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The incredible Sensor Watch after-market board is really worth a mention on a thread like this:
Joey et al.’s work ports the SPICE astronavigation library to the on board ARM m0 giving you a complete orrery in a classic F91W “Terrorist” watch. It is fantastic!
I really love being able to get an estimate of when and where The Moon will rise, or where Saturn is right now. Timekeeping and astronomy are two of the oldest forms of science we have and I love being in constant touch with them via the newest science we have: computers! (The source is all open and available for you to hack on, including a nifty emulator.)
By LeoPanthera 2025-11-121:131 reply The Yes WorldWatch has the same astronomical almanac but with a display purpose-built for it.
https://yeswatch.com/wrist-watch/worldwatch/worldwatchV7-col...
They're expensive, but beautiful.
By smelendez 2025-11-1213:09 It’s interesting how those watches are both objectively expensive for something nobody really needs and at $1,000 or less, dirt cheap by the standard of expensive watches.
> a complete orrery in a classic F91W “Terrorist” watch
It took me a bit of searching, but sure enough:
https://www.sensorwatch.net/docs/watchfaces/complication/#or...
Seems very tedious to actually use, but very cool to have it in the unassuming wristwatch.
By gorgoiler 2025-11-128:51 The astronomy face is superior as it calculates the altitude and azimuth of the selected object based on your programmed location and, of course, the current time:
https://www.sensorwatch.net/docs/watchfaces/complication/#as...
What would be even better would be to acknowledge that altitude is somewhat moot when all these objects are in the ecliptic plane — unsurprisingly Jupiter at Jovian noon is roughly where The Sun was at lunchtime! — and instead cycle through the azimuths of each object in the sky, in the order in which they are visible.
By jazzyjackson 2025-11-1122:47 The CGW-50 Cosmo Phase is impressive on that end for displaying realtime planet positions in 1989, now of course it's just another watch face to choose from on Apple.
Still I bet the Casio works offline longer :p
I'll have to revisit the sensor watch, I'd love to hit a button for sunrise and moonrise
I had the one with the TV/VCR remote functionality when I was in highschool in the 90s. During English class the teacher wanted to show Shakespeare plays on the VCR. I would pause the video, a friend of mine would walk up to the TV, and slap it on the side, while I unpaused it. We did this a couple of times until the teacher saw me do it and sent me to see the principal. Now that I'm more mature I realize how much that disturbed her class, and I kind of regret it, but maybe some people hold a fond memory of that moment.
By isp 2025-11-1212:49 The Casio CMD-40
https://old.reddit.com/r/casio/comments/15n9anq/did_we_all_f...
I am wearing one right now - it has been my daily driver for literally decades
(While it has VCR controls built-in, it can "learn" infrared frequencies for "new" inventions like DVD players - copying from an existing IR remote control. Surprisingly, still compatible with modern TVs - at least for basic functions like volume control.)
It was once "futuristic"; collectors now sell them as "retro" and "vintage"
By eddieroger 2025-11-1216:47 I had one, too, and in hindsight I regret what an ass I was to the poor substitute teachers who had one job to do for the day and couldn't because I thought it was funny to turn the TV off when they bend down to turn on the VCR.
I also had the one that could do IR messages with other watches, and that was a lot less disruptive and still pretty fun.
By ezconnect 2025-11-1214:44 I had the calculator watch when I was in highschool. We competed who has the toughest watch by throwing it on the blackboard. It survived. When I got older I realize how stupid it was and how expensive it was compared to the digital watch on that era.
*It was the C-80 and it was the 80s, it was rubberized all over like the G-Shock of today.
I understand where you're coming from. On the other hand, there's a lesson to learn from the teacher's point of view as well. We always need to take a step back to understand the weakest links in security. A small piece of electrical tape or maybe even a strategically placed VHS cover could solve the issue. Hopefully, this hadn't happened again.
It also comes to: should a teacher "trust" their students not to be intentionally disruptive in interesting ways? Now I wonder if I should similarly trust my users (who are co-workers who are at least getting paid to not cause disruptions)...
I'd be willing to bet that's the only time the teacher had to deal with that specific skulduggery.
