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Bryan Mumford MicroSet, Quick Start Manual

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Bryan Mumford MicroSet Quick Start Manual Download Page 23

Page 23

Tick Mode

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MicroSet includes a function to transmit digital information about the watch tick to the 

Windows Interface Program. To use this Tick Mode, you must have version 3 of the 

Interface Program. 

If you purchased the optional Balance Wheel Amplitude feature you will not have a Tick 

Mode in your timer. This is because the Tick Mode is unnecessary.

A watch tick is a complex sound, composed of several shorter sounds that arise from 

the actions within the watch escapement. These sounds are sometimes called “the five 

shocks”, but there are three sounds that are the most significant. They are the unlocking, 

the impulse, and the drop. It is useful to know the details of these sounds. The Tick Mode 

will send the raw data needed by the Windows Interface Program to produce a graphical 

representation of the watch tick. From this graphical representation you can measure the 

duration and placement of the component sounds. The MicroSet Interface Program also 

calculates the balance wheel amplitude based on the beat time and lift angle of the watch. 

The image below shows the Tick Mode display on a personal computer. Instructions for 

using the Tick Mode come with the computer interface software.

The Tick Mode

The digital representation of the tick sound in the Tick Mode is not ideal. A more accurate 

representation of the tick sound and the balance wheel amplitude can be obtained with 

an extra-cost addition to MicroSet called “Balance Wheel Amplitude”. This is described 

next.

Summary of Contents for MicroSet

Page 1: ...y 14 Running Average 15 Speaker On Off 16 Data Capture 16 Dumping captured data 18 Paper tape output 19 The Accutron Mode 22 The Tick Mode 23 Balance Wheel Amplitude 24 The Computer interface 25 Configuration 26 Beep On Off 26 Time Mode beat count 26 Blanking Window size 26 Time Mode display format 27 Oscillator calibration 27 Technical Functions 28 Technical Notes 29 Accessories 30 Hardware Optio...

Page 2: ...on It will display watch rate as Beats Per Hour Seconds Per Beat or seconds of error per day and is not limited to a programmed set of train times The most common watch rates are automatically recognized Aspecial RunningAverage feature will display the total accumulated rate of a watch for as long as you let it run This produces rate readings that are remarkably stable and much more accurate A Bla...

Page 3: ...3 An optional memory module can be added to capture watch data in the field for later analysis on a personal computer Optional temperature and barometric sensors allow you to analyze compensation in watches ...

Page 4: ...blinks once on each beat Press the BEGIN button The LED should now be blinking with each beat The LCD screen should now display the beat error of the watch The readings should be consistent but they may not be identical every time For example it might say Error 8 5 This means the beat error was 8 5 milliseconds If the beat error varies wildly the Level control may not be set to the optimum level S...

Page 5: ...n manually set the correct Target rate To do this press the MINUS key MicroSet will now display the last reading that it made on the watch Use the PLUS and MINUS keys to adjust the proposed value until it is the correct rate for this watch Then press BEGIN MicroSet now measures the rate of the watch and shows you how many seconds per day it is fast or slow Blanking Window MicroSet uses an importan...

Page 6: ...6 left edge of the display indicates how many readings have been incorporated in the current average The rate readings will be much more stable because small variations will be a small fraction of the total ...

Page 7: ... are Yes No questions use PLUS for Yes and MINUS for No A flow chart of the MicroSet functions can be found on the back cover of this instruction book Power source MicroSet will operate on a 9 volt battery or an AC wall adaptor The battery is contained inside a door on the bottom of the unit The AC adaptor plugs into a jack on the top end AC operation is recommended when you have easy access to it...

Page 8: ...r we make Its spring loaded arm will hold the watch in place against the sensor insuring good contact for tick transmission Also it has six flat sides so you can take measurements of the watch in different positions This sensor is the best choice for serious watchmakers The watch sensor made by Witschi in Switzerland is very good and has the advantage that you can rotate the watch to various posit...

Page 9: ... the Level control up to find a setting where the beat error readings are the most stable The Beat Error Mode is the best way to set the Level control to the optimum position Getting the Level control set correctly is critical to getting accurate readings The graph here shows what a watch tick looks like on an oscilloscope The tick is made up of several component sounds To get accurate readings wi...

Page 10: ...parts of the tick sound This setup will produce jumpy inaccurate readings in MicroSet The Level control is set too low Even when the Level control is set correctly the Beat Error value may not be the same every time There will often be some variation But the variation should be small if the Level control is set properly Of course flaws in the watch will also produce erratic beat ...

Page 11: ...Page 11 error readings And the beat error will change if the watch is measured in different positions To terminate the Beat Error Mode you can hold down the MODE button or press the RESET button ...

Page 12: ...ould always read an even number of beats If you were to Time 11 beats or 21 you would incorporate the beat error into the reading and get erratic results The one possible exception to this rule is when you might want to read just one beat Time 1 to display beat error on the computer screen Reading the results When you have the Time Mode configured with the beat count you want to use press the BEGI...

Page 13: ... LED is on while the Blanking Window is active and goes off when MicroSet begins to listen for the next tick The feature will be most effective if the LED is off for a very short time before it comes on again This indicates that MicroSet is ignoring sound most of the time then begins to listen just before the next tick arrives If the LED seems to blink half as fast as the watch beats it s an indic...

Page 14: ...this watch is 18000 BPH If this is correct just hit the BEGIN key and MicroSet will return to measuring the rate of the watch but now the rate will be displayed as seconds of error per day In other words MicroSet will now tell you how fast or slow the watch is If the value shown is positive the watch is fast If the value is negative the watch is slow If the rate MicroSet guesses is not correct for...

