AndrewD
[HoMe Moderator]
12829
Bulova Accutron battery change
The Accutron Spaceview 214 originally used a #387 1.35V mercury cell but this was discontinued due to the dangers of mercury. The replacement battery is a 387S 1.55V silver oxide battery. The 387S is actually a 394 but with an additional plastic spacer to prevent shorting in the case. You can easily remove the plastic spacer if necessary and slip it over a 394 if that is all that is available.
Some movements need to be adjusted to run accurately on the additional 0.2V from the 1.55V silver oxide battery. After installing the new battery it may be necessary to give the watch a slight jolt to get the tuning fork vibrating.
Unscrew the battery compartment cover anticlockwise â?¦
The 394 can be used interchangeably with the 387S provided you have the plastic spacer â?? which may be on the current battery in the watch.
Removable spacer
Make sure the battery is correctly seated in the battery compartment before screwing on the cover.
Humming happily â?¦
Andrew
Bulova Accutron battery change
The Accutron Spaceview 214 originally used a #387 1.35V mercury cell but this was discontinued due to the dangers of mercury. The replacement battery is a 387S 1.55V silver oxide battery. The 387S is actually a 394 but with an additional plastic spacer to...
Have you used the accucell?
Hello AndrewD, The accucell has a circuit coupled to the power cell that drops the voltage to 1.35 , back to the original mercury battery output. The accucell usually last about 6 months compared to 1 year. But, safer for the coils and circuit blocks deli...
The Accucell ...
.... is a good recommendation, Anthony. Availability may be an issue, but it does reduce the voltage to the 1.35V target (range: 1.32 - 1.41 V) of the original circuit. Some watches will run fast with the 1.55V 387S battery, but if they are running accura...
Engineering
I will revisit the SpaceView with some more pictures. Plus it is probably time for an Accutron photo-thread again. I agree that the engineering in the movement is phenomenal, particularly considering it was developed in the late 1950's. An emphatic way of...
It gets more comments than ...
... most and has a retro cool vibe that I like. Still very enjoyable to wear, accurate, the hum is a talking point and it wears larger than its 34mm due to the open architecture. I will be wearing it more in our summer. Regards Andrew
i've always used 394 batteries Andrew without any issues
bearing in mind i've owned over 40 tuning fork watches over the years. down to just one now as you know. i must admit that mine has developed a problem which needs fixing. i wore it to Mo's do and slept in it. in the morning it was making a funny noise an...
That's reassuring to hear ...
Thanks, Graham, That's reassuring to hear about your experience with the 394/387S battery. Sorry to hear about the 'funny noise'. Could it be that you don't remember what happened to it for a reason? Wish I could have been at Mo's too. Andrew
Sorry Andrew, i dont really...
Sorry Andrew, i dont really remember whether i remember what happened too it :) i was, if anything, very refined on the night so its a mystery. best Graham On 1 Nov 2013 02:23, "www watchprosite" *Alert from:* www:watchprosite > *Posted By:* AndrewD (regi...
Does yours need to tune?
That's a nice piece of Accutron. Do you find the timing inaccurate with the additional 0.2V? Reminded me of some previous analogue cameras, having metering issues with current batteries. Kong
The accuracy has been excellent
Hi Kong, The accuracy has been excellent, better than 5sec per week, but Accutron's running fast on the modern 1.55v batteries is definitely described by owners. It has been postulated that it depends on the condition of the coil and wiring. The analogy w...
