Timex M281

Description

Timex invested since the 1960s a lot into battery-powered movements and already offered LED movements for a few year. In 1975, which was pretty late, they started into the battery-friendls LCD age with their first module.

With a height of more than 10mm it was, as you will see below, too, pretty high building, and the used LR43 button cell reveals a still rather high battery consumption.

Apart from this, the module is pretty mature and was no longer produced in the USA or Germany, but in Taiwan.

The functions of this module were not spectacular, it only could only tell the time in hours and minutes, seconds and day and month by a keypress.

The LC display is embedded in a plastic frame. Its contacts are piece by piece routed through the frame and not like today, with a stiffener or two alternately conductive and non-conductive rubber connected.

The way, how the time was set, was really unique: The left buttons on the side had to be turned 180° to get the movement into the time setting mode.

Without a manual, hardly anyone will manage to set the time.

The display is still held by a metal frame. The function of the trimmer resistor on the bottom of the module is unknown. It could either adjust the resonant circuit, or it could adjust the contrast. A test did not reveal its secret.

Unfortunatly, on the archived specimen, the display has aged a lot, so that is only readable (and that only weak) on a greater viewing angle. On top view, it is quite less readable.