You guys are still rocking the 430! I bet you have a good supply of spares.Back in service, albeit a different route than planned. According to Swatch, all it needed was a new battery. We'll see if the movement stays true.
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Which watch?
- Thread starter loadtoad
- Start date
BK-117 and BO-105 PHI Air Med alum...
I was EC-135 and Bell 407 legacy. And AW-139, technically, since 80% of our flying at Maryland State Police was EMS.
530/430/GMX200.
The finest in 2005 tech!!! And actually still pretty good assuming the stack is all WAAS.
The challenge is worn and broken knobs, etc.
In my club, I've been phasing out 430/530W in favor of lightly used GTN750 and selling our 430/530 while there is still value. It's been working well.
Next is what to do with ageing KX155 NAV/COMMs.
Unless it’s changed, Omega replaces the whole movement when you send it in for service. I believe it’s up to version C.Back in service, albeit a different route than planned. According to Swatch, all it needed was a new battery. We'll see if the movement stays true.
So here was the latest sequence of events. It seems to be a little different than what I've experienced before, but not necessarily for the worse...
Instead of sending mine in personally, I dropped my watch off at the Orlando boutique (I was in the area dropping my plane off). The lady gave me the standard "they'll look it over and see what needs to be done." I did giver her the list of grievances (light failed...again, movement).
She also said they only do a full service every 5 (?) years (I can't remember what the time was, but this was last serviced in 2021 and it wasn't in the window).
When it came back, they had fixed the light and said the movement was working correctly, but the watch needed a new battery. Interestingly, the second hand was not pausing when I sent it in, just the movement would get way off. I was worried that meant the problem wasn't fixed, but it is what it is.
Boutique UPS'ed my watch to me free of charge when they got it back.
I've worn the watch 6 out of the last 7 days at work and the movement has been spot on, so I guess it was the battery. We'll see how long the light lasts.
It looks like Omega is opening a new boutique up in Jax again in the old Tesla store, right across from....Rolex. It's supposed to be open this summer.
I know, we've had this conversation before. I don't make the purchasing decisions for my company.
Another issue is the NVG screens and sticking buttons. Not all 430/530w units are the same, apparently, for accepting the NVG screen.
I haven't looked into any reviews, but they now have the KX-200 which is a drop-in replacement. ~$5200 for the unit. That's about on-par with a GNC 215 without having to do a new panel mount and wiring. Obviously it probably won't have the fully functionality with a 275 or G5, but the cost might make that worth it.
Forgive me - I'm old now!
Here's my Skyhawk A-T in its natural environment. Like I said before, when I was a kid I really wanted the Blue Angels version, but as a helo bubba there was no way on God's green earth I was going to buy one of those now. Also, notice the coin on the bottom right? I'm not losing many coin challenges.
I saw the USNTPS group guy going around for that last year. Looked like a real beauty, but I couldn’t convince myself to buy a second speedy so close to retirement.
Good thing you purchased before tariff went into effect!!!
I'll be honest. The more I look at it, the less I like it. I think the concept is cool, but the watch itself is just kinda...meh...Especially since they decided to sell it to the general public (with a normal Speedmaster caseback instead of the customized wings). I think there are much better looking Speedmasters out there for that kind of coin.
In fairness, I think that the X33 is kind of a goofy looking watch, too, and that digital display is not aging well, but that one was at least exclusively available to military pilots.