Seiko D409 Sign Table

It's been Casio for a few days now, so I thought I'd switch over to a Seiko with another of their high-tech 80s models.

This watch is the Seiko D409, also known as the Sign Table. It came out in 1984 along with other data storage watches like the UC01 that I blogged a while ago. The main difference as that this model didn't have the keyboard dock for data entry, instead having a noticeable 'sign table' at the bottom of the LCD. This table has all of the entry digits shown, and it works like an old video game high score entry where you cycle through the letters to select the one you want next. The memos are then shown on a two line dot matrix display, each line having 8 blocks of 5x6 (so covering 16 letters at a time). Each memo could have up to 112 digits, and there are 7 memo channels (with a marker in the top right showing which one is active). In one of the memo slots, the watch has a message for the owner which shows when you press the memo select button (top right). The message explains what the watch can do and reads: "This is your memory watch. Let us memorize anything you like for example tel. no. card no. name and address". The watch also has alarm and stopwatch modes, and there is small bulb powered light.

This particular version has the model number D409-5020, and has a Seiko GA53A strap. Although these are only quoted as released in 1984, this one appears to have been made in 1982...

The model is quite highly regarded, and was featured in the T3 magazine list of top smartwatches from the last 30 years.