Thought this watch was cute... - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: hexreader
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2018, 03:59:41 pm
content: Hey.... that really is coolAt least for those of advanced years like me, who remember that electric meters looked exactly like that.How much is it, and where can I buy one?

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2018, 06:24:09 pm
content: Photoshop'ed?Hopefully, otherwise that horizontal spinning disk would cut into your flesh pretty painfully...

author: hexreader
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2018, 06:43:41 pm
content: Doh....

author: Specmaster
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2018, 06:49:15 pm
content: Can you make it stop or even run backwards?

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2018, 06:51:22 pm
content: Quote from: Specmaster on August 09, 2018, 06:49:15 pmNah, you can't even set the time on it because it is officially sealed.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2018, 07:40:52 pm
content: Quote from: ebastler on August 09, 2018, 06:24:09 pmCould just be something made to look like a spinning disk.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 09, 2018, 07:52:07 pm
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on August 09, 2018, 07:40:52 pmBut without an actual disk which actually spins, what would be the point?!Maybe it's just photographed from a well-chosen angle and the case is deeper than it looks...

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2018, 12:22:22 am
content: Quote from: ebastler on August 09, 2018, 07:52:07 pmcould be a crescant shaped half wheel that gets kicked back and forth by the escapement.

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2018, 02:09:03 am
content: That's pretty cool. I remember when all the meters were like that. At one point the Hydro company sent out these devices you could clip on and it would measure your power usage by detecting every time the wheel makes a revolution. It was fun going around the house turning stuff on/off to check. Then a month later they started switching everyone to smart meters and those devices became obsolete. Bad planing there.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2018, 03:12:03 pm
content: It isn't a real power meter unless it has a real rotating pointer for each digit of the reading.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2018, 03:39:20 pm
content: Quote from: CatalinaWOW on August 10, 2018, 03:12:03 pmThank you for sharing that one! Never seen one of those.The scales go in alternating directions; so I think it is safe to assume that there is just a series of 10:1 gears behind the scale? Not easy to read, with most of the pointers being somewhere halfway between the scale marks for most of the time...

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2018, 06:17:51 pm
content: Easy to read. Hard to read correctly. Often the meter readers didn't graduate first in their class so each months reading could be kind of random. But the errors do average out over time.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2018, 07:01:09 pm
content: Quote from: ebastler on August 10, 2018, 03:39:20 pmThat's what almost all USA power meters look like, even the smart meters are just that with an additional little module inside that reads an optical vane on the shaft with the disc. I've seen a few that are completely electronic with an LCD display but 95% of the meters in service look just like the picture.It occurred to me I actually have an old meter, this is what the mechanism looks like inside with the glass dome removed. This one is made by GE and is probably about 10 years old.Reading them is indeed tricky, it's something not many people really know how to do. These days it's more and more common for them to be read automatically by the "smart" module rather than having someone drive around and go manually read each one.

author: metrologist
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 10, 2018, 07:45:18 pm
content: Quote from: CatalinaWOW on August 10, 2018, 06:17:51 pmI used to watch my meter and compare my bill each month. I noticed it was off quite a lot, so I inquired and was told they don't actually read the meter every month, they statistically estimate usage and said it would all average out when they take the next reading. I wish I'd been able to keep my old meter. Cost me $1200 for a new one. I'm going to have to pay for a water meter too pretty soon (we don't have one...).

author: station240
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 11, 2018, 02:59:20 pm
content: Quote from: ebastler on August 09, 2018, 06:51:22 pmSounds like an Apple product

author: ciccio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2018, 05:08:45 pm
content: I'm sure it is Photoshopped.The panel is from an old Italian meter, and googling for the image I could find it only in an old Pinterest post, saying : "when your friends show you their latest Iwatch, this is the answer... they cannot buy it."Best regards

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2018, 07:22:52 pm
content: Reminds me of that microcontroller with a built in OLED that turns out to be photoshopped, then someone made them for real!