zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

(This is a copy of the post I did earlier on Omega TimeZone Forum)

It won't fix the watch if it is broken, but it will let you know exactly what the performance is...with no "guestimating".

I few years ago a created an Excel spreadsheet that lets you track and graph a watch's accuracy over time. All you do is synchronize the watch to a standard such as www.time.gov and enter the current time and date. Then, some time later (I suggest at least 4 days or so), you enter the current time and date again, and how much error (+/- seconds) has accumulated since the start time.

It will then give you the error normalized to seconds/day and sec./month. Then you can choose to resynchronize all over again or not bother until you want to check again. The best part is the graph that it will create over time. The graph is a line that runs above (or below) the 0 seconds/day (or "no error") line.

There is even a section where you can easily record what nighttime storage position (crown up...crown down etc.)you used over the period, although this does not interact with any other part of the spreadsheet yet. There are a few other self-explanatory "bells and whistles". I suppose you could copy the spreadsheet and track a few watches at one time.

You need to have Microsoft Excel on your computer, and very little spreadsheet knowledge. There are many "comment" boxes to tell you what to do. Any TZer (or ZOWIE reader)can email me with questions.

I first made this spreadsheet in early 2001 when I got my first SMP. The "break-in" period was OBVIOUS, once enough data had been entered. It ran fast at first, and then settled in nicely at +2 or 3/day.

I make this offer whenever I see this accuracy topic come up. I've probably sent it to 30-40 TZers and ZOWIE readers over the years.

If you would like a copy of the spreadsheet, just email me. Please be patient, as I do not check email on weekends.

IT'S FRIDAY !
Have a good weekend.

MMC