# "danger zone" question



## flag8r77 (Apr 2, 2009)

Strapped on my Fireman Night Train this morning, after not wearing for a few days. Time was way behind along with the date off by a day. I went ahead and switched the "31st" showing to the 1st and adjusted the time...of course not realizing the watch was sitting at 11:30, in the dreaded danger zone. Have I stripped something? Seems to be running fine. 

Secondly, if I had done any damage, how would I know? (Fingers crossed)

Thanks.


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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

The date would stop working. Cycling the time around will show if things are working OK. Remember to be mindful of the time when resetting. I like the first generation Night Train watch since it has the indicator plus if it is between 18 - 6 on the 24 hour dial I don't set the date. I set my GMT watches to show the 24 hour time when I'm not traveling for the same reason.


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## chiefeng (Dec 2, 2010)

I set my watches at different times throughout the day and when setting I first advance the hands to aroung the 4:00 to 5:00 position then advance the date (and day if so equipped) to the day before the current date, wind the watch enough to get the second hand moving then stop the secong hand at 12:00 then manually advance to the correct day/date by moving the hands around the dial, set the correct time and boom I'm done. May be a little more work but just the way I prefer to do it and don't have to worry about the dreaded danger zone. I'm anal about setting my time to the second to start off and use my Casio Atomic or the Official US time website for setting.


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## flag8r77 (Apr 2, 2009)

samanator said:


> The date would stop working. Cycling the time around will show if things are working OK. Remember to be mindful of the time when resetting. I like this watch since it has the indicator plus if it is between 18 - 6 on the 24 hour dial I don't set the date. I set my GMT watches to show the 24 hour time when I'm not traveling for the same reason.


Sam...so how would I test that without moving the date? Sounds like it's ok to move the date around by moving the time? If this is the case I'll only use the hour hands to change the date going forward and totally eliminate the use of the date mechanism.


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

flag8r77 said:


> Sam...so how would I test that without moving the date? Sounds like it's ok to move the date around by moving the time? If this is the case I'll only use the hour hands to change the date going forward and totally eliminate the use of the date mechanism.


Modern movements are all "quick set", you don't need to turn the hours hand over 24H to advance the dates, simply move the hours hand to noon and set the date normally.


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## c.capt (Aug 7, 2009)

As a general rule, you should not use the quick-set day/date adjustment on an automatic watch between the hours of 2100 and 0300 as this is when the day/date mechanism is engaged. I usually use the rule 2100 until 0600 as some of the more complicated movements with a master calendar could still be adjusting past 0300. Therefore, if your watch stops running for more than 24 hours, first set your watch to sometime between 7:00 and 8:00 before you change the day/date and you'll never have to worry about damaging the mechanism. The reason for this is because anytime between 7:00 and 8:00 is safe no matter if it's AM or PM.

Here's a step by step of what I do to set a watch that has stopped running for more than 24 hours. If it has been less than 24 hours, I find it easier to just advance the time.

1. Set time to 8:00.
2. Use quick-set feature to set day and/or date to the PREVIOUS day. So if today is Tuesday the 1st, I'll set it to Monday the 31st.
3. Advance the time until the day/date changes over, then you will know this is midnight. Set the appropriate time from here.

3 simple steps and you'll never have to worry about damaging your movement!

If you want to check to make sure you haven't damaged anything, just advance the time until the day/date switches over. Do this twice and if everything looks ok and works like it should, you should be fine!

~Joe


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## flag8r77 (Apr 2, 2009)

c.capt said:


> If you want to check to make sure you haven't damaged anything, just advance the time until the day/date switches over. Do this twice and if everything looks ok and works like it should, you should be fine!
> 
> ~Joe


Wouldn't advancing the time until the day/ date switches be damaging the mechanism? Or is only when you utilize the day/date adjustment during the above hours?


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## c.capt (Aug 7, 2009)

Advancing the time is absolutely fine, you're just speeding up the way the watch usually works. It's just using the quick-set feature that could damage the movement.

In general, during the hours of 2100 and 0300, the mechanism that switches the day/date over is engaged, if you go to use the quick-set feature of the movement, you run the risk of breaking the mechanism or even the day/date wheel. When you advance the time to change the day/date, you're doing the same thing the watch would be doing over that time, except you're just speeding it up, there are no problems with doing it that way. Hope this helps you!

~Joe


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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

Just to add a few things here. Quick set dates are here to avoid the additional wear to the movement from cycling the hands around. Use them, your watch has two indicators for you to make sure that you are warned. Teach your self to pay attention to the warning window and the position of the 24 hour wheel before unscrewing the crown. You may also want to consider a winder for when the watch is off your wrist so it does not stop. 

Learn good habits from the start and you'll aways have them.


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## flag8r77 (Apr 2, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses...


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## Hotspur000 (Dec 25, 2011)

But how easy is it to actually damage the mechanism?

I was resetting the time yesterday and accidentally had the watch around 2 am (ETA 2986). I tried the quick set -- it wasn't advancing and I and heard it clicking, then realized I needed to advance the time. Everything worked fine after that, but in those 2 secs of trying to set it, do you think I actually would have caused any damage? 

I know these movements are delicate, but if they can be set to protect against over-winding, can't aren't they set to protect against this problem as well?


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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

I've seen a AD trash a 7750 in a Breitling doing just that. No they are not protected, but the movement in the Night Train has two things to warn the user. One is an actual red triangle under the 24 hours display to warn of the danger setting time and the second is the 24 hour display. The Cleveland Express Dual Time actually uses these same features.

For my GMT watches I generally set the GMT hand when I'm not traveling so it works like a 24 hour hand so I know which 12 hour cycle I am in.


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## BadgerBrigade (Jun 5, 2018)

Please help folks! I just messed up and set the date in the dangers zone... I didn’t notice any extra tension on the crown and I’m very new to watches ... should I pull the crown out? Is it damaged for sure now? It’s an Omega Deville that my dad gave me. Did I just mess it up?


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## timefleas (Oct 10, 2008)

BadgerBrigade said:


> Please help folks! I just messed up and set the date in the dangers zone... I didn't notice any extra tension on the crown and I'm very new to watches ... should I pull the crown out? Is it damaged for sure now? It's an Omega Deville that my dad gave me. Did I just mess it up?


Chances are you are OK--reset it again in the "safety" zone, and see how it goes. Basically you want to avoid the danger zone because it _could _cause damage, but it will not cause it in all, or even many, cases--still, best not to push your luck, thus best to avoid these zones. Factors that contribute to whether there is a problem or not depends on the movement itself, at what moment the actual date changeover takes place, how old and gummed up (or not) the movement is, how fragile and worn (or not) the key gears are, and so forth.


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