Entrey into Wavecepror : Casio WVQ-140A shoot and forget watch

In 1990 radio controlled watch was one of the show cases of science achievements. If you had it on your wrist it screamed “The future!”. Today it can be found in everyday price bracket and perception niche. Apart from Casio you have no watch to choose from. Casio however gives you some options. It is a time to meet Casio WVQ-140A , Casio's entry into world of radio controlled watches.I wanted to write about it because it is honest good watch with specialty skills. It good design, good balance between looks and function. Also it looks on the stock photos as it is in real life.

One of the first radio controlled watches was this Junghans Mega 1 digital. It provided essentials and had some design twist to look bit different than your regular Casio or Timex. so people knew you wearing something different.

 Later on it was followed by this one. It looks more conventional and contemporary with nothing to tell about it radio controlled nature. In a way it same 3 button affair as Casio WVQ-140A, however it much more dress appropriate and expensive watch.

 Today you can get some of new and more stylish models  for 600-700 $ US and higher. They do look good and modern. although they are pricey. Casio offers something similar in function for mere 50$. Case is aluminum, crystal is acrylic, band is harsh nylon however none of the features look unattractive or is unpleasant. In a way it represents essence of convenience without complication captured by first examples of Mega watches. 

WVQ-140A has classic railroad watch look with modern polish and some fresh spice on top of it. In many ways it is modern railroad watch re-imagined. Today there are plenty of radio controlled watches. It really popular feature of many G-Shocks. Some Citizen watches, Seiko and some of less known brands. Although you can’t find more options as Casio offerings.

Watch face is black with large numerals easy to read, yet spared of harsh contrast of some Timex easy reader black and white dials. Yes it clear and more in tune with background. Mate finish of case adds to this impression. Three hands are simple flat affair with minute and hour featuring lume which actually also increase legibility of the hands. Second hand is red and the only splash of bright colour on the face. It seem like it was important for designers to give it an accentuation. It actually is a good choice. On the right at 3 o'clock small LCD lives. It can show time zone, date or day. Also it used to set up watch, alarm or see current mode. Digits or letters are bold, clear and are in balance with rest of the design elements.

Watch have amber LED illumination. Illumination is un obtrusive and in actual dark you can see all what you need. Band is beige and stiff. You can trash it, splash it… it is a most lasting enduring element of the watch. Back of the case is busy with information. It states Waveceptor type of the watch, marks buttons and also provides engraved time difference reference for major cities around the world. Again, nice touch.

Watch is controlled by 3 buttons. In a way, this is a digital watch with analog display. You set up time and watch run hands round and round in a race to set time. You can set watch for radio synchronization or turn it off. I had constant trouble with synchronization despite the fact of available signal. It takes 4-6 minutes to synchronize watch. It needs to be still and have some good reception. Casio runs forward in time  giving himself some 1.5 minutes to test signal strength and if there is none it continue to tick as usual. Such troubles with synchronization are not limited to this particular Casio watch. I also had very infrequent synchronization on radio controlled Timex.

This Casio is very comfortable, light and easy to live with watch. It can sit under the sleeve and show up at first call without any delay. Heck it can do it even from under the sleeve of motorcycle jacket , which by the way is tight enough to protect you from the wind at 120 km/h. Believe me you can't pull same deed with many modern watches. In a way it an old school watch in terms of size. Lugs will take any band or regular bracelet if you fancy something else or trashed original one. It adds few additional ticks to "simple" and "dependable" column in the watch's examination list.

What will be the main impression of this watch? It is unobtrusive and easy to live with. As if you have some other things in life to concentrate on. And watch is for telling time, hopefully precise time every time no matter daylight savings or lack of interest in waiting for beeps on the radio. Will it be a good watch to use on the bike ride? You bet it will. Will it be good watch to be always on time? Yes. Will it be good companion? Yes. And this is the essence of this watch to be a good companion.It will wake you up, tell you time in the day or night and it has some extra technical specialty tricks to be more special than regular watch. 

On more technical note this watch is designed to suit continental US customers. You can use it at any place on earth just without convenience of radio synchronization.