Casio

Casio Men's WV57HA-1AV Atomic Waveceptor Digital Watch

• Quartz movement
• Mineral crystal
• Case diameter: 38 mm
• Water-resistant to 165 feet (50 M)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Stay on target for your next appointment with the powerfully styled and exceptionally accurate Casio Waveceptor men's digital atomic watch (WV57HA-1AV)--a great choice for your active lifestyle. It receives a time calibration signal transmitted from Fort Collins, Colorado, and signal reception is possible within a radius of about 2,000 miles from the Fort Collins transmitter. You can choose to automatically receive this signal (once per day at 1 AM) or manually update the Waveceptor to the atomic clock. It has a durable hardened plastic case with a silver bezel, a grey frame around the digital display, and comfortable resin band that tapers down from the case.

It has a stopwatch with a number of performance timing features, and it offers such timekeeping functions as 12/24-hour formats, year/month/date/day display (with an autocalendar to the year 2039), daylight savings time on/off, and world time for 29 different cities. It has 5 independent daily alarms and an optional hourly time signal. Other features include water resistance to 50 meters (165 feet) and AfterGlow LED electro luminescent backlight. The quartz battery has an approximate 1.5-year battery life.

The Casio Story

With the launch of its first watch in November 1974, Casio entered the wristwatch market at a time when the watch industry had just discovered digital technology. As a company with cutting-edge electronic technology developed for pocket calculators, Casio entered this field confident that it could develop timepieces that would lead the market.

In developing its own wristwatches Casio began with the basic question, ""What is a wristwatch?"" Rather than simply making a digital version of the conventional mechanical watch, we thought that the ideal wristwatch should be something that shows all facets of time in a consistent way. Based on this, Casio was able to create a watch that displayed the precise time including the second, minute, hour, day, and month — not to mention a.m. or p.m., and the day of the week. It was the first watch in the world with a digital automatic calendar function that eliminated the need to reset the calendar due the variation in month length. Rather than using a conventional watch face and hands, a digital liquid crystal display was adopted to better show all the information. This culminated in the 1974 launch of the CASIOTRON, the world’s first digital watch with automatic calendar. The CASIOTRON won acclaim as a groundbreaking product that represented a complete departure from the conventional wristwatch.

Casio transformed the concept of the watch — from a mere timepiece to an information device for the wrist — and undertook product planning based on this innovative idea. We developed not only time functions such as global time zone watches, but also other radical new functions using Casio’s own digital technology, including calculator and dictionary functions, as well as a phonebook feature based on memory technology, and even a thermometer function using a built-in sensor. The memory-function watches became our DATA BANK product series, while the sensor watches developed into two unique Casio product lines of today: the Pathfinder series displaying altitude, atmospheric pressure, and compass readings.

In 1983, Casio launched the shock-resistant G-SHOCK watch. This product shattered the notion that a watch is a fragile piece of jewelry that needs to be handled with care, and was the result of Casio engineers taking on the challenge of creating the world’s toughest watch. Using a triple-protection design for the parts, module, and case, the G-SHOCK offered a radical new type of watch that was unaffected by strong impacts or shaking. Its practicality was immediately recognized, and its unique look, which embodied its functionality, became wildly popular, resulting in explosive sales in the early 1990s. The G-SHOCK soon adopted various new sensors, solar-powered radio-controlled technology (described below), and new materials for even better durability. By always employing the latest technology, and continuing to transcend conventional thinking about the watch, the G-SHOCK brand has become Casio’s flagship timepiece product.

