For more uses of the word "hack":
There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
71–80 of 111 posts
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#72> In war films, if you ever wondered what a bunch of soldiers standing in a circle shouting "hack!" at each other meant: they're synchronizing their watches. Said no one before ever. For that matter, no group of soldiers ever cried out "hack" while setting their watches in a war movie, either. Is the entire thing made up?
I remember them doing it in Space: Above and Beyond every time they went on a mission on foot. Despite being set in the 2060s, when their watches are presumably connected to Space GPS.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#73Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds. I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking), which allows you to change the time zone when traveling without messing up the seconds hand that you previously already setup.
> Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds. > I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking) Rolexes have a hacking mechanism, but it's usually only activated when you pull the crown out to the furthest/third stop, which is where you set minutes. The…
> with exceptions, e.g., Newfoundland
Also, notably for about 1.5 billion people in India: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Standard_Time
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#74Somewhat related, I came across a YouTube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/@WristwatchRevival ) that I never would have guessed I'd enjoy but now I am hooked. The host disassembles a high-end mechanical watch each episode, cleans each tiny piece and then puts it all back together again. I have never had any interest in mechanical watches whatsoever - I use an Apple Watch - but this is so relaxing and he is so good a…
I love this guys channel. You can tell the guy is really good at it because of how easy he make it look. His videos almost got me into it myself, had to remind myself that the reason he makes it look so effortless is because he put so much time into it (and there was no way I was going to achieve the same results without significant effort).
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#75Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#76Clock people have great words for things. Their word for features is "complications".
I never understood where the term came from and I also have an avid interest in watching mechanical watch teardowns/rebuilds on YT. This explains everything and I've never had a more clearer click of understanding in my life.
During early watch making history the competition was between individual watch makers and the mark of a good watchmaker beyond accurate time telling, was to add more things besides time telling I.e. complications above and beyond just telling the time.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#77Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds. I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking), which allows you to change the time zone when traveling without messing up the seconds hand that you previously already setup.
Odd how various watch features are advertised. I'm in the Seiko collectors world and "hacking/handwind" movements are generally seen as more desirable. Since Seiko Modding is pretty common (compared to modding other watch brands at least), the "hacking/handwind movement replacement" mod is one of the most popular.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nota bene, a GMT does hack in the second crown position, so you can set it accurately to the second. And independent jumping hours is super useful while traveling across time zones. It's a complication, in the same way that hacking itself is a complication. Both are harder to implement than a time-only watch without hacking.
Travel time is such a beautiful complication but so rare, I know of PF and Patek...maybe Ball aswell, I can't remember.
It's getting more common. Seiko recently released the Seiko 5 GMT which for the MSRP of $495 is a steal in the watch world, possibly the most affordable GMT on the market now. There are lots of "GMT Watches" you see on Amazon and other places for much cheaper but all of those use Quartz movements.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#79>So, there was great interest in developing a timekeeping mechanism that didn't rely on gravity. "Great interest" is an understatement! The full story can be found in "Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time" by Dava Sobel Cheap book, quick read, fascinating story! https://amzn.to/465h1ij
Non-affiliate link: https://www.amazon.com/Longitude-Genius-Greatest-Scientific-...
I listen to the audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”
#80Unrelated, but using Mastodon without a login is a breath of fresh air compared to the shit show that is Twitter.
is there a threadreader equivalent for mastodon?
For this thread I produced this:
