WORLD'S FIRST SOLID STATE TIMEPIECE

(This is reprinted from the May 6, 1970 edition of timely TOPICS, a publication of the Hamilton Watch Company. Our thanks to Sherry Buttnor for supplying us a copy.)

SPECIAL EDITION -- This special edition of Timely TOPICS has been prepared to introduce PULSAR simultaneously with the press conference being held today in New York City.

Hamilton Watch Company today introduced PULSAR - a solid state wrist computer which is programmed to tell time, has no hands and no moving parts, records the time only when asked to do so, and is of unexcelled accuracy and durability.

Developed jointly by Hamilton Watch Company and Electro/ Data Inc., of Garland, Texas, PULSAR is the world's first truly electronic portable timepiece, and represents the most advanced step in personal timekeeping ever, according to Richard J. Blakinger, Hamilton president. He noted that its development has important implications not only for the billion dollar watch industry but for a broad range of activities which use horologically-based equipment, such as space and aeronautics, military and oceanography.

The size of a conventional wristwatch, PULSAR's most striking visible difference is that it has no hands. its time is computed and displayed electronically, utilizing computer logic circuitry and light emitting diodes.

"Even tuning fork and quartz resonator watches are basically electromechanical,'' Mr. Blakinger explained, "since they must convert electrical energy into mechanical action to drive the hands."

PULSAR production is expected to begin in 1971. Initially it will be offered in a limited edition at a price of $1,500, with a case design created by renowned metal sculptor, Ernest Trova of St. Louis.

Mr. Blakinger described the development of PULSAR as "a dramatic breakthrough in the science of horology which signals the opening of a totally new approach to the design and manufacture of portable timepieces. Since this advanced product is a fixed program computer, it is conceivable that other programs are possible and that some day in the future there will be a programable wrist computer which would respond to a variety of useful programs personally selected by the wearer."

Patent applications have been filed on the product's unique features, Mr. Blakinger said.

Despite its intricate circuitry, PULSAR essentially consists of only three major components, John M. Bergey, director of research of Hamilton's watch division, pointed out. These are a time computer module which calculates the time and transmits signals to display the time, a specially designed 4 1/2-volt rechargeable battery and an advanced quartz crystal timebase.

The battery stimulates the quartz crystal which vibrates at precisely 32,768 cycles per second. The vibrations are then reduced to one pulse per second by a multi-stage, integrated circuit binary counter which passes the pulses through the time computer module to time display stations.

"The high rate of vibration, or frequency, is four times greater than in electromechanical quartz crystal watches and enables us to achieve an unprecedented degree of accuracy," Mr. Bergey said. "Units we've been wearing have not deviated more than three seconds a month."

In the performance of its computing and displaying functions PULSAR employs more than 40 integrated circuits, equivalent to nearly 3,500 active transistors.

With a single touch of the demand button, PULSAR will display both hours and minutes for 1 1/4 seconds. By maintaining pressure on the button seconds appear and "count-off" time for as long as