Suwa Seikosha`s Television Watch
Contents
1. 2001 National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc Reproduction prohibited without written permission Suwa Seikesha s Television Watch Figure 1 The Seiko television wristwatch If you re old enough to recognize the RCA Indian head test pattern then you probably need glass es to see the screen by James A Mahaffey GA Shortly after the watch was invented there was a movement to add personal entertainment activities to the watch s practical functions These embellishments were designed strictly to amuse the owner while retaining a timekeeping function At first automata were added or little animated figures making small repetitive motions such as swinging a hammer or wav ing a handkerchief Next subminiature music boxes were added to play upon demand or upon the hour sometimes combined with an automata scene There was a limit to how much entertainment would fit in a pocket watch and the introduction of the wrist watch further limited the amount of space available for non timing machinery Then in the 1970s fully elec tronic watch mechanisms became practical manufac tured items and the possibilities for personal enter tainment seemed endless AM radios FM radios music synthesizers and arcade games have all been incorpo rated into electronic watches as well as many practical auxiliary functions ranging from digital calculators to global positioning system receivers The ingenuity2. How the TY Watch Performs The initial production model is rare and most examples to be found are the model T001 5019 A specimen is shown in Fig ure 1 and Figure 2 shows the watch in relation to its receiver module This model closely resembles the prototype except that the name Suwa Seik osha on the prototype was changed to Seiko and the legend TELEVI Two AA cells were provid ed as an initial power source The only optional Figure 2 The TV watch with its receiver unit connected by a cable The cable runs under your sleeve with the receiver in an inside jacket pocket a handy feature for SION WATCH across the top was deleted from the production model The accessory was an AC power adapter part no TD02 The earliest example of a T001 5000 I have found is serial no 200646 The initial production watch differed externally from the prototype watch in a few cosmetic details The screen and watch display in the production model had a black frame surrounding a satin chrome frame with watch button functions denoted in the black area where the prototype was strictly cased in satin chrome The cable connector which had to be a robust design to survive long in the hands of the consumer was hidden behind a satin chrome shroud in the prototype but this was reduced to a black plastic block in the initial pro duction model Sales were disappointing and production lasted only about a year The tota
3. for the engineers who worked on the television watch is not a noticeable problem If there is enough light to read the time on the watch then there is enough light to see the TV screen and it works well in the brightest sunlight There is no image distortion pincushion effect or problems of vertical hold because the imaging elements are in fixed positions on a monolithic silicon substrate and picture timing is provided by a master crystal con trolled oscillator giving a precise 29 97 frames per sec ond Figure 3 is taken from the owner s manual show ing the working features of this unusual watch Contrary to some rumors there is no special anten na wire in the headphone cable The television signal is derived from the shield on the cable and any eighth inch stereo headphone or 8 ohm single channel ear phone will work The television receiver is able to stay locked on a video signal under the unfavorable condi tion of having a flexible antenna constantly changing orientation The station selector is an analog adjust ment by thumb wheel over three switched ranges By using a mechanical station selector rather than a digi tal electronic stepping device the Seiko design is able to withstand momentary signal loss without loss of channel lock Other contemporary subminiature televi sion designs such as the Casio TV 21 used the less bulky less expensive digital tuner and can suffer sta tion loss Motion of the t
4. ade them hilarious events as well as profitable for the chapter Don loved antique clocks but he loved the collectors of antique clocks even more He had friends from many walks of life but among his most treasured friendships were those with several special fellow clock collectors He always had great praise for the organization which brought them together the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors One of his favorite poems author unknown was The clock of life is wound but once And no one has the power To tell just when the hands will stop At late or early hour Now is the only time you own Live love toil with a will Place no faith in tomorrow for The clock may then be still Mrs Lois Lance February 2001
5. as a bit skeptical that this watch would sell enough units to justify the estimated two trillion yen about 10 million dollars necessary to tool up for production The United States was the targeted market so the receiver was built to decode National Television Standards Commit tee NTSC signals and the retail price was set at 495 There were still problems to be solved The display looked dim with only 20 to 30 percent contrast using 10 levels of gray and the refresh rate was too low caus ing rapidly moving pictures to smear The linear refresh rate was 50 to 100 millimeters per second and it would have to be increased significantly before pro duction Shelf life of the television screen module was estimated to be seven years The design was protected by 10 basic patents and 150 related patents and there were still these kinks to be worked out Although the LCD was a mature technology by this time the process of ultra miniaturized animated dis play was on the frontier The usual nematic LCD tech nology was too slow for this application by orders of magnitude For this specific product Suwa Seikosha developed a field effect FE very large scale integrated VLSD circuit having 31 920 pixels arranged in a 150 NAWCC BULLETIN 41 2001 National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc Reproduction prohibited without written permission by 210 element matrix on a single silicon wafer 30 by 22 by 1 4 millimeters On t