Is it actually worth it for a teacher to spend time red-teaming basic lesson equipment? I really think not unless the teacher has reason to believe her students are particularly mischievous.
By dfxm12 2025-11-1217:32 A punishment may (or may not) be deterrent enough for the people who saw it. However, when you get a new class/userbase regularly or when new technology becomes available (including devices that can control your hardware remotely), an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Perhaps using your watch as intended doesn't seem particularly mischievous in the moment. In this way, legitimate users/sys admins/script kiddies get into trouble because a sys admin didn't have reason to believe their users would be "particularly mischievous".
By brassattax 2025-11-1216:14 Exactly. I did the same with my wrist remote in class. After the second time the TV turned off, without saying anything the teacher went to his desk, picked up a notecard, and propped it up over the remote sensor.
Some of cool and the wild ones:
> The TM-100 was a highly unique wristwatch with the ability to transmit speech via radio. Outfitted with an FM transmitter and microphone, the watch allowed users to wirelessly broadcast their voice to a radio tuned to the right frequency simply by speaking toward the watch
> The unique CMD-10 delivered remote control functionality for TVs and VCRs. Its function-minded layout of large remote control buttons ensured intuitive operability. Users could turn their TV or VCR on or off, change channels, adjust the volume, and more using the watch on their wrist.
And then there is the sad one, too:
> The ever-innovative G-SHOCK brand takes a new step, launching a virtual community where people can co-create and interact with one another via digital platforms like NFTs and the metaverse.
This one too:
> Simply holding the watch’s built-in speaker up to the receiver of a push-button telephone allowed users to place calls to stored numbers
>> Simply holding the watch’s built-in speaker up to the receiver of a push-button telephone allowed users to place calls to stored numbers
So a miniaturized version of one of this (which I totally uselessly had as a kid): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z438yRW0rGQ.
As famously modded in 2600 mag, they were useful for a while...
https://phonelosers.com/redbox/tonedialer/
https://hackaday.com/2014/09/05/radioshack-phone-dialer-red-...
By palmotea 2025-11-1222:50 > As famously modded in 2600 mag, they were useful for a while...
And now that you remind me, that's totally why I bought one, but at the time I lacked the tools and electronics skills to do the mod.
By piltdownman 2025-11-1211:16 How on earth did we never see some early 90s hacker-culture movie do some Blue-box phreaking using this watch, similar to the (fictional) Atari Portfolio ATM hack in Terminator 2.
I had CMD-10 as a kid. It was fun when it worked, but it wasn't pairing well with most TV sets and video players. Though it's possible I just didn't know how to set it up properly.
There was a mode where you'd just cycle through all stored "remotes" until the TV switched off. Then you picked that one, and most likely it would work (in my experience). It was great.
By Cthulhu_ 2025-11-1210:40 I once had a soldering course from a guy that is mainly known for creating a remote that could turn off any TV some years ago, really chill guy but also hillarious that he made a business out of a single gimmicky item like that.
I wouldn't be surprised if he lurks on here, if so, hi!
edit: it's the "TV-B-Gone" by Mitch Altman, who was at the forefront of creating hackerspaces - TIL they weren't as much of a thing in the US until 2008.
By kiddico 2025-11-1123:15 I have a fantastic memory of confusing my 4th grade teacher when I learned that it worked on the TV in our classroom after setting it up to work at my grandma's house... Sorry Mrs. Norris. You were lovely.
The temperature sensor was an interesting idea. Wonder if smartphones will ever get that. Probably not, since it is cheaper to get this information online (but then it is often inaccurate).
By XenophileJKO 2025-11-124:56 The pixel 9 xl has a infrared temperature sensor. I was surprised when I learned this.
By raffael_de 2025-11-126:351 reply what would be the point of a temperature sensor in a smartphone. the smartphone is carried by me. that means I already know if it's cold or hot.
By themadturk 2025-11-1223:581 reply Same with any weather app... you already know if it's rainy, sunny or snowing as well.
By raffael_de 2025-11-137:40 a weather app provides also forecasts and weather information for places you intend to visit in near future.
