Casio AW80 and AW81 (with instructions on how to set)
I bought this, sold it, then bought it again - this time for keeps.
The first thing I'll say is that the Casio AW80 watch comes in several flavors. White dial, black dial, resin strap, metal bracelet, nylon strap, different case colors and so on. But no matter how it looks, they all function the same.
The AW81 is functionally the same watch as the AW80. They all use Casio module 2747.
This is the second time I've bought this watch. I sold it originally a while back, but then re-bought it because it's the only ana-digi that has all the functions I want on a cloth strap. Okay, actually that's not true. There is the Timex Expedition T45181 that also has a nylon strap, but I prefer the Casio.
Since nobody has ever documented this properly, I'll instruct how to set time/date and how to use the telememo feature.
How to set the time and date on the Casio AW80
I'm going to describe this so you can set the clock and date in the fastest possible way.
Setting the digital clock
Do this first before anything else.
Long press of top left button activates time setting, starting with seconds.
Short press bottom right button to reset seconds to zero.
Press bottom left button to go to DST (Daylight Savings Time) setting, which will either be ON or OFF.
Press bottom right button to switch DST to ON or OFF, your choice.
Press bottom left button to switch to hour setting.
Use top right button to decrease hour, or bottom right button to increase hour.
Press bottom left to switch to minutes setting.
Use top right button to decrease minute, or bottom right button to increase minute.
Press bottom left button to switch to year setting.
Set year using top/bottom right side buttons.
Press bottom left button to switch to month.
Set month using top/bottom right side buttons.
Press bottom left button to switch to date.
Set date using top/bottom right side buttons.
Press bottom left to return to seconds.
Press top left to exit settings.
Setting the analog clock
Repeatedly press the bottom left button until you see H-S on the digital display, then stop.
Long press the top left button until the digital display starts flashing.
At this point, the analog clock can be set using the bottom right button and ONLY that button. A short press increases the minute hand by 20 seconds. Pressing and holding the bottom right fast-scrolls the time forward.
The easiest way to set the analog clock is by following this example:
If the digital time reads 10:09, you know the next minute is 10:10. Adjust the analog clock to about 10:08 (it will make sense why you do this in a moment). When the digital clock shows the next minute, 10:10 and 0 seconds, you have 20 seconds to set your analog clock exactly to that minute. Adjust your analog clock to 10:10 before 20 seconds have elapsed, and both the digital and analog clocks will be perfectly synchronized.
You will notice that the AW80 doesn't have a seconds hand. You will also notice the AW80 moves the minute hand every 20 seconds (at 0 seconds, 20 seconds, 40 seconds) that follows the digital clock. This is why you have a 20 second window to synchronize both clocks to-the-second.
"Home" screen a.k.a. main timekeeping screen:
Short single press of top left button switches between digital clock and day-month-date display. If your AW80 doesn't do this, you're on the H-S screen and not the home screen. Press the bottom left button and then you're back to the home screen, and your top left button will toggle between clock and day-month-date.
Short single press of bottom right button switches between 12-hour and 24-hour digital clock.
Single press of top right button is the night light, which illuminates for 1.5 seconds.
Creating, editing and deleting telememo records
This is a feature that lets you store up to 30 records and is notoriously difficult when you don't know how to manage records. It is easy once you actually know how to do it.
Each record can contain a name of letters and/or numbers, and a phone number of just numbers.
The first thing you usually see on this screen is TEL F:30. That means Telememo with 30 records available to be written to.
Each record can have a name of 8 letter/number/symbol characters, and a number of 16 number/symbol characters.
Entering a telememo record
The way this works is that you enter the name first, then the number - but you have to use all 8 spaces before getting to the number. This will make sense in a moment.
Press both right side buttons to start a new record so the top of the LCD displays three hyphens (---), then long press the top left button until you see a flashing line. Use the right side buttons to enter the first letter or number, then press the bottom left button to move the cursor right. Use the right side buttons to enter the next letter or number, then press the bottom left button to move the cursor right.
When finished with the name, press the bottom left button repeatedly until the cursor jumps from the right to the left. When this happens, you have reached the end of the name field and are now in the number field. The cursor will be slightly skinnier. Enter the number the same way you did the name.
When finished with the number, press the top left button to save the telememo record.
On the telememo screen, each record can be scrolled through using the bottom right button. You will only see the name of each record and its record index number below that. To view the number (as in the number you entered) for any record, view the record first, then press the top left button to view the number you entered for that record.
Editing a telememo record
View the record you want to edit. Long press the top left button. When the display starts flashing, you can start editing the same way you entered the record originally. When finished, press the top left to save/exit.
Deleting a telememo record
View the record you want to delete. Press the top left button until the digital display starts flashing. Press and hold both right side buttons. CLR will momentarily appear on the display. When the display is blank, release the buttons and the record is deleted. Press top left button to exit. Press bottom right button to examine if there are any other records you want to delete and repeat deletion process if desired.
Where can a telememo feature actually be useful?
This feature is most useful for real-world (meaning not online) things.
A few examples of memos you could use:
The combination to your padlock. If you name the memo PAD or just PL, you know what lock that number combination goes to.
A door with a keypad that requires a PIN for entry. You could name that one DR.
Using it for its intended purpose, storing phone numbers. If you use multiple phones and can't synchronize the contact list between phones for whatever reason, you can use the AW80 instead to retrieve phone numbers.
True, there isn't any way to protect the data in the AW80, however that's only a problem if a) somebody else has your watch, b) they actually know how to use the telememo feature (highly unlikely), and c) also know from your entries what they apply to (also highly unlikely).
In other words, safety of the data within the Casio AW80 is "security through obscurity".
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Published 2022 Dec 8