Post by radiostationx on Mar 2, 2016 23:35:03 GMT 1
I thought this would make an interesting off topic subject for NWAN contributors.
About a year ago, I posted about the Tecsun PL-600 and PL-660 radios from China and how much of a great piece of kit that you can buy for very cheap money. My PL-600 has given me many hours of listening and enjoyment flicking through the HF aeronautical bands amongst others and up until very recently, I thought that this was my best bargain to date.
Then there was my Motorola Moto g 3rd generation phone purchased a few weeks ago, what a phone for the cash. More like a portable computer, so quick , great screen, fab camera and the call quality reminds me of my dinky Nokia 7210 "get a 5 bar signal anywhere, even in a basement" phone.
Last Sunday, disaster struck.
My much loved Casio wristwatch circa 1993 vintage had a broken strap.
It is the legendary Casio F-91w model, the quintessential retro watch.
Its on its second battery, not because the first one ran out, it didnt.. but I swapped it around 5 years ago as the life expectancy of the CR2016 battery is 7 years.
It has seen a bit of life so to speak,
Mud,sand,sea, swimming pools,shower, DIY and the daily grind at work..my F-91 has seen it all.
It has kept perfect time,within 5-6 secs over 6 months ,much more reliable than other watches I have.
Time to move on to a new model perhaps,
But wait, why not another F91 ?
Certainly !..
Can you still buy them ?
Absoloutely !
Have Casio changed it ? (like the ever shrinking mars bar), Is the quality poor now compared to my old one ?
No and ermm No.
Off I went to a high street catalogue store to pick one up ,
So a shiny brand new F-91w was aquired and here it is.
Blingy Rolex fans look away now !
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How much ?
Just over £7, yes you read right first time... Seven Quids !
It cost me the same for the coffee and a pastry I had on the way to pick it up.
This thing is legendary ,much has been writen about this timepiece.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W
A Toyota Hilux of watches,treat em bad and they just keep on going.
Scuba to 30m is not a problem.
Popular with Army troops and the fuzz.
Famous owners are a young Mr Obama and for the wrong reasons.. Mr Osama..(search google images)
Casio made this right first time around, no messing, no fiddling. So simple, nothing goes wrong. I swear I could knock a nail in with the casing side on,or hang it in a tree for a year and it would still be working when you came back for it, they are that tough.
The weakest thing is the official strap, it tends to suffer from resin rot after 10 or so years and it is £14 or so to replace. No brainer.
Believe it or not,There are fakes of this watch hence going to a reputable Casio Europe reseller Argos.I could have shopped also at 7dayshop & Amazon who also sell this watch.
The watch module and design first appeared in an early version and was £7.95 in 1985 when a pint of lager was around 40p I think.
Item number 5 on this page .
Vintage British Argos 1985 Catalogue by Anthony Voz, on Flickr
For the princely sum of around £8, Go and buy yourself a piece of watchmaking history, one you can rely on every day come what may, before they get withdrawn from sale or taken away.
If that ever happens !
I hope you enjoyed reading.
Photos of the watch taken with the Motorola Moto G phone, straight out of the camera phone resized to 1024 pix wide for this page no further editing.
Still got your Observers Book of Aircraft perhaps, what a bargain for the use you had from it !
Q. Have you had any real bargains over the years ?
Why not list them here with photos and details for a bit of fun.
About a year ago, I posted about the Tecsun PL-600 and PL-660 radios from China and how much of a great piece of kit that you can buy for very cheap money. My PL-600 has given me many hours of listening and enjoyment flicking through the HF aeronautical bands amongst others and up until very recently, I thought that this was my best bargain to date.
Then there was my Motorola Moto g 3rd generation phone purchased a few weeks ago, what a phone for the cash. More like a portable computer, so quick , great screen, fab camera and the call quality reminds me of my dinky Nokia 7210 "get a 5 bar signal anywhere, even in a basement" phone.
Last Sunday, disaster struck.
My much loved Casio wristwatch circa 1993 vintage had a broken strap.
It is the legendary Casio F-91w model, the quintessential retro watch.
Its on its second battery, not because the first one ran out, it didnt.. but I swapped it around 5 years ago as the life expectancy of the CR2016 battery is 7 years.
It has seen a bit of life so to speak,
Mud,sand,sea, swimming pools,shower, DIY and the daily grind at work..my F-91 has seen it all.
It has kept perfect time,within 5-6 secs over 6 months ,much more reliable than other watches I have.
Time to move on to a new model perhaps,
But wait, why not another F91 ?
Certainly !..
Can you still buy them ?
Absoloutely !
Have Casio changed it ? (like the ever shrinking mars bar), Is the quality poor now compared to my old one ?
No and ermm No.
Off I went to a high street catalogue store to pick one up ,
So a shiny brand new F-91w was aquired and here it is.
Blingy Rolex fans look away now !
"]"]How much ?
Just over £7, yes you read right first time... Seven Quids !
It cost me the same for the coffee and a pastry I had on the way to pick it up.
This thing is legendary ,much has been writen about this timepiece.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W
A Toyota Hilux of watches,treat em bad and they just keep on going.
Scuba to 30m is not a problem.
Popular with Army troops and the fuzz.
Famous owners are a young Mr Obama and for the wrong reasons.. Mr Osama..(search google images)
Casio made this right first time around, no messing, no fiddling. So simple, nothing goes wrong. I swear I could knock a nail in with the casing side on,or hang it in a tree for a year and it would still be working when you came back for it, they are that tough.
The weakest thing is the official strap, it tends to suffer from resin rot after 10 or so years and it is £14 or so to replace. No brainer.
Believe it or not,There are fakes of this watch hence going to a reputable Casio Europe reseller Argos.I could have shopped also at 7dayshop & Amazon who also sell this watch.
The watch module and design first appeared in an early version and was £7.95 in 1985 when a pint of lager was around 40p I think.
Item number 5 on this page .
Vintage British Argos 1985 Catalogue by Anthony Voz, on FlickrFor the princely sum of around £8, Go and buy yourself a piece of watchmaking history, one you can rely on every day come what may, before they get withdrawn from sale or taken away.
If that ever happens !
I hope you enjoyed reading.
Photos of the watch taken with the Motorola Moto G phone, straight out of the camera phone resized to 1024 pix wide for this page no further editing.
Still got your Observers Book of Aircraft perhaps, what a bargain for the use you had from it !
Q. Have you had any real bargains over the years ?
Why not list them here with photos and details for a bit of fun.
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