6. c and are still for sale The watch chas sis is shown in Figure 4 front and Figure 5 back The watch battery is a silver oxide Maxell SR920W and it has no connection with the television function Note the six gold plated fingers at the top of the chassis These connect by simple tension to the flush mount ed weatherproof pins of the television connector at the top of the watch The back presses on and although there is no implied water resistance it is fitted with a rubber seal Correctable problems occur in the receiver module shown partially dismantled in Figure 6 Although this unit is about the size of a pocket radio it is built with NAWCC BULLETIN 43 2001 National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc Reproduction prohibited without written permission Figures 4 and 5 Above front of watch mechanism Below the back Figure 6 above The television receiver broken down Figure 7 right Maintenance adjustment points at the ends of the screwdrivers On the left is the tuning offset middle is the contrast and right is the power level 44 NAWCC BULLETIN more watchmaking influence than with pocket radio design practices as it is built in layers and it is put together with 1mm screws A 2mm Phillips screwdriv er will take it apart starting with two flush mounted screws on the bottom holding the metal front cover The cover then slides off The side cover having the TV cable socket comes off n
7. d knob on the back of the chassis The third adjustment point shown in the photo on the right is the power converter frequency or converted voltage level Although a special tool is used for this adjustment this subminiature potentiometer can be turned easily with a 1mm bladed screwdriver February 2001 2001 National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc Reproduction prohibited without written permission Figure 8 left The top front of the electronics chassis showing an electrolytic capacitor position in white box at cen ter frame Although it seems trapped between the circuit boards it is possible to replace this capacitor without sepa rating the boards Figure 9 right Another tight capacitor location in white box nested between the volume control the contrast potentiometer and the tuner slide Components most likely to fail due to age in the receiver module are the subminiature electrolytic capaci tors There are five critical capacitors Two are 47 micro farads and three are 100 micro farads All five have a breakdown volt age of 6 3 volts and ence their positions in the electronic chassis are shown in Figures 8 9 and 10 A shorted or opened electrolytic capacitor affects one of three critical DC voltages either dropping it slightly or allowing AC contamina tion The slightest skewing of a DC voltage to the TV monitor will either completely blank the screen or scramble the image into r
8. dis played in the miniaturization of devices to be included in personal timepieces is impressive but nothing in amusement systems may quite surpass the bold design of Suwa Seikosha who put the world s smallest direct view television screen in a wristwatch Suwa Seikosha was one of several manufacturing companies in the Seiko Group which evolved from K Hattori amp Company an import export trading company specializing in clocks and watches established in 1881 In 1964 Suwa Seikosha established a solid reputation in the clock business by building the automatic timers for the Tokyo Olympic Games In 1969 the company perfected the world s first quartz watch and in 1973 introduced the liquid crystal display LCD as a time read out on a wristwatch February 2001 On June 16 1982 Suwa Seikosha in the Hotel Okura in Tokyo announced to the world the result of years of development and several hundred million yen the television watch Into a rectangular metal case 76 by 143 by 18 millimeters and weighing 190 grams they had integrated a conventional LCD quartz watch and a 1 2 inch diagonal television monitor The receiver fit in a pocket sized box 74 5 by 125 by 19 mil limeters 140 grams and conducted video signals to the monitor though a flexible 6 conductor cable The user was to wear headphones which connected to the receiver box and served as an antenna The electronics press was enchanted by the tiny TV picture but w
9. ext with one screw on the bot tom It is connected to the electronic chassis by way of a thin mylar ribbon cable terminated in gold plated spears Be especially careful with this ribbon as it can develop hairline cracks if overly exercised Two screws in front hold the metal top cover which will lift off with switch knobs attached The two plastic covers for the electronic section are held together with long 1mm Phillips screws and some finesse is necessary to sepa rate the mechanism from the backplate Two layers of printed wiring boards are held together by two mylar ribbon bridges If necessary the two boards may be sep arated using 0 03 inch solder wick and a 25 watt iron A 3 volt power supply attached to the remaining bat tery contacts or through the external power jack will run the television for bench work There are four adjustments for the receiver and the maintenance adjustment points are shown in Figure 7 The adjustment point shown on the left side of the pic ture is a 260 degree potentiometer and it changes the tuner offset for the purpose of lining up the tuning cur sor with the channel numbers The point in the middle is the video gain or contrast and it is also a 260 degree potentiometer Both of these adjustment points are accessible with the metal front cover off through holes in the plastic frontplate Use a 2mm bladed screwdriv er The video offset or brightness is adjustable by hand with a thumb operate
