Casio AB-200 Databank Watch (Module 321)
Casio AB-200 Databank Watch (Module 321)
18/6/22
Hello fellow Casio watch enthusiasts, collectors and welcome to my post.
As the title suggests, this post will be about the Casio AB-200 Data Bank watch. You may be aware (if you have read my previous posts), I have been looking for a good example for a long time now but finally, I have one on it's way to me. The actual watch is the one in the picture below and are the pictures I based my decision on to buy it. They are not the best pictures in the world and to be fair, the watch is not the best example of an AB-200 but it's the best I can afford at this moment. It is finished in silver with as best as I can see, has a white dial. I do believe the AB-200 silver came with either a white dial or a black dial. Whereas the AB-200G (gold) could come with a white, black or gold dial. To be honest I like the silver watch, both with either the white or black dial. I am just pleased to at last secured one! Another cool feature of this watch, is the all important second hand (for me at least).
A closer look at the face of the watch reveals the marks, scratches on the glass and case. The strap too is scratched and marked.
Looking at the right hand side of the watch, the case is quite clean where others examples have the chrome peeling away but this one looks ok. The buttons still have their chrome as does the crown wheel.
To the left hand side of the watch, the buttons are also quite clean again with the chrome work intact. At this angle, the display faces also don't look too bad!!
As you can see the strap has some marks, but it doesn't look scratched. However, that might prove to be a different situation when I have the watch in hand.
I will have to download a manual for the watch before it arrives to get familiar with the functions. When the watch does arrive, I will first clean it before I present it to you. I will then describe the watch functions and any problems I have encountered.
In the meantime..
Whilst searching for an AB-200 instruction manual (of which still remains illusive), I did come across a picture of what I can only assume as an AB-200 that has been tampered with,
and or is a mixture of maybe 2 broken AB-200's to try and build a good one.
My reason behind my beliefs are..
As you can clearly see, the watch and strap are silver. But if you look a little closer (arrowed), the hands and 5 minute markers are gold. The rest of the watch looks awesome, but I think it is a mix of parts, to try and make a working model. This is possibly to fool an unsuspecting buyer into thinking it is valuable. From the limited information I can draw from, is that, the silver watch has silver furnishing and the gold has gold furnishings. I mean silver on silver and gold on gold.
Again, another clear picture showing the 5 minute markers that are gold and should be silver. Another reason I believe this watch is a mix of parts is that, it simply doesn't work. I imagine the owner has luckily found 2 AB-200's of different colour, one of the modules wasn't working whereas the other module was working. That person has then (call me Holmes) tried to install the working mechanism inside a lovely AB-200 strap and case and damaged the working module. These modules are very old, very sensitive and never meant to be removed from their case!! The digital display is also part of the analogue display circuit wise, but are both powered from the same battery so damage has been caused to both displays.
Again we see the gold hands and indicators very clearly.
If I had not been researching this watch, I would have been clueless to the massive flaw to be seen here. I have seen some Casio watches rebuilt, in the past to an almost perfect standard, but the people who rebuilt them had the knowledge and the correct tools to do so. In this instance, that was not the case, and 2 possibly saveable watches were left as scrap or for parts only.
I have read articles were experienced watch makers have resurrected the very rare and collectable Casio DBX-100 to the highest of standards. However, these people are few and far between and that watch in particular could fetch as much as £10K, if in the right condition. If you have the original box and instructions, I would expect to command a lot more money!
I hope this little piece of information is helpful for you to avoid buying scrap watches that are bits of this and that. Please instead check the information you are presented with and compare it with a known good example!!
And it's finally here. I did give it a little clean, other than that I am very happy with the watch. I will be doing a further deep clean on the watch to try and get every piece of dirt removed. It will then look almost brand new.
As you can see, there are still areas with a lot of grime that I will remove later. I am sure 99% of the dirt can be removed.
I have been gladly surprised by the whole condition of the watch so far. I am so happy that the display glass is not scratched on either face. Also super happy that the LCD display is very clear with no segments missing! The second hand is also properly calibrated meaning it hits every second marker perfectly.
The strap is in good condition considering the age of it and it does have some marks. I may be able to remove some, but maybe not all. And on the scale of things, I am quite happy (so far) to take that on the chin. I may also replace the strap for a Casio black plastic version, to keep the original strap in the best condition I can. Saying that, I may not wear this watch in fear of damaging it.
I will be updating this post quite quickly as I want to fully test and inspect the watch for possible faults. I will then give a description of the functions on the watch and how to set each of them. The manual for this watch seems non existent as I cannot find one anywhere. In fact, there is little general information on this watch, like the fact of the year of manufacture and the battery type it uses.
In the picture above, the watch has been had a thorough deep clean that took a couple of hours. As I had stated previously, I wanted to inspect, test and clean the watch quite quickly to ensure it was fully operational and I forgot to take any pictures. DOH! The strap was removed and cleaned in 3 separate pieces, the top strap, bottom strap and clasp. I also removed the back case to ensure everything was as it should be inside. Whilst the back case was removed, the inspection revealed everything was in place as to the best of my limited knowledge. The battery holder was present as was the case seal to my amazement. With the back case removed I took the opportunity to clean wherever I could!! When I had the back removed from the watch, I noticed that the main watch case is metal and the screw holes had tiny threaded inserts inside. Although the watch case is made from some type of metal, it isn't what you would call super attracted to a magnet. Even the super strong magnets have little attraction to the case, but it is metal!
