Kello

Name: Kello
Rating: 2.25 (4 reviews)

Utilities

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Kello

Utilities

2.3

4 ratings

Age Rating

Seller

Coldflower Design Corp.

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User Reviews for Kello

Fun, But Don

As watch collectors, we dreamed of a pocket instrument that could determine the error beat rate of our beloved mechanical watches; this app comes close, close enough to recommend it, with some flaws. Its great at determining the base beat rate (28,800 or 36,000 if you love Zenith, as I do, etc.) and less so at determining your error rate over 24 hours. I got better results when I isolated the watch and the iPhone's mic inside a glass or a cup, to promote echo and to eliminate outside noise. Often you will get contradictory rates in back to back measurements, so, if you are a watchmaker, DONT RELY ON IT to make adjustments to the timing, but kept in context, as a mini App that can give you an approximate reading, its worth the money. If it saves you from buying just one clunker at a Watch Show (as extreme error rates, like over 5 minutes per day, it will easily detect), its paid for itself. Developer: keep working on it, and allow us free updates--you are off to a great start!

CraigPoff, Jul 28, 2011

Great app for ones who appreciate wrist watches

I have been a Kello fan for sometime. This app does what it says it does, although are are some tricks mostly because of the limitation of the microphone on a set of Apple ear buds. The updates are much appreciated as the app works even better. I use a Bergeon watch pad to test my watches which works well. For some of my dive watches that have thick stainless cases, the microphone has a harder time capturing a frequency, but for most other watches, Kello works fine. My only suggestion is to have some sort of export feature for each timing run, and a method for saving particular watches in the app.

Dammit Nickname, Dec 07, 2014

Works after finding sweet spot.

At first I could not figure out how to get it to read, I put the microphone of my iPhone 5s on every side of the watch but only was able to get a reading when I put my phone standing up on top of the face of the watch. It only took me 10 minutes of reading and adjusting to get to run within one second for 24 hours. I am setting a Seiko 5 with a 4R36 movement and after 18 hours it is off by a half second. It is best to hack and stop the heart and restart it, it seems to pick up the adjustment better, otherwise it will show a algorithm of fast and slow for 10+ minutes and narrowing to settle in every wave up and down in speed. This is normal. It might be a good idea to let it sit for 30 minutes after adjustment to re read to get a more accurate reading. It is expensive but much cheaper than a real watch regulator and saves the guessing.

Fishhead1227, Feb 17, 2014

Great app once you can get it to work

I was occasionally able to get the app to work with my iPhone 5s using the internal mic but never with the mic/speaker cord. When I could get it to work, the app seemed to be very accurate. I tried the app on my iPad 3 and found it works much much better. The combination that did the trick for me was, as mentioned previously, using the iPad 3, a mic/speaker cable from a Galaxy 5S (no idea where my iPhone cable is but it would probably produce similar results) and placing the watch atop a closed cell neoprene mousepad and a cloth covered foam watch band separator that came with a watch case.I have used the app to regulate four mechanical watches so far and as another reviewers noted, you have to find the "sweet spot" on the watch, which was in a different spot one each timepiece. On a submariner style, it was placing the mic on the crystal, on a day/date watch it was on the back of the case, on another it was the side of the case around the 9 o'clock position, etc.The app appears to be very accurate when you find the combination of hardware that works for you. Good luck!!

ibcurtb, Apr 30, 2014

Good, but could be better

It works, but it is very fiddly. I have found that the microphone needs to make physical contact in order to work well. As many other commenters have noticed, a pillow can help isolate from other noises. Someone else noted that it would be good if the timing were integrated over a longer period. 5 or 6 seconds of data would give a more accurate, less noisy reading. Plus, from looking at the signal it often says is not there, I think it should be able to do a better job of seeing the peaks. Still, when you get it just right, and you can figure out what the real rate is, super useful tool.

JBG7474, Sep 25, 2014

Big improvement

This latest revision of the software seems to improve the ability to "lock on" to the mechanical signal a great deal. Even some quiet watches which could not be tracked with the case back closed can now be tracked simply by placing the microphone next to the case back. There is still a lot of drift as the program tries to interpolate the accuracy of the timepiece, but even this seems improved. I don't know if it is possible using the stock DSP plugins in the developer package and the stock microphone, but the ability to sense a beat error would be really really nice. For minor adjustments to the regulator this is very helpful, and with the update the efficiency is improved. If beat cannot be assessed with this technology I would be very happy just to have a system that locks on more quickly and gives a more stable instantaneous accuracy value. But this version is certainly worth the asking price, as it has saved me considerable time as compared to my previous technique of checking fine regulator adjustments using a clock.

