Casio AL-180 Batteryless - 2505 module version

Today's watch is an old model, but it seems a new version.

This watch is the AL-180, and is one of the Casio solar watches. Reading the Casio site, it seems that the AL-180 was one of their milestones, and was their first  Batteryless model released in 1987. The original was released with a 668 module inside, but from reading the Nerd Watch Discussion Board, it seems like a lot of fakes were released around 2003/05. The fakes had a slightly different LCD, but different insides (which did not have the same Casio branded parts and were a lower quality construction).

This model uses a different module, the 2505, and was a later release of the same design and model number as the original. Checking against the genuine original pictures, this has the same internal layout, as well as an identical LCD panel to the original 668 module AL-180s. The manual for the 2505 is available online at the mygshock.com website.

The AL-180 case is rectangular, with the top half reserved for the solar panel (split into a 5x5 grid), and the bottom half housing the LCD display. The LCD is a 2 line layout with 6 digits for time at the top,  and a smaller day and date display below (the fakes have a different bottom line with day, month, and date). It has a 3 button design, and has alarm and stopwatch modes. It says on the display that this is a Batteryless model, but actually there is a type of battery inside which the warning label says should be a GC and not a CR type.