# Vostok Amphibia accuracy?



## Marcelo Costa (Nov 6, 2007)

Hello all! How many seconds (+/-/ day) do you think is in normal range for a Vostok Amphibian? Tks.


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## CCCP (Jul 1, 2006)

I have an Amphibia with 2416b movement and it's going +6s/day.


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## Marcelo Costa (Nov 6, 2007)

Hi..my Amphibia blue 2416 the blue diver...it is going +15s/day...but it is new...do you think it´ll improve the accuracy with the use? tks.


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## TZAG (Mar 25, 2006)

Forget accuracy with soviet/russian watches. However those are the easiest watches to set them work accurately. |>


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## ecalzo (Oct 18, 2006)

TZAG said:


> Forget accuracy with soviet/russian watches. However those are the easiest watches to set them work accurately. |>


i agree 100% my friend...TZAG


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## CCCP (Jul 1, 2006)

Marcelo Costa said:


> Hi..my Amphibia blue 2416 the blue diver...it is going +15s/day...but it is new...do you think it´ll improve the accuracy with the use? tks.


You should wait at least one month before checking accuracy... usually it improves after the first months of use. After that if you want a better accuracy you can regulate it (or have it regulated by a watchmaker). Russian watches have good movements and after a careful regulation usually have no problem running within COSC (-4/+6) parameters. :-!


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## soviet (Feb 8, 2006)

CCCP said:


> You should wait at least one month before checking accuracy... usually it improves after the first months of use. After that if you want a better accuracy you can regulate it (or have it regulated by a watchmaker). Russian watches have good movements and after a careful regulation usually have no problem running within COSC (-4/+6) parameters. :-!


Waw! That is chronometer quality! A Rolex could only perform about the same,:-d With less cultural, and historical appeal.|>


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## CCCP (Jul 1, 2006)

soviet said:


> Waw! That is chronometer quality! A Rolex could only perform about the same.:-d With less cultural, historical sppeal.|>


Yeah... it never cease to amaze me how well this simple and rugged movements perform. :-! :-d
Obviously I cannot check different positions and temperatures, but if they performs as cronometers on the wrist it's enough ;-) 
I seldom wear a watch more than two weeks so usually I have only to set them once. |>


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## soviet (Feb 8, 2006)

CCCP said:


> Yeah... it never cease to amaze me how well this simple and rugged movements perform. :-! :-d
> Obviously I cannot check different positions and temperatures, but if they performs as cronometers on the wrist it's enough ;-)
> I seldom wear a watch more than two weeks so usually I have only to set them once. |>


IMO, the real meaningful test is on the wrist. The multiple positions test is only to ensure the accuracy for use, am I right?:roll: For water resistance, who needs to dive to more than 100 meters?o|


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## CCCP (Jul 1, 2006)

soviet said:


> IMO, the real meaningful test is on the wrist. The multiple positions test is only to ensure the accuracy for use, am I right?:roll: For water resistance, who needs to dive to more than 100 meters?o|


I agree, for all practical purposes there is no need of multiple positions... and by the way even famous swiss watches (the Speedmaster Pro to name one) can do very well without being certified. There is much marketing effort so you can print on the dial "superlative chronometer officially certified" ;-)
100m is enough for anything except scuba diving... but for some reason big depth rating is trendy... :think::roll:


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## cestommek (Aug 19, 2007)

Hello.I have 2 amphibian with 2416b,they are running +20seg/day,the red sea are runnig +10 per day :-!and the k3 submarine -10s per day.But they have never been regulated.For this reason i think that they are running very well:-!


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## tomshep (Jun 5, 2007)

Mine runs +/- 10 sec/day. Well within spec, but I tweaked my colleague's after six weeks on his wrist and he told me that it has lost two seconds since Christmas.


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## Andy_I (Feb 13, 2006)

Marcelo Costa said:


> Hello all! How many seconds (+/-/ day) do you think is in normal range for a Vostok Amphibian? Tks.


