Herculodge

Manly Watch Temptation: Seiko Retrograde SRL033 for $144 on eBay

 

 

46mm Seiko Retrograde looks very tempting at this price point. 

Update:

Same watch sells for $126 on Amazon, but the bezel is said to be 41.5mm, not 46mm. 

My Invicta Subaqua Specialty 6189 Is Dead

 

 

My Invicta Subaqua Specialty is dead. The movement doesn't work. Battery is full. Watch is barely a year old. Warranty from Amazon shot. My watch keeper says to fix it will cost me $150. I said forget it. Keep the watch and use parts for your business. You've been good to me. That's my worst watch fiasco. I should consider myself lucky. 

Angelo's ShouYu DP-180

 

Having recently purchased an inexpensive Radio Shack pocket radio with DSP chip (recommended here on Herculodge), I got the bug to pick up a second, slightly more expensive radio with a DSP chip in it.  Enter the Shou Yu (or is that ShouYu) DP-180.  

Discovered on E-Bay, the DP-180 is a small radio with a surprisingly decent sound.  No, it doesn't have booming bass, but it's terrific for listening to talk radio----a nice, clean, crisp pitch which hits the sweet spot for my ears.  Voices aren't muffled like they are on some larger radios, but they aren't tinny like they are on some cheaper, small radios.  It's a pleasing sound in my opinion.  Even for music, on FM, the response is good.  It's not going to replace your stereo----but it'll do in a pinch and sounds great for it's small size.  

 

Reception is good on all bands.  Great?  No.  I can find more shortwave programs on my Sony 7600 series radios.  I can find more AM stations on any number or larger radios I have----notably, my GE Superadio and C Crane EP.  But again, at it's size and price point (around 40 bucks) I think it does a great job.  It easily picks up more AM stations than many other radios I have.  One thing I have noticed about both of my radios with the DSP chip:  They do a great job of finding stations-----and the sound doesn't fade in and out-----seems like it locks on----except one thing:  At times, the station I am listening to will "click off" and immediately be replaced by another station.  This doesn't tend to happen on strong local stations, but for evening DXing, it's a bizarre characteristic compared to other radios I have.  Obviously, other radios will drift off signals I am listening to and fade to static or silence.  But my two DSP radios, including the Shou You DP-180, have a more immediate loss of the station and as I said, another signal quickly replaces it.

 

Three FM bands cover 64-108.  AM is on two bands: 520-1730 and 522-1620.  SW is 5.6-22.

 

The radio has a battery that is recharged through connection to your computer (USB) and is MP3.  This battery is replaceable, but I imagine it can be recharged many times and last for several years at least.

 

One drawback----the instructions appear to be written in Mandarin, which I am incapable of reading.  The controls might be intuitive for people who have a lot of digital radios----but I had some difficulty figuring it out and had to contact the seller in China for help in learning how to switch between bands.  Also, I still don't know how the two lower buttons on the right  side work.  They are ST+10 and T/-10. 

 

The radio has a nice dial light---that stays on while you're operating the radio controls and goes out after a few seconds when you stop.  I like the radio and I'm glad I bought it.  I would buy one again.  My version is candy apple red----silky smooth plastic.  I believe the same radio might come in other colors, but red was the only one I saw for sale on E-Bay.  I am curious to see if sellers offer more Shou Yu radios in the U.S.  This one gets a thumbs up recommendation.  I think it's good technology and good quality for the price.  

 

Angelo

 

 

Watch Collector's Quantity Vs. Quality "Dilemma"

 

 

 

Jonny writes:

Quantity vs. quality is always a question, although both are relative terms. But I see two situations in which this comes into play for me: One, do I buy one $300 watch or two $150 watches? That's the most common "dilemma." The other that I've thought about, which hasn't actually happened yet, is whether to buy 8-12 ~$200 watches over the course of a year or save up my dineros and splurge on a semi-luxury watch like a Chase-Durer, more expensive Seiko, or even a Tag Heuer. A Tag Heuer Aquamancer costs about $1500+ - and I've spent well over that in the past year on cheaper watches. My personal ethos tends towards "quality over quantity" but I'm finding myself not wanting to apply this to watches. Part of the fun of watch collecting is getting a new watch. If I bought one new watch a year, I wouldn't have the joy of opening that box once or twice a month. On the other hand, buying too many watches - like I did this summer - leads to a feeling of trying to fill the never-ending void and buying into a consumerist mentality like we teach our children who look for the next present before fully unwrapping the current one. So after a first year+ of being a "serious" watch collector, I'm finding a balance.

