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More Casio Watch Mods

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Re: More Casio Watch Mods

#131
post #61

As an engineer I like these watches because they keep time extremely accurately. The drift on mine is something like 1-2 seconds per month.

What oscillator are they using? Things like the DS3231 (which are temperature-compensated crystal oscillators) only do about +/- 2ppm, which is about +/- 1 seconds per week. You can tune them to do better (mine has been running at about -0.007ppm for a while), but on the tin, they appear to be worse than what you reported. (And they go to great lengths to be that accurate.)

My main conclusion is that I want a watch with one of these in it: https://www.microsemi.com/product-directory/embedded-clocks-...

Re: More Casio Watch Mods

#133
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't have been surprised to find out my F-91W was counterfeit! But I just went and watched a "30 ways to tell if your Casio watch is fake" video on YouTube and it looks like my watch is legitimate. I probably wasn't careful enough with the strap, it just disintegrated at one of the connections to the face.

> it just disintegrated at one of the connections to the face That's a very common problem on the inexpensive Casios. When it happened to my watch I found that new watch cost less than a new strap.

I found the same, though I couldn't bring myself to buy another watch just because it was cheaper. So I bought some NATO straps and have been really happy with them. Perfect watch for me now.

Re: More Casio Watch Mods

#134
post #11

I've been wearing a Casio F-91W for a number of years now and it really is a joy. It's always there, and it always works. I've gone down the rabbit hole with expensive time pieces but they become a burden / obligation rather than a tool - especially as the prices of certain pieces in the secondary market have gone so high - so over time I've reverted back to much cheaper watches and find myself getting more joy out o…

> I've gone down the rabbit hole with expensive time pieces but they become a burden / obligation rather than a tool If you want something that looks nice and is a Casio, search "casio edifice" on ebay, used, you can find many good watches under $100. randomly chosen example https://www.ebay.com/itm/192205400394?epid=19011028556&hash=...

I think I've had that, but the wristband is _so_heavy_.

Re: More Casio Watch Mods

#135
there are a handful of neat mods. For color and better waterproofing, you can tint mineral oil with an oil based dye [1] and have any color you want.

With my own, I 'turned off' the beeping by applying a little electrical tape to the rear cover.

I also have a NATO strap, but there isn't anything fancy there.

[1] https://youtu.be/W3K27gfgdKU?t=385

Re: More Casio Watch Mods

#136

I love the F-91W and wore one for years before switching to an Apple Watch. I don't see myself switching back to the Casio, but I do miss it sometimes and wanted to bring as much of it over to the Apple Watch as possible, so I put the Casio band on it [0], but I haven't been able to put together an Apple Watch face that resembles the Casio. Has anyone else tried this and had any luck? [0] https://jamesbvaughan.com/ca…

What home screen is that on your Apple Watch?

Re: More Casio Watch Mods

#137
post #122
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can only chime in and support this claim about Citizen. I have had one of their Eco-drive models for about 15 years now and it has had months in drawers or laying on shelves not being used, but it has never stopped working. I am so impressed with that watch!

yes, I love mine too. However, after a very dark december mine stopped (and I was very confused by it ;)). Had to put it on the window sill for a few days for it to work again. My personal advice for anyone looking would be the following triumvirate: solar ("eco-drive"), sapphire glass (never mineral glass!), radio controlled. It just works - you don't have to do anything ever again (except maybe if you have a decemb…

I recall reading that the radio time signal is being decommissioned in the us

Re: More Casio Watch Mods

#138
As a burgeoning watch nerd, solar-powered atomic clock radio-sync models are currently the only thing I collect, and Casio consistently has the best implementation of the concept. There's a purity of purpose that smartwatches can only aspire to... I don't need to worry about charging it, I don't need to worry about setting it, I can just throw it on and go. It does exactly what it's supposed to do, no more, no less. Right now, I'm putting a lot of wrist time on a G-Shock GWX-5600-1JF, a Japan import G-Shock square that also features moon and tide graphs at the top of the display. Primarily meant for surfers, I gather, though my intended application is surf fishing. I also picked up a JaysAndKays NATO strap conversion kit: https://www.ebay.com/str/jaysandkays as I did manage to bend one of the stock link pins by snagging the edge of the watch case while doing yard work. A full-length NATO strap through both link pins and across the back of the case means I'm not at risk of losing the watch if something similar happens again.

In my cursory research, it seems like Citizen and Seiko solar atomic models don't automatically set daylight-savings time when using the WWVB clock signal? If that's consistently true, it's kind of a bummer... not having to worry about resetting for DST is a big advantage. When the time change comes around, I usually end up resetting all the other clocks and watches in the house off one of my Casios, right down to the second. Fun party trick. :)

Re: More Casio Watch Mods

#139

I have 3 Oceanus (Casio boutique brand) watches. The two that I got in Japan actually have “Casio” under the “Oceanus” label. They are great watches. Not especially cheap, but they are far better than my kilobuck Junghans. I wear none of them, though. I have been wearing my Apple Watch (cheaper than the Oceanus watches) for the last couple of years.

Nick Shabazz on YouTube has good reviews of one of the limited-edition top-end Oceanus models, OCW-S5000C-1AJF:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTXFG27NNhI

and the entry-level OCW-T200:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELn3ubqjVWU

There's a few good sites offering export of Japan-only models from the various Japanese manufacturers: https://www.shoppinginjapan.net/ https://www.sakurawatches.com/

I'm trying to find enough room in my meager budget for a T200, as it seems they may be discontinuing the model with the light blue dial. Slightly more expensive than the most basic Apple watch.

Assuming you're in the US, have you had to deal with Casio USA for service at all? Since the Oceanus models are Japan-only, I am wondering if they would even bother offering any repairs.

Re: More Casio Watch Mods

#140
post #61

As an engineer I like these watches because they keep time extremely accurately. The drift on mine is something like 1-2 seconds per month.

What oscillator are they using? Things like the DS3231 (which are temperature-compensated crystal oscillators) only do about +/- 2ppm, which is about +/- 1 seconds per week. You can tune them to do better (mine has been running at about -0.007ppm for a while), but on the tin, they appear to be worse than what you reported. (And they go to great lengths to be that accurate.) My main conclusion is that I want a watch w…

I imagine the actual drift rate is normally distributed around 0 with 2 std deviations within 2 ppm or similar.

Maybe I'm wrong. But I recall having not adjusted the clock for longer than a year and it only being about half a minute off.

I just like to tell myself I got an accurate one out of the batch :P

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