Watch Accuracy Meter limits on old watches...

[hc3]

Hello all, I have an ignorant question. I have a little group of mostly Waltham watches dating from 1850-1920. I put the watch accuracy meter on the telephone and they are no chronometers!

My question is, they all seem to show a beat error of 4 or nearly 4 m/s. Is this because that's a typical result, or because 4 is the maximum number the app will show? As in, no matter how fast I go, the speedometer stops at 120. I haven't been able to find a guide to actual use of the thing beyond the starting guide.

Thank you!

 

[praezis]

Who shall know that? The developer of that app only, you should ask him, imo.

Frank

 

[hc3]

I would like to. But I haven't been able to find a guide to actual use of the thing beyond the starting guide.

 

[gmorse]

Hi hc3,

If you can tell us which app this is and on what platform, there may be someone here who has some experience with it. There are several of these apps available for Android and/or iPhone, and their features do vary, but what seems to be a common drawback, at least for watches, is the suitability or otherwise of the phones' built-in microphones for this task.

Have all the watches you mention been serviced recently by you?

Regards,

Graham

 

[hc3]

Oh no, they have various service histories including unknown. That's what made me wonder about the consistent 4 beat error.


It's Watch Accuracy Meter - Apps on Google Play

Thank you!

 

[WoodyR]

Let down the power on all of them and allow the balances to coast to a stop. Then, compare the pallet fork resting positions. If they all look the same, whether to the right or left of center, your phone app might be correct .... or, at least consistent. In my experience, 4mS should be easy to see. So, differences should be easy to see, too. Your mileage may vary ....

 

[hc3]

That's at the very edge of my skill level, but I will next week- I'm away right now.