Jurgenkjurgen, May 23, 2011

Use a pillow

**UPDATE**Just bought the new iPhone 5 and there seems to be a problem with either the new iPhone or iOS 6. The app worked once but most of the time it can't get a signal. I have an iPad 3 still running iOS 5 and its fine. So if you're running iOS 6 or have the new iPhone 5, you might want to wait for an update.For the price, this app is fantastic! It isn't perfect and does have some bugs in it, but I've been using this app for about a year and have yet to find a watch it can't listen to. The trick that works for me is a pillow. I get in a quiet room and strap the mic to either the crystal or the case back, and place a pillow over the watch to keep out other noises. Between the pillow and the slide adjustment, I've had good results. You will have watches that work better then others. I've also found that apples mic works better then third party headphone mics I've tried.This app isn't as good as a $200 + timing machine, but for the price, it's quite impressive.

Msooffutt, Oct 05, 2012

Fantastic, invaluable - best $ I've spent

The initial version of Kello had several issues -chiefly - the algorithm which determined beat rate vs ambient noise pollution was lacking. I am proud to say that Jon has done his part to revamp the program and it is now an invaluable tool for collectors and potential buyers of fine timepieces.From keeping track of chronometer accuracy to evaluating the beat rate and error of a potential purchase instantly, the Kello app manages to blend precise accuracy and reporting with a slick, powerful interface.Kello is –without a doubt- the best $8.99 I’ve ever spent on any software program- period. It is an invaluable tool to those of us who collect, buy, and sell fine timepieces. I would highly recommend purchasing this fantastic tool – especially when you consider the fact that comparable timers cost 400+ dollars.Please feel free to contact me with any questions or references.

NickDSO, May 04, 2011

Don’t waste your money.

Unable to get a signal on any watch I tried. Don’t waste your money. There are better apps available.

Parallax3D, Oct 24, 2019

Works fine guys

I know a lot about watch movements and watchmaking. I own another, fairly nice watch timer. Kello works very well considering the price. You must use iPhone mic and a pillow as they suggest. You must be patient and quiet while it takes readings and analyses them. And you must remember that the rate does drift and is vastly different in different positions. All this said, it worked well for me using a cased eta 2824. Who would expect it to equal or even compare to a $2000 timer? Be patient - like a real watchmaker - and it'll work for you too.

Uncle Aina, Feb 08, 2012

Description

Kello analyzes the precision of mechanical watches against the iOS system clock using a microphone. How Kello works: All mechanically regulated watches are designed to start and stop 1000s of times every hour. A portion of the energy used during this starting and stopping motion is released as acoustic energy, resulting in an audible "tick-tock" sound.

The regularity of this sound can be measured against the more precise, internal time-signal of iOS devices, such as the iPhone, and the resulting difference in timekeeping is displayed by Kello. Supported Watch Frequencies: Kello can automatically determine the frequency of the watch being measured based on eight of the most common frequencies used in mechanical watches. These frequencies are standard among low-, middle- and high-grade mechanical timepieces and will accommodate the vast majority of mechanical watches produced in the past 100 years. The following frequencies are supported: * 14,400 bph * 16,200 bph * 18,000 bph * 19,800 bph * 21,600 bph * 25,200 bph * 28,800 bph * 36,000 bph Recommended hardware: Kello works best with an external microphone that has an excellent frequency response between 10,000 and 20,000 Hz. How to know if your watch is mechanically regulated: There are four simple ways to determine if your watch is mechanical and can be used with Kello. 1. Look at the text on your timepiece. If the word "quartz" is featured anywhere on the watch, your watch is not mechanical. If the words "automatic" or "shock-proof" are written anywhere on the watch, there is a very high chance that your watch is mechanical and its precision can be measured by Kello. 2. If your watch has a hand that indicates the seconds, observe how frequently it moves. If the hand moves only once every second, it is very likely that your watch is not mechanical. If this hand moves several times per second or appears to sweep along in a smooth, continuous motion, your watch is most likely mechanical and its precision can be measured by Kello. 3. Turn the crown, that is used to set the hands of the watch, while it is pressed fully in. If the crown turns smoothly, your watch is not mechanical. If you can hear a ratcheting sound as you turn the crown, your watch is most likely mechanical and its precision can be measured by Kello. 4. Place the watch close to your ear and listen. If you hear a noise approximately once every second, it is unlikely that your watch is mechanical. If you hear a constant ticking noise, your watch is very likely a mechanical watch and its precision can be measured by Kello.