According to the Russian/Soviet classification Vostok cal. 2409/14/16/27 are 1st class of accuracy movements. It means that normal accuracy for these movements is -20/+40 sec/day. 
Some Vostok watches are more accurate but you never get chronometer accuracy which means -4/+6 sec per day in 5 positions and for range of tempertures 0/+40 C.

I've regulated dozens Vostok watches but I can't reach -4/+6 in *all 5 positions* because Vostok mvmts have very soft hairspring and not good design of stud holder. Its very difficult to install hairspring in stud holder properly. Even if you do it well the hairspring changes its shape in vertical positions. It affect accuracy and beat error.


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## CCCP (Jul 1, 2006)

This is very interesting! :-!
I've many good performing vostoks, and I heard many people happy of their ones, but never read such an accurate and technical explanation.|>:thanks


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## TZAG (Mar 25, 2006)

We are usually checking easier everyday use, but that's higher level and more detailed answer. Thank you Andy


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## Andy_I (Feb 13, 2006)

I have to add that it's really possible to reach accuracy -5/+10 in 5 positions (at 25 C) by correction of hairspring shape and adjusting regulator. It's quite high accuracy. Moreover you never wear watches in 1 position so mean error will be less.


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## nuj (Nov 18, 2007)

my vostok amphibia which i bought from e-bay and a vostok europe n1 rocket havent been totally checked for accuracy. all i can tell is that my vostok europe sucks, now it runs 5 advance in a day, i had it regulated by a jeweller a few days ago and it still runs fast. as for my amphibia, i havent bothered checking. may be i'll have my v-e returned and have it fixed


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## Crazypeter (Feb 14, 2006)

Hiya
I have a V-E N1 that is +6/month.
BTW... if your watch can withstand 200 m under water then it's only purpose is to let you know what time it is when you're drowning;-)


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## michele (Feb 10, 2006)

Andy_I said:


> I have to add that it's really possible to reach accuracy -5/+10 in 5 positions (at 25 C) by correction of hairspring shape and adjusting regulator. It's quite high accuracy. Moreover you never wear watches in 1 position so mean error will be less.


Indeed, i have opened dozens of Vostoks and my opinion is the same. The Vostok 24xx series seems designed to be durable, quite than precise. However, i remember that the Tammo's Radio Room watch was certified as COSC after a test. Moreover, Raketa watches (26xx latest series) have rigid hairspring but i never met one capable to run better than +/-20 s/day.


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## Crazypeter (Feb 14, 2006)

OOPS! My bad...I meant +6/DAY...NOT +6/month...


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## Andy_I (Feb 13, 2006)

michele said:


> However, i remember that the Tammo's Radio Room watch was certified as COSC after a test. Moreover, Raketa watches (26xx latest series) have rigid hairspring but i never met one capable to run better than +/-20 s/day.


Very interesting. Could you give the link to his post?

Since Raketas hairspring is more rigit it's difficult to find proper position of regulator but it's possible if you have time machine.


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## michele (Feb 10, 2006)

Andy_I said:


> Very interesting. Could you give the link to his post?


https://www.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=2241&highlight=cosc ;-)


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## DrDann (Nov 14, 2008)

I've only had my Amfibia for about 3 days, but in that time (77.5 hours since I first set/compared it to the Naval master atomic clock) it has gained 29 seconds. So, by my math that is about +9 sec/day. I am very pleased with that level of accuracy out of the box. Could that be because it was only 'issued' (paperwork term, which I assume means date of manufacture) on November 10th?

In that time, the oils would pretty much be distributed correctly, etc. one would think.

As an aside, these watches are addictive ... got my Amfibia in the mail Saturday, bought a used 1992 model Slava (Columbus commemorative) at the swap meet Sunday (same guy I got my 1969 Caravelle Day-Date from a few months ago), now I am saving up for a Poljot 3133 chrono.

I am no longer overly impressed with swiss watches after learning of the russians and how well made they really are.


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## dedatos (Feb 13, 2008)

Dear Andy,
Are yr accuracy observations and yr statistical-life experience appicable only for Boctoks or they include Volna precision mechanisms too??