After cleaning the watch case, I replaced the watch back and disaster struck. Two of the six back case screws were misplaced. I found one of the two missing screws and one is still missing. DOH.
Yes, I am annoyed at myself for losing the screw but on reflection, this watch has turned out better than my expectation and believe me, that doesn't happen often. So I will need a new screw (it not a set of six), to complete the watch.
I do love the looks of this watch and it has turned out better than expected. There is as usual a price on everything. This watch was not a cheap fixer upper, neither was it pristine. It doesn't have a box, instructions or any paper work to back it up. However, I will put a value on it of at least £240. It is in extremely good condition in every detail and is fully functional. The glass on either screen is unmarked. The buttons are shiny as is the crown wheel. These features add immense value to a watch of the calibre. It is a very rare watch, and to find one in this condition is becoming increasingly difficult if not almost impossible. But, I did find one and this gives me great hope of finding further gems in the future.
Functions and Operation
In this first section, I will be concentrating on the LCD and it's various functions. In the above picture the LCD screen is currently showing the day, date, time and alarm activation symbol. The green arrow is pointing to the day, with the yellow arrow pointing to the date. The blue arrow is pointing to the alarm activation symbol. The yellow arrow is indication the time in hours, the pink is indicating the minutes of the hour and under the pink arrow is the seconds. Also, where the blue arrow is pointing to the alarm symbol, there would be (if it were set) be another little indicator right in the middle to identify that the hourly chime signal is activated.
Whilst on the time and date page, the time format can be changed to 24hr by pressing the button marked with the red arrow. To change back to 12hour format, simply press the button once again. The full format date can be displayed by pressing the green arrow button once and back again by repressing the same button.
At this point I have to mention, this watch does not have a perpetual calendar and ended in 2019. The year of the watch now has to be set to a corresponding year to keep the day and date correct. On this particular year, the watch has been set to 1980 (pictured below) as the days correspond to 2022.
I know that is a strange fact and to me it says that Casio did have a lot of faith in the watch and it should actually survive 34 years of service. I have used those figures as this watch was released in 1985. AT release, it had a hefty price tag too of £120, so it wasn't a cheap watch then.
Setting the Time & Date
In the picture above, the watch is on the time and date page. To set the time and date, this screen must be used. You will also note that I have identified the four buttons A to D. To adjust/set the time press button A once and then the seconds will start to flash, to increase the value press C until the desired value is reached or the D button to decrease the value. To change the selection to the minutes section, press the B button and the minutes will then start flashing. Again the minutes can go up or down using the C & D button's respectively. Once the hours have been set, press the B button again and this will take you to the year. As I previous stated, the calendar of this watch is not perpetual and ran out in 2019 and therefore this watch is set to 1980 to keep the date correct. I have found, each of the days and dates are not connected to the year and can be set to the individuals choice. Only the year will be wrong. Pressing B again will make the month flash ready to be adjusted. Pressing B again will make the date flash ready to be adjusted. and pressing one final time will make the day flash, ready to be adjusted. Once the time and date are set, press the A button once and it will be set!
Functions/Modes
As you can see from the picture above, the green arrow is indicating the "Mode" button and the pressing of this button will cycle through the functions the watch. I will go through the adjustment of each function and capabilities, later in the post.
Pressing the mode button:-
1. 20 page name and number Telememo menu.
2. Alarms (X3) and hourly chime signal.
Daily Alarm no.1
Alarm no.2
Alarm no.3
Hourly Signal/chime. The pink arrow on the right is pointing to the little square dot indicating the hour chime is activated.
3. Timer.
4. Stop watch.
5. Back to date and time.
Detailed Setting and Adjustment of The Functions.
In this section, I will be detailing each function and adjustment on this watch in the order they appear in the menu.
Telememo Function & Programming.
The above picture has the buttons identified A to D, that I will use as an aid to explain the telememo functions and operation.
Inputting a name
Press the B button once to take me to the telememo function. It can then be adjusted by pressing the A button once and the word "Name" will appear on the display. A three letter name can then be input by using the C button to go up the alphabet and the D button to go down the alphabet. There is also a small selection of characters to choose from.
Inputting a number
Once a name has been chosen, press the A button once and the word "Number" will appear on the display. A 12 digit number can now be input using the C and D buttons, with the C going 0-9 and the D button 9-0. Once the number is input, press the A button to store the name and number. When in the name and number screen, I can scroll through the entries using the C and D buttons. To return to the time, day and date screen, press the B button once.
I hope you will find this post useful for both purchasing and the operating of the Casio AB-200 Telememo watch.
Take care Casio enthusiasts!!
18/7/2022
casiotribe.com 2022
I do love this watch!!
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