Modifying the Casio W800H and W96H to add the Countdown Timer Function
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- Опубликовано: 17 ноя 2021
- This is a follow-up to my In Depth Review of the Casio W800H and the Casio W96H here... • Casio W800H and W96H I...
These watches are easily available and, at the time of this recording, you could find them for about $16 up to about $20. They feature regular timekeeping, an alarm which can be activated with or without a snooze, hourly signal, 24-hour stopwatch and a Dual Time mode for showing some other time zone. But these watches don't come with a Countdown Timer mode, unless you know how to open them up and "hack" the modules to make that mode available. Here's how I enabled the Countdown Timer on each of these watches. I encourage you to seek other videos where other folks show how they did it too, if you are seriously considering trying this yourself.
But I should offer this WARNING: The modification I did disabled some of the guides on the LCD of the W96H watch. There are normally three abbreviations on the watch face to tell you if you've enabled the alarm, the snooze version of the alarm and/or the hourly chime. But after the modification those abbreviations were no longer visible. MEANWHILE, the W800H did not have any problems are all after I performed the modification on it.
Bottom line: I recommend that you avoid this modification on the W96H watch if you want it to still look exactly as if did before any modification was performed. But if you want to try it on the W800H I have no reservations about that... EXCEPT the standard caution that you are doing this AT YOUR OWN RISK. It's not a terrible risk. The worst thing you could do is destroy a watch that only cost you $20. I hope my instructions are clear enough to help you do this if you really want to, but I cannot guarantee that I have taught you well enough.
The watches in this video use module 3239 and module 3240. The modification worked best on module 3240. 
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Hidden features are very common in the electronics industry. It is easier and more cost effective to spin silicon for multiple products than make a custom chip for each one. The reason these features are hidden is often that the company want's to have price points for different models and enable the features for the higher cost models. Alternatively, the feature may have been on the original design but during development either they ran into a bug and decided to disable it as a cheaper option to fixing the bug and validating the feature. As an aside when I was in the electronics industry It was very common for bored engineers to sneak Easter eggs into the firmware so if someone press a certain key sequence a programmed message would flash up or some other event would be triggered. Thanks enjoying the tubes on tricks and tips!
Actually Casio F-201WA have exactly same functions as W800H/W96H, with two additions: countdown timer and 5 alarms - exactly same functions that can be added to W800H by modifying jumpers. So there is very big chance that they all share same chip and maybe even same PCB (but have different displays (for 5 alarm indication) and cases).
@@YuryMar yep just a question if a pin gets pulled down to ground, pulled up to a voltage or left floating. The displays are very easy to change since they share a common interface to the PCB and just the ITO pattern changes.
Funny thing about the dual time mode, is that the second time zone's time doesn't always match op to the home-time. Sometimes the second timezone is a minute too fast after a couple of month's.
Something like has happened on my watches when I corrected the time… because the watch tended to run faster than it should. And I seemed to avoid that problem if I simply did the time correction more often… like at least twice each month.
@@GoodTimekeeperdo you correct the current time zone or dual time zone ? Is the current time still running normal after this hack ?
Success on a W800H. Got a bit more than a bargained for though. Took two sessions before I scraped enough solder off. Then, when reassembling the spring leapt out onto the floor, fudge! Took about five minutes to find that. After I got the case back on, the W800H was mute. A bit of googling later, it turns out the spring forms a electrical contact that's part of the sound circuitry so I dove back in and re-seated the spring and now it's beeping away as it should. Always a learning a experience. Thanks for the informative video.
Thanks for sharing the info. Saves us time. 😊
Just bought the W800, and just did the mod as per your video. Thank you!
Greg, thanks very much for your video. I had seen that the mod on the W96H caused does texts to disappear, but watching your video made it clear that maybe the W800H is the better module to tinker and try the mod. Very ilustrative. Keep up the fantastic videos, thanks
Very interesting from a practical and from a commercial point of view. Thanks.