Page 15: ... Time Mode Options Press BEGIN again until the LCD screen says Average Off To turn on the Running Average function press the PLUS key The LCD screen will say Average On Now hit the MODE button to return to the Time Mode As new readings are shown on the LCD screen they will appear in the following format 1 18000 00 The first digit is the number of samples that have been taken The number after the c...

Page 16: ... now return to the Time Mode by pressing MODE and the speaker will stay as you set it The volume of the speaker is controlled by the existing LEVEL control To make it louder turn the LEVEL control clockwise MicroSet will continue to take readings while the speaker is on You may notice that there is a slight hissing sound when MicroSet displays a new value on the LCD screen This sound is not a flaw...

Page 17: ...n t mean beats If MicroSet is configured to measure 30 beats with Time 30 each reading of 30 beats is the reading that s captured with Data Capture The reason for saving fewer than every reading is that the Capture memory can hold no more than 8 125 readings This is quite a lot but there may be times when you would prefer to capture over a longer period of time By skipping some readings your Captu...

Page 18: ... they will be illegible New data points will appear on the computer screen as fast as your computer is able to display them When the dump is complete the timer will return to the start of the Time Mode You can dump the data as many times as you like it will stay in memory until you turn Data Capture On again which resets the storage area and begins a new capture Here are some things to keep in min...

Page 19: ... use the Windows Interface Software to display a simulation of a paper tape printer instead of using an actual paper tape printer The simulation allows additional features a real printer can t reproduce and requires no paper To use the paper tape printer plug the special data cable available from us into the MicroSet Data Out jack at the end of the timer This is the jack normally used by the compu...

Page 20: ...ol of MicroSet set to maximum Adjust it downward if you don t get clean results It will also help to use a good watch sensor While the tape is running you can rotate the watch to different positions to evaluate the effect It is beyond the scope of these instructions to teach you how to read the many possible variations in the printed pattern and what they all mean Much has been written on this sub...

Page 21: ...he overall rate is fast or slow because the dots run off the edge of the tape This was unavoidable with traditional paper tape timers But because MicroSet allows you to specify any arbitrary rate as the correct rate you can get the lines to run straight simply by telling MicroSet that the current rate is the correct rate In other words when you first enter the Paper Tape Mode simply accept the las...

Page 22: ...Set will say Blocks 5 This allows you to choose how many cycles to measure before a rate reading is returned If you select 5 blocks you ll get a reading about once every two seconds depending on the frequency of the watch you are measuring This is usually an adequate interval to get an accurate reading If you prefer to get fewer readings over longer periods press the PLUS button to increase the Bl...

Page 23: ...It is useful to know the details of these sounds The Tick Mode will send the raw data needed by the Windows Interface Program to produce a graphical representation of the watch tick From this graphical representation you can measure the duration and placement of the component sounds The MicroSet Interface Program also calculates the balance wheel amplitude based on the beat time and lift angle of ...

Page 24: ...view allows the Windows interface program to calculate and display the balance wheel amplitude much more accurately The Balance Wheel Amplitude Mode is optional and if you didn t buy it with your timer it will not be available It can be added later if you wish Contact Mumford Micro Systems for more information Instructions for using the Balance Wheel Amplitude Mode come with the Windows interface ...

Page 25: ...ndows interface software is also needed to display balance wheel amplitude Paper tape watch timer simulation The Windows interface program version 3 will also display a simulation of the paper tape displays of early watch timing machines like Vibrograph and Tickoprint If you ve used one of these machines you have learned that they can reveal subtle details about how a watch is performing The troub...

Page 26: ...ting lets you select a starting value that suits your work style You might prefer to start with a low number like two or four so you can get a result quickly Or you may prefer to start with a higher beat count to get more accurate results Whatever value you choose it should be an even number or 1 When MicroSet is at this Configuration setting the LCD screen will say something like Time beats 10 To...

Page 27: ... value inside the back cover of this instruction manual If anything goes wrong and the trim value gets changed you can re enter the original value You or we can make adjustments to this setting as the unit ages and it allows us to recalibrate MicroSet without making any changes to the hardware When you enter the Trim Mode the display will show something like the following Trim 0 The range of value...

Page 28: ... if you have it so you can record the barometer and temperature when you aren t measuring a watch Width This function probably has no use for the watchmaker It will display the amount of time a sensor is triggered For example if you re using an optical sensor on a clock pendulum it will measure how long the sensor is blocked each time the pendulum passes With watches it measures the time the acous...

Page 29: ...bility Quartz oscillators like the one in MicroSet are susceptible to temperature changes If you measure a watch when MicroSet is at 100 degrees the rate will appear different than if you measure it at 50 degrees A temperature change like this is likely to have a bigger effect on the watch itself but we would still like to have some idea about how MicroSet changes with temperature We have found th...

Page 30: ...d barometric sensors Software interface for personal computers Hardware Options There are several optional features that can be added to the MicroSet hardware These are listed below Contact us for further details Built in beat amplifier Temperature and Atmospheric sensor Data Capture Memory Balance Wheel Amplitude TCXO timebase The most current information about MicroSet features and accessories i...

Page 31: ...ous but not in poise when watch is turned Escape wheel is out of round Variation in balance amplitude Irregular transmission or dirty escapement Balance is knocking Balance is not isochronous when watch is turned Excessive sideshake on pallet staff or balance pivots or defective train Variation in running of balance poor transmission or loss of amplitude ...

Page 32: ...t After the current rate is shown press PLUS or MINUS to adjust it Select the correct rate for a rate reading or just accept the current rate for a flat tape Press BEGIN to start printing Press PLUS to zoom in MINUS to zoom out Press BEGIN to restart a reading at the center of the tape Press MODE to terminate paper tape printing Accutron Mode show the rate of tuning fork watches Press BEGIN and se...

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