10. his chip was sufficient cir cuitry to decode an analog NTSC signal and address the digital LCD array given a separate frame timing signal Refresh rate problems were resolved and pro duction began at a special factory in Fujimi Japan with watch assembly in the Shimauchi Precision Instruments factory in Matsumoto Timing of the announcement was critical as Sir Clive Sinclair of Sinclair Research Ltd was leak ing information about his impending wristwatch TV to be offered in the near future Production watch es went on sale in early 1983 initially with one watch given to each Seiko dealer The earliest mod els designated T001 5000 were sold in a silver colored cardboard box with a silver colored leather case to protect the receiver module A mechanically delicate pair of stereo headphones was included and the 6 conductor connecting cord was packed separately problems encountered in mass producing the TV moni tor chip Although the U S market did not live up to Seiko s expectations the TV watch did infiltrate popu lar culture via Hollywood appearing in the movies Dragnet Wall Street and Octopussy Although there were plans to use this technology as a springboard to making a wristwatch computer dis play terminal introduction of such a device would wait for another decade Suwa Seikosha and the Epson Cor poration merged in 1985 forming the Seiko Epson Corporation Sinclair s TV watch never appeared
11. itling Navitimer 806 every day IN MEMORIAM Donald G Lance 1915 2000 e FNAWCC 1206 Donald G Lance a member of NAWCC and Great Lakes Chapter 6 since 1952 died September 17 2000 He was extremely proud of his NAWCC membership and ordered his 45 year pin the first time it became available At one time he had more than 200 clocks His field of interest was primarily American wood movement clocks and he became an authority on them and an expert restor er of both movements and cases He presented several chapter programs on this subject He boasted that he could take apart and put back together a wood movement blindfolded and had been seen doing it He served the Great Lakes chapter as treasurer as NAWCC Annual Meeting Reception Chairman and as president in 1961 63 He also served on the national mem bership committee He taught classes on antique clock repair at Macomb Community College and as a result of his sharing his extensive knowledge and encouraging sev eral people to join the NAWCC he was named a Fellow in 1971 and was given the Great Lakes Chapter Outstand ing Member Award by President Owen Burt in 1995 Don was a great believer in reading He owned almost every clock book ever published Even in his 85th year he 46 NAWCC BULLETIN was still in correspondence with other NAWCC members researching clock problems He also believed in having fun in life and when he conducted the chapter auctions for many years he m
12. l number of watches pro duced is hard to determine with estimates ranging from 2 000 to 20 000 non consecutive serial numbers were used and provide no help in determining produc tion quantities The company had hoped to build 13 000 but may have been unable to meet this quota A limit ing factor from a manufacturing standpoint was the 42 NAWCC BULLETIN church services weddings and other enforced events cable connector atop the case is bolstered on each side by metal brackets cast en bloc with the case This watch was sold in a gold colored cardboard box with a sewn black leather case to hold the receiver The watch portion of this system is a conventional quartz watch with an LCD array with time 12 and 24 hour alarm date and stopwatch functions controlled by three push buttons The liquid video display LVD operates passively in that there is no illumination behind the screen and viewing light is incident There are two advantages to this design it saves a great deal of power and the screen can be seen in bright sunlight that would com pletely wash out a conventional TV picture The disad vantage is that the image is rather dim The engineer ing problem that leads to this lack of brightness is that 150 conductors must run over the top of the display to supply the vertical address to pixels and these printed wires block the light This is not noticeable in most LCD panels because so few picture element
13. oughly horizontal bars When diagnosing voltage problems check the battery connec tion paddles for corrosion and check the soldered bases of these paddles for hairline cracks Failed capacitors can be found by visual inspection with a loupe As the caustic electrolyte leaks out it com bines with copper in the wiring to form a waxy sub stance bright green in color The slightest hint of green at the base of a capacitor indicates failure The replace ments are special low profile radial lead units built by Panasonic called KS Series The height of a KS capacitor is only 5mm and they are built to fit in the very close quarters Although it requires careful work with tweezers it is possible to replace all electrolytic capacitors without separating the two receiver cir February 2001 Figure 10 Side view of the electronics chassis showing another cap tive electrolytic capacitor in white box The metal structure on the right encloses the TV tuner shielding it from electromagnetic interfer cuit boards Unsolder the failed units using 0 03 inch solder wick The KS Series ca pacitors are avail able in unit quanti ties from Digi Key 701 Brooke Ave South Thief River Falls MN 56701 0677 1 800 344 4539 A convenient port for measuring the three critical voltages and seeing the television signals is the end of the signal cord at the connector that fits on the watch There are six gold plated contacts on
