[Electronics-talk] lon lasting talking watch?

Wed Feb 16 19:00:36 UTC 2011

HieaI've had an ILA talking/braille watch for some time now.  The 
braille has never been right, and the battery never lasts much 
beyond three months if I'm lucky.  Since I refuse to buy a 
battery for the thing four times a year, I have one put in just 
before I'm going on a major trip.  Do may be twice a year, which 
is, in my opinion, way too often.  I'll never buy another.  
Speaking of electronic braille watches, I've had similar 
unsatisfactory experiences.  My first Seiko lasted perhaps twenty 
years.  Because I was happy with it, I bought another.  It maybe 
lasted five or six years and is unreparable.  I bought an NFB 
watch, and that died about the time the two-year warranty ran 
out, and that was $55.  I have gone back to a wind-up I've had 
for well over thirty years.  I don't remember exactly when I 
bought it.  I am disgusted with the qaulity of watches available 
to us today.

Evelyn

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Gerald Levy" <bwaylimited at verizon.net
To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and 
appliances"<electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:51:20 -0500
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] lon lasting talking watch?

In my experience, there seems to be no correlation between the 
price of a
talking watch and its battery life.  All talking watches, 
regardless of
price, use pretty much the same type of lithium coin battery.  
Just because
you paid $70 for a talking watch does not mean that its battery 
will last
longer than if you had paid $10 for one.  Expensive talking 
watches merely
have more features and  fancier metal cases and bands than the 
cheaper,
all-plastic models.  But they all work the same way and use the 
same
internal components.  The primary factor affecting battery life 
for the
end-user is the length of time the watch sits in the warehouse 
before it is
shipped to a customer.  I wouldn't be surprised if some of these 
watches lay
around for a year or more, which means that their batteries are 
already half
depleted by the time they reach the customer.

Gerald

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Evans" <drevans at bellsouth.net
To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
<electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 11:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] lon lasting talking watch?

 dear All,

 "Don't shoot the messenger."
 None of the catalog companies make the watches, they just get 
them
 wholesale from the manufacturers and pass them on.
 Most of the watches are made overseas and are very cheaply made.  
That is
 why they have a short lifespan.
 I have had watches that have lasted me years and some that 
lasted only a
 few days.  You get what you pay for.
 As for talking water-proof watches, they just do not really 
exist.
 Water resistant yes, but water proof is a very hard level to 
reach.
 If the watch is sealed it makes it a little hard to generate any 
sound
 because the speakers need an air space to move and make a good 
sound you
 can hear.
 If you are a diver, the water pressure may prevent it from 
working and
 being heard.
 What is needed are micro transducers that can be substituted for 
speakers.
 Then a watch could be sealed and water proofed.
 If you want a good watch, then invest in a good one instead of 
the cheap
 ones.
 I use a talking watch and I will use it till it dies and then 
just get
 another one.  It is the cost of doing business.
 A tip that can help make them a little more water resistant is 
to spray
 the watch with a coating of "V O-5" hair spray and let it dry.  
Place some
 clear tape over the watch crystal to prevent fogging and peal it 
off after
 the spray has dried.  The spray may fog or frost the  outside of 
the watch
 case.  You might want to cover the watch strap and other parts 
that do not
 need to be sealed.  You can use some masking tape to do this.
 I have used this same technique to water-proof the ignition 
system on cars
 and dune buggies for off road racing in the past.  You can try 
it if you
 want.

 David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
 Former Scuba instructor
 ----- Original Message -----
 From: "LINDA I FAUST" <lfaust1 at verizon.net
 To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
 <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
 Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 9:40 AM
 Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] lon lasting talking watch?

 Hello List,

 I too have had trouble with my talking watch from Independent 
Living
 Aids, but I go to any Sears to get the battery changed.  The 
problem is
 that lately, my watch stopped talking after 3 months of use, and 
not even
 the battery was the problem.

 Recently, I got a talking atomic watch from a friend for a gift.  
I don't
 know what the brand name is,though.  I also have a talking 
keychain
 watch.

 Linda
 ----- Original Message -----
 From: "Gerald Levy" <bwaylimited at verizon.net
 To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
 <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
 Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 7:34 AM
 Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] lon lasting talking watch?

 This is one of my biggest pet peeves: talking watches whose 
batteries
 die prematurely.  Of course, you can't replace the battery 
yourself, and
 it's not always easy to find a jeweler or watch repair shop 
willing to
 do it.  Battery life also depends on where you buy a talking 
watch.  In
 the past year, I have purchased two talking watches from 
Independent
 Living Aids whose batteries lasted a little more  than three 
months,
 just after the 90 day warranty expired.  I will never buy 
another
 talking watch from them.  I recently purchased a talking pen 
watch from
 Future Aids.  It runs on two AG13 batteries which are user 
replaceable,
 so if they die prematurely, I can replace them myself.

 Gerald

 ----- Original Message -----
 From: <SSommer126 at aol.com
 To: <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
 Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2011 9:04 PM
 Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] lon lasting talking watch?

 Hello,
 Has anyone found a talking watch that last more than a year?
 I have tried several without success.  Thank you
 Susan
 --
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