Watch guys: When would you actually use a tachmeter?

[Dobermann]

For all of you watch guys: when would you actually use a tachymeter?

And let's get it out of the way up front: yes, what prompted the question is that I have the option to buy a watch at a good price, which happens to have a tachymeter. No, not looking for "purchase confirmation", but genuinely interested in their use.

I've read up on how tachymeters are used, and I'm not sure that I'd ever be in a position with a known start and finish point for a set distance to measure speed.

I'm also pretty sure that if I was able to travel at a consistent rate of speed in a car, then I'd know how far I've travelled. If I'm in my own car, I figure it's going to have a speedometer and an odometer.

Timing cars racing around a track isn't a functional use for me. The best I've read online is of people checking their speedometers if they think they're broken, or perhaps got new tires.

Is there any functional use for a tachymeter? I've seen military imagery/iconography used in ads to sell watches with them - is there a functional use in military contexts?

Sure, cellphones are used as arguments against all kinds of "old tech" and we don't need to point that out here (I still like slide rules, and can usually turn to a page in a diary faster than colleagues can look up electronic calendars). I'm even interested in what might have been genuine late 1800s/early 1900s use for a tachy that could apply now - or some kind of future grid-down/TEOTWAWKI/Red Dawn/Terminator scenario uses, figuring this would be a timepiece I'd hand down to my son.

So ... what functional use does a tachymeter have? Have you ever used one, and for what? What can you imagine using one for?

 

[nikonNUT]

I honestly think its a cool factor and it is a "cool" factor but in the days of phone stop watches and GPS based speed over ground apps it's a feature. Could it have a use? Absolutely! If you are tech-less it could be handy. If you the like the watch the tachymeter should not be a deal breaker whether you need it or not. I have a rotating bezel on my dive watches. Do regret it being there or regret getting the watch because I never use it? Not all at. It's a feature, a feature that I rarely use.

 

[Dobermann]

I honestly think its a cool factor and it is a "cool" factor but in the days of phone stop watches and GPS based speed over ground apps it's a feature. Could it have a use? Absolutely! If you are tech-less it could be handy. If you the like the watch the tachymeter should not be a deal breaker whether you need it or not. I have a rotating bezel on my dive watches. Do regret it being there or regret getting the watch because I never use it? Not all at. It's a feature, a feature that I rarely use.

Thanks, copy all that - but what uses do you actually see for it if you were tech-less?

Actual use cases / actual problems to solve or things to know. Actual application.

That's what I'm wanting to hear ideas on.

 

[roostercogburn98]

Maybe a backup style device in a submarine? Not sure how much gps they get deep down.

 

[WaywardSon]

I have a old Tag Heuer with a Tac. Cool factor: Yes Functional these days: Not really.

One thing to keep in mind, a watch with a tachymeter will be more expensive to service when the time comes.

 

[chevy_man]

When I drop steaks on the grill I push the button.

1 minute per flip. 2-10 minutes depending on if they're 1/2" thick or 2" thick.

Literally the only thing I've ever used it for. Mine only goes to 1 hour. Never needed to know .1 seconds either....

 

[Athos300]

When I drop steaks on the grill I push the button.

1 minute per flip. 2-10 minutes depending on if they're 1/2" thick or 2" thick.

Literally the only thing I've ever used it for. Mine only goes to 1 hour. Never needed to know .1 seconds either....

Best. Use. Ever.

 

[Yasherka]

I always used one of these

 

[FWoo45]

When I drop steaks on the grill I push the button.

1 minute per flip. 2-10 minutes depending on if they're 1/2" thick or 2" thick.

Literally the only thing I've ever used it for. Mine only goes to 1 hour. Never needed to know .1 seconds either....

I've used one for few things, but I always use it as a cooking timer, especially when searing/grilling steaks.

 

[lonegunman762x51]

I've used it a few times. I am currently wearing a Hamilton Chrono with a tach. While they are interesting, for day to day use they are not epically useful. The stopwatch function with seconds and a 30 min timers is handy on occasion. It does make for a stylish watch.

 

[n2ishun]

Oh I dunno.....maybe what it was originally intended for ?

Scuba diving ?

Your phone doesn't work at 75 foot underwater.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

By tachymeter… you mean the stopwatch function? Because you only need a second hand to operate a tachymeter (which is really just a numbered bezel.) So not really more complex.

The complexity comes in with a chronograph (stopwatch function.) Where you are now combining a watch with a stopwatch. And it has lots of uses, too. Or did before smart phones made apps for everything f.

How to Use a Chronograph Watch | Gear Patrol

A chronograph offers genuine utility with its ability to easily time events. This is how to operate one.

www.gearpatrol.com

A true tachymeter bezel (or dial engraving) can be used for a lot if things. It measures output (how many widgets are getting produced). Beats per time for heart rate. Miles per hour. Distance covered… how fast is a plane moving above you… how far away is a storm? Where is that artillery battery?

Tachymeter (watch) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Lots of cool bezels out there with specific purposes that add little or no complexity to the watch. Tachymeter. GMT/Second time zone. Tide bezel. Dive bezels to track tanks or ascents. Even complex slide rule bezels (Navitimer) for doing aircraft navigation, fuel consumption, etc. even just bezels that made “synchronize watches” easy.

Lots of watches now just throw on some variant of bezel for looks and cool factor. And folks never look up how to ‘use’ all the functions. But in the days before iPhones… the right bezel and the right set of hands let a watch do a lot of things.

And you picked a watch that did “your” thing and, yes, used it.

Used right, a tachymeter bezel has some applications in long range shooting or range finding.

I’ll post some bezels later if I think of it.

Cheers, Sirhr

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Handful of bezels doing different stuff…

Classic tachymeter

Driving watch with MPH…. Sweep hand tells you speed on measured mile.

Tide bezel. Used to know when you are swimming with or against tides.

Classic dive bezel. 1 hour with 15 minute warning.

Aviation theme watch with speed calculator on rim.

Lots of cool ways to use them!

Sirhr