a conversation with the man behind the fabulous Synchronar!
Roger Riehl, inventor of the Synchronar, died on Feb. 16, 2005 due to
lingering complications of an illness.
We will gratefully remember him for developing and his continuing work
on the Synchronar Solar-Powered LED watch.
Our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
by Guy Ball, copyright 1998-2003. All rights reserved. Contact for permission to reprint. Do not reuse without permission.
(Update: March 2005. My understanding from a friend of the family is that the family intends to continue the business of making Synchronars. However, at this time, no plans have been formalized and a great deal is dependant on the settling of the business and the estate. My understanding is that the Mark V module has not been manufactured. Knowing what I do about the production of integrated circuits, quite a bit of work needs to be done before production-level IC chips will be available. The last time I spoke with Roger, he no longer had many (any?) of the previous Mark IV chips. So, even if the family goes back into business, I assume it will take a while to have spare IC parts. I will share any updated information that becomes available to me. Meanwhile, if you had sent money or watches for repair to Roger in the past, I would send Custom Circuits a short letter detailing what you sent and the approximate date. This will help them confirm that you had sent something to Roger.)
(Note: In July 2003, a Ness Time Synchronar came up for sale on ebay. Prior to this, we spelled Ness Time as Nestime. We have modified the article to reflect this new spelling.)
Thanks to Todd Stephenson of Estate Sale Warehouse for the use of these wonderful photos of the Synchronar. Also see our Photo page for many more Synchronar versions - including Ragen, Riehl, Ness Time, and Sun Watch.
Thanks to David Sanborn for the use of this photo
Thanks to mtobias for the use of this photo
Synchronar-related photos:In the late 1960s, Roger Riehl had a idea. The consumate tinkerer/engineer, Riehl was intrigued by the concept of an all-electronic watch with some sort of digital display. (Remember, this was a time when most watches were still all-mechanical with round dials and hands that pointed to numbers.)
From easily available parts Riehl purchased in the fall of 1967, he breadboarded a small watch that used various micro-circuits, discrete components, and an odd display made with wire filaments for the various number segments. It worked, not that he was too surprised. And as his friends showed amazement, his mind jumped to a dream of building a production watch that could be the first of a new generation of electronic timepieces.
A few years later (and after many hours of "midnight engineering"), Riehl developed a successful design and found himself searching for a company to make the custom integrated circuit to control this new electronic watch. As early as May 1970, he had several working models of the watch – by now using a light emitting diode (LED) display. He traveled to the east coast of the United States to scout out an IC manufacturing house to make the watches for his company, Riehl Electronics (of Troy, Ohio).
He landed on the steps of Ragen Semiconductor (RSI) of Whippany, New Jersey, a subsidiary of Ragen Precision Industries, which had begun to make small quantities of CMOS integrated circuits for customers. Riehl paid Ragen to integrate his circutry but quickly found their expertise lacking. He ended up working with them to improve their processes and yields just so he could have some chips for his watch.
While the watch was actually a Synchronous Chronometer Calendar, Riehl created the acronym Synchronar®, a much more attractive name and one likened a bit to Telstar, a very early communications satellite that caught the interest of consumers. Synchronar® had the correct pizzaz for the name of a new-technology product.
This sleek and futuristic looking watch featured solar panels on the top to recharge some small internal nickel cadmium (nicad) battery cells inside. The display was made of red LEDs which could be viewed from the side of the case. The case was initially available only in solid gold or stainless steel.
In January 1971, when Riehl had shown his working models, he had garnered some good publicity about the watch in regional papers and nationally, via the UPI and AP news services. By July 1972, he had production watches available and sold some to Hammlecker Schlemmer, the upscale consumer product catalog company.
In 1972, a California company, Ness Time, promoted the watch and was given an opportunity to sell the watch exclusively, providing they find a manufacturer to produce the microcircuit for Riehl. When their efforts proved unsuccessful, Riehl went to Ragen, bringing with him the knowledge he had gleaned from his west coast effort. Eventually he became president of Ragen Semiconductor. In May 1974 the Ragen Synchronar® was officially announced to the world markets.
Sales started off good with Ragen selling through fine jewelers. However, over the next few years, sales (and profits) began to drop. As in pocket calculators, the market was becoming crowded with competitors who sold LED watches that may not have been made as well – but were enough for a general public clamoring for lower prices.
