How to use a chronograph and a tachymeter on a wristwatch

How to use a chronograph and a tachymeter on a wristwatch

We have prepared for you yet another guide to the men's wristwatch, and this time we will discuss the additions - various functions on the clock that go beyond just showing time. Two of them, which you can often find on sports watches or stylized models - it's a chronograph and a tachymeter.

Although, now these additional dials are used by manufacturers, not for functionality, but rather for improving the design and appearance of watches. They certainly make your watch more expensive, stylish and status. But if you learn to use the chronograph and tachymeter, then along with the time indicator you will get a unique measuring tool.

If you do not know how to use the chronograph on a wristwatch, and the numbers around the tachometer do not tell you anything, keep reading this article. Below, we will explain everything in detail.

How to use the chronograph

"Chronograph" is just a bizarre word for "stopwatch". Do not confuse the chronograph with the chronometer. A chronometer is an ultra-precise clock, they can be a chronograph at the same time, but initially they are two completely different concepts. Chronograph, in turn, a separate built-in stopwatch mechanism. It can be initially integrated into the clock, that is, be part of the entire mechanism, or it may be an additional module attached to the basic mechanism on the principle of a sandwich.

For the first time the chronograph was installed on a wristwatch in the early 20th century to allow riders and pilots to count down time. Astronauts during the golden age of space exploration in America used a watch with a chronograph in flight. For example, the astronaut of the Apollo 13 spacecraft, Jack Swigert used the chronograph on his Omega watch to make a significant correction of the course during their dangerous journey.

The use of the chronograph is completely uncomplicated. In most cases, the clock device with the chronograph is the same - on the side there are 2 buttons. One button to start and stop the mechanism, the second to reset, it returns the second hand to its previous position. On the dial of the clock are two (sometimes three) drives - minute and hourly. You simply press the start / stop button on the side of the clock to start or stop the stopwatch; press the lower button to return to zero.

IMPORTANT! Always before the reset, you must stop the movement of the arrow with the stop button, and when you can not reset the moving arrow, the mechanism fails. Also, clamping the buttons in the water is strictly not recommended.

How to use a tachymeter

We figured out, it's easy to use the chronograph. It's just a stopwatch.

Let's move on to the tachymeters. Using it requires a bit of math, but once you understand how to use it, you can measure all sorts of things, such as speed and distance traveled, as well as fuel consumption.

A tachometer is a scale drawn around the front of the watch or the outer edge of the main clock face. It does not rotate and is completely immobile. Most often, a tachymeter occurs on a watch with a chronograph.

The formula for creating this scale:

The value of the tachometer scale = 3,600 (number of seconds per hour) / elapsed time in seconds

The scale allows you to convert the elapsed time (in seconds per unit) to speed (in units per hour). Keep in mind that the total station can measure only known distances up to 1 full mile or 1 full kilometer. You can measure speed for objects that move to short or long distances, you just need to do some mathematical calculations.

Let's see how to use a tachymeter to measure speed and distance in several different scenarios.

How to use a speedometer

To measure the speed of an object with a tachymeter, you need to know the specified distance between two points. Suppose you are at the racetrack, and you know that the distance between turn 1 and turn 2 is 1 kilometer. Thanks to this knowledge, you can measure the average speed of a horse.

Once the horse has completed the 1st turn, press the start button on your chronograph. When it reaches turn number 2, stop the chronograph. And so, according to your chronograph, it took 50 seconds to move from turn 1 to turn 2. Look at your tachymeter and its front panel, the mark on the tachometric scale in front of which the second hand shows 50 seconds and there is the horse's speed. This means that the horse was moving at a speed of 72 km / h.

You can use a total station for other units, for example, millions. If you measure a distance overcome, which is shorter than 1 mile or 1 kilometer, you need to do some calculations to get the average speed. Let's say you are looking at a car race. The track is only a quarter mile. You start the chronograph when the car passes the start / end line and stops it when it completes the entire circle. The car took 16 seconds to complete the circle by a quarter of a kilometer. 16 seconds lined up with 225 on the scale of the tachometer. You need to remember that the track was only one quarter of a kilometer. Therefore, we need to get 1/4 of 225, which is 56.25. The average speed of the car averaged about 56 kilometers per hour.

In addition to the speed of objects such as cars, people or racing horses, you can even use a tachymeter to figure out how long it will take to create a certain number of items per hour. For example, if you want to know how many hours a company can make in one hour. Thanks to automation, one clock is collected in just 55 seconds. Considering the scale of the tachometer, 55 seconds line up with 65. Thus, the watch company can do about 65 hours per hour. Is not it great?

How to use a distance tachometer

In addition to measuring the speed of the object, you can also use a tachymeter to measure the distance traveled. To do this, you first need to know your movement speed, and the speed should remain constant.

Suppose you are traveling on the highway at a speed of 75 kilometers per hour. Start your chronograph. When the second hand reaches 75 points on the tachometer scale, it means that you have traveled 1 kilometer. Again, for this to work, your speed should remain constant throughout the entire time.

Now the extra dials and the scale of the tachometer on your watch do not look so frightening, right? Use these applications when practicing various sports, traveling, hiking and other occasions, because it's simple and convenient.