Today, Casio is focusing its efforts on solar-powered radio-controlled watches: the built-in solar battery eliminates the nuisance of replacing batteries, and the radio-controlled function means users never have to reset the time. In particular, the radio-controlled function represents a revolution in time-keeping technology similar to the impact created when mechanical watches gave way to quartz technology. Through the further development of high radio-wave sensitivity, miniaturization, and improved energy efficiency, Casio continues to produce a whole range of radio-controlled models.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000EHY316
• Item model number: WV57HA-1AV
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,389 in Watches (See Top 100 in Watches)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A warning about Casio watches, March 18, 2006

By 

Joshua Virkler (NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Casio Men's WV57HA-1AV Atomic Waveceptor Digital Watch (Watch)

I received a Casio Waveceptor watch as a gift, and was thrilled with the accuracy and coolness factor of having an "atomic watch".

That ended abruptly when the battery died. For starters, that happens quicker than you'd expect with a normal watch, since the process of receiving the radio signal takes a lot of battery power to accomplish. Then there's the process you must go through to get the battery changed.

I went to several places, starting with Wal-Mart and ending with a dedicated watch store. All of them told me the same thing: you cannot change the battery in a Casio watch! I was shocked. The only way to replace a dead battery is to send the watch in to Casio and have them do it!

This is also a very lengthy process. First, you must send the watch in for an "estimate". Then, they will send you back a written letter explaining the required services. (In my case, I needed a new wrist band as well.) Then, you send back an authorization for the services. Finally, they complete the repairs and send you back your watch.

This process takes upwards of six weeks, and there is no way to speed it up. All communication MUST be in writing. There is no way to contact Casio on the phone or online. And it's EXPENSIVE. Much more than you'd expect to pay just to replace the battery.

If you are willing to cope with all of these issues, the Casio Wavecepter is a great watch. For me though, it's just not worth it. I did not replace the battery when it died a second time. Instead I bought a new watch, and vowed never to buy (or ask for) a Casio again.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Trains run on time, May 4, 2006

By 

E. Lipinski - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Casio Men's WV57HA-1AV Atomic Waveceptor Digital Watch (Watch)

I have had this watch for over two years and it is great. I have NOT had trouble finding a place to change the battery. The little watch kiosk in my train station does it. I ride the trains in Chicago and they run on a tight schedule, trains typically leave with in 15 seconds of their scheduled time. Before this watch I was always running for the train because I was not sure my watch was accurate within seconds. Now I have total confidence that my watch is accurate.

My only two dings on this watch are that the crystal is plastic and prone to scratching and the watch band broke after two years.

I am on Amazon today looking for a new watch because between the broken band and the upcoming battery change I have about $25 in repairs coming up. I think I will just get a new one with a clean crystal.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb product. Sets time/date by itself. Excellent value., June 18, 2006

By 

Curt (CA) - See all my reviews

This Casio "Wave Ceptor" watch is a superb product. It receives a radio signal from NIST radio station WWVB in Ft Collins, CO. The watch sets the time and date automatically by synchronizing itself with the US national time standard as determined by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is based on an atomic clock. Some people refer to these type of watches as "atomic watches", but it would be more accurate to call them "radio-controlled" watches. This watch can receive the WWVB signal within a roughly 2000 mile radius of Ft Collins, CO -- which covers nearly all of North America.

The watch has many useful functions in addition to timekeeping, including "world time" (being able to check the time in other timezones), alarms, date alerts, and "time recorder" (record the precise time of an important event), and stopwatch functions.

This is my second Casio Wave Ceptor watches. The first product I purchased 2-3 years ago (Module #2587). This watch has Module #2556. It has a number of improvements over the earlier model.

1) The numerals showing the time are easier to read.
2) The watch automatically attempts to receive the WWVB signal 3 times within a 24-hour period at 2am, 4am, and 6am every day (instead of once a day at 1am).
3) One can check the date and time of when the last time synchronization signal was successful received.

A minor nit - the only thing that I miss in the new watch as compared to the older model is that it does not have the option to simultaneously display both the local time and UTC time. With the new module, to see UTC time, one must use the "World Time" feature to view time in the GMT time zone.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this watch. It is a remarkable piece of technology. It has a high-tech "cool" style. It's also a great value. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a highly accurate watch.