Many thanks, Greg! I followed your instructions carefully, and have been rewarded with a better watch!
Interesting video - thanks for that.
I'm considering buying the W800H as a work watch. Having seen how to bring the countdown timer in to play, I won't be able to resist doing that! :-)
It's like a hidden bonus. Very satisfying when it works.
One thing I do when I have taken the back off a watch, is to use a very small amount of silicone grease on the o-ring before re-fitting again. (Very small amount - put it on and pretty much wipe it off again). I believe this helps to maintain the integrity of the waterproof seal and also helps to prolong the life of the o-ring itself. There might be reasons not to do this, so I'm happy to hear comments if this shouldn't be done. I don't think it would harm a cheap digital watch.
Thanks again for the video.
I often hear that folks grease up the O-ring every time they see it. I haven’t bothered to do that and I don’t think it’s been a problem. Of course, I almost never get chlorine or salt water on my watches either. I would never intentionally harm one of my watches but, as you observed, I wouldn’t have to feel too sad if a $20 watch got damaged somehow.
I saw how you enjoied with this episode and I enjoied watching 👌
thank you. you made my day great with this timer hack!
@3:03 you can see where that tiny spring goes if comes flying out of the assembly like it did when I did this. Thanks so much for this tutorial, Greg! Now my w800h is the ultimate cheap digital (for me anyway).
Many thanks Greg for your explanation, I’ve just received my Casio W800 for my birthday, I just want to try the trick you show just to have fully features from my brand new watch, ;)
Just done the job, it was easiest than I though. Thanks again for you well explained tutorial. Cheers! ;)
It works! Thanks. Good to know you don't need a soldering iron.
Thank you Mr. Anderson!
Just did the mod. Works great!! only downside is that the timer can only select the minutes and hours and not the seconds
Thanks for the video!!! I've modified two watches and it works! : )
Great video, thank you. I'm tempted to enable the Timer function on the W-800H but, on second thought, my cell phone is almost always within reach for that purpose. I'll let the smartphone preside over my boiled eggs or whatever other culinary disaster I've undertaken.
Thanks for the great tutorial.
I did the same modification to a W96H two years ago, and the same thing happened to the display. The lines and text disappeared from the screen. I thought I had made something wrong but now that I watched your video and saw you having the same results with that watch I guess there´s nothing we can do to avoid the disappearing on the lines and text on that particular model should we go ahead and mod it the way you did. On a side note, If you guys are gonna do this, please be extra careful with the little spring that makes the alarm sound; I lost mine on the floor and had to cut some spring from somewhere else to fit it in the hole.
Thank you Greg!!
It is really amazing, how many "professionals" will bungle a simple battery swap :)
The Casio screw type cases make it easy to lose a screw, and good luck finding them around a big store counter! You are right about not taking any watch to Walmart for a battery change, because they have no qualified people there to do this, and they also will not do it!
Aside from Casio's screw-on backs, for most watches, you need to wedge off the back and press it back in, risking a crushed crystal every time! It does take the right touch and the right tools to not break a watch, when you pop the case-back off, and you need to have a good watch-press to tighten them back in place!
I personally have a table-top screw-vice type press, so pressure is released as soon as the back-plate pops in place. Most jewellery stands and shops here in USA have the handheld lever type, which is a bad tool to have and use, because you need to squeeze it, and pressure is not released after the plate pops in, and this is when crystals can and will break!
Jewellers in Germany can be trusted, because usually their have staff fully repair qualified as watchmakers, and some items they will send to an authorised shop. Here in USA, I made a few BAD experiences with self declared "watchmakers" totally ruining the simplest of things, like sizing a watchband, so no more jewellery shop repairs for me! If I cannot repair it myself, it just stays in the box as memorabilia, and that's that.
Just did this to mine while watching your video. Lost the designators on the right, same as you, totally worth it in my opinion. You can always put a little print out in the case if you want that back. Either way, thank you!