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## nuj (Nov 18, 2007)

my v-e N1 rocket now runs fine:-! unfortunately my amphibia is out of order. i accidentally over wind and destroyed the minute wheel and to make things worst no parts available here in the philippineso|


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## Dawor (Nov 20, 2008)

I've just acquired my first Vostok (Komandirskie) a few days ago and today I realized that it is going fast. I'm pleased to find out that it is normal, it got me worried :think: Thanks guys :-! check in tomorrow when I know exactly how fast it is going.


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## Crazypeter (Feb 14, 2006)

Lately I've been wearing my Red Sea and it's +8 sec/day...I'm really impressed!


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## Dawor (Nov 20, 2008)

It's going 1 min. and 13 sec. fast :-( per day, that's bad. How can I fix that :-s


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## MusicPDX (Feb 27, 2013)

I took mine to my local watch repair shop for adjustment. They brought it within 6 sec/day. Out of the box (after burn-in) my Amphibia was about 20 seconds off.


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## mcwong644 (Feb 2, 2016)

I have a new scuba dude for a week and have been timing it. Out of the box its +6.9 spd after 5 days which is very surprising for a $59 watch. Excellent value for money 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## 1afc (Mar 19, 2014)

Hi Andy_I

Yes you make a very good point that maybe not everyone realises. Yes the Rolex run say +/- 2 seconds but that is *in 5 positions*.

I have an Amphibian that runs about 0 sec (true) but that is a function of how its used.

Using one of the android apps (I think it's called something obscure like Watch Checker) I can see that it runs about 16 sec/day fast on the wrist and about 19 sec/day slow with face up but with my time of use that equates to about 0 overall.

I did regulate it. Not difficult to do but needed a few tries to get the desired results.

So IMHO these watches are exceptional value but you do get what you pay for.



Andy_I said:


> According to the Russian/Soviet classification Vostok cal. 2409/14/16/27 are 1st class of accuracy movements. It means that normal accuracy for these movements is -20/+40 sec/day.
> Some Vostok watches are more accurate but you never get chronometer accuracy which means -4/+6 sec per day in 5 positions and for range of tempertures 0/+40 C.
> 
> I've regulated dozens Vostok watches but I can't reach -4/+6 in *all 5 positions* because Vostok mvmts have very soft hairspring and not good design of stud holder. Its very difficult to install hairspring in stud holder properly. Even if you do it well the hairspring changes its shape in vertical positions. It affect accuracy and beat error.


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## Zany4 (Jul 22, 2015)

I use the iOS app Hairspring ($5) and find that it works well when you place the case back directly on top of the microphone of the earbuds to get a 1 minute reading. I saw not to use the iPhone main mic as it can magnetize the watch. I've taken two measurements of my brand new Meranom Amphibia SE 120359. Yesterday was +12s, today was -2s. I think it takes some time for the movement to equilibrate from regular wrist wear. Out of the box it was running in fits and starts so I wound it around 20 turns and it would run for a few seconds and then stop. I gently shook it a few times to auto wind the rotor and since it has been on my wrist it has had no problems. Maybe something was hung up and just needed to get moving again or I got some dust in it when I changed to the display case back. Otherwise all my Vostok movement watches seem to start out off time and then come back to a reasonable rate. I'm a little shaky and not comfortable regulating it myself even though I know how. Maybe one day I'll try but I can live with the quirks of the movement...


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## 6tffd (Jun 20, 2017)

Dawor said:


> It's going 1 min. and 13 sec. fast :-( per day, that's bad. How can I fix that :-s


Mine used to do that too. Wait until it's a few months old before you decided to regulate it etc. I found that if you let it completely run out of power and leave it for a day it gets a little bit more accurate. Try this a few times a month.


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## Abrazagar (Feb 10, 2017)

I didn't check mine out of the box, but it seemed to be between 15-20 fast/day at a glance. Recently it started going 90+ fast/day.... Slapped it on the back a few times and now it's at a very constant and reasonable +14s/day.... 

