Page 9
The Beat Error Mode
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The first mode in MicroSet is the Beat Error Mode. It will measure, in milliseconds, the
difference between the even and odd beats of a watch. If the watch were perfectly in
beat, the beat error would be 0.0 milliseconds.
Plug your watch sensor into the jack labeled “Sensor In” at the top end of the timer. If
you have the clip-on sensor, clip the alligator clip onto the winding stem or bow of the
watch. If you have the Simple Watch Sensor, set your watch on top of the brass tube.
If you have the Clamping Watch Sensor, mount the watch between the sliding arm and
the metal tube.
Turn MicroSet on with the LEVEL control. The LCD screen will say:
MicroSet Watch Timer
Set the Level Control to the 9 o’clock position. Press the MODE button once. The screen
says
Beat Error...
If the LED on MicroSet is not blinking, turn the Level control up until the LED blinks once
on each beat. Then press the BEGIN button. The LED should now blink twice and then
pause, twice and pause, etc.
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. If the beat error varies wildly,
the Level control may not be set to the optimum level. Slowly turn 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 with a watch timer, it
must trigger on the same component of
the watch tick on every beat. If it doesn’t,
the readings will jump around as the timer
measures different intervals on different
beats.
Another way to get the Level control set
properly is to use the MicroSet Windows
Interface Software. This computer program is a big asset in watch timing. Among other
things, it allows you to see changes in rate over time, and evaluate what those changes
mean. If you configure MicroSet to measure every single beat of a watch, the numbers
change too quickly on the built-in LCD screen to make sense of them. But if these
readings are plotted on a computer screen, you can quickly see when the readings are
measuring each beat accurately. Accurate readings will alternate between a tall one and
a short one. The differences will be very consistent.
The graph below shows a watch that’s measuring accurately. Notice how each reading
alternates consistently. This setup will produce accurate readings on the MicroSet LCD
screen.
A watch tick
