth brushes. But anyway, good job getting it running again!

[@stevehead365]

A 1970s LED watch, working. That must be a rare beast. They were all the rage at the time (ho ho) but inconvenient if you wanted to tell the time whilst driving.

[@davidca96]

That watch is glorious, I love 70's style.

[@kiwicory100]

love your videos, they give me inspiration to try various things in my own world.

[@newcastlewatson9370]

I watched the last rap. I enjoy your content, your sense of humour tickles me. Thanks for the entertainment

[@Antiqueexcavator]

I just picked up one of these Hamilton’s and had to order batteries. I’ll definitely be giving it a good cleaning as well! I’ll let you know how it went once the batteries arrive.

[@Antiqueexcavator]

Update: after cleaning the watch with 99% alcohol and replacing the batteries the watch works! It looks almost new as well!! I have a new old favorite! Thank you for your advice and teaching!

[@kristins8438]

this is an incredible fix given this is something you don't even normally do, great job!

[@peter6782]

love the 80/90S retro music, first time i have watched and i really enjoyed it

[@Boogie_the_cat]

1:03 I saw my little buddy and he made a funny noise! My weekend is complete. I heard somewhere that these watches use one battery per minute. 😂 You might wanna convert it to AC and just sit at home by an outlet all day. That's what I'd do if I didn't have a cat.

[@MrCameronMoore]

Awesome work! You’ve saved a piece of history

[@Dennistube001]

i used to have star wars digital watch when i was i kid. Best Christmas present ever

[@zootmarketing4633]

Brings back great memories. Had one in college. Was a great look. Great watch. 😊

[@simonscott1121]

I had one of those in the late 70s (from memory). As a kid, you kill the batteries by constantly looking at the time :D

[@expendable7281]

Very cool Steve 😁👍

[@cjhoyle]

Great video. I particularly like that the rap part is at the end.

[@Mo-P]

Kudos! I also much prefer the song at the end!

[@Popeyes66]

I'm gutted i got rid of my watches similar to that one Steve,many moons ago. When you are young you take things for granted and think everything will last forever. We all know that is not the case though,eventually.

[@StezStixFix]

Totally agree with this. The amount of cool "tech" I've thrown away (as I'm sure everyone else has) is criminal! 👍

[@Popeyes66]

Glad i am not alone . But also at the same time sorry for you and your ditched stuff. Please keep the content coming Steve. As you know . . .quite a lot of people like you ( and Dave ).👍

[@RetroTechCorner]

Lovely watch... Great to see it working!

[@jayson8372]

Thank you! Bringing back memories of the past! Another show from the past "The Secret Life of Machines" featured that watch (a UK show from the 90s).

[@medes5597]

The guy who made that, made a sequel show on KZbin called The Secret Life of Components a few years ago. Worth a watch it you're a fan of the original.

[@H2Oredfirefox]

I would put a bit oh captain tape between the oscillator just to be sure

[@StezStixFix]

I believe it would've had a rubber gasket around it originally, so yeah I think you're right! 👍

[@john4013]

What a great watch, well done sorting it out

[@dave623]

I had one of these back in high school. I remember thinking then, ‘this is stupid’.

[@johnburrows7938]

Retro cool, retro old school cool…good fix.

[@simonlunt353]

Well done Steve love the watch l remember these watches coming out as a kid great watch 😊👍👏👏

[@Mymatevince]

Great video!

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Vince, I think I may have the watch bug now. Really enjoyed working on this!

[@SignalSmoker]

ahead of its time, with some early surface mount components.

[@williamcroley2300]

I have learned much from watching your fixes. Some vintage watch batteries may have different voltage or opposite polarity.

[@EmeraldHill-vo1cs]

Yes, a same look button cell can be diffrnt volt ohms, by big amounts.

[@MrFish1968]

That is beautiful watch, I remember them well

[@ThomasFarmer21]

The '7542' on the chip is the manufacturing date, the 42nd week of 1975.

[@StezStixFix]

Ah, awesome, thank you! 😊

[@astra6712]

Great video Dave.