Interesting thing, if you hold the adjust button while in the timer mode, release to change the timer settings, then click the light button, the back screen will appear again in timer mode only.
Excellent tip. I see that this also enables an “auto repeat” mode for the countdown timer, which a lot of guys really like to use. I will definitely need to make a follow-up video now.
@@GoodTimekeeper I didn't know about the timer auto-repeat function on my 800H. Hoorah! I learn something knew everytime I watch your videos and probe the comments section. Keep up the good work.
Very useful. Thanks.
I had to go back and watch the LCD tests on both watches to make sure that what I was seeing was what I was really seeing. When you did those tests, both watches showed 3233 as the module number.
I did this mod on my W800 several months ago, and the only reason I even bought it at all was because there was info all over the webz about this thing having a hidden timer. If there was no timer, and no way to enable a hidden timer, I never would have bought it at all. I was amazed at how simple it was to do this. I have to mention here that Casios only go back together one way. There are many little line up tabs and slots all over that prevent you from putting it together incorrectly. The only exceptions are the little LCD sheets that actually can be put together facing the wrong way, as well as in the wrong order. I did mine the exact same way you did yours, I scraped it off with a screwdriver blade.
From what I've been able to tell, if you have a three button Casio, it won't have a timer, hidden or otherwise. Most four button Casios either have, or at the least can be enabled, a timer function.
I looked up the instructions for the 3233 and saw that the document was also for the 3234 module. Those were associated with the watches F200W and A178W. But the Casio website says that the A178W uses module 2519. Perhaps there’s an older version which used the 3234 module. Bottom line: I can see where these different modules are related and are likely to share certain components, which may explain why they are “programmed” differently using those soldering points. But I haven’t yet found a watch directly related to all of these modules which is sold with an active Countdown Timer function.
Totally amazing! So Casio hides special funtions on his watches? Why? Does anybody know? Greg, how do you discovered that??
The viewer who originally suggested that I take a look at this watch mentioned something about a modification to add the countdown and then I did a little more research myself. I don’t know how anyone originally discovered this but it was a few years ago.
Its cheaper to design one chip and lock out some of the functions for low end models
Hello! Thanks, cool way to improve the watch! Does this method work with Casio W-217H, B650 models?
I have an older W-96H that I've been tempted to do this hack on. The thing is, the module number (in the rectangle on the back) says '2499', so I'm not sure if it can be done on mine. It's an old watch, and I don't use it anymore (my wife gave me a runner's watch a few years ago), so I could risk it with little loss if it 'bricks' the watch. You noted that the lines and the status messages disappear when countdown is activated. This happens on certain modules. Remember the modules in the W800 and W96H are different part numbers, so that may be why they disappear on one, but not the other. If you have a fine tip soldering iron and de-soldering braid, I'd recommend using that. Scraping around on a circuit board with a pointy stick is asking for trouble.
Thanks for the video!
did you try the hack on your 2499 version? Mine is with that module too...
Great video, I've had a W-800h for almost 7 years and I'm gonna try this as soon as I have some time.
On a related note, have you seen the W-96h clone SKMEI sells? You should give it a look, I know you'll find it funny.
Cheers
Very useful
One of the greatest mod video ever I seen on RUclips!
Dear Mr. Anderson, does this trick work on Casio F-91w?
No, it doesn't.
I haven’t seen any information about this mod working on other watches.
There are some unsoldered contacts in 593 module, exept those 3 to correct accuracy. Maybe with them could be activated additional functions 🤔 sorry for my English😁
There are some unsoldered contacts in 593 module, exept those 3 to correct accuracy. Maybe with them could be activated additional functions 🤔 sorry for my English😁
I just replaced the battery on my W800H today ( and yes - I already did this mod to it long ago. Great video ! ). I still haven’t found exactly what Casio watch has the count down timer activated on this module. All the watches I’ve seen with this module ( the W800 and W96 ) all have it deactivated.
