Casio digital watch symbols explained — what every indicator means

What the symbols on a Casio display meanDigital Casios say a lot in very few letters. Here is every indicator these watches put on screen, what each one is telling you, and the Casio manual it is defined in.Reading the time

P — PM indicator

The time on the display is afternoon or evening. With the 12-hour format it appears for times from noon to 11:59 p.m.

A — AM indicator

The time is morning — midnight to 11:59 a.m. Modules that show one use it as the counterpart of P, and it matters most when setting an alarm.

24H — 12-hour / 24-hour format

Which clock the watch is counting on. The format chosen in the Timekeeping Mode is applied in every other mode.

DST — DST indicator

Daylight Saving Time is on for the city being shown, which advances the time by one hour from standard time.

Alarms and the hour

Alarm on indicator

At least one daily alarm is switched on. It stays on the display in every mode, so the watch can tell you it will go off without being asked.

Hourly Time Signal on indicator

The Hourly Time Signal is switched on: the watch beeps twice on the hour, every hour. It is shown in all modes while that is true.

AL1 — Alarm number

Which of the alarms is on screen. Modules with five alarms number them AL1 to AL5 — commonly four one-time alarms and one snooze alarm.

SNZ — Snooze alarm

The alarm on this screen repeats after it is silenced, rather than sounding once and stopping.

SIG — SIG indicator

The same Hourly Time Signal, on a display that prints words rather than drawing them. While SIG is shown the watch beeps twice on the hour, every hour.

MUTE — Mute indicator

The button operation tone is off — pressing buttons makes no sound. Its counterpart on the same screen is KEY, which is the tone switched on.

Stopwatch and timer

SPL — Split indicator

The stopwatch is set to split times, or a split is frozen on the display. A split reading shows the time elapsed since the stopwatch was started.

LAP — Lap indicator

The stopwatch is set to lap times instead of splits. A lap reading shows the time elapsed since the last lap, not since the start.

Auto repeat on indicator

The countdown timer restarts from the beginning as soon as it reaches zero, instead of stopping.

DAYS — DAYS indicator

The Day Counter — the number of days to or from a target date. It flashes on the display when the target date is reached.

Power and the battery

H M L — Battery power indicator

How much charge is in the rechargeable battery of a solar watch. H is high, M medium, L low — and at the lowest level functions start switching themselves off.

CHG — CHG (charge) indicator

The watch is charging, or needs to be. It flashes when the charge level is low.

RECOVER — Recovery indicator

The watch is in charge recovery mode. It has run its battery down far enough that most functions are suspended until it has taken on charge.

PS — Power Saving indicator

Power Saving is turned on, so the watch blanks its display when it is left in the dark to conserve charge.

Radio-controlled timekeeping

Signal level indicator

How strong the time calibration signal is where the watch is sitting. Use it as the guide when finding a spot to leave the watch overnight.

Receiving indicator

A reception is happening right now. Casio asks you not to move the watch or press anything until it finishes.

GET — GET indicator

The last reception succeeded. It appears with the date and time that reception happened.

RCVD — RCVD indicator

A reception succeeded earlier today, even though the most recent attempt failed. The time on the wrist is still the signal time.

ERR — ERR (error) indicator

Something did not work — a reception that failed, a sensor reading that could not be taken, or a calibration that did not complete.

SET — SET indicator

The watch is in a setting screen. It flashes while a setting is being held or changed, and disappears when the watch returns to normal display.

Light

Auto light switch on indicator

The display lights itself when the watch is angled towards your face, without a button press.

Backlight function on indicator

The illumination is available. On an EL module the whole display glows rather than a bulb lighting one corner.

Flash Alert indicator

Flash Alert is enabled: the backlight flashes with the alerts instead of leaving them to the beeper alone — the alarm you can see rather than hear.

Sensors

ALTI — Altimeter Mode

The watch is reading altitude from barometric pressure.

BARO — BARO indicator

Barometric pressure change indicator display is enabled: the watch takes a pressure reading every two minutes whatever mode it is in.

Sudden fall in pressure

The barometric pressure change indicator, pointing down. Weather worsening is the usual reading of it.

Sudden rise in pressure

The same indicator pointing up.

Sustained rise, changing to a fall

Pressure had been climbing and has turned over.

Sustained fall, changing to a rise

Pressure had been dropping and has turned back up.

TEMP — Thermometer Mode

The watch is reading temperature.

COMP — COMP indicator

A digital compass reading is in progress.

1000 — 1000 indicator

On a speed-indicator model, the value has gone over 1000 — the hand alone cannot say so, and this points at the mark that can.

Tide and moon

Tide Graph

The current tide level, as one of the display formats the Timekeeping Mode can be switched to.

Moon phase indicator

The age of the moon, drawn as the part you can see against the part you cannot.

Hands and other states

Hands shifted indicator

On an ana-digi watch, the hands have been moved out of the way so they do not cover the digital display.

This glossary is read from the twenty Casio Operation Guides this catalogue already cites for specifications. It is not every symbol Casio has ever printed on an LCD — no such list exists to read from, and inventing one is the thing this project does not do.An independent, non-commercial project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Casio Computer Co., Ltd.