I'm guessing it got bumped around at work or something and the hair spring got caught on something? It's been running properly for a week now so I guess it's fine


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## BalooBalance (Nov 13, 2020)

I bought my Wostok Amphibia three days ago on Friday 13. BUT! It runs about +/-3 spd. I can hardly believe my eyes!


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## MarkinKC (Dec 10, 2017)

Marcelo Costa said:


> Hello all! How many seconds (+/-/ day) do you think is in normal range for a Vostok Amphibian? Tks.


My great looking Amphibia keeps horrible time.


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## Bucks (Mar 7, 2016)

You should be able to regulate them to run +/- 10 secs per day, especially with a timegrapher and especially with a consistent wearing and resting pattern. The problem is that the weather changes and their accuracy changes with it. They are, however, quite rugged and this makes up for the lack of accuracy imho.


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## Utva_56 (Apr 17, 2018)

@MarkinKC 
You have wrong lift angle setup. Should be 42 deg. for Vostok 24XX movemnt.


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## Utva_56 (Apr 17, 2018)

@MarkinKC 
You have wrong lift angle setup. Should be 42 deg. for Vostok 24XX movement


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## Adrenaline96 (Jul 8, 2020)

As per Meranom: -20 +60 sec/day for 24XX movements.

I have a 2614B that runs fast, like +40s/day. And a 2414A that also runs fast, like +20s/day. From what I noticed, they usually tend to run fast, not slow, so the spec mentioned by Meranom is correct, and I think it is, they most likely have it from Vostok since they are the oficial retailers.


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## MarkinKC (Dec 10, 2017)

Utva_56 said:


> @MarkinKC
> You have wrong lift angle setup. Should be 42 deg. for Vostok 24XX movemnt.


How do I do that? The timegrapher automatically displays it.


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## Odessa200 (Apr 12, 2019)

MarkinKC said:


> How do I do that? The timegrapher automatically displays it.


timegrapher has a default of 52 but you access the menu and set it to the correctly angle. And for this 24xx Vostok the correct one is 42.


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## jring (Jan 1, 2019)

Odessa200 said:


> timegrapher has a default of 52 but you access the menu and set it to the correctly angle. And for this 24xx Vostok the correct one is 42.


Right, although with the lift angle setting a bit off, only the calculated amplitude will change a bit... The rate and beat error are actually measured and should be correct.

Joachim


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## Odessa200 (Apr 12, 2019)

jring said:


> Right, although with the lift angle setting a bit off, only the calculated amplitude will change a bit... The rate and beat error are actually measured and should be correct.
> 
> Joachim


totally agree. I am just nitpicking. But if we buy tools like timegrapher I think it makes sense to use it correctly. If a Poljot watch that has lift angle of 51 was measured on 52 I would not say anything cause the diff is quite small. But the amplitude difference between 42 and 52 is huge! The photo shows a respectable amplitude of 257 (at 52 lift). At correct lift of 42 the amplitude reading will be close to 200. Ouch! 200 is quite low. Agree?


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## jring (Jan 1, 2019)

Hi,

yes, 10 deg off with the lift angle is quite a bit and can be the difference between good amplitude reading and a case for service... Most swiss movements are in the general ballpark of 52 (which is the reason that that is the default) and there it's not an issue. 
But soviet movements are all over the place - and some need adapting it like this one.

Btw. in order to enter change the lift angle on the Weishi, press the start/stop button, press the menu button until the lift angle is highlighted and then use the arrow buttons to set (you can keep 'em pressed if you have to change a lot). When the lift angle is correct, press start/stop button again.

Joachim


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## MarkinKC (Dec 10, 2017)

Utva_56 said:


> @MarkinKC
> You have wrong lift angle setup. Should be 42 deg. for Vostok 24XX movement


I set it to 42degrees and it's still a amazingly inconsistent. It draws patterns like waves breaking on a beach.


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## Odessa200 (Apr 12, 2019)

Here are the patterns and problem description and treatment plan.

















MarkinKC said:


> I set it to 42degrees and it's still a amazingly inconsistent. It draws patterns like waves breaking on a beach.


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