14. s are used but in this case the panel is crowded with unusually dense pixels February 2001 2001 National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc Reproduction prohibited without written permission Carrying the TV WATCH Headphones Power switch Can be used to listen to TY Tuning dial o FM stereo broagcasts Tuning scale Volume control dial TVIFM selection switch Band selection switch The illustration shows the proper way Headphone cord lo carry the TV WATCH The receiver Transmits audio signals from Ihe secenver lo the headphones and may be carried in a breast pocket lunctions as a line antenna shoulder bag purse or beil pouch itis recommended thal the video connector cord be worn inside of a sleeve to prevent it from calching on foreign objects Note Jo pre DC jack Components Receiver Covers ail TV Frequencies and receives FM broadcasts Video switch Transnuts vidi receiver to th Brightness control knob on the back side Timeicalendar displa TV screen Figure 3 A page from the TV watch user s manual Once you get used to the dimness of the television image the sharpness and the apparent richness of detail are startling You can easily read numbers and written words flashed briefly across the screen provid ed your eyes can focus close enough The refresh rate of the screen which was a major worry
15. the connector plus one gold contact in the anchor point opposite the cord used for chassis ground Numbering the line of contacts beginning with the one nearest the cord the signals are as follows 1 8 9 volts DC 2 13 2 volts DC 3 4 1 volts DC 4 Ground 5 Low going 5 volt pulses spaced at 60 microsec onds frame rate pulse 6 8 0 volts DC with an NTSC television signal superimposed on top 1 5 volts in height repeating every 60 microseconds The 8 0 volts is the brightness level and it may vary widely among different watches and with different settings on the receiver back The DC voltages can be read with a volt ohm meter A five percent deviation up or down will scramble the TV image and the three voltages can be adjusted in NAWCC BULLETIN 45 2001 National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Inc Reproduction prohibited without written permission concert by turning the con verted voltage level control as mentioned above A sin gle voltage dropout indi cates a possible electrolytic capacitor failure and these values should be confirmed on an oscilloscope as there should be a zero ripple com ponent In one case I found the voltage on pin 2 absent and I spent an interesting time tracing it through both circuit boards until I lost it as the copper trace disap peared under a tiny blob of glue The glue was used to immobilize an open coil Under the glue blob I found that the very
16. thin copper trace had corroded through probably due to a microscopic ball of moisture getting trapped just as the glue was applied I bridged the gap with an exceeding ly thin strand of copper wire One slight but notable change occurred in the case design of the T001 5019 watch as shown in Figure 11 There is a slight depression on either side of the cable socket intended to secure the cable plug so it won t pop off Fixed steel balls fall into the depressions on oppo Figure 11 Two TV watch cases The top case SN830135 has a well formed dimple for the signal connector while the bottom case SN351357 has a dimple that is too shallow site sides of the socket under tension from the structure of the plug For some reason the left depres sion was made less deep in late watches and the cable snaps off too easily This depression can be modified with a 1 5mm drill or end mill Correct depth is 0 5mm References 1 Armbanduhr mit Fernse her Das Electron Inter national No 8 9 pp 221 2 1982 2 Wrist Watching Wrist watch TV Middle East Electronics Vol 7 No 3 March 1984 p 41 3 Seiko TV Watch T001 Instruction Manual 1983 About the Author James A Mahaffey has a BS in Physics an MS and a PhD in Nuclear Engineering and is Director of Advanced Research at Nanoventions in Roswell GA He is contributing editor to the Mercedes Benz Club of America magazine The Star and he wears a Bre
17. uning wheel is conducted to the tuning potentiometer by an internal ring gear through one idler pinion A worm and nut moves the tuning cursor against a linear scale of the three televi sion bands low VHF high VHF and UHF and an FM radio band February 2001 On the radio frequency spectrum FM radio lies between channel 6 and channel 7 in the television band squeezed into only 16 megahertz of band width The TV watch receiver exploits the fact that it already has an FM sound tuner for the television function and it simply tunes sound on the FM radio band with the picture blanked giving the watch an extra function Performance of the radio function is disappointing probably because the TV tuner is built to extract as much energy as possible from a TV signal using an unusually wide intermediate frequency IF amplifier stage Closely spaced FM stations therefore tend to bleed into one another TV Watch Service Procedures The engineering estimate of a seven year life for the TV screen module was pessimistic Seventeen years later most TV watches are still working and are still just as dim as they were the day they were bought There is a report of a TV watch that has operated 12 hours a day since 1983 in the window of a jewelry store in Singapore as its box and owner s manual have bleached in the sunlight Replacement parts are no longer available for this watch but fortunately many of its perishable compo nents are generi
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