It makes me wonder if the original design of this circuitry was intended to include the Countdown Timer option for certain models but, somewhere along the line, they never decided to utilize it. Let me think of an example in the car world. In the mid-1970s Ford made a car called the Pinto and it shared a lot of design characteristics of the Mustang II. So that meant that if someone wanted to put a larger and more powerful Mustang II engine into a Pinto they could do it more easily than you might expect. But Ford didn’t want to do it themselves… so you couldn’t order a Pinto with a Mustang II engine from the dealer. But I personally knew a guy who put a big V8 engine into his own Pinto.
@@GoodTimekeeper thanks for the reply ! And yep - I hear you there ! Casio does some strange things when it comes to watch modules.
I saw the all-blacked out W800H at my local Walmart the other day for $19.99. I might go back there and pick one up to go with my standard W800H and do the mod with that one as well
I lost my alarm labels as well. I wish I would have seen your video before trying. 😢
Sounds similar to what intel did in the 90's with their 486 Processor. In manufacturing, the 486 had a math coprocessor. built-in. As is, it was sold as a DX model, But they also sold a "cheaper" SX model with the coprocessor disabled. it was easier to disable a feature than having a whole other assembly line that didn't have the coprocessor.
but again why disable such a generic feature? its not as if there is a model that is $20 more that has the countdown, there are tons of casio watches at the exact same price as this watch that have this feature if not more.
Would you do the 5 alarm mod to the w800h? If so I'll wait for you to upload the video because you're very good explaining how to do it. Thanks in advance
As I understand it, the trouble with enabling the 5 alarm mod is that it’s more complicated to know which alarm is enabled and which isn’t. So I may not try it.
Here’s a video without any words but you can still see that, apparently, the alarm on and snooze indicators only refer to alarm 1 but there’s nothing to show what the others will do.
ruclips.net/video/1RF_zMR-O8U/видео.html
Thanks!
totally worked
Great! I'll do the same with my watch (W800H)
Question: is this mod possible on the BLACKOUT version, because ALL the vids on this, show the positive LCD, NOT the negative version.
I just make it and work well, thx.
The W800H timer has auto-repeat function as well.
I thought I'd give this a try when replacing the battery, but the PCB on my W-800H is completely different from the one in the video, with no obvious jumpers at all. The module number on the case back is 3092, is that the same for all W800-H? Also I'm in the UK, could that be a reason?
A quick squint at case backs on eBay listings shows two different module numbers for W800H - 3092 and 3240. So I'm guessing this mod will only work on the latter? I wonder if it's a US / Europe region thing, or just older / newer models?
I lost the spring, any workarounds. Please tell me
I’ve so far done this to two of my W800H’s and both of them every so often when you go and press the “adjust button” in alarm mode, it’ll reset itself. Very very annoying and both of my modded 800H’s have this issue. I’ve replaced the battery on both of them and they still reset themselves randomly ( when you press the adjust button in alarm mode ).
Anyone else had this issue / know a way to resolve it ?
Again, it doesn’t do it every single time I set an alarm, but maybe 1 in every 10 “adjust presses” in alarm mode. Still enough to be annoying to have to reset the watch.
Why do you need to remove the blob of solder? Isn't it sufficient to interrupt the connection track from the blob to the rest of the print by making a litle scratch across the track?
It’s just so very small. It’s not easy to know exactly how much solder to remove if you can’t see it really well.
@@GoodTimekeeper A magnifying lamp sure comes in handy with this.
Great video. Does anyone know if this mod works the the W800H -bv1, the negative display model?
It’s the same module just with the negative display so it should work. I don’t personally have the negative LCD version but I have five different positive LCD versions which have all be modified. Video of them all coming soon.
@@GoodTimekeeper Gave it a try and it worked fantastic! Thanks again.
Can you do this to a W86?