I'm currently culling my collection down to less than twenty watches, paying off most of the debt that I accrued earlier in the year, and trying to find a more moderate, balanced approach. I don't see myself spending more than about $300-350 on a watch in the foreseeable future, and I've toned down my spending so that over the last couple months I've "only" spent a few hundred dollars (things really got out of hand in June-August). In the future I can see myself getting a semi-luxury watch ($500-1,000), maybe even a low-end luxury watch ($1-2,000) like an Invicta Valjoux or Tag Heuer, but it will be years if ever that I purchase a true luxury watch ($2,000+) like a Breitling Super Avenger (~$4-5,000).

Until I get to the point that I've run out of moderately priced watches to buy ($1-300), and then expensive non-luxury watches ($3-500), I see no reason to go into deeper waters. The simple truth is that I don't like semi-luxury watches that much more than watches costing half or a third the cost, and the higher the price the less of an increase in relative quality and desirability. To put it another way, I'd rather own a dozen Seiko Velaturas, Sporturas, Invicta Specialty Reserves, and Citizen Eco-Drives, then one low-end Breitling. It is simply more fun that way.

Manly Watch for Under $100: Invicta Gunmetal Corduba Combat

 

 

At $99.99 with free shipping, this Invicta Corduba Combat is a lot of watch. 

When an Office Building Is Compromising Radio Reception, You Might Try This

Rob writes:

I've got a 1970s era Sony table radio in my office at work. Being an office building, the reception is pretty crappy. So, my solution to the problem was to get a pair of FM rabbit ears from Radio Shack and a 15 foot length of 75 ohm coax with the standard TV (Type F) connectors on both ends. I also got a 300 ohm adaptor for the back of the radio that would hook up to the antenna terminal screws and the coax. I also purchased a 75 ohm barrel connector so I could hook the coax up to the FM rabbit ears (being that both the ends of the coax and the rabbit ears have male connectors, got to have a female barrel to plug them both into.)

I then moved one of the suspended ceiling tiles above my desk and put the rabbit ears up in the ceiling and dropped the coax down the wall to my radio. Reception for the stations that I listen to is pretty good. I used this technique in my office in the building where I was located before and it also worked really well. So, you might want to give it a try.

When You're a Watch Collector, You Need a Safe and Added Home Insurance

 

Angelo writes:

What about insuring collections? I don't have enough valuable watches collectively to make it worth adding to my homeowners insurance or taking out a policy on the watches. Also, I have a very adequate safe in my home that could fit a few expensive watches if I'm on vacation or something. But with larger collections like yours, especially with so many watches that sell for over $200.00---it starts to really add up. Do you have these insured? If not, I would strongly consider getting a fire rated home safe that could fit most of your collection. A really good safe, installed, can be had for under $1000.00. I'm not saying you'd need to keep your collection in the safe at all times....but for vacations weekends away or something-----locking them up might be a good thing.

Seiko Astron with Solar and GPS Selling on eBay

 

 

At 47mm, the Seiko Astron is a manly watch indeed. But out of my price range. Featured in the latest issue of Wired magazine. 

Four Appealing Seiko Watches on Metal Bracelets for Under $200

 

 

I paid $359 for my Seiko Velatura, a very bold, elegant watch. However, similar looking Seiko watches can be had for under $200. 

The Seiko SNDD51, about 45mm, for $190. 

The Seiko SNDD49, about 45mm, for $162.

The Seiko SNAE25, about 45mm, for $176. 

A fourth watch, while not looking like the Velatura, has a strapping military look, the Seiko SNAD05, which Jonathan recently acquired. Currently it's $195, but as of this morning it was $189. 

Val's Miwaukee Jobsite Radio

 

Two weeks ago from Home depot for $99 dollars I bought Milwaukee Jobsite Radio Model: 2790-20.I have  tools from Milwaukee, battery and charger and it is convenient for me. Radio has plugs for all types Milwaukee battery 12, 18 and 27 volts. I had been try 12 volts battery and radio work more than one day on medium volume. Highest of volume is 40 watts.

 Model: 2790-20 is a next generation Milwaukee Jobsite Radio with DSP. Firs one is Model: 2590-20, portable radio.

FM reception of big brother is amazing, It always same sensitivity like my FM champion- Insignia HD table top radio. Milwaukee has even better receive signals in concrete building, where Insignia struggling from interference.

AM reception is average. I compare with Lunchbox Sangean , it is very similar, but Milwaukee has equalizers that make weak signals better sound than Lunchbox.

Sound quality is more beats than boom. It is stronger beat than soft bass Boston radio or Lunchbox.

Milwaukee is a stereo receiver with aux plug. I plug my mp3 or computer and use it like speakers. I very like sound and definition of stereo and instruments sounds on compressed mp3 or radio stream.

In conclusion: Excellent radio with good deal specially for people who have Milwaukee tools.

Val