It is durable and will last for years, and it can easily be wiped. It's wide, shiny, and non-porous compared to other tapes. You'll understand the importance later when you put your movement holder or, in some cases, your movement itself directly onto the element. Covering it in tape provides a scratch-free surface which is easily wiped and cleaned. Why must you cover the element in tape? The metal surface of the element is porous it attracts and retains dirt and dust. Now take your packing tape and cover the element on both sides. Take out your razor blade and carefully scrape off as much slicone as possible. Using your knife or blade, cut the wires as close as possible to the circuit board. It will break if you apply too much force, strike it too hard, or bend it. The piezoelectric element is very delicate. Then take your utility knife, exacto knife, or a razor blade and cut the silicone bead that attaches the element to the plastic housing.Ĭompletely remove the element and circuit board. Peel off enough plastic to give yourself a clear shot at the element. You can move the circuit board out of the way. Make sure you do NOT damage the piezoelectric element. Again, it is soft and easily gives way to the pressure. Next, take your pliers and start tearing the plastic. Whatever you do, do NOT hit or bend that piece! We do, however, need the piezoelectric element. Don't worry, we don't need the circuitry, so if you accidentally broke it no worries. A small PCB (circuit board) with transistors and other electronic components. Work all the way around until the cap is removed. The cap is only glued in, and the plastic is low quality, so it's not difficult. Take a screwdriver and separate the center cap from the outer shell. This one’s just the right size for watchmaking. I have used other buzzers that cost less than this one, but they were smaller. Even eBay has them, I just checked (searched using “piezoelectric buzzer”). It is easy to find piezoelectric buzzers at electronics and hobby stores. Here’s the one listed above, from Radio Shack. I have also found it to be more sensitive than a microphone for this application.įirst, start with your buzzer. This is very similar to how a microphone works, but the element inside the buzzer is flat and durable, making it ideal for direct contact amplification. Though it works like a speaker to produce a buzzing sound, the piezoelectric element is also capable of working backwards, translating pressure into voltage. You will need to disassemble the buzzer to get to the element. You can get one at Radio Shack for about $8. The key to this very inexpensive setup is a commonly available piezoelectric buzzer. If you have all the parts handy, you can build this pickup and be analyzing watch movements in under an hour. You can buy expensive pickups that cost hundreds of dollars (Delph, linked above, provides one for GBP295, about $600USD with full purchase of their software) or you can build your own for a lot less. The problem is getting the sound from your tiny watch movement into your PC. It's not hard to find free or inexpensive waveform or escapement analyzer software. If you are going to use it commercially I highly recommend you purchase the full version. I am assuming it is NOT for commercial use. NOTE: As far as I know the software linked is provided for personal use. I recommend downloading and installing the software above BEFORE proceeding. * $8 Radio Shack Piezo Pulse Buzzer part # 273-080: įree or demo software downloads required: * $15 Radio Shack mini amplifier part # 277-1008: * stereo audio cable with 1/8" to 1/8" male ends Items to purchase (if you don't already have): * Windows PC (I used XP, may work with other versions) with If you’d like to benefit from my effort, keep reading. The purpose of this write-up is to distill all the knowledge I have on these subjects into one easy-to-use tutorial. I did this for several months before coming up with this reliable setup. Years ago I stayed up many nights researching and struggling through trial and error. You’ll notice all 3 of these are probably covered somewhere out there on the world wide web surely these things have been done before. Basic use of sound capture and analyzer software.Amplifying and fine tuning an electrical signal.All you need is another $35 or so worth of parts, possibly less if you already have some of it laying around. If you already have a PC running windows you are 90 percent of the way there. Here it is, a CHEAP analyzer you can build yourself.
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