By 1976, LCD watches began to come onto the market in large quantities, reducing prices even more. LCD watches also reduced the power requirements and the need for the near-constant replacement of batteries in some of the LED watches on the market. Consumers started to move away from LED watches and that unfortunately included the high-end Synchronar®.
In January 1977, Riehl purchased the almost bankrupt Ragen Semiconductor, acquiring all of the remaining stock and spare parts of his Synchronar®. He renamed the company Riehl Time Corp. and focused on advanced circuits for the military and direct mail marketing for the watch. Some specialized electronic sellers like Trendsetters, Beacon, Starshine Electronics, and Future Concepts were also selling the watch.
By late 1981, Riehl Time was doing most of their own direct sales marketing and in 1982 grossed over $1 million in watch sales. They exported over 3,000 pieces to Japan alone.
Riehl continued his work as a design engineer and electronic problem solver. His new company, Custom Circuits, took over the assets of Riehl Time in 1985. Between other projects, he assembled some of the remaining cases and internals and sold them to collectors and those who appreciated such things as the Synchronar®. He also handled all of the service replacements.
Today, Roger Riehl hasn't forgotten the Synchronar®. He continues to improve the basic circuitry on the watch and is working on the design for the newest version – the Mark V. This model includes a digital frequency synthesizer for increased accuracy and reliability. He expects to sell an upscale version of the digital watch when the new module is completed (2004?).
The Synchronar® moved from the glint in the eye of an electronic inventor to one of the world's most beautiful electronic watches. Today, we're fortunate to enjoy a digital wristwatch that ranks in the top of its class – both in advanced technology and in its superlative design – the Synchronar®.
Facts & Other Information:
The watch was called a Synchronar® 2100 – named for the year 2100 when the Leap Year cycle has its next exception. The Synchronar® circuitry automatically adjusts for leap year.
From 1971 to date, over 50,000 Sychronars were sold – about 20,000 with the Ragen name. In the late 1970s, the mail order company Starshine also sold about 8,000 watches. Riehl Time themselves sold over 12,000. Over the years, about 60,000 modules were actually made.
In the Ragen era, the watches cost about $500 for a stainless steel case, $650 for gold plate, $1200 for solid gold, and $550 for a black ceramic coated stainless steel. By the end of the 1970s, the prices had dropped down as low as $129.95 for the stainless steel via mail order. This version, called "the Sun Watch," was created when some cases made for the Synchronar® did not have the steel rod crossing over the solar panels. Riehl improvised and used a plastic rod to save the cases from scrap. He didn't leave anything to waste!
Due to the encapsulation of the watch electronics in a sealed Lexan® case, the watch has been certified to over 700 feet for diving. During the early 1980s, Dive Time of Long Island, New York, sold the watch through Scuba diving shops as the "Dive Master."
The watch itself has a very interesting battery system. The rechargeable nicad-cells are hermetically sealed button batteries which do not leak moisture. Unlike most nicads which leak and have a limited lifetime, this superior, steel-jacketed battery will last the life of the watch (and then some!). The only problem Riehl noted was that for a year or two during the early 1980s, the supplier of batteries had made some with defective seals which caused electrical problems and watch failures. This has been corrected.
The Synchronar® has another interesting feature; it automatically resets the time – twice a year – for Daylight Savings Time (DST). The Mark IV module, introduced in 1981 had a feature designed into its circuitry that adjusts the time – forward or backward – as appropriate. Oddly enough though, while the circuit changes the time correctly in the fall, the spring setting is three weeks late. The reason is that in 1985 – four years after the module's design, the US government decided that DST should begin in the first week of April, rather than the last week as originally set. With the change proving too costly at this point to throw out all of existing modules, the decision was to leave the flaw in and change it in the Mark V module redesign. (The feature can be turned off by users.)
For more information about the Synchronar, contact the company at:
Custom Circuits Corp.
191 Spurr St.
New Berlin, NY 13411 USA
This site and this author do not have any business connection with Roger Riehl, Custom Circuits, or his surviving family. There has been some issues with readers noting problems with purchases, repairs, and long-delayed deliveries from Custom Circuits. While we knew Roger to be an honest person, we suspect there are some manufacturing and commitment issues in some of these transactions. This article and the contact information are for information only. I do not take any responsibility for transactions with Roger and Custom Circuits. I apologize for including this sort of "legal disclaimer" among my internet friends, but I want to be clear on this issue.
For more information on LED Watches, visit The reference section of www.TheDigitalWatch.com">http://www.LEDWATCHES.NET
The reference section of www.TheDigitalWatch.com