I was once told (by my local watchmaker) that water resistant watches lose their resistance once they are dismounted. Will mine (same model) lose the water resistance 100M after the modification?
No they won't - unless you damage the rubber o ring. If you have a dive watch that is certificated or tested as waterproof to a certain depth then opening it would invalidate the test / cert. But would in reality still be waterproof as long as the seal wasn't damaged.
how to level up the volume of the alarm ?
I can't get passed the step at 6:38 to short that hole with a pin. I've tried various types of metals thinking maybe it was an issue with conductivity but nothing seems to work. The only thing that gets power is the light button, no screen functions will display. Anyone have any thoughts?
How did it go? If you didn't solve it yet, you could check if the battery is placed correctly
Product segmentation is why. It would cost more to produce a module with less features than to just disable the feature and position the watch as a cheaper alternative. It's like Tesla long range is the same as reduced range cars they're just programmed different to create seemingly different products.
Wow, that was scary.
Brave man, shan't be trying that.
Can you swap the LCD?
What screwdriver/size ?
What a ridiculous process to have to go through, simply to have a countdown feature on a watch that should already have that feature. Thank you for your video, for those who want to go through this. There are way too many things that can go wrong, and you can ruin your watch, for me to attempt it.
Olá! I scratch but didn't work 😕.
Saudações 🇵🇹
Why would they disable the count down timer? They can use the same module in watches sold at different price points. There are other watches they make sold for more money with the same module and the extra features.
I think that this feature is disabled because every time the counter runs out the alarm sounds and thus the battery would be used up more and it would not last 10 years.
Update June 2023: I bought a W800 in a Casio shop and removed the jumper, but still there's no timer function. Has anybody else experienced this?
Hourly chime still working? I've heard that if you only activate the countdown timer it deactivates hourly chime.
The hourly chime works on mine. If I lost the tiny spring which stretches from the module to the back of the watch case then the hourly chime might stop working, along with every other beep. But since I put it all back together including that spring all of the sounds work.
I did this to another watch (A178W) and found that the beeps wouldn’t work right unless I also replaced the sticker on the back of the battery. But with these two the sticker doesn’t seem to make a difference.
9:42 "if the feature is there why would they disable it"
it makes me sad to say it myself, it is sales of the pricier models. They just wanted to have the flexibility to decide last minute with the solder blob.
Czego nigdzie nie ma filmiku jak odblokujecie timer w casio w-800h 1b w tym z natywnym wyświetlaczem!
It seems odd they would include the feature, then disable it.
I've never understood that either. Strange.
Totally standard in the Computer world. Once, IBM upgraded a server by moving a Jumper to a USD 10 000:- cost. "more capacity". The Guy wanted to be alone, say no more... He went in and stayed for 30 minutes. One minute work and 29 minutes of m-sturbating.
@@simonthewatchguy6073 look at Tesla, same thing by just software updates. It's the (sad) way nowadays.
Yes, but at least Tesla tells you that their hidden feature can be activated for a price. In this case, Casio doesn’t seem to want to tell anyone.
I thought of something… If you want to shoot video with a DSLR camera you can get excellent results, even though the camera was primarily designed for still photos. BUT many of these cameras have a duration limit when recording video. Some will not record a clip longer than 30 minutes. Others limit the duration to less than 15 minutes. Why? I’m told it has something to do with the way Some European taxes are configured for video cameras vs. still cameras. Rather than make a specific camera for those places the manufacturers put these limitations on all of their DSLR cameras. I can’t figure out how something similar to that would affect Casio watches. Then again, people also say that bad guys like to use Casio watches to trigger their destructive devices. So… disable the countdown? I don’t know.
Well atleast the second watch is a easy fix.
Super ! Next l’Évelyne : To put in a pedometer
Why would the charge you more for adding something that hides abilities. Just save money and not do the extra work lol.
i dont want to risk it lol.
It's called vandalism